Hello creative friends! Today I’m sharing a card that I made after participating in Altenew Academy’s Magical Marker Techniques online course.

The inspiration for this card came from one of the backgrounds that was demonstrated during the course videos. The instructor used an Altenew stencil (which I don’t have) to create a free-hand looking striped background. In the next lesson, she spoke about using stencils in a different way than they look like they should be used at first glance. For example, she used only part of an all-over diamond diagonal stencil by turning it on the diagonal (which would be straight on her card) and only used a few diamonds in her design. I used a straight up and down vertical stencil, but turned it on the diagonal, to make diagonal stripes. I must have holidays and candy canes on my mind, because I immediately thought of using red!

As in the lesson video, I used three different red markers. I used my Copic Sketch markers, as those are the alcohol markers that I have, and I drew the stripes on a piece of white Yupo paper.

I used my favorite die set from Altenew, the Craft-A-Flower Sulfur Cosmos dies, to cut out both flowers and one of each leaf. I cut them out of colored cardstock that I had in my stash. To use the markers in a different way, I loosely traced the detailed lines from the dies to add some depth to my flowers and leaves. Up close you can see that I wasn’t very precise, but I’m sure the recipient won’t be looking that closely! I think it did add a nice touch to the flowers especially. I also used my fingers to shape the flower petals to add dimension, and used double sided tape to adhere the flowers to the card. For the sentiment, I used a simple two layer Peace die from a different manufacturer. I wanted it to feel like a Christmas Card!

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and Happy Making Season! Even if you can only find time to make one card, go ahead and do it! You can make one person on your list feel extra special!

Altenew products used:
Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Sulfur Cosmos

Other products:
Copic Sketch Markers: R22, R29, R59, G2
Simon Says Stamp CZ Design Peace Dies Set