Saturday, November 7, 2020

Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Poppy Release Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Poppy Release Blog Hop + Giveaway!  Each month on the 7th, Altenew releases a new Craft-A-Flower.  I love these three-dimensional blooms that are a fantastic way to use up scraps from your scrap bin or to use with the Gradient Cardstock Bundles from Altenew.

Special Offers:
We are running a free gift promotion to celebrate the release. Feel free to share the promotion banner/info on your blog hop post or on your social media post using your affiliate links for a chance to make some extra money.

Get 25% off ALL Washi Tapes and receive a FREE Gift (Crafting 101 - Washi Tapes class) from 11/07/2020 at 12:01 AM EST until 11/08/2020 at 11:59 PM EST. Shop HERE:  https://altenew.com/collections/washi-tapes.  Not valid on previous orders. Free gift will be added to your cart automatically. (Offer excludes November 2020 release products). 


Giveaway Prizes:
To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 11/12/2020 for a chance to win. Altenew will also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 11/16/2020. 


You should have arrived here from the blog of the beautiful Erum Tasneem!  If you need to go back to the beginning of the hop, here is your blog hop order:

>>>>>Vicki Finger<<<<<

Whenever I am working with the Craft-A-Flower products, I head over to my scrap bin and start pulling colors from there that will work together. I have a huge basket of scraps to work with and pull from, so thus far, I haven't failed in this endeavor.  As you may be already aware, Poppies come in a wide variety of colors.  There are Red, Orange, Blue, Turquoise, Purple, etc.  When you imagine a poppy in your mind, I think most people picture a red Poppy.  This particular variety is called Queen Alexandra Poppy.  I love this one and my mom has one or two of these in her yard.  They have been my favorite variety for many years.  So I tried to choose my papers to get a similar color and look to this particular variety.  My cardstock is multiple shades of pink with the deep black centers as you see in the photograph on the left.  


Assembly Instructions are available in the packaging and the set includes two bloom sizes and styles, three different leaves, and a stem.

For my card, I started with a piece of pale pink cardstock and did some ink blending in the lower left-hand corner using some Frayed Leaf.  The idea was to give the impression of other foliage in the background.  


I die cut all the blooms pieces to start.  There are two different sizes of poppy blooms in this set.  Poppies tend to be on these super delicate stems and they wave and flow in the breeze. Can you just imagine a whole field of pink and purple poppies swaying in the breeze?  Wouldn't that be a sight to see?  You always see photos of fields of red poppies and while they are beautiful, I can't help imagining the same fields in the pinks and purple hues that are available.  


These were quick and easy to put together.  I pulled some Black Iridescent sequins to pull that color together from the flower center.  


You can purchase your Craft-A-Flower: Poppy Die Set here: https://altenew.com/products/craft-a-flower-poppy-layering-die-set

Thanks for stopping by today to see my Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Poppy card!  The color possibilities are endless with all of the Craft-A-Flower releases.  I hope you'll pick one up and share your projects if you make something.  

You can also sign up for the Monthly Subscription to all the Craft A Flower releases here: https://altenew.com/products/craft-a-flower-monthly-subscription.  

Thanks again for stopping by today.  Enjoy all the stops along the hop!  Your next stop is the so very Kind, Virginia Lu!  Have an awesome rest of your day!

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Altenew November 2020 Stamps/Dies/Stencils/Embossing Folders Release Blog Hop


Hello there everyone!  I am happy to be joining you today as part of the Altenew Twinkle and Shine Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from the blog of Maryam Perez. If not, you can go back to the beginning of the hop at the Altenew Card Blog.

You can see the full release here:  November 2020 Twinkle & Shine Release Collection Page.

To celebrate this release, we have a variety of special offers for you.  


Here are THREE ways to get a FREEBIE to kickstart your creativity! 
  • Get a FREE brand new Twinkle & Shine Stamp & Die Release Inspiration Booklet (worth $5.99) with every order of high-value Twinkle & Shine release bundles. Shop HERE! *Exclusions apply.
  • Get a FREE brand new Online Cardmaking Class with every order from the new Twinkle & Shine Stamp & Die Release collection from 11/04/2020 through 11/10/2020. Shop HERE!
  • Get a FREE brand new Twinkle & Shine Stamp & Die Release Mini Inspiration Booklet with every order from 11/04/2020 through 11/06/2020. Shop HERE!

Giveaway Prizes:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 11/10/2020 for a chance to win. 

Altenew will also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 11/12/2020.

