Living an Inspired Life: September 2020

Sep 24, 2020

HELLO PUMPKIN SPICE & EVERYTHING NICE - Simple Stories

Hello Simple Stories friends!

Nathalie with you today just in time to welcome Fall. It is probably my favorite time of the year, as nature puts on a show and the weather is just perfect for cozy times at home and walks around our neighbourhood. Imagine my excitement, when the new COZY DAYS collection arrived at my door. I quickly pulled it out to create a layout that is all the season and my little pumpkin.

All the colors and designs in the collection are just perfect. I wanted them to stand out, so i quickly pull the Sn@P Basic Walnut/Dot paper for the background - the dark woodgrain paper makes all the details stand out. I added a bit of interest to the background using the stencil and a bit of white art crayon ( the fallen leaves look like a soft shadow in the page). Since i had picture of my little one holding her pumpkin, i decided to bring the pumpkins to the page. For this, i pulled two cut files from Handipaper and cut the images from white cardstock.

I backed each of the pumpkins with papers from the Cozy Days collection. The 6x8 paper pad is perfect to add the color to each image. However, i also brought a sheet of sn@p Color Vibe Fall - Mustard- to back a few of the pumpkins.

My idea was for the layout design was to have a cascade of pumpkins coming off the chipboard frame -the chipboard frames in this collection are amazing-. Once i secured the frame in place, i backed the picture with a 3x4 card and then just started layering the pumpkins behind the picture, as if they were tumbling from behind the picture.

All the pumpkins are already bringing so much interest to the background, that all i needed was a few embellishments - and with so many to choose from- to complete the page. Though i loved the small sentiment in the chipboard frame, I wanted to add more textural title. I just mixed some of the foam stickers and that cute chipboard sticker to complete my title.

I just love how easily this page came together. All the cute pumpkins are the perfect complement to my lil' pumpkin. I can only imagine all the stories you are going to document with the new Simple Stories COZY DAYS collection.

Sep 22, 2020

Altenew Paint-A-Flower: Carnations Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi there!

Welcome to Altenew's Paint-A-Flower: Carnations Release Blog Hop + Giveaway. You are arriving from Jenny Colacicco's blog - a list of all the participants is available at the bottom of this post for your convenience-

Today we are welcoming a new Paint-A-Flower release. This month's PAF: CARNATIONS is a gorgeous. The design is detailed and intrinsic, but easy to color with your favorite mediums. I just love the movement of the flowers, so I set to create a page on my journal for today's post:

I started by stamping the PAF: CARNATIONS with Obsidian ink to heavy mixed media paper, and used Altenew's Watercolor pan set to detail the images. To finish the background, I added a few splatters of green watercolor and set it aside to dry.

To create my title card, I once again used repeated the same process as in the page background. However this time I added a bit more pigment to the images. I stamped one of the sentiments -from the stamp set- trim the strip and added it to the card with foam adhesive.

To finish the page, I used the negative space the stamped images formed to add my lines of journal and then added a simple title using the Bergenia Builder Stamp set.

Just love how versatile the new PAF: CARNATIONS is, and all the possibilities of the design! Remember to secure your monthly Paint-a-Flower subscription. Just follow the promotion below to have the stamp delivered at your doorstep -each month- at a lower price when you subscribe:

Paint-A-Flower Monthly Subscription Plan https://altenew.com/products/paint-a-flower-monthly-subscription

This is a monthly subscription plan for our Paint-A-Flower. When signed up, you are guaranteed a spot in our monthly Paint-A-Flower releases and will receive a set each month - at a specially discounted price! ($15.99 →$12.99)

Of course no blog hop is complete without a GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 9/27/2020 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 Winners Page on 09/30/2020.

Good Luck everyone!

Now it is time to continue being inspired, your next stop is Kelly Latevola. Remember you can always return to the Altenew Card Blog to start the hop. Here is a list of all of today's participants, for your convenience:

Nathalie DeSousa << YOU ARE HERE

Thanks for stopping by. Have fun hopping around!

Sep 18, 2020

Altenew Geometry & Nature Stencils Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

HI there!

Welcome to Altenew's Geometry & Nature Stencils Release Blog Hop + Giveaway. You are arriving from Vicki Papaioannou's blog. A list of all the blog hop participants is available at the bottom of this post for your convenience.

