Friday, March 1, 2019

Altenew Build-A-Flower: Dahlia Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Welcome, welcome! I'm just delighted to be a stop on this fabulous blog hop celebrating the newest Bulid-a-Flower release from Altenew ... the Dahlia! You may have just come from Svitlana Shayevich's blog, but if not feel free to start at the beginning of the hop at the Altenew Card Blog.
Yet again, Altenew has released a multi-step flower that allows you to have a burst of color, all without having to do the actual coloring. Genius!  
 In no time I was able to create this vibrant bouquet of dahlias in several different colors. 
 
I decided to turn the dahlia flower heads into stemmed flowers, and collect them in a glass vase that's filled with water. Here's how I did it:  
I always keep hard plastic packaging on hand instead of tossing it for reasons just like this. I drew a vase in permanent marker on the leftover packaging (I'm sure from a toy at Christmas) and cut it out. I then cut a piece of vellum with the same silhouette, and used the Altenew Artist Markers in the palest blue to make some water. Finally, some thin strips of paper are colored in green to make stems. 
Then it's just a matter of arranging your bouquet. Once I have them all in a pleasing arrangement I take a picture so I can remember how to put them back (I could also use the Glad Press 'n Seal plastic to pick everything up and hold it in place while I'm putting adhesive on).
To enhance the realism, I cut a slit along the lip of the vase so I could stick the actual stems through. Under the vase on the card base I've done a very light stenciling through the Elegant Swirls Stencil and added some spatters with the Altenew watercolors. The beautiful sentiment is from this new BAF Dahlia set.
After finishing this card, I realized I used a lot less flowers than I intended, so instead of putting the leftovers in a pile never-to-be-seen again, I pushed myself to make a few more cards.
They're super basic, with a trio of flowers gathered in an ink-blended corner of the card. Some have a gold embossed sentiment, some I left empty so I could pick the greeting when I need one.

Then I decided to try out a different color combination, and wouldn't you know, those turned out really well too!
For this card I just assembled the flowers in the center of the card and added some sequins and ink spatters. 
The background is blended with the colors I used for the flowers and leaves to keep things cohesive. I stamped a sentiment from this set on two strips of paper spanning across the card.
Again, I made a few too many flowers (because they are just so quick and easy to make!) so I used this opportunity to make an additional card. To keep things moving quickly, I didn't think about the format of the card at all, and just used the same formula as the last set of cards.
 
Wow, before I knew it I had SIX cards made from the Dahlia Build-a-Flower ... so fun!

Subscription Plan
There is now a monthly subscription plan for the Build-A-Flower sets! When signed up, you are guaranteed a spot in the monthly Build-A-Flower releases (which often sell out) and will receive the stamp and coordinating die set at a specially discounted price ($35.00 →$29.99). See the Altenew site for further details.
 
Prizes:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog for a chance to win. Three winners will be announced on the Card Blog, and other three winners will be announced on the Scrapbook Blog on 3/9/2019.

My Giveaway:
The folks at Altenew have also generously provided a $20 gift certificate for one lucky follower/commenter on my blog! To be eligible, please 1) follow my blog and 2) leave a comment on this post before March 6th, 2019. I will announce the lucky winner on my blog on the 6th.

Your next stop on this hop is the lovely Vicky Papaioannou who has something beautiful to share with you!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Sure hope you enjoy all the wonderful inspiration from all of these mega-talented crafters!

Kelly

At no cost to you, affiliate links may be used.
If you get lost along the way, here is a complete list of the hop:


Kelly Griglione <--- you are here!

79 comments:

  1. Love the red and orange flowers! :) So pretty.

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  2. Both cards are beautiful and so different. Love them!

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  3. Thanks for sharing these gorgeous cards.

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  4. Beautiful bouquets! Dahlias are so gorgeous and I love that they come in so many colors, this is a great set.

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  5. Gorgeous creations, thanks for sharing this beautiful Dahlia! I love the repurposed plastic vase!

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  6. Great cards! I love they way you picked one flower to make a contrasting color!

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  7. Thank you for sharing these lovely cards with us.

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  8. that blue and purple colour combo is fabulous on your cards

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  9. I love your vase and the added stems--what a great idea, Kelly!
    And I'm totally lovin' the second color combo, just gorjuss!!

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  10. Thanks for sharing and showing how to make a vase with water in it. I love the idea of recycling the plastic. The blue and purple flowers are just beautiful!

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  11. Beautiful cards ! Loved the realistic vase :)

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  12. Your cards are beautiful! Love how you made the vase. And the sentiment really goes with that as the stems have to be strong to hold up the flowers. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Beautiful job on your cards. I really like the second color combination - just my colors

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  14. WOW!! Love your vase! The glass and water is perfect. Great way to use your resources. I fell in love with your card when I first saw it. Love your other cards. It's always fun to create more flowers with those extras.

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  15. what great ideas for cards. I really like the vase and the other cards with the extra flowers.

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  16. Very beautiful cards. Really love the water effect with the vase.

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  17. Your cards are very pretty. I love this new release!

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  18. Love the set and your cards are beautiful. A stunning set to have.
    Thanks for sharing your ideas.

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  19. Beautiful cards. I can tell by your comments and the amount of cards you made that you were really enjoying this set of flowers. I know I will too. I love dahlias

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  20. Love your creative use of the same stamp set. The different layouts and colors made beautiful cards. Thanks for sharing your talent.

