Altenew watercolor brush pens

Altenew Educator “Love & Friendship” Blog Hop +Giveaway

Nenette Madero Attic News , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 123 Comments

Hi everyone! I’m so honored to be joining the 2nd Altenew Educators’ blog hop and this time it’s all about love and friendship. If you are following the hop, then you should have arrived here from the talented Patty Melo. The Altenew Card Blog is hosting this hop so make sure to drop by there as well.

I finished the Altenew Educator’s Certificate Program (AECP) in November of 2018 and it has been one of the most inspiring and fulfilling programs I’ve ever joined. There were quite a number of wonderful classes to choose from. Even if I knew some basic techniques, the talented instructors have shown me other ways to improve and enhance my skills. Their tips and tricks are invaluable. Virginia Lu and Nicole Picadura‘s support and encouragement throughout the course have made the experience very inspiring and memorable. AECP has made me realize that I find so much joy in teaching others! It has also been a wonderful source of new friendships– the Altenew family, the Educator’s group, the students I teach locally, and my online friends from all over the world. Through this program, I’ve been inspired countless times by the creativity of the participants and the generosity of the instructors in sharing their knowledge. I truly believe that crafters are the most generous people on earth!!! 🙂

“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” Eleanor Roosevelt

I love the theme for this blog hop. I treasure the new friends that I’ve made thru AECP and look forward to meeting more people through this wonderful crafting community. My lifelong friends are kind, sincere and most importantly, genuine people. I’ve learned so many life lessons through their experiences and always find comfort and support in their presence.

For this blog hop, I was so inspired to create backgrounds using distress oxide inks and Altenew watercolor brush markers. I suggest you make several backgrounds using the same coloring mediums. Just change the color combination. It’s best to choose analogous colors or colors next to each other on the color wheel. But if you want high contrast, then choose complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the color wheel). Just take note that if these colors mix, you will end up with “mud” which I also love. Below are some of the cards I made for friends and loved ones.

EVERYTHING WILL BE OK  CARD

MATERIALS:

I wanted this card to look like an abstract painting. Arches watercolor paper was cut to 5.5” x 4”. Distress oxide Candied Apple, Ripe Persimmon and Fossilized Amber inks were pressed onto a craft mat and water was spritzed for the colors to react. The paper was then dabbed onto the colors then dried. I went back to add cool colors but making sure that the first layer of colors was dry before adding the next.

The flower image from the Dotted Blooms stamp set was stamped using Versamark Ink then heat embossed using Rose Gold embossing powder. Notice that I used the other second layers of the stamps separately thus creating more flowers that I can paint and use on my card.  The sentiment was stamped on watercolor paper then distress oxide pistachio was added heavily at the bottom of the strip then blended upwards to create an ombre effect. One of the main flower images was mounted using foam tape to add dimension. The sides of the card panel was distressed using the Tonic paper distresser.

WISHING YOU ALL THE JOY YOUR HEART CAN HOLD HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARD

MATERIALS:

I stamped the image from the Geometric Landscape using Versa Mark onto a 5″ x 5.5″ watercolor paper and heat embossed using Altenew pure white crisp embossing powder. Using the wet on wet technique, I colored in the shapes using  Lagoon, Turquoise, Sweet Leaf, Persian Blue and Mountain Mist watercolor brush markers. The edges were distressed using Tim Holtz paper distresser.  Velum sheet was torn to create a frame and the sentiment from  Sincere greetings sentiment was stamped using Versamark and embossed using Rose gold embossing powder.  I chose vellum as a frame/mat for the sentiment so that the background can still be seen.

I painted a light wash using the same colors I used for the background and sprinkled salt to create these wonderful “blooms” and used the 3D dies to create the flowers and vines of the leaves. The leaves remained white so that the flowers will stand out more.  The die cuts were arranged in one corner and adhered using glue and foam squares. The whole panel was adhered to a top folding Neenah Solar white CS with foam tape for added dimension.

YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK CARD

MATERIALS:

I wanted to make a card that has a lot of white space this time. Neenah Solar White CS was cut down to 4.25” x 11” and scored at 5.5” to create a top-folding card. The Beveled Square stencil was placed on top of the card front and Altenew embossing paste was spread using a spatula.  While allowing it to dry,  wet on wet technique was used to add some color washes of blues and purples on watercolor paper. Salt was sprinkled while the paper was wet to create some effects.

The Rose Flurries 3D leaves and the Garden Picks 3D flowers and leaves were used to die cut the watercolor papers. A strip was also colored and the sentiment from the Delicate Flower Bed stamp set was embossed using Versamark Ink and Altenew Pure White Crisp embossing powder. The flowers and leaves were assembled and adhered with glue and foam squares.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT CARD

MATERIALS:

I just love the Teal Shadow Washi Tape because you already have watercolored flowers and leaves instantly!!! <3 This card was pretty simple to create.  Fabriano watercolor paper was cut down to 5.5” x 4.25”. With a blending tool, the background was colored using Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Abandoned Coral.  Water was sprayed to create droplets. The Watercolor Stripes cover die was used to cut out the stripes from Neenah Solar White CS.  I stuck the beautiful Teal shadow washi tape on white CS as well then fussy cut the images.  (this washi tape comes with a coordinating die set) These images were then arranged on the left side of a side folding card and adhered using Glossy accents.

Different thickness of foam tape was also used to create dimension. The sentiment from the Handpicked Bouquet was stamped using Versamark Ink then embossed using Altenew pure white crisp embossing powder. Tuck in the sentiment strip under the leaves for added interest.

SENDING LOVE AND HUGS CARD

MATERIALS:

Feeling Dotty stencil was placed on the watercolor paper and Versamark Ink was added to certain areas then embossed with clear embossing powder. Next,  Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide inks were added to the watercolor paper using a distress tool.  Versamark Ink was again added to certain areas of the watercolor paper using the Feathered Leaves and Beveled Square Stencils then heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  Just make sure that the first layer of inks is completely dry. It helps to use an antistatic tool before applying the Versamark ink over the stencils. Water droplets were also added to create more contrast. Lastly, Wilted Violet was added on top revealing the stencil patterns using the emboss resist technique. 

The intricate Altenew Flora Frame Die was die cut 4 times then adhered on top of each other.  This was then pasted on vellum sheet to make it more sturdy. The vellum was cut out to follow the shape of the heart using scissors. The sentiment from the Adore You stamp set was stamped on black cardstock using Versamark Ink then heat embossed using  Pure White Embossing Powder.  The edges of the card front were distressed using the Tonic paper distresser then mounted on a top folding A2 card with foam sheet.

I APPRECIATE YOU AND I’M HERE FOR YOU CARDS

MATERIALS:

I’ve been seeing layouts and card designs with watercolor drippings and have been inspired by Erum Tasnim and May Sukyong Park’s beautiful cards so I thought of trying out the technique.

I started out by choosing 3 colors that will blend well together.  I don’t mind seeing touches of “mud”. This happens when 2 complimentary colors mix.  In fact, for the cool colored card, I purposely mixed blue and orange to get a brownish color to add to the mix.  The 3 Distress Ink Pads were directly swiped onto the watercolor paper.  The colors were sprayed with water and allowed to drip. The paper was held perpendicularly to the table and a watercolor brush was used to help move the pigments downwards. When this was dry, flower and leaf images from the Adore You stamp set were stamped on watercolor paper and embossed using Pure White Embossing powder. The coordinating die cuts were used to cut out the stamped images. The flowers and leaves were arranged temporarily so that I could color them according to the color drippings. Salt was added while the images were wet for added texture.

The images were then adhered using glue or foam squares. The sentiment was stamped using Versamark Ink and embossed using Pure White Embossing powder.  Clear Round Drop embellishments were added to the cool colored card while staples and thread were added to the sentiment for the warm colored card to finish them off. These were then adhered to A2 top and side folding cardstocks.

WISHING THE BEST FOR YOU CARD

MATERIALS:

This is another quick and easy card to create.  I first created a background. This stamp set is so dainty and soft so I wanted to create a card that represents this stamp set. The images were stamped to cover the entire cardstock. For the shadow stamp, Limestone dye ink was used to keep it soft. The Mountain Mist and Volcano Lake were layered using the leaves and stem stamp sets then the Iceberg and Eastern Sky dye inks were used for the flowers.

The letters Y, O and U from the Caps Bold Alpha was used to die cut the word on the lower right side of the card. Additional letters were die cut on plain CS and layered to add dimension. The sentiment from the You Are stamp set was stamped on black cardstock using Versamark ink then heat embossed using Pure White Crisp embossing powder.  The strip was adhered on to the YOU using foam squares. Paper distresser was used on all sides of the panel and this was then glued onto a top folding A2 card base. 

DISCOUNTS AND PRIZES

To celebrate this blog hop and to encourage more people to join, Altenew is giving away 20% discount on the following bundles from 7/19 – 7/21: LEVEL 1 CLASS BUNDLE and LEVEL 2 CLASS BUNDLE. This is your chance to take advantage of this great deal!!

Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Blog by 7/26/2019 for a chance to win.
We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 7/30/2019.

In case you are lost, here is the HOP ORDER:

If you liked these cards, I would appreciate it if you can subscribe to my blog and follow me on Instagram @mylittleatticstudio. <3 Do leave a comment below and get a chance to win some giveaway prizes!

Next stop is the talented Vicki Finger! Thanks again for dropping by! ❤️

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST

Altenew June 2019 Stand-alone Die Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Nenette Madero Attic News , , , , , , , 135 Comments

Hello everyone!!! I’m so thrilled to be a part of Altenew’s June 2019 Stand-alone Die Release Blog Hop. It is an honor to be joining this talented group of cardmakers. (Some have been my idols for years!!! ) You have just come from the talented Kathleen Graumüller’s blog post. In case you are lost, below is the entire list of the designers and guests who are joining the hop today. Make sure you drop by and be inspired by the creativity of all these wonderful ladies and gentleman. <3

Altenew has been on top of my list of favorites because of their beautifully designed stamps and dies. Take a look at these gorgeous June 2019 Stand Alone Dies!!!

COLOR WHEEL DIE
DAINTY BLOOMS COVER DIE
DELICATE MANDALA DIE
STAR FLOWER POP UP DIE SET
VIRGINIA ROSE 3D DIE
LAYERED STARS DIE SET
NESTING LABELS DIE SET

HELLO CARD

Lets get started with the projects. Who among you have watched Aladdin?!?! I just love all the vibrant and colorful costumes!!! The inspiration for this card definitely came from one of the dresses of Princess Jasmine. 🙂

STAR FLOWER POP UP DIE SET

The Star Flower Pop Up die set allows the petals of the flowers and leaves to pop up! How amazing is that?!?! 🙂

MATERIALS:

For this card, I decided to die cut 2 layers of different colored cardstocks simultaneously using the flower dies. The left and bottom edges of both cardstocks were lined up and post it tape was used to hold them together so that they won’t move when I ran them through the die cutting machine. This will allow both die cut images to line up. Sometimes, the cut does not go through the 2nd paper but there will be an indentation of the die so you’ll know exactly where to reposition it. 3 flowers were die cut on the hot pink and orange cardstocks. The petals were then lifted to reveal both colored cardstocks. The leaves from the Rose Flurries 3D dies were die cut using the blue colored cardstock. 2 layers of hot pink and 1 layer of blue were used to die cut the Fancy Hello die and these were glued on top of each other to create dimension. The blue die cut was intentionally adhered slightly off to add a shadow effect. Leaves from the Rose Flurries 3D die Set were added to finish the card.

U ARE SO IMPORTANT TO ME CARD

For the next card, I used the Delicate Mandala Die. Isn’t this die simply gorgeous?!?! The details are so intricate and just beautiful!! For this card, I wanted it to be clean and simple so that the background die will stand out.

