Altenew Educator "For the Love of Flowers" Blog Hop and Linky Party + Giveaway

Today I am very happy to be part of the Altenew Educator Blog Hop and Link Party, thanks for being here to join in the fun! The full list the blogs in the hop is at the bottom of this post.

The theme of the hop is For the Love of Flowers and I think this is something that all us Altenew fans have in common - the variety of flower stamps from Altenew is phenomenal, there truly is something for everyone!

Of course there are prizes!

• Altenew is generously giving away a $30 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by March 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. 
• 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 the Altenew store!
• And there is a special sale going on, please scroll down to the end of this post to find out more.

All winners will be announced on the Altenew Card Blog on March 14, 2020.

Now for my cards!
I chose to work with both older and newer sets that I combined together to create some very colorful projects, much needed in the dreary weather we have had in Berlin for the past few weeks... Cannot wait for spring any longer!

For your information I have linked all the products I have used to the Altenew shop, please note that I do not receive a commission from Altenew, this is purely a service to you, my blog readers.

My first card is a bold one in black, white and red using the older Adore You and newer Dot Art stamp sets. I feel that the lines and dots come together quite nicely in this graphic card.

To make this card:

• On a black card panel (4x5.25 inches), stamp one of leaf clusters from Dot Art twice with clear embossing ink, heat emboss with white detail powder
• Stamp several of the flowers from Adore You with black embossing ink and heat emboss with clear embossing powder on a red piece of scrap paper
• Cut out the flowers, I do not own the dies but these flowers are easy to fussy cut
• Arrange the flowers (best use an uneven number so I chose five) diagonally on top of the leaf clusters and glue down
• Stamp sentiment in clear embossing ink and heat emboss in white
• Mount the black panel to a standard A2 card

Black and white is already a striking combination, adding a bright color like red will really make your design pop.

For my second card I used a similar diagonal layout but decided to heat emboss the leaves from the Adore You set directly on to a light blue A2 folded note card and glue orange flowers on top. The Thank You sentiment is from the Rose Blossom set.

To make this card:

• On a light blue, folded note card (4.5 x 5.5 inches), stamp several leaf clusters from Adore You with clear embossing ink, heat emboss with white detail powder
• Stamp several of the flowers from Adore You with clear embossing ink and heat emboss with white embossing powder on an orange piece of scrap paper 
• Fussy cut the flowers - at this point I realized that my orange was too pale compared to my blue card stock so I decided to darken the flower centers by applying Autumn Blaze Altenew crisp ink with an ink dauber. Wipe the ink off the white embossing once you are done daubering (is that even a word?)
• Arrange the flowers diagonally on top of the leaf clusters and glue down
• Stamp sentiment in clear embossing ink and heat emboss in white

Leaving a border around the flowers when you fussy cut (like a die will) makes the outline stand out more and defines the flowers even better against the background.

And now for a more traditional look but with a bit of a background twist; a flower cluster on white card stock that was dry embossed using an Altenew stencil.

To make this card:

• Use the Floral Drape stencil to dry emboss a white piece of card stock (4.5 x 5.5 inches) in your die cutting machine
• Stamp several of the flowers and leaves from Adore You with clear embossing ink and heat emboss with white embossing powder on several pieces of colored scrap paper 
• Fussy cut the flowers and leaves, or use the accompanying dies if you have them
• Using an ink dauber, apply Altenew inks in darker shades to add dimension and more color to the flowers and leaves. Remember to wipe the ink off the white embossing once you are done so that the embossing is nice and crisp
• Arrange the flowers and leaves in a cluster and glue down 
• Stamp sentiment (from Birds of a Feather) in Vineyard Berry crisp ink

Look through your scraps drawer and pull together what you have for a pleasing color combo, and use your Altenew dye inks to change the color of the paper as needed!

For my next few projects I used the gorgeous new Bold Floral Drape set that I am so in love with! I stamped several panels using different color combos for very different looks.

The first card is definitely bold, I used a very bright Altenew crisp ink color combo that I love: Tide Blue for the background and Heart Beat for the flowers.

To make this card:

• Using a stamping tool (Misti) stamp background in Tide Blue, over stamp twice to get a really good even coverage
• Stamp the flowers in Heart Beat, three times
• Using an A2 rectangular die, cut the stamped piece to fit the front of a card, glue down
• Die cut letters using Tall Alpha dies out of brown card stock to write Hello, glue down onto card
• To make the letters stand out more, outline the letters with a white gel pen

I just joined a book club so I needed some new bookmarks and the patterns stamped with the Bold Floral Drape were perfect for this project. In hindsight I should have put the writing towards the top rather than at the bottom, to be able to see it when it sticks out of a book. Next time!

To make bookmarks:

• Stamp the background using different color combos, from left to right
• Orange Cream and Aqualicious
• Teal Cave, Frosty Pink and Cotton Candy
• Autumn Blaze, Dew Drops, Aqualicious , Teal Cave and Galactic Stream
• Cut the pattern paper pieces to 5.25 x 4 inches
• Score a line in the middle, at 2 inches using a scoring board and fold together
• Stick down with strong double sided tape
• Stamp your word of choice in black or gray ink using Calligraphy Alpha letters

Then of course I needed a card to go with my bookmark and the book I wanted to send to my sister. A leftover scrap did the trick.

To make this card:

• Use a scrap left over from the bookmark panel and cut into a strip 5.5 x 1.5 in
• Glue a slightly smaller piece of craft foam or dimensional tape on the back of the card strip
• Glue down slightly off center onto a white A2 folded note card
• Stamp greeting (Mod Vases) vertically in the same color as the background (Teal Cave)

Here is the full list of blogs participating in the hop, visit them all to see the beautiful creations of my fellow Altenew Educators and leave some love for a chance to win a gift certificate!

Your next stop is the very talented Teri Wilson's blog, I am sure she has some great projecys to share today!

Altenew Card Blog
Michelle Ochoa Murray
Nandini Karmakar
Terri Marie Koszler
Irina Fonina
Amy Hill
Vicki Finger
Laurel Beard
Teri Stokes
Neha Aggarwal
Nenette S. Madero
Nancy McClelland
Eva Bussom
Amber Rain Davis
Rosie Neustaedter
Patty Mello
Helen Kalb   < you are here!
Teri Wilson
Christine Pennington
Maryam Sharara
Nicole Watt
Viginia Lu

Oh and by the way, Altenew has a special offer right now!

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

Just click the link below to see all the products on sale right now:
https://altenew.com/collections/stamp-die-bundles

Now I am off to do some hopping myself, I am sure this hop is chock a block full of inspiration!

Hugs and as we say in Germany - Tschüss!

Helen