Certified Altenew Educator Blog Hop - For the Love of Flowers

Hello everyone!  Today's Certified Altenew Educator Blog Hop is a special event with Altenew - a blog hop with the theme of "For the Love of Flowers".  This hop is different than others we've done before; there is a linky party over at the Altenew Card Blog so that all the customers can join in and show off their skills.

You should have arrived here from Amy Hill's Blog found here.  I've included the full Blog List for you below.

I wish I was better with Watercolor, but I keep plugging along as time allows.  I think I finally realized what it is that I'm doing wrong but I haven't had time to test that theory yet.  I do have real watercolors - about three different sets, but I'm a lot more comfortable using reinkers with a water brush.  Unfortunately, I think this is my problem - I'm using colors that are too similar and I need to add more contrast in my color selections.

I have several real watercolors to work with including the Altenew 36 Half Pan Set but I just signed up for a new class that Emily Midgett is teaching over at Altenew Academy.  Its called "Artist Watercolor 101 for Paper Crafters" and you can sign up here: https://altenew.com/products/artists-watercolor-101-for-paper-crafters.

When I was in grade school, the teacher told me I had no artistic ability whatsoever, so I never took art classes during school.  Until 2015,(more than 40 years after grade school) when I started seeing YouTube Videos where people who aren't traditionally "artists" making beautiful cards, I never tried making cards, only scrapbooks.  So the moral of this story is, don't listen to what others say, just listen to your heart.  If it's something you want, keep trying.  I got this stamp set specifically for watercolor because they are line images.  For today's card, I chose Perfectly Perfect Stamps and Coordinating Dies along with a sentiment from Kind Words, which is one that I have collaborated on with Altenew.

I stamped several of the flowers and leaves onto bristol cardstock using Versamark Ink since I was going to use reinkers to paint with.  I heat embossed in Altenew Antique Gold Embossing Powder.  This provides that little channel to paint into that keeps the color from spilling over onto areas where it shouldn't.

I used Altenew Coral Berry (one of my absolute favorites) for the outside edges of the petals with Altenew Heartbeat toward the base of the petals.  I think I needed more water for the Coral Berry which is why I signed up for a watercolor class over at Altenew Academy that Emily Midget is teaching.  One of the things I have learned is that high-quality watercolor has less opacity and more transparency, which is why I have a tendency to use reinkers - they are transparent.  I am anxious to do some homework for my class and try out some of the things I have been learning about.  But first, deadlines. *Ü*

For the leaves, I used Frayed Leaf and Forest Glades reinkers.  I painted these using my little porcelain dish with a drop of reinker and a water brush.

I did ink blending on another panel of the Bristol Paper and added Finetech Gold Spatter to it.  Then I die cut the full A2 size panel for my background.  Adding a sentiment from Kind Words, I stamped it in Versarmark and heat set it with the same Antique Gold EP as well.

After I arranged my flowers, I used the Press-N-Seal trick to pick the whole arrange up and turn it over.  That way you can put glue on the whole backside, then flip it back over and turn the arrangement until it looks how you want it, then laying it in place.  I let my adhesive set for a couple of minutes before I removed the Press-N-Seal.  Then I put adhesive wherever the arrangement is not stuck down well.  It's such a great way to keep your arrangement how you had it, without having to try and duplicate it from a picture on your phone.  A nifty little trick I learned from Laurie Willison.

Altenew Card Blog

Michelle Ochoa Murray

Nandini Karmarkar

Terri Marie Koszler

 Irina Fonina

Amy Hill

Vicki Finger (You are here)

Laurel Beard

Teri Stokes

Neha Aggarwal

Nenette S. Madero

Nancy McClelland

Eva Bussom

 Amber Rain Davis

Rosie Neustaedter

Patty Mello

Helen Kalb

Teri Wilson

Christine Pennington

Maryam Sharara 

Nicole Watt

 VirginiaLu

Don't forget to share your own creation over at the Linky Party on the Altenew Card Blog!  There will be prizes given away!  

Prize info: Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment here on the Altenew Card Blog by 3/11/2020 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 Card Blog on 3/14/2020.

There’s MORE! We will pick 2 of our favorite handmade creations from those who joined the linky party and they will each receive a $15 gift certificate to our store!

Special offer: Save 15% off on ALL Stamp & Die Bundles from 3/5/2020 at 12:01 AM EST until 3/6/2020 at 11:59 PM EST. No code needed to enjoy this sale! Not valid on previous purchases. Excludes February 2020 release products. 

SHOP HERE:  https://altenew.com/collections/stamp-die-bundles  

Laurel Beard is your next stop along the hop!  If you've lost your way, you can find the list here on my blog, on the Altenew Card Blog and at any of the stops along the way!  

Update:  I wanted to put a little update here for you regarding the Watercolor 101 for Paper Crafters Class at Altenew Academy.  So I'm only a couple of lessons in and have only practiced a couple of times for the first homework assignment.  My watercolor has come a very long way since I started the class this week!  Here's a little peek for you.  I'm practicing in every spare moment I have, so be sure to watch and see my progress.  I'm not quite right yet, but I have made huge strides.  Let me just say - It is truly all about the paper if you want to learn to do artist style watercoloring.  The class wasn't even available when I made and uploaded this card way back in January.  February was such a busy month for me, so I had to do my project very early!  I plan to paint the little blooms again that I used on today's card, from the (Perfectly Perfect Set) using the best quality watercolor paper!  The Sentiment is from Kind Words.  Links are my affiliate Links.  Be sure to watch for my projects on Instagram as you'll be able to watch how I'm progressing in my Watercolor Class.  

For Altenew Academy Classes, or to learn more about the Altenew Educators Program, check it out here:  https://academy.altenew.com/.