Here is your Blog Hop Order:



Altenew Card Blog
Laura Bassen
Erum Tasneem
Kelly Griglione
Therese Calvird
Amber Rain Davis
Tenia Nelson
Nicole Watt
Terri Koszler
Nathalie DeSousa
Jenny Colacicco
Jaycee Gaspar
Victoria Calvin
Amanda Baldwin
Emily Midgett
Kymona Tracey
Dana Joy
Lilith Eeckels
LauraJane
Norine Borys
Vicky Papaioannou
Virginia Lu
Nenette S. Madero
Svitlana Shayevich
Keisha Charles
Maryam Perez
>>>>>Vicki Finger<<<<<
Laurie Willison
Reiko Tsuchida
Amy Hill
Agnieszka Małyszek
Anna Veach

Let's get started with the projects! I don't have as many projects for you as I was planning on since there was a production issue and I did not get everything I wanted to work with.  

For my first project, I combined the Linear Stencil with the Mandala Confetti Dies.  With all of it's intersecting lines, I knew this stencil would be great to use with the confetti dies.  I did not get the stamp set because I wanted to use the dies in a different way.  I did light ink blending over the stencil using Rose Quartz Ink.  Each shape in the Mandala Confetti Dies has 7 sizes so there are a multitude of ways to use this set.  I especially love to include little hearts on cards for my girlfriends, so this set will probably reside on my desk.    


While my white cardstock is just plain, I did give it a healthy amount of simmer mist before I die cut the panel.  All of the little die cuts are cut from various shades of shimmer cardstock scraps, so in person, this is a very elegant card.  


I also used gems at a lot of points as well.  Since this release is called "Twinkle & Shine" I wanted to make it Twinkle all over, so both of my projects have lots of twinkle and shine included on them today.  I mean, you all would expect nothing less from me, would you?  *Ü*


Here is the image of the stamp set in case you'd like to see


For the greeting, I used the Altenew peace die on some white cardstock that was inked up in an ombre style from light to dark, with the darkest part at the bottom of the die-cut word.    


Next up is a card using a new Stamp and Die collection called Sparkled.  There are stamps and coordinating die available.  




This is a really beautiful bloom and the foliage is very nice as well.  I stamped all of the color layers first and then went back and added the outline image with heat embossing using Versamark and Altenew Antique Gold Embossing Powder.  


Because of the sentiment I chose to use, again I added a lot of bling to this card with sequins and gems.    

The background paper is from the Summer Garden Paper Pack.  It's an Ombre Stripe that starts out grey on the left side and turns to a pale mauve/pink on the other side.  I thought it was the perfect paper to really highlight the bloom.  

Thanks for stopping by today!  I always appreciate it when you take the time to comment on my blog posts and especially when you shop through my affiliate links.  The lovely Laurie Willison is next up on the hop.  

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Altenew Build-A-Flower: Hawaiian Coral Release Blog Hop + Giveaway


Hi there!  I am so glad you could stop by my blog today to celebrate the newest Build-A-Flower Release: Hawaiian Coral! 



Giveaway Prizes

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 11/06/2020 for a chance to win. Altenew will also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 11/09/2020.


You should have arrived here from the blog of  Victoria Calvin.  I am the last stop on the hop today! As always, the Build-A-Flower Series includes both the stamp set and the dies!  For my card, I started with the beautiful Alluring Blooms Paper Pack and selected a sheet that I felt would match the Hawaiian Color Scheme I was going for.  I was actually lucky enough to win an 8 day trip for two to Hawaii way back in 1992.  The company I worked for at the time, had a contest for sales in December of 1991 during the Holiday Season.  We were the smallest store in our company, but we were the absolute best at what we did.  Our specialty was Loose Diamonds and then helping the customer select the right mounting for the diamond that they chose.  I am GIA Certified in the 4 C's of Diamonds: Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat Weight.  

You may wonder how I remember all this from a memory that was 30 years ago and the reason that I can remember is that before I started making cards, I was a Scrapbooker.  I learned the Creative Memories way, which includes a lot of journaling.  So I have a few Travel Albums that have all of these details.  Each member of our store won this trip for two which included $300.00 each (including our guest) in spending money.  That was quite a bit back then and you could pretty much buy all of your meals.  Of course, we had to have quite a few trinkets to bring home so it went fast, but it was the trip of a lifetime.  It's pretty much the only time in my life that I had a suntan.  I laid in a tanning bed every single day for a month prior to our trip since I have porcelain skin and I burn easily.  I didn't want to sunburn the first day of the trip and have to stay in the rest of the time.  That actually happened to one of the ladies we were traveling with and she had blisters covering the tops of her feet from the first day. The rest of us body surfed, snorkeled, and shopped in the International Market Place.  One member of our group had been stationed at Oahu during his stint in the Navy, so we went all over the island rather than the local tourist spots.  Hawaii is such a colorful and vibrant place!  Oh, the memories...
 