MATERIALS:

The wet on wet technique (wet the paper then apply watercolor)  was used on watercolor paper with the following colors: Sea Breeze and  Midnight Violet from the Spring Garden Set, Lagoon, Emerald and Prersian Blue from the Winter Wonderland set and Turquoise from the Tropical Fiesta set. While the watercolor paper was still wet, I sprinkled salt and allowed it to dry.  The salt absorbed some of the inks and created a subtle mottled look.

I adhered vellum onto another piece of vellum to make it sturdier. Using the same watercolors, I painted and added splatters to the vellum to add some color. After this dried, the Mega U alpha die was used to die cut the letter U.

White cardstock was folded to create a top folding card. Circle die was used to cut out the circle for the card base.  I made sure to do partial die cutting on the top of the card to create the hinge flap.

The Delicate Mandala die was die cut 4 more times on white cardstock and adhered on top of each other with glue. The colored mandala was then glued onto the stack to create dimension.  This was then glued to the front of the card base. The sentiment was stamped on black cardstock using Versamark ink then embossed with Altenew’s Pure White Crisp embossing powder. Foam tape was used to adhere the sentiment to add more dimension.

ONE DAY AT A TIME CARD

The Dainty Blooms Cover Die is another beautiful cover die from Altenew.  When I saw this die, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

DAINTY BLOOMS COVER DIE

MATERIALS:

4 sheets of Neenah Solar White Cardstock were die cut using the Dainty Blooms Cover Die and adhered on top of each other to create dimension.
The surface of the watercolor paper was wet with water and then watered down cool colors of watercolor inks (blues and greens) were randomly applied on the surface. Same procedure was done with the warm colors. When both papers were dry, the Dainty Blooms Cover Die was used to die cut the watercolored sheets. The entire die cut parts were carefully picked up using the Press’n Seal. This way, it was much easier to adhere the tiny pieces to the proper slots like a jigsaw puzzle.

The stacked up white outline of the die was adhered to a  4.25” x 5.5” white cardstock. The flowers were identified and glue was applied to that areas of the flowers only. The orange set of die cut was aligned over the mounted white die cut and a spoon burnishing tool was used to push the petals to adhere to the base paper. Adhesive was added to the remaining white areas and the blue/green die cut pieces were adhered using the same method. Pencil markings were added to emphasize the centers of the flowers.

I love the sentiment from the One Day At a Time Stamp set and embossed this onto vellum using Versamark embossing ink and Altenew Rose Gold Crisp Embossing Powder. (You should know by now that this is my all time favorite gold embossing powder 🙂 )The Tim Holtz paper distresser was used to add some texture to the edges of the vellum. This was then wrapped around the die cut cover panel and was glued down onto an A2 side folding card base.

THANK YOU CARD

I love it when I can make multiple cards using the scraps of another card. Here’s another simple way to use the positive die cut of the Dainty Blooms Cover Die.

MATERIALS:

The Dainty Blooms Cover Die was used to die cut 4 sheets of Neenah Solar White CS. These were adhered together using adhesive. The positive watercolored die cut from the other card was then pasted onto the white layered die cuts then glued on to a woodgrain patterned paper from the Essential Rock Collection paper pack. The diamond frame from the Geo Frames Stamp set was embossed using Versamark Ink and Rose Gold Embossing Powder. This will serve to ground the die cut sentiment. The frame was die cut and glued to the front panel. 4 sheets of white CS and a coordinating patterned paper from the Alluring Blooms Paper Pack were then die cut using the Thank You Die and then adhered on top of each other. This was then glued onto the frame to finish the card.

ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU CARD

VIRGINIA ROSE 3D DIE

For this card, I wanted it to be clean, delicate and simple so I chose to use only the small 3D rose and some foliage from the Virginia Rose 3D die set. The Layering Guide for the die set can be found below.

VIRGINIA ROSE 3D DIE SET LAYERING GUIDE

MATERIALS:

The small set of Virginia roses were die cut using Neenah Solar white cardstock then colored with Iceberg, Eastern Sky and Ultramarine crisp dye inks from the Lapiz Lazuli set with the use of a blender brush.  I found it best to keep the die cut pieces in place when coloring with the blender brush making it easier to add color especially to the delicate parts of the die cut.

