Hola Friends! 

Well, I pulled out the big guns and went all out on this baby!  This is for my current course Let it Shine for my Journey to Certification for Altenew. It's definitely a labor of love and took me several hours to pull it off- to recreate it would take a quarter of the time now that it's all designed. Wanna know how I made this step by step?  I don't usually go into full detail but this one deserves the VIP treatment so today, I am including a step by step photo tutorial.  All I ask is that you comment and share this post with all your crafty friends.  Blogging can be a lonely world and takes me a lot of time to do because I am not the best with writing.  I sometimes wish I had an assistant to do all my social media stuff. 

This may look intimidating, I promise it's not once I break it all down.  Lots of shine and shimmer going on- so fun and Gorgeous! 

So there you have it, I hope you recreate a card making your own 3D shaped flowers and a Sparkly/Shine card. 

Thanks for stopping by, comments are uber cool, it lets me know I am inspiring YOU to create pretty things. 

​♥ Christine 

Hey Friends! 

Back with another card. Today is all about For the Guys!  Confession: I throw out the rules when it comes to making guy cards, they don't have to be trucks, atv's, etc. Guys enjoy flowers and nature too. For me its the color combos and the embellishments you use.  Keep it simple, the guys don't need all the extras. Some would say NO BOWS, I say phooey, bows done nicely will work. Speaking of that, I did a black twine bow and it looks awesome! Ha. 

Altenew Supplies: Stamp Leaf Canopy |  Black Permanent Ink | Altenew Reflections 6 x 6 Paper Pack 

Other Supplies: Clear Embossing Ink, Clearing Embossing Powder (for the outline of the Leaf Stem, Catherine Pooler Ink Mint to Be for the inside of the leaves, black twine, Gold and Black silk for the splatters & a few Gold sequins

Edited to add: Black Cardstock 4 1/4 x 11, scored at 5 1/2, 1/2 x 5 1/4 (two strips) ; White Cardstock 4 1/8 x 5 7/8; 4 x 5 1/4; and a scrap for the leaf twig; Patterned Paper 2 1/4 x 5 1/4

Stamp the leaf twig with Black ink, stamp again with Clear Ink using a stamp platform, Stamp inside of leaves with Mint ink, stamp again with Clear ink, Apply Clear Embossing Powder and heat set. TIP: I always heat from the back, it make a smooth finish. When you heat from the front at times particles may fly off  (well that's my experience). You also want to always warm up your heat gun prior to using. To give the card some interest, I used foam tape behind the black strips, the leaf spring and the sentiment. 

This completes another course for my Level one Journey to Certification--- 6 down 4 to go!  

Ta ta for now, please leave me a comment so I know you were here. Have a great day! 

Blessings. 

♥ Christine 

Hey Friends! 

Oh Mylanta!  I know right?  This card is amazeballs!  

Today's card is all about Easy Ink Blending, this completes another course for my Journey to Certification.  To create your background, use your ink pads and a dauber to create the exact color match you are wanting.  I started with an 80 pound piece of cardstock, I use Neenah as I am able to blend beautifully on it. 


​Altenew Supplies: Stamp Set Last Canopy | Inks Honey Drizzle and Permanent Black.

Other Supplies: Clear Embossing Ink, Clear Embossing Powder, Nuvo Crystal Drops Bright White, Clear Enamel gems, Black and Sparkle Silk, Black Satin Ribbon, Tim Holtz Distress tool and water to flick on the inked background (Dye Ink will react to water). 

Tips:

• Stamp leaves with Black Ink using a stamp platform. Repeat with Clear Embossing Ink and Clear Embossing Powder, this will give you amazing results every time. So Bold and pretty.
• When creating the background, Ink your dauber a little at a time - you can always add more layers until its pure perfection. Also, I always dab off on a piece of scrap paper and I work in light circular motions starting off the cardstock. 

As always, thanks for stopping by, please let me a comment (no lurking)- ha! 