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  21. Lovely cards! I love the colors you used and the way you created a place for these beauties with the vase and shading!!! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  22. These cards are so lovely, Kelly. I especially like the "bunch" of dahlias gathered in the vase. tfs

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  23. This is amazing! You gave me some great ideas. This is such a painstaking process that achieved great results. Thank you so much.

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  24. I love the idea with the vase! Great colors too! Really like the rich oranges and yellows!

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  25. Gorgeous cards! The colors are so vibrant!

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  26. These are all beautiful. I love the clever idea for the vase.

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  27. What a great idea to add stems to the flowers in that first card!

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  28. Absolutely gorgeous set! Love your cards Kelly, you did an amazing job adding dimension! New follower here!Thanks for the inspiration!

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  29. Great cards. Love the blue/purple combination. These flowers really "pop" in those colors. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  30. That vase is amazing! Also love your color choices, very pretty!

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  31. Gorgeous cards. I loved the first one because of the hint of a vase to highlight your dahlia's. Beautiful coloring. Thanks for sharing your time and talent with us.

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  32. Such pretty cards. Love the purples on your first one and the vibrant colours of your second one.

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  33. So very pretty love the colors you used

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  34. Wow, these are fabulous cards! Your coloring usage is so pretty!

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  35. Pretty cards - the vase is so clever!

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  36. You have pointed out the very reason I love Altenew stamps, Kelly. You can stamp them in layers for quickly made cards or color them with any medium when that's what you want to do. The last card is the way I usually picture dahlias but all the cards are lovely.

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  37. Hi Kelly, I love your cards, especially the colors and softness of the last one! What did you use to blend your inks so beautifully?! You're right about putting those extra die cuts to use right away so they don't end up never seeing a card front! Thanks for sharing!

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  38. My fave is the yellow and orange card! Great composition and colors

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  39. Hi Kelly, I really like all your card e,samples and the soft colors that you used on your background(s). Good idea to make them all now and they are so easy to do with these Altenew sets. I think it is a neat how you made your vase!

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  40. Love your Dahlia colors, especially the orange. Great idea putting your flowers in a vase. Lovely cards!

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  41. great cards. the vase = genius!

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  42. Oooh's and aaah's here for another beautiful flower. Love your card inspiration!

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  43. Beautiful cards!! Love the vase. So creative!

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  44. super cards - thanks for the ideas:)

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  45. great card with the new release, love the colors and vase. Thanks for sharing..

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  46. Thanks for sharing these beautiful cards. Love this new Dahlia stamp set.

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  47. love what you did with all these cards. A cool vase idea.

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  48. Love the colors you chose for the flowers.

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  49. Gorgeous cards! Beautiful compositions and color palettes. Love the vase - so clever!

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  50. OMG! These are amazing. Love the red and orange one. Thank you for the inspiration :)

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  51. Kelly, all of your cards are beautiful! If I had too, not sure I could pick a favorite. Thanks for sharing the flower vase with water idea.

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  52. simply stunning! Thank you for the inspiration on using this build a flower set!

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  53. Beautiful! The red and orange was very unexpected but I LOVE them!

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  54. Lovely cards! I love the vase, thanks for sharing how you created that, and the gorgeous red/orange colors of the last one.

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  55. LOVE your cards and color combinations!

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  56. I love all of your gorgeous cards! How you put together the "vase" for the flowers is genious! Love all the colors you used on the different cards too!

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  57. Beautiful cards, beautiful styles, beautiful colors. I love that gorgeous dahlia.

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  58. Beautiful cards! Love the colors and designs.
    Thanks for sharing...

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  59. Kelly, this are all beautiful! I especially love how you created the bouquet in the glass and added the paper to make it look like water. Your last card is so pretty. Love the orange colors and how you shaded the flowers.

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  60. An array of beautiful projects, so much inspirations here!! Thanks for sharing.

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  61. These are lovely! I really like the flowers.

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  62. What a beautiful set of cards! Lovely work! :)

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  63. Lovely cards! The dahlia flowers are just beautiful, and I love the way you colored them! Awesome new BAF set!

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  64. Beautiful coloring. I really love the oranges. Well done! TFS!

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  65. Gorgeous gorgeous cards!! The colors are beautiful!! I love the vase idea, it was perfect!

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  66. The vase is a great idea; I'm definitely going to have to try that. And I love the color palette of your orange and red dahlias. Thanks for sharing!

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  67. I just love the flowers with the vase card. So creative. Definitely inspired to try! Thanks for sharing!

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  68. Once I finally choose my colors & know how the layering stamp fits together, making them does go surprisingly fast. It's the experimenting that uses up all my time!

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  69. What a cool way to make a vase! Thanks for the instructions, which actually look easier than I thought! The vase and the stems surely add dramatic interest to these flowers, but it is your coloring technique that really makes them exquisite. You are such an expert at capturing the light, and that makes your blossoms glow!

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  70. Wonderful vase card - it looks so detailed and dimensional, I can almost feel it. The other cards are so lovely too - I especially love the colours of the last one!

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  71. Your cards are so beautiful and creative!

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  72. Awesome Cards, love them all. My favorite is the one with the tall stems. Your blending is out of this world. Thanks much, Denise

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  73. Just love your card- so well put together and the colors are great - I know many ppl that would be honored to receive such a card.... like me! thanks

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  74. Hi Kelly :) Your cards are absolutely stunning!!! Thanks for all the details! I love how you made it so realistic looking with the plastic and vellum on the vase....gives me a way to use the plastic I keep too ;) Both cards are just gorgeous!!! Thanks for the inspiration :)

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I absolutely love reading comments. Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave one! - Kelly