A Little Holiday Magic with Altenew’s Chickadee Chirps Press Plate | Video Tutorial

There’s something so magical about a winter woodland scene, and Altenew’s Chickadee Chirps Registration Press Plates Set captures it beautifully. For this project, I paired the elegant letterpress design with layered watercolour washes for a rich, wintry background.

To view the video tutorial, click HERE

Supplies Used

• Chickadee Chirps Registration Press Plates

• Watercolour Pan Set

• Watercolour Palette Medium

• Fresh Dye Inks: Arctic Mountain, Sugar Kelp, Green Gold, Lava Rock

• Large Blending Brush

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Creating the Background

The background was created on watercolour paper slightly larger than A2 size to allow trimming later. I used Altenew Watercolour Pan Set in three layers to achieve depth and intensity:

1. First Layer – Wet on Wet:

   • The panel was taped down with painter’s tape to prevent warping.

   • I coated the surface with clean water, then dropped in dark blue on the edges, moving inward with medium blue, and left the center lighter to create a natural highlight.

   • Touches of teal green were added randomly around the border for variation.

   • Set aside to dry completely.

2. Second & Third Layers – Wet on Dry:

   • I worked in the same order (outside to inside) but intensified the color along the edges.

   • Allowing the paper to dry between layers added vibrancy and depth.

3. Once the background was complete, I trimmed it to 4” x 5 1/4”.

Pressing the Design

The Chickadee Chirps comes with a registration template, which makes perfect placement effortless.

• Chickadee: Pressed in Lava Rock ink.

• Branch & Pinecones: Inked in Green Gold.

• Needles: Pressed with Sugar Kelp.

• Sentiment: Aligned with the template and pressed in black ink.

Finishing Details

• With a large Altenew Blending Brush, I added Arctic Mountain ink softly around the edges.

• Using Post-it tape, I masked off both the sentiment and the chickadee’s face before adding white ink splatters for a snowy effect.

• The pine needles were accented with Nuvo Glitter Drops (White Blizzard) for holiday sparkle.

• The panel was mounted onto gold foil cardstock (4 1/8” x 5 3/8”) and then adhered to an A2 black card base.

• To soften the chickadee and help it blend naturally into the scene, I used three shades of grey alcohol markers to tone down thes blue.

VIDEO TUTORIAL

To view the video tutorial, click HERE. You will be redirected to YouTube.

A Snowy Holiday Greeting ❄️

This card combines the elegance of letterpress with the softness of watercolour. The Chickadee Chirps Registration Press Plates makes it easy to create a striking holiday design that feels both classic and magical.

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