Geo Play Wreath Builder + StampWheel 2.0 = so many options!

Hi Altenew fans and friends! It's your playful girl Erica back on the blog and YouTube channel today with the super fun Geo Play Wreath Builder set in focus. It's a relatively small stamp set, but after having a bit of a play with it, I can confidently say it packs a punch and gives you a lot of bang for your buck. 

This set is full off pattern stamps that you can create a bunch of fun backgrounds with very easily. It will help if you have a Stampwheel or a Stampwheel 2.0 on hand while playing with this set. Oh and let your imagination run WILD! 

I have made a couple of cards today, one with a very neutral color scheme and, of course, I had to play with some rainbows for the second card. It just makes sense! Trying color and pattern combinations with this stamp set is part of the play and the fun! 100%. 

I really like the shades in the Earthy Embrace Fresh Dye Ink bundle, they are neutral, yet warm and inviting. I had a couple of moments in the beginning of the stamping where I was debating which shades to use, and I was aiming for three for this first play session. I did mess up some of the spacing while stamping, but I don't think it's actually that glaringly obvious so I decided to use the panel for the card anyway. Look at me embracing the handmade look, rather than have a creative tantrum, throw away the panel and start again. 

Unfortunately I was on such a roll with the stamping, inking and playing that I completely forgot to stop and take some progress photos to show you. I'm hoping you will get a chance to stop by the Altenew YouTube channel and watch the video, if you wanted to see how it all came together. 

With the stamping done, it was time to turn this background into a card. I really like the retro and cool look of the Outlined Hello die cut, and wondered how I could use that with this panel. Usually I make my cards vertical, rather than horizontal, but that wouldn't work with the diecut so this ended up being a horizontal one by default. 

I used the shadow part of the die cut directly on the panel and made sure to save all the little bits that come out from this cut. Next, I cut the actual 'Hello' part out of Espresso Crafty Necessities Colored Cardstock. This was then glued down on top of the shadow part. Just as it was, no layers or anything extra. The fact that it's quite a playful Hello, rather than straight and serious helps a lot too. 

Right under the Hello, I have stamped up 'friend' from the stamp set, so that it says Hello friend' rather than just hello on it's own. 

It obviously needed some bling and sparkle, and the Sicilian Amber Gem Sparkles were the closest color match in my Gem Sparkle box. I wasn't exactly sure what the look was that I was going for, so I played around a little with the acetate sheet and the Gem Sparkles to see about placement. I think the end result is pretty nice. It's sparkly, playful, yet interesting. 

I have a tendency to add rainbows to so many things and looks, but my philosophy is to use all the colours that bring me joy and the old 'why not?' reason. I have a few ink combos that I reach for again and again when it comes to rainbow play, but this lineup is a smidge different to my usual. This is a little bit more neon-leaning, I'd say. 

The colors used are Wisteria, Baby Pink, Orange Cream, Fresh Lemon, Lime, Pool, Turquoise and Ultramarine. Each colour is stamped twice, once freshly inked and once with a second generation stamping. That way you get two shades of each colour! This is a fab way to stretch your ink colours, plus it's fun to play and try new things. 

This panel came out so fun and playful, I really adore it! I just so happened to have a die-cut sentiment ready to go, that worked so great with the playfulness of the background. This is 'shine bright' from Timeless Sentiments 3 die-cut set, and the top layer is cut out of Smoky Quartz Glitter Cardstock.

The spacing between each pattern was also the perfect place for a sequin or fifty... I thought it worked so well with the pattern to add three different-sized sequins in that space, and that really took the whole thing up another level! 

With the help of the Crafter's Essentials Micro-Tip Tweezers, the Perfect Picker, and some liquid glue, it didn't take that long to adhere them all. Even with there being a ridiculous amount of them! 

I am sorry for the lack of photos in this blog post, I really do hope that the crafty play in the Youtube video will make up for it. Some of it is in real time to show you just how easy this stamp set is to use, there really are so many ways you can play with the patterns and colours too. The possibilities are not exactly endless, but there are SO many you will have tons of fun with this set for sure. 

Alright, so that's it from me for today but I really hope you have been inspired by these cards and the small but mighty Geo Play Wreath Builder stamp set. I should point out that it has a small diecut available too, for some of the sentiments and the bird. That's always handy, as I'm not a fan of fussy cutting. 

Thank you so much for hanging out with me today, I will be back soon with some more inspiration, crafty playtime and lots of jibber-jabbering. Until then, lots of love and creativity from your girl Erica