Hello crafty friends! Welcome to my stop on the Paint-A-Flower blog hop. I'm so excited you could join us today for the release of the Anemone PAF set. Before I dive into details, I'd love for you to check out my brand new Lovely Layering with Ashlea video featuring this set. You can view it here!

I love being able to stretch my supplies so I've decided to take this bouquet stamp and create a few different patterns for cards using it in slightly different ways. First, I used a simple masking technique to create a DIY background stamp pattern and colored it in using Artist Markers from Altenew.

For more details on how exactly I managed my way coloring through this trove of flowers, check out the video above!

Next, I decided to actually paint my Paint-A-Flower. This time stamping different parts of the bouquet image around the perimeter of my card stock, I created a wreath effect which showcased my bold Fancy For You die sentiment perfectly. 

Because I used a no-line watercoloring technique, I used Butternut ink to stamp my images. A common misconception is that to create no-line colored images you need a dedicated no-line ink, but that simply isn't true. This light yellow shade ink works wonderfully as a no-line ink alternative, and your recipient would never know it!

Thank you so much, again, for stopping by today. Be sure to leave a comment before hopping along to your next stop, which is my friend, the always talented Jaycee Gaspar.

You can find the full hop list just beneath the product links below. I hope you have a great day, and hope to see you again soon!

Hello friends! Thank you so much for hopping along with us for the May 2020 Stamp and Die release from Altenew. We've got lots of inspiration on todays hop, so let's jump right into it!

My first project is this card featuring the beautiful new Blossom Wreath layering stamp set. This set includes an outline and several solid stamps for filling in the wreath with Altenew inks. I've chosen a fairly monotone palette which reminds me so much of spring. The colors I used are Fresh Lemon, Shadow Creek, and Sea Glass which compliment each other well, but also stand out on their own.

If you've ever seen any of my videos, you'll know how much I love the tri fold pamphlets that Altenew includes in it's stamp sets. This design is based off of one of the inspiration designs inside that pamphlet. I love that it creates a background for the card front, and that it's a one layer design. I don't often make one layer cards because I love the dimension that paper piecing and foam tape gives, but this stamp is so intricate and dimensional on its own that I didn't feel like it was necessary here. I added my card front panel to an A2 sized card base of yellow card stock with foam tape to add some actual dimension to this spring-y card.

PRIZES

My next project focuses on the Inked Lotus stamp and die set. The distinct lines in this image lend itself well to a more whimsical design, but when used with No-Line ink like I did here, I was able to create an elegant blooming lotus with the Artist Watercolor Palette. 

After watercoloring both the floral and stem images on the Altenew Watercolor Paper, I die cut them out using the coordinating dies. Because lotus's are known for being in water, I wanted to create a blue background that resembles water. I was able to do that by ink blending a background with Desert Night ink and Ocean Waves. To finish the card off, I used some clear dew drop embellishments to drive home the appearance of water. For my sentiment I used "you're so special" from the Inked Lotus set and heat embossed it just above my lotus image.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! You can find the products I used linked below, and don't forget to continue hopping along to your next stop, the amazingly talented Erum Tasneem

You can also find the full hop list below! I'll see you again soon!

SUPPLY LIST

Hey Altenew fans! Welcome to a NEW monthly subscription release, the Craft A Flower. The Craft-A-Flower subscription is a beautiful monthly release of layering dies to create the kind of gorgeous detailed flowers that Altenew is known and loved for. By signing up for the monthly subscription, you can snag every new set each month for the discounted price of $29.99. Before we get into more details and the *prizes* up for grabs, let's get into some inspiration. 

I created my Lillies using the Red Cosmos Gradient Card Stock set. These colors mimic the ink set colors and work perfectly when layered together. Layering dies like the Craft-A-Flower sets are a great use for these card stock packs. 

The lily flower is made of 5 layers that come together perfectly to create these beautiful blooming florals. The 5 layers create one flower, there are two leaves made of 2 layers each, and two stem dies that I decided to not use for my design today. There are so many different projects that you can create with these dies, not just cards. You could easily create 3D flowers with foam tape for other paper crafts, or even adhere each layer with small strips of foam tape to create a very dimensional flower for your cards and scrapbook pages.

I decided to use my flowers to frame a circle die cut adorning my sentiment. This allows me to create a simple design but add a ton of color and detail to my card. 

Before you continue on, be sure to comment for your chance to win! I hope that you've enjoyed my inspiration for the new Craft-A-Flower subscription release. I'd love to know which flowers you hope to see in future months! Thank you so much for stopping by, I'll see you again very soon.

FULL HOP LIST

Hello Pinkfresh friends! Welcome to the April 2020 release Blog Hop! I know I say this every time, but I am SO excited to share this release with you. Extra excited, even. There's lots of inspiration to see and PRIZES to be won, so let's just get right into it!

My first project features the beautiful liquid watercolors by Pinkfresh paired with the brand new Keep Going Stamp set. This stamp set has a gorgeous duo of flowers, as well as a sketched rainbow and some really heart warming sentiments. I decided to use no-line watercoloring for the floral images and focused on two of my favorite colors, yellow and purple. 

