Altenew Inspiration Challenge - September 2022

Hello everyone!

It is that time of the month again! I can’t believe we are almost done with September. Time really flies! Especially when you’re having fun!

Today, I am sharing a new card that is inspired by Altenew; It is their inspiration challenge for the month of September.

This is what Nathalie DeSousa gave us as an inspiration challenge an her card is on the right. If you would like to find out more about the challenge please click HERE.

And let me show you what I created

Supply list:

Altenew Garden Trellis Cover Die
Altenew Mix & Match Mariposa Die Set
Altenew Glitter C ardstock: Pink Brilliance & Forest Canopy
Altenew Dye Inks: Olive, Parrot, Rouge, Corral Bliss, Coral Berry & Pink Pearl
Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lbs cardstock
Bazzil Metallic Silver Cardstock

As usual, I made a slimline card. This really is my absolute favorite size and until they come up with another more fabulous size, I am sticking to this one! I first created a base and two panels, one from the regular cardstock and the other from the silver cardstock.

I used the silver cardstock for the “fence”

As you can see, the cover die that I used in my design is meant for A2 cards (4.25 x 5.5) but, I found a way to use it for bigger cards. The way to go is partial die cutting. This might sound as a complicated technique, but, trust me, it is super easy!

First, I simply aligned the die with the cardstock and put it through the die cutting machine making sure the top plate does not cover the bottom of the die (pic 2). Next, I lined up the die with the die cut pattern (pic 4) and die cut it again.

As you can see, I had no problem aligning the die and I got this beautiful and long design.

You can do this with most dies that have a repetitive pattern. And this is a wonderful way to, literally stretch your supplies.

Next, I did “direct to paper” technique and colored the leftover pieces of paper. I simply applied ink directly to paper purposefully leaving some white spots.

Next, I simply put the colored paper through the die cutting machine and I got bunch of colorful little squares that I used to create/complete the background.

I keep going back to the inspiration challenge image not just for reference, but also for an idea on how to arrange my little squares.

I just took the little pieces and simply glued them, or puzzled them in, mimicking the color scheme on the original image.

There really wasn’t any particular order to any of this. I just continued on adding the little colored squares until I was happy with the look.

After my background was done, I moved to creating embellishments.

A lot of people think that embellishments are most jewels and sequins that we add to our projects. If you are one of them, you are in for a big treat! Embellishing something truly just means decorating it; giving it some personality and making it unique or prettier. Like putting on makeup… And it can be anything you want it to be: die cut flowers, dry flowers, fabric, stickers, wax seals, buttons… or truly anything…

For my embellishments I decided to stay cohesive and I chose green and pink glitter paper from Altenew.

My original plan was to just go with fuchsia color but I realized that it’s missing something and I added green as well. And that was what was missing.

I then attached the panel to the base and added butterflies and the sentiment and the card was completed!