Blessings, 

​♥ Christine

Hey Friends! 

Back today with another fun technique, Celebrations Stencil Techniques for my Journey to Certification. 

​After practicing, I ended  up with one background I could work with, probably because it was not new to me. Smiles. Sometimes you have to go with what you know and then perfect it from there. 

​I sure enjoyed trying several of the tips- I stamped a background using a stencil.  It reminded me of the backgrounds I can get from a Gel Press- not as drastic or effective without the cushion of a Gel Press. I also tried water-coloring a background using a stencil and some ink and water- not my favorite outcome, I would need some different stencils to pull it off.   

To create this inked background, I made my own stencil using the Cozy Flannel Die from Altenew.  I die-cut a stencil from an adhesive stencil sheet that I bought at my local craft store.  Wanna use what you have? You can use a thick cardstock (like 110 pound) - or a sheet of acetate works too to make a stencils with a cover die. **Note: Depending on the material you use, you will need to adjust how much ink you use and how heavy your hand is when daubing the ink.  

For my card, I applied Altenew Honey Drizzle Ink to a piece of Neenah 80 pound cardstock (I find the 80 pound blends better than the 110 pound), just like they shared in one of my sessions. For the flowers/leaves, I used Altenew inks Heart Beat and Firefly. The stamp was a freebie I received from Altenew called Billowing Blossoms. The sentiment is also from Altenew, called Beautiful Quotes. The twine and enamel dots were from my stash.  It hard to see in the photo but I did an acetate window to reveal the sentiment (first time doing this layout, so fun)! 

I hope this card puts a smile on your face like it does mine. Be sure to leave a comment, so I know you were here... it just take a minute. ​I can't want to have my friends over to make this card. ​

Blessings, 

♥ Christine 

Hey Friends! 
​
OH MY this card makes me SO happy.  Today is all about Clean & Simple.  If you've followed me for a long time you know this is where I hang out the most. Clean image, simple coloring , simple layout and just a touch of elements. You can never go wrong with a clean white background and a beautiful bow! 

This card completes my next step of my Journey to Certification with Altenew. Even though I  consider myself a great Clean & Simple cardmaker, I learned several tips from the instructor Jennifer Rasa. I can't wait to use them on my cards. 

Stamps: Altenew Peony Spray Inks: Altenew Permanent Black Markers: Copics Cardstock: Neenah Bow: My stash

Thanks for stopping by, leave me some love in the comments! 

Blessings, 

♥ Christine

Hey Friends! 

Back with my new Altenew Journey to Certification card.  Again, I used the Build-A Flower Hyacinth, it's my first layering set I bought.  Today my friend, Amber came over and brought me some stamps to borrow until I build my stash. I can't wait to ink them up.  Thanks Amber!

To make this card, I only used four ink pads. I used my Catherine Pooler (Tiki Torch, Orange Twist, Garden Party and Lime Rickey)- if you've never heard of or used Catherine Pooler inks, you are truly missing out. Die based inks, no blotching. The pads are juicy and foam- LOVE them!

The embossing folder I used is a free one that came with my Gemini Junior. I sponged Catherine Pooler Ink direct to paper, using Mint to be on Neenah While 110 pound cardstock. The sentiment was stamped with Altenew Permanent Black Ink (love it)! I finished the card with a twine bow and Nuvo Crystal Drops (Ivory Seashell). 

I hope this card makes you smile like it does me, I am so READY for Spring to come... Minnesota Winters are becoming longer and longer the older I get. Smiles.  

Thanks for visiting, be sure to say hi in the comments. 

Blessings, 

♥ Christine 

Hey Friends! 

I am so excited to share my first completed card for my Journey to Certification. It's all about layering. Using the awesome layering stamps from Altenew.  I definitely learned a few things from my first class. I absolutely LOVE this set called Build-A-Flower Hyacinth. 

To create this card I used two ink pads from Catherine Pooler Inks (I used Party Dress & Garden Party). As I applied each layer it over-stamped, creating a darker shade each time.