The liquid watercolors give such an artsy look to card designs and are so fun to use. The colors are so pigmented but easily blended at the same time, which lend perfectly to the no-line technique. To add a little texture and fun to this simple card, I used the outline of the block rainbow die and include in in the design just behind my watercolored florals. 

There are so many amazing products included in this release and some of my favorites are the color block dies. I decided to use the Color Block Stripes die to create a colorful rainbow card, with a fun sentiment. Though this isn't my typical style, I always admire these types of cards and I am so grateful for Pinkfresh making these dies to simplify this design. 

I used some of my favorite Pinkfresh inks to create this modified rainbow. I love the way the colors pair with each other and even more so when the large sentiment from the Whole Lot Of Awesome stamp set. To add a little more fun to the card, I used the sub sentiment "we should do a podcast of us laughing and drinking" because who hasn't thought that with their friends before?! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today! Please remember to leave a quick comment before following along the hop for your chance to win a $25 gift card. I hope to see you again soon!

FIND THE FULL HOP LIST LINKS HERE --> https://fresh.inlinkz.com/party/cdd61b957f9c4a3fa1ea0fb38a5926a6

Hey there! Thanks so much for stopping by my stop on the April Paint-A-Flower release hop. This month we're featuring the Hydrangea flower in all its spring-y beauty! There's lots of inspiration and prizes up for grabs, so let's get right to it!

I'll be honest, this card did not come out how I planned. There were many hiccups along the way and I really wanted to muscle through and try to salvage my efforts rather than ditch the card. I started by stamping (and mirror stamping) the hydrangea image onto my card front. I chose pale blue and pale purple colors for my florals and a springy green for its leaves. 

After coloring all of the elements in, I decided to color in my background with a very dark blue marker. This is something that I have done many times to many different cards that I've made in the past. What I have never had to double check was that the color I chose was full enough to complete the job. Face palm. It was not full enough this time. The color I originally chose ran out a little over halfway through so I needed to choose a new color that was as similar as possible. Obviously, without leaving the house to the marker refill (which is impossible in quarantine) I couldn't get the color to match exactly.

---->>>PAF SUBSCRIPTION PLAN<<<-----

Because of this, it's very clear to see where the lines of the markers are and it doesn't appear to be one cohesive color as it normally should. Like I said, I really wanted to salvage the card because I know that friends and family will still appreciate it, regardless of my mistakes. It's important to remember why we do what we do as crafters, and spreading happiness comes in a lot higher than perfection in my book.

PRIZES:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog 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 THIS POST on 04/30/2020.

I hope you have enjoyed my post, even with the mistakes! As always you can find the links to all the products I used below. Your next stop on the hop today is the incredible Amber Rain Davis

You can find the full blog hop list just below the product links!

Hello crafty friends! Welcome to my stop on Altenew's April 2020 Stamp and Die Release Blog Hop! I've got a couple of fun projects to share with you today using a few of my favorite products from this release. There are also some great prizes up for grabs which we'll talk about a little later, but first let's get right to the good stuff!

This first project uses the stunning Statement Flowers stamp and die set. Anytime I can find a large floral image to color, I'm ecstatic, but this one stood out to me as especially beautiful. The different angles of the flowers and the sheer size makes creating with them so fun. Whether you love using alcohol ink markers, colored pencils, watercolor, or just stamp for gorgeous outlines, this set will WOW the recipient. 

I struggled with my decision because I knew watercoloring this would turn out beautifully, but I ultimately decided to use Altenew's Artist Markers to color in these blooms. I used the Shades of Purple and Summer Afternoon marker sets to color in the flowers. I love the way yellow and purple look next to one another.  I also love that these darker/autumnal shades give the design a more moody feel. 

I used the coordinating die to cut out the image and adhered it to the upper right corner of my card. I trimmed off the excess that was hanging off on the side and used those excess pieces to fill in some spaces around the card. This creates the illusion of more flowers and adds more interest to the card front. For me sentiment, I decided to use a longer one from the All Things Orange stamp set, as I thought it went well with the golden orange/yellow flower that takes center stage.

PRIZES: 

For my next card, I used the Sweet Spring stencil which involves what, I believe, to be one of the smartest designs in the craft-iverse. The ink-rotate-ink style stencils are so fun to use and create really fun and beautiful designs easily. The first layer creates a full image, in this case a flower and leaf bouquet, and once you rotate it and line up the second stencil-ed image, you get a more detailed bouquet. 

I used my lightest color for my base stencil, and a color that's two shades darker for my second, detailed stencil layer. I decided to use two of these on my card front to create a fun, colorful background. For my sentiment, I used one from the new Sentiment Strips 2 stamp set. I love these sets because they're easy to create sentiments ahead of time, cut up, and save for whenever you need. 

Don't forget to leave a comment before you leave for your chance to win before hopping on to your next stop, the incredibly talented Vicky Papaioannou

You can find the full hop list just below the supply list/links! Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope to see you again soon!

SUPPLY LIST: