Cross Stitch Layering Flower

Cross Stitch Layering Flower

Thank you so much for stopping by to check out another layering post. These layering stamps by Altenew are gorgeous! I can’t get enough of them! Today, I wanted to share a simple card. Often, I have a lot of elements to the cards I make, but sometimes, you just want to have something simple and clean. This way, the cross stitch flower has a chance to shine!

I started with a heavyweight white cardstock of 110lbs for my card base. It is the standard 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches. Next, I glued a heavyweight black cardstock of 110lbs cut to 4 x 5 1/4 inches for my mat using Gina K Connect Glue. I really like the Gina K Connect Glue because it is strong and it allows me to reposition it for a few seconds. I set the card base to the side so I could complete my stamping.

For the cross stitch flower and stem, I used the Altenew Cross Stitch Layering Flower stamp set. I took a scrap piece of white 80lb cardstock and stamped the top, first layer using Altenew Pink Diamonds crisp dye ink. For the next layer, I used Altenew Pinkalicious crisp dye ink, which is a slightly darker shade of pink. Then, for the top bottom layer, I used Altenew Rubellite crisp dye ink. This color gives a nice contrast as we make our way closer to the stem. For the final color of the flower, I used Altenew Razzleberry crisp dye ink. This gives the flower a bold pinkish/purplish hue.

The stem only had two stamps for it. I started with the smallest stem stamp, which should be stamped directly underneath the bottom part of the flower. I used Stampin’ Up! Wild Wasabi ink for the lighter green shade. Then, I layered the final stem stamp and used Stampin’ Up! Garden Green ink for it.

This stamp set can be used with any colors you choose. I was really looking for a pink flower, so I went to my Altenew pink family inks to achieve this gradient look. While I used the layering guide that comes with the stamp set, really being able to look at the empty parts layer by layer and matching up key points on the stamps before inking these was a huge help in getting it stamped well. This set also comes with a cross stitch butterfly and several sentiments. You’ll notice on the inside of the card I used the large “Hello!” and the small “A Happy” stamps from set. I inked the “Hello!” stamp using Altenew Pinkalicious ink and the “A Happy” stamp was inked in Stampin’ Up! Garden Green.

The “Lovely” sentiment stamp comes from the Altenew Sweet Friend stamp set. I stamped it using Hero Arts Intense Black ink. Next, to give it a shiny, raised dimensional look, I stamped over the black using Versamark ink. After that, I poured some Ranger Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Powder over it. I heat set it using a heat tool. I had to go back over it with Versamark ink and add more Ranger Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Powder to get it fully covered. This embossing powder is amazing to get that raised texture over images. Just as an FYI, since it is thick powder, some of the little powder pieces may blow off the first time. The key to getting it stamped correctly both times was using a stamp positioner stamping tool. This way, I just put the piece exactly where it was when I stamped it and was able to get it stamped in the exact place.

Once I completed all of the stamping, I fussy cut the flower and the lovely sentiment. The Altenew Cross Stitch Layering Flower has a matching die set, but it only pierces holes in the cross stitching so that you can use string to actually cross stitch it. It does not cut the outline of the flower, but it was super easy to fussy cut and did not take much time. The Altenew Sweet Friend stamp set has a coordinating die for the frame, but not for the “Lovely” sentiment stamp. I knew I did not really want the sentiment to be a rectangle shape, so I fussy cut around it to make it look like it had a coordinating framelit die.

To finish the card, I used dimensional foam adhesive to pop up the flower and the sentiment. Finally, I added a few Stampin’ Up! Woven Threads Sequins. I love how some of the sequins had a blue pearl hue when tilted in the light. I was very pleased with the simplicity of this card.