Celebration: Stencil Techniques

If you have not ever tried to experiment with stencils, I hope you decide to give them a try. Stencils usually have a low price point and can be used in a plethora of ways. From inks to embossing to mousse or a gel, the creative possibilities are endless. The challenge this time was to use a stencil in a different way as the focal point of the card. I had the Altenew Mega Rose Stencil for this card. I loved how it turned out!

First, I started with a 4″ x 5 1/4″ heavy cardstock panel. Since I knew I was going to use a thick Deco Foil Metallix Gel, I wanted a 130lb heavy black cardstock to support it. I prepped the card panel using an anti-static pouch tool in order to keep the card as clean as possible when applying the Metallix Gel.

I taped the stencil on top of the card panel making sure to not cover the part where I applied the gel. Using the palette knife, I spread the gel evenly over the stencil. Next, I let it set for a few minutes to settle. After that, I gently pulled up the Altenew Mega Rose Stencil and placed the card panel to fully dry. Drying time took about an hour because I had applied a thick coating of the gel.

While the mega rose was drying, I stamped and die cute a rose using the Altenew Vintage Roses stamp and die set. What I love the most about these Altenew sets is that the roses look very realistic. Also, they have color family inks to get the best natural look. For the petals, I used Altenew Crisp Dye inks in Rubellite, Pinkalicious, and Pink Diamond. Then, I stamped the leaves using the Altenew Rose Blossom stamp and die set. For the leaves, I chose Altenew Crisp Dye inks in Evergreen, Forest Glades, and Frayed Leaf. If you are looking for layering stamps, I encourage you to check out Altenew. They offer a plethora of different flowers and roses in their layering stamp and die collections.

Next, I started working on the sentiment label using the Altenew Label Love stamp and die set stamped in Altenew Obsidian Crisp Die Ink. I loved the outcome of the black label on the kraft paper. It made the kraft paper almost look gold. Once the ink dried, I used the anti-static embossing tool over the label. From the Altenew Label Love stamp set, I chose the “Thank You” sentiment. I used the Versamark Clear Ink and white Ranger embossing powder. After that, I heat set it to finish the sentiment label.

For the finishing touches, I arranged the rose and leaves on the card. I popped it up using foam dimensional dots. Then, I placed the embossed label sentiment slightly on top of the bottom of the rose using foam dimensional tape. I was very pleased with the outcome. Let me know in the comments what you think!