To finish the card, I splattered some Watercolor Ink using my Watercolor Brush Marker Rubellite and some Silver Silk (from my stash) & some Sequins (from my stash). Clean, Quick and Simple indeed... my favorite style of cards. Oh, I almost forget I used Nuvo Crystal Drops Ivory Seashell for the centers of the flowers. 

I hope you like my card and it inspires you to create. 

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment so I know you were here! 

Blessings, 

♥ Christine 

Hey friends! 

As you know, I was prepared to wait for months if needed but yesterday I received an email from Altenew that I have been ACCEPTED into the Altenew Educator Certification Program. What a pleasant surprise indeed. Last night, I purchased the classes I need for the Level 1 and Level 2 and started my journey ( a total of 20 classes, multiple sessions).

My first class is All About Layering... as you may know Altenew leads the industry with its layering stamps.  They are so detailed and beautiful. I am already practicing and the tips I've learned have really helped.  

My understanding is I will post my BEST card at the end of each class. I am through half of the first class, 5 sessions of 10.  I am not going to rush through these because I really want to take to my time to learn. 

I hope you will stop back periodically to see my progress. for now I am going to reserve my blog posts to my Journey to Certification.  I will post other fun things not related on my Instagram and Facebook page, so visit me there too. 

As always, I am so humbled by the out-pour of support from my crafty friends. Thank you all for being my cheerleader! 

Joy to all,

♥ Christine

Hello friends. 

I think God is telling me to rest, enjoy and be patient. He continues to pave my way! 

Today, I heard back from Altenew that my application was received. It states it will be reviewed in the next few months. This comes to no surprise to me. Who wouldn't want to work with them more closely? They are very popular and loved. I am guess they get thousands of applications.  So this leads me to coming up with plan B. 

Since I applied with Altenew, I discovered a designer who has rubber stamps with Unity also sells digital designs. OH MY GOODNESS, I am in love. Her floral's are  amazing and  her sentiments are out of this world. The messages and the fonts she uses are like nothing else I have come across. I am a HUGE fan!! Anyhow, I can't wait to show off my recent cards using Graciellie Designs both rubber stamps from Unity and her digital stamps she sells herself. Be stalking my Instagram in February. 

♥
Christine 

Hello crafty friends! 

As you may know, 2018 was the year of big changes for me. After 25 plus years I hung my coat up as a direct sales demonstrator and coach.  It's been very difficult to say the least. My identity was shaken a bit. I am still by no means healed from the disappointment (daily I work hard on finding myself again). For me the hardest blow was losing a team of coaches who became like family to me.  At one point we had a team of over 400 coaches, when the company closed I had 240 or so coaches still on our team.  The company I was with spiraled over a course of nearly two years.  While I knew teams and sales were shrinking, I was not prepared for the HUGE announcement that they would no longer continue on as direct sales company.  I held one of the highest titles, walked the stage for several accomplishments (not on my own successes, but the success of our team) and earned incentive trips. I never ONCE took for granted how truly I was blessed to be on one of the most loving and caring teams there was. Team Pen Pals shined. Fast forward to today and here I sit in my studio reflecting on what's next for me. 

Because I was in direct sales for so long and always loyal to the company I lost track of all the wonderful products out there. Who knew the advancements that took place?  I must admit I have admired a company Altenew for a very long time,  but felt if I stared too long I would feel guilty for cheating on my company. Ha. Altenew has everything I love-- all things flowers and all things to color. While I have enjoyed trying other products and techniques, I always fall back on where my heart truly lays, COLORING. Today, while browsing Altenew's website I stumbled across a program that allows you to become a certified educator.  Yes, I applied and hope to be accepted.  My education as a Copic Instructor and my many experiences on design teams would allow me to fit right in.  Please say a little prayer for me that I am accepted.  Anyhow, 

2019 looks to be promising for me and my craft.  

Blessings, Joy & Peace,

​Christine