Altenew Educators "Style it with Stencils" Blog Hop and Linky Party + Giveaway

Today I am very excited to be part of another Altenew Educator Blog Hop and Linky Party - if you have come from Teri's fantastic blog you are on the right track. 

Welcome to Mes cartes à moi, my blog - I hope you will stay a while and have a look around before hopping on!

Using color pencils with stencils might not be the first thing that comes into mind but this medium gives a fun hand drawn effect that is not difficult to achieve, let's dive right in!

For my first card I used the Layered Dahlia stencils A and B on Pale Gray card stock, this card stock has a little bit of tooth which makes it perfect for color pencils.

I basically scribbled Prisma Color (use any kind of color pencils you have) pencils through the openings in the stencil, layering colors through the two stencils. My first try was a bit pale so I went in again adding more pressure on the pencil to get a deeper color, it was very easy to align the stencil and no problem with the stencil slipping like you might have with a wet medium.

For my sentiment I stamped "you're so special" from Delicate Clusters stamp set, in the very light Silver Gray ink and traced the stamping in green pencil.

The card was mounted on  a hot pink card stock that matched my colors. 

Here is another example using Rose Bouquet stencil. For this card I scribbled the roses in three shades of pink and red pencil and added the outline with a heavier hand. I also lightly covered the inside area of the flowers in the same shade. The leaves where done in teal and green and I added dots to fill out the design. The birthday greeting from Floral Frame stamp set was stamped in pale gray ink and traced using the same pencil colors.

Next I wanted to use a stencil in a very different way so I decided to go for the Trellis stencil which is a beautiful background stencil that can be used in many ways.

I wanted to try something new so I used color pencils to scribble a kind of "flower" shape into the lower corner of each square of this stencil. I used bright yellows, oranges and pinks onto white water color card stock to do this and I absolutely love the result!

To finish the card I cut the panel slightly smaller than A2 and mounted on a red card base, then cut "hi" using the Bold Alphabet Die Set out of mirror silver card stock that I glued towards the bottom. 

I often make cards with no, or just a generic, sentiment so that I can use the card for any occasion.

Then I made a black version and made my "flower" markings in an approximate rainbow order onto some very basic black paper that I found in my stash.

This was mounted on a bright yellow card base and hi die cut from silver mirror card stock was glued in the bottom right hand corner. This scribbling technique is very quick and satisfying to do - you see the pattern come to life! 

Here is a card using the Trellis Stencil in a perhaps more usual way, I love the versatility of Altenew stencils!

I sponged Mango Smoothie Ink onto a square card base, then I looked through my stash of pre stamped and die cut flowers and found two lovely daisies from Beloved Daisies stamp set and a bird from Birds of a Feather, mounted this with glue and a bit of foam tape for the bird. Then I stamped the sweet sentiment also from Birds of a Feather Stamp Set in Charcoal Suit Ink.

TIP: Whenever I stamp layered images from Altenew I always make multiples that I keep in a bowl on my desk, then when I need a card I use a stencil for a speedy background and just add what I find in the bowl - a very easy way to make a quick card!

For my next set of cards I used the Grid stencil with Altenew Crisp Inks and finger daubers. For this technique I masked off a square area of 8x8 squares using masking tape. Then I positioned the stencil so that my masked off square would be centered towards the top of my card base (my white card bases are always Neenah 120 lb). 

Using Altenew Crisp Dye Inks and a finger dauber I sponged the four inks through the holes in the stencil. I tried to achieve a gradation of lighter at the top and bottom and darkest in the middle but it does certainly not need to be perfect! I used the lightest color which is Dew Drops towards the top and the bottom and then Aqualicious, Teal Cave and in the middle row Galactic Stream which is the darkest ink in the Sweet Dreams color family. 

To finish the card I die cut the word from gold mirror card stock, then stamped and gold embossed "a warm". Both from Halftone Hello stamp and die set.

Then I made a couple of Christmas cards using the same technique and different colors of ink.

For this card I used the inks from the Tea Party Collection; Pink Pearl in the middle, then in concentric circles towards the edges; Coral Bliss, Heart Beat and Vineyard Berry. I then stamped and gold embossed the heart from Rain or Shine and the sentiment from Festive Foliage.

The last card uses a bright green and red color combo.

The grid is larger on this card, I masked off a rectangle 8x10 squares and sponged the four inks from the Tropical Forest family; Bamboo, Parrot, Olive and Moss. Then I die cut the word "happy" - the set is called Halftone Happy - from red mirror card stock and heat embossed holidays in gold - because I could not find my red embossing powder!!! 

Now for the blog hop! 

There are many ways to win:

Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by September 19, 2020for a chance to win!

We'll also draw a winner to receive a $15 Altenew 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 Winners Page on September 22, 2020.

💖 So please let me know in the comments below what you think of these cards and techniques, I would love to read your thoughts.

There is MORE! We will pick 2 of our favorite handmade creations from those who joined the Linky Party and they will each receive a $15 Altenew gift certificate!

Now please hop along to Rachael for some more inspiration, personally I cannot wait to see what she has come up with!

If you get lost on the way, here is the complete list of participating blogs, please leave some love for my fellow Altenew Educators, this is a talented lot!

Altenew Card Blog

Amber Rain Davis

Neha Aggarwal

Nicole Watt

Erin Thompson

Teri Wilson

Helen Kalb - 💖 you are here!

Rachael Shedeed

Terri Marie Koszler

Amy Hill

Nandini Karmakar

Maryam Shrarar

Nenette S. Madero

Irinia Fonina

Vicki Finger

Virginia Lu

I hope to see you again soon!

hugs,

Helen

PS Please note that while I provide links to the Altenew shop for all the products used, I am not an affiliate. The links are purely for your service.