Guest designer Laura Jane is hosting an Inspiration Challenge over at the Altenew blog. I have been excited about the challenge since the day she posted it, because it features one of my favorite design themes — a sunset! Check this out:

Inspiration Challenge Sunset Image by Laura Jane for Altenew

That’s the Inspiration Challenge Image Laura Jane posted. She also posted a bunch of amazing purple-ish, pink-ish cards featuring dark silhouetted elements. I loved them so much!

I looked through my paper stash to see what I could find. I have a bunch of Altenew papers, but none of them are quite the right colors for this — so I ended up using papers that I colored using various dyes and inks, including some Altenew inks and others.

Years ago, I used to teach textile design classes to fashion design majors at California Design College. We did a lot of fabric dyeing in those classes. At the end of class, I’d usually have leftover dyes. Instead of just pouring the extra dyes down the drain, I used to use them to create paintings and designs on paper.

I used most of those hand-dyed papers long ago, but I still do have a few of them left in my craft supplies stash waiting for just the right projects to use them in.

Hand Dyed & Ink Blended Papers

This was one of those just right projects. I chose one of these striking hand-dyed papers to use for my darker silhouetted images; the paper has striated shades of deep purple and dusky pink that are reminiscent of the colors you see outdoors at twilight.

And I used another one of these papers to start me off with the background, but I added some spritzes of Altenew ink colors diluted with water — Ruby Red, Coral Berry, and Frosty Pink. I also used some of Tim Holtz’s Dusty Concord Distress Oxide ink to give my card background a more purplish appearance.

Here’s how my card turned out:

DIY Thank You Card in Sunset Colors With Craft Supplies by Altenew

Craft Supplies You’ll Need for Making a Similar DIY Thank You Card

• Papers: You could use ink blended or hand dyed papers like I did, or you could use patterned papers for this. You’ll also need some white or colored cardstock to make your card base.
• Inks: I used Altenew’s Coral Berry, Ruby Red and Frosty Pink dye inks plus Tim Holtz’s Dusty Concord Distress Oxide ink — but you can use any inks you like.
• Dies: “Sweet Blooms” Die Set by Altenew — This set is so pretty and so versatile; I highly recommend it.
• Sentiment Stamps: I used the sentiments from Altenew’s “Painted Rose” stamp set, which appears to have been discontinued. I really love this one, but if you missed out on getting it, there are many other possible sentiment stamps you could use.
• Scalloped Circle Die or Scalloped Scissors: You’ll need to cut out your stamped sentiment in some manner. If you have a scalloped circle that’s the right size, that would be ideal. I happen to have stencils and old-fashioned decorative scissors that I like using for this — so I used scalloped scissors by EK Success to fussy cut around my stamped sentiment.

So there you have it: That’s my inspiration challenge entry. I hope you enjoyed taking a look at it. Thank you so much for dropping by! I appreciate your interest in my project.

Posted by: Amy Solovay