Now that you have a little background information for my color choices, I'll share a few details about my card.  I used the Red Cosmos and Tea Party Ink Families to stamp the blooms and the Green Fields Ink Family to stamp the foliage.  I started by stamping the most solid image in Frosty Pink Ink.  Next, I added the 2nd most solid image in Coral Bliss and the 3rd layer in Coral Berry.  I used Ruby Red for the deepest shading layer and chose not to use the outline image at all for my flowers.  I love that it has the outline image though, in case I want to watercolor the image some other time.  


This particular paper in the Alluring Blooms Paper Pack reminded me of a waterfall that we saw near Waimea Falls, Hawaii.  


I kept my embellishments simple, adding just a few turquoise sequins as an accent.  Be sure to stop by all the stops along the hop to see the fantastic designs that all of the designers and guest designers have come up with! Get your set here:  Build-A-Flower: Hawaiian Coral or Build-A-Flower: Hawaiian Coral & Ink Bundle.

If you'd like to sign up for the monthly subscription plan, that link is here:  Build-A-Flower Monthly Subscription Plan.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Monday, October 19, 2020

Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-Alone Dies Release Blog Hop + Giveaway


Hi there!  I'm excited to be joining in today's Altenew Blog Hop with a special release of Stand Alone Dies and Products.  

Special Offer

To celebrate this release, we are offering a free gift for a limited time. 
  • Receive a FREE Gift (brand new Winter Essentials release mini inspiration guide) with every order from 10/19/2020 at 12:01 am EDT until 10/21/2020 at 11:59 pm EDT or while supplies last. Shop here:  https://altenew.com/collections/all-altenew-products The free gift will be added to your cart automatically. * Not valid on online class, workshop, print media orders. 
Giveaway Prizes:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 10/25/2020 for a chance to win.

We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/27/2020.



You should have arrived here from the blog of Reiko Tsuchida, but if not, you can start back at the Altenew Card Blog and go in order from there. Your next stop on the hop is Maryam Perez.

I have a ton of projects for you today, so let's get started!  For my first project, I used one of last month's releases with this beautiful "Happy Holidays" sentiment from this release.


I die cut the words from gold mirror cardstock.  I also die-cut Festive Clusters from the same gold card stock.  Then using the dies with my embossing pad, I ran it through my die-cut machine to emboss the outline of the Festive Clusters into a panel of white cardstock.


Using the new small size ink blending tools, I went over the areas for each part with some color. I used  Frayed Leaf for the foliage and Frosty Pink for the blooms.  This was super fast and easy to do.  


Before I die cut the image or the words, I ran my Gold Cardstock through my 5-inch Xyron Sticker Maker, so the adhesive would already be on there.  When I do it this way, I also run the piece of cardstock through my die cut machine with an embossing sandwich so that I don't have to go around each word with a multi-purpose tool or stylus.  That way the adhesive is already on there and I can easily place it on my card.  I press everything in place with my Teflon bone folder. I created a Vertical Tent folding card and a horizontal one.  


There are two different clusters in the Festive Clusters Die Set, so I used one on each card. One is a little smaller than the other.  I always enjoy doing Holiday cards in an unexpected color scheme and most of my cards go to girlfriends, so I can use all the Pink I want.  Pink Poinsettias are my favorites anyhow.  
 

As always, when working on cards for my girlfriends, I added a bit of bling.  I'm kind of known for that in my circle of friends and my best friend calls me the "Bling Queen".  I even love blingy nail polishes.  


For my next project, I used the Modern Fireplace Layering Dies along with the Mantel Decor - Winter Dies to create this sweet little scene on the card front.  I also used the Holiday Tag Sentiments Stamp Set once again and I love how versatile that set is.  While it does have a lot of sentiments for the Holidays, most of them are generic enough to use for other occasions as well - Birthday, New Year, any kind of handmade gift, and the like. I love the beautiful handwritten font that many of the sentiments are written in.  You might remember that I made a birthday Gift Tag for my daughter using one of the sentiments from that set along with the floral image in the Positive Vibes Stamp Set.