Today, Altenew is releasing a new set of stencils that are sure to stretch your imagination when paper crafting. Regardless of the format you work with, stencils are versatile pieces that can convert your projects easily. And this new set is amazing. Let me show you what i have created:

The new Leaf Bed stencil is probably one of my favorites from this release. I chose to use it to add texture to the background of this card. A bit of Embossing paste and a palette knife is all that i needed to create the texture in the card panel.

To make sure the background shines, i kept the rest of the card pretty simple. Two flowers created with the Beauty Within stamp, die, and Easy coloring stencil along with a few die cuts from the Hanging Garden die set provide the focus point. The simple embossed sentiment comes from the Simply The Best Stamp Set.

For my next card, i wanted something a bit more masculine using the new LEAF DROPS stencil. I started by adding a bit of Sea Breeze ink to heavy cardstock, once it dried, i mixed a bit of cracking paste with gold paste and passed the mixture through the stencil and set it aside to dry.

Using the Halftone Heart Die set, i cut two hearts from the pre made paper. To bring the gold of the paste forward, I chose a navy dotted cardstock. I added a piece of vellum and then used foam adhesive to attach the hearts to the card. Once again, I used the Simply The Best Stamps set to add my sentiment and a few Satin Gold sequin to add a touch of shimmer to the card.

And, now onto my truest love, documenting...

Let's start with the new MIGHTY CORNERS stencil. I love the triangular shape of the stencil, as it forms guiding lines on my page. This time, i pulled inks from different Altenew mini cube sets, and carefully masked the stencil so i can color each line a different color.

The lines of the stencil are doing lots of the work. So, all i need to add was my picture a few phrase stickers, a simple title and a few stamped sentiments ( Everything Orange Stamp set).

As soon as i saw the new SPHERE STENCIL, all i could think was of the sun...and since i had this picture of my kids sleeping on my daughter's bunk bed, right away i thought of morning. First, i used a piece of one of the Celebrate collection's paper to back the picture so that it fits in the album.

I used the Cloud Scene Stencil, Sea Shore Mini Ink cube set and an ink blending tool to create the clouds for the page. To add some interest to the page, i used yellow texture paste and a stencil brush to stipple the paste through the stencil, that gives the sun a bit of texture.

Once the paste dried, i used the Shine Like A Diamond Stamp set to create my title, and then added a small sentiment to the bottom of the journal lines.

For my last project, i decided to combine stencils and colors for a new page on my journal. I started by creating the background using the new COLOR BLOCK TRIANGLES stencil, an ink blending tool, and Sea Shore and Shades of Purple mini ink cube sets. I used painter's tape to help me mask the stencil and create the ombre effect of the triangles.

While the ink set, i used the new STRIPE BUILDER stencil to color a piece of white cardstock and then used the Bold Alpha die set to cut the word "Play" for my title. I mixed a few chipboard alpha from the Enjoy The Ride scrapbook collection. A few embellishments complete the page.

I hope these have inspired you to check all the new stencil and use them in your next project. Remember to take advantage of this weekend's promotion...

To celebrate this release, we are offering a free gift for a limited time.

Receive a FREE Gift (worth $5,99, brand new Geometry & Nature Stencil Release Inspiration Guide) with every order of the Geometry & Nature Stencil Release Bundle from 9/18/2020 at 12:01 am EDT until 9/20/2020 at 11:59 pm EDT. Shop here → https://altenew.com/products/geometry-nature-stencil-release-bundle The free gift will be added to cart automatically while supplies last.

As always, no celebration is complete without prizes!

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 09/23/2020 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 Winners Page on 09/26/2020.

Good Luck everyone!

Now it is time to continue the blog hop, you are off to visit Tenia Wilson's blog. Remember you can always visit the Altenew card blog to start the hop. A list of all the participants is available for your convenience...

Altenew Card Blog

Therese Calvird

Laura Bassen

Amber Rain Davis
Victoria Calvin

Nathalie DeSousa <<< YOU ARE HERE

Sep 10, 2020

Altenew Beauty of the Season Stamps/Dies/Stencils/Embossing Folders Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hi there!

Welcome to Altenew Beauty of the Season Stamps/Dies/Stencils/Embossing Folders Release Blog Hop + Giveaway. You are arriving from Virginia's blog ( aren't her projects amazing). You can find a list of all the participants at the bottom of this post -for your convenience-.

Today, Altenew is releasing a new set of amazing products. There is so much variety in this release, but also a bit of Holiday cheer! It is always hard to choose favorites, each month the releases are better and better, but Fall happens to be a favorite time of the season... just saying! Let me show you what i have created...

