Video summary
In this Altenew July Video Hop, the creator demonstrates how a single elegant card design can yield two distinct looks by simply changing the focal points while maintaining consistent background techniques. The process begins with crafting a sophisticated dark green base using Mountain Pine ink to darken the edges and create a subtle border that naturally draws attention to the center. To add texture without overwhelming the design, stenciling is applied; for this specific project, the creator opts for a darker shade of green rather than vibrant gold paste to keep the background understated, though they note that golden paste would be perfect for Christmas-themed cards once the dye ink dries completely.
The heart of both designs revolves around versatile die-cut sets from Altenew that offer year-round utility despite their holiday origins. The first card features intricate frames created with an embossing folder and dies cut from gold cardstock, which lock together seamlessly to add depth without needing masking tape. These frames are paired with foliage branches and mistletoe elements that can be arranged into a partial wreath or left open to showcase the frame's beauty. The creator enhances these green-on-green layers by adding white glitter berries for shine and using gold sentiment dies, while also suggesting an optional shaker element filled with glitter could add fun dimensionality if desired.
For the second card, the same elegant background technique is reused but replaced with a stunning poinsettia focal point from another die set featuring a keyhole alignment system for easy assembly. The creator cuts red flowers and green leaves using dies that include multiple shapes to ensure high dimensionality, then employs ink blending on solid colored pieces to bring out embossed details and create dramatic shadows. Unlike the first card which used an outline frame with offset sentiment placement, this version skips the outer border entirely, placing the gold die-cut sentiment directly below the flower cluster for a clean look that still benefits from white splatters representing snow.
Ultimately, both finished cards exemplify how generic elements like frames and foliage can be adapted to suit any season or occasion while maintaining an air of elegance. The creator emphasizes that these projects are not limited to Christmas due to their inclusion of non-specific branches and sentiments suitable for love and warm wishes throughout the year. By combining simple techniques such as edge darkening, stenciling, ink blending, and strategic layering with foam strips, crafters can achieve professional-looking results quickly. Viewers are encouraged to explore all participating videos in the hop via links provided below to see more projects and utilize available coupon codes for their own creative endeavors.
Read the full video transcript
Hi everyone, and welcome to the Altenew
video hop, where we are playing today
with products from the latest release.
I have picked my favorites, and I will
be using them to hopefully inspire you.
This is part of a video hop, however, so
make sure to check out all the info down
below to win prizes.
Now, for both my cards today, I will be
using the same card design, but by using
different focal points, you will see how
pretty much the same design gives you a
completely different look. So, I'm
starting with a very dark green
background, and I'm using mountain pine
on the edges. This is going to darken up
the edges, which instantly highlights
the center somehow. And it creates a
lovely border. You can easily recreate
this technique by using any colored
cardstock with a slightly darker color
of ink on the edges.
Now, to make my background more
interesting, I'm going to do some
stenciling, and this is one of my top
favorite stencils from Altenew. I find
that the design is super elegant, and it
matches pretty much any project. Now,
there are many ways to go. You can
either go with any of the golden paste
that are available, but I decided that I
didn't want to have such a vibrant look
on my background. So, instead, I'm just
going to go with the same mountain pine
darker shade of green. This is going to
create a very subtle background, but you
can definitely go with
For a Christmas card, you can definitely
go with the golden paste. They are going
to give you a beautiful background as
well. So, here is how it looks, and keep
in mind that this dye ink is going to
dry and be even more subtle than it
looks at the moment.
Now, for my focal points, I'm going with
these frames.
Absolutely love those frames. This is an
embossing folder, which is going to give
you amazing detail on those frames and
in the same set you do get the dies as
well. So, I cut out that from a golden
cardstock and all you have to do is to
just pop them in the 3D embossing
folder. And as I'm making two cards, I'm
going to use both those frames. You will
find that they are going to lock inside
somehow. If you feel like you need to do
so, you can definitely use some masking
tape to keep them in place, but it
really isn't necessary.
So, I use the correct sandwich for my
die-cutting machine and I run it through
and you can see now how amazing it
looks. I mean, these are gorgeous.
And I love the fact that although this
is a Christmas release, these are
completely generic. You can use them
throughout the year and they are perfect
for clustering.
It really makes the card and look how
elegant [clears throat] it looks.
Absolutely in love with them. Anyway,
now I'm going to use this die set to
create my focal points on top of that
frame. So, this is a great die set that
is going to give you foliage for your
Christmas wreaths and Christmas
decorations, but I love the fact again
that you get branches that are not
specifically for Christmas. I mean, you
do get the mistletoe and you do get
other branches which are more generic as
well. So, it is a great all year round
set to have.
So, all I did was to use
cardstock, green cardstock to cut out a
few of those mistletoe branches and I
went with a different color than my
background. So, although it is green on
green, they're going to pop up when I
place them on top of my background. I do
add a little bit of inking here and
there so that they don't look so flat,
but really quick and simple to do. I did
cut out the berries out of um white
glitter cardstock and this is going to
give some extra shine on my card. You
can definitely go with red for this
step. I chose to go with greens and
whites and golds for this card. So, I'm
just going to stick all those berries on
top of uh my branches.
