Altenew December 2019 Ink Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello Friends! I have to say, I get so darn excited about new ink colors, and new SETS of ink colors are even better! Sometimes I get in a rut of reaching for the same few ink pads, so it's always a big boost to my creativity to have new colors to play with. Altenew is releasing three new sets of ink colors and I'm dying to share a few cards showcasing these colors with you!

You may have come from the very lovely Norine Borys, but if not, please feel free to start at the beginning of this blog hop with the Altenew Card Blog.

Here are some of the cards I made using only the new inks and black. What a gorgeous winter palette!

This card probably showcases all the different shades of new ink colors the best, as I used all 12 colors! Really love how all these gorgeous shades go together!

Aside from the sentiment, this whole card was made with only one stamp ... the offset scallop from Pattern Power. It looks kind of involved, but it's not. You just stamp once for each color. This is a good example of when it comes in handy to have a set of inks in the same color family, aside from the obvious usefulness for layered stamp sets.

This card features my most favorite colors in this release ... the very moody Dark Night and Nimbus in the Tranquility set of inks. Love that it's dark blue without being "navy". I felt this was a perfect color scheme for those difficult sympathy cards ... not an overbearing black, but also not a lively, fun color. The background was made by sponging the Nimbus ink through the Honeycomb stencil, and then stamping the triangles from Pattern Power in Dark Night on top.

In addition to the dark blues setting the mood for a sympathy card, all the gray that's been added to  the Sugarplums ink set make it a good candidate for a sympathy card too. Here I've used these purples with the beautiful Camellia Japonica Build-a-Flower, which happens to be 20% off now!

The flower is paired with die cut leaves from the Virginia Rose 3D Die set. These leaves tend to go with anything, and I love that you don't have to stamp them first. They are meant to just be die cut, so YAY, one less step! The flower and leaves are mounted on the Nesting Labels set of dies, which are a bargain at $16 ... you get five different sizes!

Finally, the sentiment is from one of the newest Build-a-Flowers, the Lavender. Love, love all the handwritten sentiments in this set.

This card uses an ink from each family to color different sections of the Aztec stencil. I tried making some of the center sections gradient so it didn't look as flat.

The Handwritten Hello set of dies are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. This time I used both layers for Hello, which allows the white "hello" on the white card to stand out a little more.

One of the first cards I wanted to make when I saw this color palette is one that features an antique globe (using the Big World Stamp Set). Don't the mustard/brown/blue-gray colors have a vintage feel when they're all together?

Actually, when I first got this stamp set, I was looking for exactly these colors and was a little disappointed when I couldn't put this look together. Now I can! I die cut the "world" sentiment and inked it with the darkest blue, Dark Night.

The background is my legit favorite background to use, ever. It's Faceted Stars, and it seems to go with everything. Layered florals, contemporary florals, objects, night-time scenes, ... I haven't seen anything yet where I've tried it out and was like, "eh, I don't know ..."

I know I showed four cards for this hop, but wait, I have one more set!

Here's another set of cards from the Pattern Power set, but instead of the scallops, I used the 3D puzzle stamp. Love that it's just one stamp that you rotate 120 degrees each time you change ink.

Super bold, super graphic! The sentiments are from the Sentiment Strips Stamp Set.

These would be perfect for teens, men, and male teens!

I did stamp these a few times, but look at how even the coverage of the ink is! Very solid and smooth.

Complete Ink Bundle

There are a lot of happy Spring and Summer colors, for sure, but these three new ink sets fill the gap nicely for Fall and Winter colors. 

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 by 12/11/2019 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 blogs on 12/14/2019.

I am now pleased to send you along to Nathalie DeSousa who has some wonderful projects to share with you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Kelly

Supplies Used: (affiliated links used; thanks so much for your support!)

 

Fall Harvest Ink Set

Sugarplums Ink Set

Tranquility Ink Set

Pattern Power

BAF Camillia Japonica

Handwritten Hello Die

Nesting Labels Die Set

Virginia Rose 3D Die

Big World

Faceted Stars

BAF-Lavender

12 Tags of Christmas Challenge with Ellen Hutson - Joy to the World

Hello Friends! I'm joining my blogging buddy Ardyth today on her theme for Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas ... Joy to the World. If you're new to this series, for the first twelve days in December, Ellen Hutson is hosting a different theme based on a popular holiday song. You're welcome to play along and post your creations for us all to see (and of course for prizes, including a $150 gift certificate to Ellen Hutson on each of the twelve days)!