The “water” in the vase was colored using Faber Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils then the vellum was bent to mimic the shape of a real vase. Only the left and right edges of the vase were glued down to make it look like it’s a 3D vase. A slit was cut on top so that I could insert the stems into the vase.

The flowers and foliage were then arranged. I enjoyed this part cause it felt like I was arranging a real floral arrangement! I purposely did not glue down the tips of the flowers and leaves to give it a more natural and organic look. Black splatters were added to finish the card.

~PRIZES~

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog by 6/24/2019 for a chance to win. Altenew will also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 6/27/2019. In addition to this, My Little Attic will raffle off an Altenew gift pack to Philippine residents who post a comment on my blog. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed reading through this blog post and that you are now more inspired to use these wonderful Altenew June Release Stand-Alone Dies. Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a gift certificate and a gift pack from MLA! I would love to hear back from you so please find time to say hi. 🙂 Next up is the talented Jeanne Jachna. Make sure to check out her blog to get some inspiration!!! Till my next post. Thank you for dropping by!!! <3

My Little Attic’s 1st Altenew Workshop

Nenette Madero Attic News , , , , , , 6 Comments
My Little Attic’s 1st Altenew Workshop

Hi everyone! It has been a while since I’ve posted! The past month has been very busy preparing card kits for the participants. A total of 8 projects were prepared and we had to finish them within 4 hours. I think some of the participants were a little stressed out! 🙂 Below are the cards/tag that they made.

Wonderland Stamp Set and Winter Wonderland Watercolor Brush markers

For the first card, the participants got to try out their own Wonderland stamp set and did stamping, embossing and die cutting of the flowers on watercolor paper. After that, they colored the petals using wet on wet technique and added some salt for more texture. The background was colored using distress oxide inks and splattered with water droplets.

Sweet Peas Stamp set

The next card was made using the Sweet Peas stamp set. This time, the participants got to use their masks to create shadows of the flowers. They used Zig clear color real brush pens to color in the petals. For this card, I used Altenew dye inks and was careful not to add too much water.

Altenew Woodland Stamp and Mega Alphabet die

This card was made using the Woodland stamp and the coordinating masks. I just love how thin the masks are and how easy it is to create layering. Only the die cut letter was colored to make it pop out.

Altenew Build a flower: Peruvian Lily Stamp set and Hibiscus Garden 3D die for foliage

For the next card, I got inspiration from Jennifer Mcguire’s see through card but instead of doing the whole front, only half the card was see through 🙂 I love how these Peruvian Lily layers are so easy to line up. The students learned how to use the press and seal to pick up all the elements together while maintaining the positions. It’s a technique that will definitely be very useful in future cardmaking projects.

Altenew Needlework Motif Stamp and die set; Halftone die

This card was pretty straight forward. All they had to do was color in the images and sentiment strip, stick together the images to create a thicker chipboard-like image and assemble the card.

Altenew Celebrations Stamp and die set; Altenew stencils, Watercolor brush pens

Another card inspired by Jennifer 🙂 This is a peek-a-boo card wherein the image changes as you open the card. All images are from the Celebrations stamp set. It is a bit tricky to assemble the card but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. The important thing is to make sure the windows line up when you die cut the circles.

Altenew Monochrome washi tape; Rose gold embossing powder; Thanks die

This card was so simple to make but the outcome was elegant. Washi tape was stuck to Neenah Solar white cardstock and the flower and leaves images were fussy cut. They were then adhered using foam tape. The thanks die cut was again layered and the lower part was heat embossed using my all time favorite gold embossing powder from Altenew– rose gold.

Altenew Wild Rose 3D die; Caps bold alpha die

The last project was a tag using the Wild Rose 3D die. The separate petals were colored using monochromatic colors of Zig markers while the 2 center pieces were colored in using contrasting colors.

The class ended with some shopping and merienda. It was so nice to see everyone having an enjoyable time learning, getting to know new crafty friends and having fun creating cards. I look forward to seeing you again for the next Altenew workshop. Stay tuned! <3