For both my cards today, I will be using
sentiments from this die set. And I love
the fact that you do get with love and
warm wishes. So, this although is a a
die set with sentiments for the
holidays, you do get some generic ones.
So, again, it is a die set that you can
use all year.
So, I cut out the main wording out of
the gold cardstock that I used for the
frame. And now I'm going to stick it on
uh the outline, which I cut out from the
glitter the white glitter cardstock. The
the one that I used for the berries as
well.
So, at this stage, I have everything
ready, and all I need to do is to put
the card together. I'm going to use
these foam strips for the back of my
frame just to add some dimension. And
these strips make it super handy and
easy to do that.
And also in this stage, if you are uh
creating the same design, you can maybe
think of um
shaker elements because you can
definitely turn this
frame into a shaker element and have
some fun glitter inside. I'm not going
to do that for this card, but it is
definitely an option.
So, the idea is to stick the frame on
top of my background. And then this is
going to be a little bit offset, which
is going to give me enough space on the
right to stick on top my sentiment. And
then with all the branches, I'm going to
create kind of a half wreath. So, I do
allow for that beautiful frame to show
in some areas. Uh but um
I am going to cover up half of it, let's
say. You can definitely use the branches
and create a full if you want, which is
perfect if you love wreaths. But for
this card I just wanted to make sure
that
I showcase this beautiful frame as well.
So you see here I'm playing with the
branches trying to decide how it's going
to look nice and balanced. And once I'm
happy I will go ahead and use my glue to
stick it down. You can always use your
scissors and chop off any branches that
you don't like. So you see me here I'm
priming some of the branches which I'm
going to stick on other areas to make
the wreath look fluffier.
Now one of my favorite things to do is
to add splatters. You can totally omit
this step or you can even use gold
splattering if you like. Now one thing
that I always do is to
tap the brush a few times outside of my
project to get rid of any big blobs. So
I have some fine splattering here which
is going to read as snow in a Christmas
project. So this is the first card for
today. Absolutely love it. I think it's
super elegant and you can see here some
close-up photos.
Now for my second card I'm going to use
pretty much the same background but with
a different focal point. And I'm going
with this beautiful poinsettia die set
which gives you in the set the dies for
the flower as well as the embossing
folder to add all that detail. So I've
already cut out everything that I need
from a red cardstock and I did use the
same dies to cut out some green leaves
as well. I'm going to pop those designs
inside my embossing folder and again
they kind of lock in place.
There are
three, four, five different
shapes for the main flower which is
going to make it a really dimensional.
And then there are a couple of centers
that you can use. The top center is
I cut it out from gold and I'm going to
place it here so that
I can get all that embossed detail on
top of that as well.
This is what it looks once you run it
through your die cutting machine and I
will repeat the same process for the
green leaves as well.
Now I always like to do a little bit of
ink blending on my die cut pieces when I
use
solid colored cardstock.
It's a step that really makes a
difference on the die cut shapes. It
brings all that embossed detail into
life and it makes all those shapes look
more interesting.
Just use a couple of darker shades of
ink from what you already have on your
cardstock.
And also keep in mind that to not be
afraid to go way darker because this is
going to create dramatic shadows and
it's going to bring all those cut out
pieces into life.
Now this die set is part of the keyhole
system from Altenew. So all you have to
do is to just align the keyhole one on
top of the other and it's going to make
the most beautiful poinsettia in no
time. So look how it comes together and
then of course you have to stick on top
the centers. I'm going to use glue in
between all those layers to stick them
down but if you want to make it fluffier
you can definitely go with
foam tapes in between.
Now I'm going to finish it off by adding
the center and I did cut out the center
from gold cardstock.
And you can definitely use your fingers
to fluff up that poinsettia and make it
look more dimensional.
So I have my main poinsettia ready. I'm
going to add some extra leaves
underneath just to give some extra
color.
And it's time to assemble my card.
Again, I'm using a frame, a focal point,
and a sentiment from the same die set
that I used in the previous card. This
time I'm not going to use the outline. I
did cut out my sentiment using the
golden cardstock, and I'm just going to
stick the sentiment down below. And you
can see that I did uh repeat the exact
same technique for the background.
And I will place the frame with foam
tape at the back, and on top of that, a
little bit offset, my poinsettia. I'm
going to finish off my card again by
adding some white splatters, which you
can totally omit. And here are both the
cards that I made for today, which I
find they are so elegant and really,
really pretty with those frames. Down
below in the description, you can find
everything I used along with coupon
codes wherever these are available.
Don't forget this is part of a video
hop. Check the details down below in the
description for all the info and for the
link to the next stop.
Thank you for joining me. I hope that
you had fun and that you got inspired.