I made two tags for this challenge, both using the Shipping Tags Die by Julie Ebersole for Essentials by Ellen. 

I went literal for this theme, and used the actual word "joy," thanks to my go-to hinged alphabet dies. I love using them for projects like this where I want the letters to hang off the end of my project.

Cut a strip of cardstock the same height as the letters (3/4") and then put your letter die on the end of each strip. Once you've sent the die through your die cutting machine, make a vertical cut that's right in line with the scored line (the hinge) and the rest of the strip will fall off, leaving just your letter.

The gorgeous floral is the Stargazer Lily, which just came out from Altenew. It was leftover on my desk from the latest Altenew monthly build-a-flower set. Just because it's not a poinsettia doesn't mean you can't use it for Christmas!

I made a second tag with similar colors, but much more graphic after eliminating the flower. For this tag, the letters are cut in the middle of each strip.

And when you look at it from the side, you can read the message since the letters are hinged outwards!

You could make a similar tag with initials, a short name or nickname, or anything really. So fun!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the 3rd tag of Chrismas (and another chance to enter the big contest!)

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly



Supplies used (affiliate links used, at no additional cost to you. thanks for your support!)

Mini Tags, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies Black Jack, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Hinged Alphabet by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies Glue Tube, Lawn Fawn Shipping Tags by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies

Altenew Build-A-Flower: Stargazer Release Blog Hop + GiveawayStar

Hello Folks! Welcome to the blog hop celebrating the release of Altenew's latest Build-A-Flower set, the Stargazer Lily! You may have come from the blog of Keeway Tsao, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with the Altenew Card Blog.

The gorgeous Stargazer Lily is a staple in many floral bouquets because of their very large, long-lasting, and beautiful blooms. I love seeing several buds in my arrangements because I know I'm in for a couple weeks of enjoyment. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the burnt orange pollen that falls and stains everything once they're past their prime, right?!

Well, I've got good news for you.

These Stargazer Lilies have all the long-lasting beauty, but will never-ever shed staining pollen! Whoo-hoo!

Here's a clean and simple card to start with. I used a textured off-white paper (actually it was from blank stationary that I found when cleaning out my junk cabinet in the kitchen last week) that's die cut from the largest die in the Nesting Labels Die set. Instead of cutting off the top, I folded it over and adhered it to the back of the card. Why not use the whole thing?

The stargazer lily fits the space perfectly, which makes this a great candidate for a clean & simple card. A metallic gold cut from the Handwritten Hello Die is no doubt simple and classy.

After only using one of these beautiful lilies on the card, I had several more that needed a home.

This card features not only three of the lilies, but both of the layered leaves, AND a non-layered floral image which is perfect for filling in the background of these die cut florals. Such a smart image to add to this set! After stamping the open florals on the kraft card base, I colored the petals in white. 

The b&w sentiment is from my favorite sentiment set EVER, from any company, Sentiment Strips. If you don't have it already, what are you waiting for? Twenty-five different sentiments in the perfect font, perfect size, and perfect range of occasions. 

For this particular card, I wanted to make the overall sentiment more substantial than the original "sending you sweet birthday wishes" so I split it into "sending you" and "sweet birthday wishes" and then spelled out "SUPER" with the Tall Alpha Dies. At first the card looked too busy, but I was happier once I used a strip of vellum to back the letters with.  

Either way you use these ... with a lot going on, or with a really clean design ... these stargazer lilies are bold and beautiful. There are four layers for the petals, and two layers for the stamen in the middle, so that's SIX different colors you can have on these blooms. That's a ton of detail, all pre-planned out for you.

Subscription Plan:
There's 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 and will receive the stamps and coordinating dies at a special discounted price ($35.00 -> $29.99). See Altenew site for further details.

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 the Altenew Card Blog on 12/8/2019.

Now I am happy to send you to the lovely and talented Ilda Dias, who has a treat to share with you!
  

Thanks so much for stopping by. If you enjoyed your time here, I'd welcome you to follow me on Instagram for all my latest projects!

-Kelly

Supplies Used (Affiliate links used. Thanks so much for your support!)

Stargazer Lily

Handwritten Hello

Nesting Labels Set

Tall Alpha Dies