The new Kind Reminders Stamp, Die and Simple Coloring Stencil is a must! We are all fans of Altenew's floral images, and these one is a beauty. The perfect size for cards, scrapbook layouts and Traveler's Notebooks.

The new Simple Coloring stencil are the easiest way to bring the flowers to live. This time, i used the Spring Bouquet ink set to details the flowers using the Ink Blending Tool, then used Mocha Ink to stamp the outline of the flowers. The sentiments of this stamp set are amazing, which made it easy to complete this page.

Let's continue with more memory keeping. This time, i used the new POSITIVE VIBES Stamp/Die set and Summer Afternoon, and Tropical Forest mini ink Cube sets to create my layout.

I used the outline image of the stamp to create a border around the page, and also the title card. I then accented the image of one of our family video chats with the complete colored image of the flower weaving through the pictures. Once again, i used the stamp sentiments to create the title of this spread!.

I did mentioned that Fall is my favorite season because of the weather, but also because I love my Gratitude Journal ( which launches along with Canada's Thanksgiving). So, when I saw the new AUTUMN BOUNTY Stamp Die Bundle and the GRAPE LEAVES Stamp Die Bundle, i knew they will be a great starting point for the title pages of my journals.

For the first cover, I used Antique Gold Embossing powder to create the leaf frame from the AUTUMN BOUNTY stamp set, and then colored the leaves with Metallic watercolor. This was attached with dimensional adhesive to the page, then i used the negative part of the die cut to add the title using the same stamp set. I will add more details later on, as i start filling my journal.

For my second title page cover, i used Altenew inks to stamp the GRAPE LEAVES images and cut them out using the GRAPE LEAVES die set. Instead of detailing the leaves with the stamp set, I cut metallic Rose gold and copper kraft paper using the GRAPE LEAVES Die Set. These were attached to the corners of the page, and i added a simple embossed sentiments, but i will most likely add a few more stickers and so on as i start working on my journals. Just love these, though!

For my last projects, i want to show you a few ideas that i have been playing with for my Christmas packaging ( cause let's face it there will be a lot of shipping happening as we will not be able to be together on Christmas).

I started with simple gift tags. The tag was created using the new HOLIDAY TAG DIE SET from white cardstock. Here i used the new HOLIDAY TAG SENTIMENTS Stamp set to add the Holly branches and sentiments. I kept the tag simple so my kids can reproduce the tags and have them ready for packing!

This tag is one that we will be using to decorate gifts that are going overseas (my whole family is back in my native Ecuador). For this, I used the HOLIDAY TAG Die Set to cut the tag from white cardstock, and then used the FESTIVE FLORAL FRAME Stamp set to add the floral details to the tag with Obsidian ink; then heat embossed ( red embossing powder) a sentiment from the HOLIDAY TAG SENTIMENTS Stamp set. Just love the simple tag as a decoration to the boxes, and it will be easy for my kids to mass produce about 30 of these.

This last tag is one will be using for all the presents going to our good friends and neighbours. This time, i cut the tag from black cardstock, and gold embossed a sentiment from the HOLIIDAY TAG SENTIMENTS on its center. I used the POINSETTIA 3D DIE Set to cut a part of the flower from Pink metallic kraft paper. I assembled the flower and then glued it to the bottom right corner of the tag. These tags are so easy to put together, that we will be having a craft night to have them ready before the season starts.

How fun are all these projects! So many beautiful products to choose from, I am sure you are going to have a hard time deciding on a new favorite. Remember to take advantage of Altenew's new promotion.

Here are THREE ways to get a FREEBIE to kickstart your creativity!
Get a FREE brand new Beauty of the Season Stamp & Die Release Inspiration Booklet (worth $5.99) with every order of high-value Summer Nights Release Bundles. Shop HERE! *Exclusions apply.
Get a FREE brand new Online Cardmaking Class with every order from the new Beauty of the Season Stamp & Die Release collection from 9/10/2020 through 9/13/2020. Shop HERE!
Get a FREE brand new Beauty of the Season Stamp & Die Release Mini Inspiration Booklet with every order from 9/10/2020 through 9/12/2020. Shop HERE!

Of course no celebration is complete without a GIVEAWAY

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 9/15/2020 for a chance to win.

Good luck everyone!

And now it is time to hop onto your next stop for more inspiration. You are off to visit the amazing Laura Jane's blog, Remember you can always return to the Altenew Card Blog to start the hop. Here is a list of all the participnats.

Nathalie DeSousa <<< YOU ARE HERE

LauraJane

Svitlana Shayevich

Vicky Papaioannou