I had so much fun with Altenew's class Celebrations; Stencil Techniques that I wanted to share more ideas with you on how to make Greeting Cards with Stencils. The article is quite long but I think you'll find that there are a lot of really cool techniques to try.
Make Magic with Stencils and Embossing Paste
If you haven't tried using embossing paste with stencils you don't know what you've been missing. We've got two examples to share with you.
Isn't this card magical? You can make it too!
We start the card by taping the stencil to an A2 size piece of white cardstock. Then we pick a couple of colors we want to “dye” our embossing paste with and smoosh them onto our media mat. All we need to do then is mix a bit of the white embossing paste with each of the inks, making sure to clean our knife between colors. Then the fun begins when we scoop up the paste and spread it over the stencil. This is where we can add each of the colors and blend them together. Before we finish we just need to make sure that we smooth the surface of the paste so that it is flat.
The magic happens when we remove the stencil to reveal the design we just created. Awesome! Hint: make sure to clean your stencil, tools, and mat right away before the paste sets up.
Next, we stamp the image in black to create a silhouette and we do this on white cardstock. Then we fussy cut it out.
In keeping with the magical theme, we use silver embossing powder for the sentiment after stamping it with watermark ink. We do this on white cardstock. To keep the cardstock from warping we heat up the heating tool for about twenty seconds before beginning to heat the powder. Once it is all melted and shiny then we use the same inks we used to color the embossing paste to blend over the sentiment.
How to Assemble the Magical Greeting Cards
To begin the assembly we attach the patterned paper to the card base. Next, we trim down the card panel using a die. Then to give the card some dimension we add a piece of foam sheet to the back of the card panel and then attach it to the card base centered on the patterned paper. And lastly, we use foam tape to attach the fairy and the sentiments to really make things pop.
Supplies:
The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
Cardstock: Card Base: e – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White; Neenah Classic Crest 80lb Solar White; Lavinia Dream-Scape Papers Colourburst Collection
Stamp; Lavinia Stamps Tree Goddess Luna; Trinity Stamps Magical Sentiments
Ink: Altenew Crisp Dye Inks: Persian Blue, Sweet Leaf; Hydrangea; Versamark Watermark Ink; Prism Shimmer Ink periwinkle, Arctic Mist, Mauve Moment
Embossing Powder: Hero Arts Silver
Stencil: Spellbinders Star Bright
Embossing Paste: Altenew
Blending Brushes: Gina K Designs
More Greeting Cards Using Embossing Paste
This card uses the same method for the embossing paste however, we leave the paste white for this one and then blend over the paste with color once it has set.
The images are stamped using waterproof ink and then colored using alcohol markers. Then, the sentiment is stamped using watermark ink and white embossing powder and then cut out to create a banner.
Assembly for the card is simple. We just reduce the size of the card panel by a 1/4″ on two sides and then attach it to the card base using runner adhesive. Then we use liquid glue to attach the fish and the manatee because of the dimension that the embossing paste gives. And to finish the card the sentiment is attached with foam tape.
Supplies:
The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
Cardstock: Card Base – Lawn Fawn Black Licorice; Card Panel – Neenah Classic Crest 80lb Solar White
Stamp; Hero Arts Manatee
Ink: Distress Oxide – Peacock Feathers, Weathered Wood, Milled Lavender, Lucky Clover, Tumbled Glass; Distress Ink: Squeezed Lemonade; Versamark Watermark Ink
Embossing Powder: Hero Arts White
Stencil: Altenew Tiny Bubbles
Embossing Paste: Altenew
Blending Brushes: Gina K Designs
Alcohol Markers: Copic
Using Stencils to Stamp
Using our stencils to stamp with is a novel way to get more out of our cardmaking stash.
This greeting card is made doing just that.
To make the card we begin with watercolor paper and the stencil of our choice. We just smoosh some of the ink that we're using onto our media mat and then pick it up with a wet brush and apply it to the back of the stencil. Once we've applied the color then we lay the stencil down on the watercolor paper, cover it with a piece of paper towel and gently rub it before lifting the stencil and let it dry.
We can add the sentiment once the ink is dry and we do so by stamping the sentiment directly onto the watercolor paper with watermark ink and then melting gold embossing powder to create a beautiful finish.
To finish the card we use a stitched die to trim the card panel and then use a unique patterned mirror cardstock to frame it.
Supplies:
The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
Cardstock: Canson Bristol; Tonic Studios Golden Satin
Stamp; Altenew Halftone Holidays
Ink: Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy, Rustic Wilderness
Die: Altenew Halftone Holidays; Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables; Waffle Flower A2 Layered
Stencil: Altenew Classic Pine
Embossing Powder: Hero Arts Gold
Watercoloring with Stencils
This technique is an alternative to the one that we just looked at. For it, we use the stencil as a stencil and watercolor it.
Let's begin by taping our stencil to a piece of watercolor paper and then smooshing the inks that we're going to use onto our media mat. A wet brush is used to pick up the color and then paint using the stencil to color with. We don't want the brush to be so wet that the color moves, as a result, we will have just enough to be able to paint with and we add the color in layers and letting one dry before adding the next.
We stamp the sentiment onto a scrap of white cardstock using coordinating ink and then we cut out the sentiment and the card panel using stitched dies.
Assembly is a breeze using a repositionable glue runner.
Supplies:
The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
Cardstock: Card base – Spellbinders Timber; Card panel – Canson Bristol;
Stamp: Altenew Birthday Greetings
Ink: Distress Ink – Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain, Rustic Wilderness; Altenew Crisp Dye Inks Expresso
Die: Gina K Designs Master Layouts 7
Stencil: Altenew Classic Pine
Embossing Powder: Hero Arts Gold
Overlay
We can produce some really unique effects using stencils as stamps first and then overlay using them as intended. These are the same techniques that were explained earlier so they won't be repeated here, however it is important to note that the stencil is used with ink blending and the sentiment is stamped directly onto the watercolor paper.
Supplies:
The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.
Cardstock: card base – Paper Studio; card panel – Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper
Stamp: Gina K Designs Assorted Greetings; inside – Sunny Studio Inside Greetings – Sympathy
Ink: Altenew Crisp Dye Inks – Midnight Violet, Warm Sunshine, Peach Perfect, Frayed Leaf, Ocean Waves; Altenew Pigment Ink Obsidian
Die: Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables
Stencil: Brutus Monroe Mixed Media Stencil Arbus
Looking for Additional inspiration for Creating Greeting Cards With Stencils?
Check out How To Make Die Cutting DIY Greeting Cards
Want to Remember this? Post this Wowzer How To's for Making Greeting Cards with Stencils article to your favorite Pinterest Board!