The Mantel Decor - Winter Die set let me build this sweet little scene.  This set also includes the pieces to create a wreath over your mantle if you so choose.  I have a very large (6 foot by 4 foot)  piece of artwork hanging over my fireplace so I would never hang a wreath over it, but I like that it's included in the set.  


I used foam tape for creating the fireplace to make the card dimensional, especially where the stockings are hanging. 


For the candles, I die cut from White Cardstock and then just colored the wicks with an Altenew Artist Marker in a warm yellow shade.  There are three different candlestick sizes and I cut two bows adhering the top one in just the center of the bow so that I could pull forward the bows to give it extra dimension as well.  I love the little touches of gold.  It adds instant elegance.


This next card combines a few products from this release; Essential Sentiment Strips and Layered Gift Tag Die - Present.  I'm always looking for things to make masculine cards for all the men in my life - mostly my grandsons!  They don't get into cards too much so this is a way I can incorporate a gift inside with a gift on the card.  


I have piles of Scrapbooking 12 x 12 papers and I used one of them here.  All guys like Black & Gold I think and if it's somewhat geometric, that's even better.  


This next card uses the Beautiful Bergenia 3D Embossing Folder inked up using the small Ink Blending Tools and another one of the Essential Sentiment Strips.  


This makes for a fast and easy Thank You type of card.  I hadn't yet received my Embossing Folder last month when it was released so I wanted to use it to showcase the Essential Sentiment Strips Die Set.


On the previous card, I cut a slim piece of gold cardstock to go behind the Essential Sentiment Strip but on this card, I let the background show through the sentiment strip.  





These 3D embossing folders are just incredibly well done.  You can do any color of cardstock and leave it white and still see all of the dimension in these beautiful embossing folders.  


For my final project today, I wanted to incorporate the new Lacy Panel Die with the Gift Tag Heart Die Set.  



Once again I used a sentiment from the Holiday Tag Sentiments Stamp set and paired it up with the other stand-alone dies in this release.  


Crisp, clean white always makes for a beautiful presentation when paired with a Christmas Red and Green and the little touches of gold.  

I hope you enjoyed my ideas for using the dies in this release and pairing them up with other previously released stamps, dies, and embossing folders.



Affiliate links may be used - Thank you for your support!
Altenew 2 in 1 Precision Glue Pen
Altenew 2 in 1 Precision Glue Pen
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Altenew Antique Gold Crisp Embossing Powder
Altenew Antique Gold Crisp Embossing Powder
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Altenew Antique Silver Embossing Powder
Altenew Antique Silver Embossing Powder
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Altenew Beautiful Bergenia 3D Embossing Folder
Altenew Beautiful Bergenia 3D Embossing Folder
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Altenew Essential Sentiment Strips Die Set
Altenew Essential Sentiment Strips Die Set
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Altenew Festive Clusters Die Set
Altenew Festive Clusters Die Set
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Altenew Happy Holidays Script Die Set
Altenew Happy Holidays Script Die Set
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Altenew Joyful Celebrations Gift Tag Die Bundle
Altenew Joyful Celebrations Gift Tag Die Bundle
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Altenew Jumbo Garden Picks Layering Die Set
Altenew Jumbo Garden Picks Layering Die Set
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Altenew Lacy Panel Die
Altenew Lacy Panel Die
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Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Cake Die Set
Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Cake Die Set
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Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Graduation Die Set
Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Graduation Die Set
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Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Heart Die Set
Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Heart Die Set
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Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Onesie Die Set
Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Onesie Die Set
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Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Present Die Set
Altenew Layered Gift Tag - Present Die Set
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Altenew Linear Pathway Alpha - Outline Die Set
Altenew Linear Pathway Alpha - Outline Die Set
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Altenew Linear Pathway Alpha - Solid Die Set
Altenew Linear Pathway Alpha - Solid Die Set
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Altenew Linear Pathway Alpha Solid and Outline Die Bundle
Altenew Linear Pathway Alpha Solid and Outline Die Bundle
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Altenew Mantel Decor - Winter Die Set
Altenew Mantel Decor - Winter Die Set
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Altenew Modern Fireplace Layering Die Set
Altenew Modern Fireplace Layering Die Set
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Altenew Watercolor Garden Layering Die Set
Altenew Watercolor Garden Layering Die Set
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Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-Alone Die Release Bundle
Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-Alone Die Release Bundle
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Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-alone Die Release Inspiration Guide
Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-alone Die Release Inspiration Guide
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Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-alone Die Release Mini Inspiration Guide
Altenew Winter Essentials Stand-alone Die Release Mini Inspiration Guide
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