Altenew Educators "Giving Thanks" Blog Hop and Linky Party + Giveaway

Hi! I hope all of you are enjoying the latest blog hop by the Altenew Educators. You should have arrived here from the super talented Amy Hill. I am a huge fan of her beautiful work!

I completed my Altenew Educator certification in March 2018. It was an amazing experience! Each class I took taught me so much and helped me better myself. The final step was conducting a workshop. The Altenew team, especially Virginia Lu was a great help in planning and conducting the workshop. Two years down the line, I have started conducting workshops at home. It is a great way of sharing my love for card making with others.

Altenew blog hops have given me an opportunity to experiment with my supplies for projects other than cards or scrapbooks. This time I decided to create a home décor project. I have always been fascinated with paper tole and 3D decoupage. I used the Sweetest Peas stamp set to create a frame.

I started by stamping the flowers from the set on white cardstock with black ink. After drying the ink, I colored the flowers with my Zigs. I used the brush pens directly as I wanted the colors to be intense. I used three shades for each flower, adding the darkest, then the medium, and finally blending with the lightest color. Once the coloring was done, I fussy cut the images.

To create the background, I took a piece of handmade paper measuring around 8” x 6”. I lightly inked it with distress oxide inks in blue and green and added some splatters of black ink. Once the panel was dry, I stamped the images with black ink. I used my Jet Black Artist marker to darken the lines and also edge the flowers with black.

I cut the flowers apart and popped them up with foam tape to achieve a 3D effect. Here is the completed panel.

I got the panel professionally framed. Here is an angled look at the panel.

I also created a tag with the Sweetest Peas stamp set, using similar techniques. The idea was to create a gift set.

I am in love with the artsy look of these flowers!

The sentiment is from the Leaf Canopy stamp set. I heat embossed it with pale blue embossing powder.

Here is another look at my frame and gift tag.

Whenever we think of stamps and dies, we tend to think in terms of paper. But I have always enjoyed challenging myself to use my supplies with other mediums. And one of my favorites is fabric. I grew up sewing and also trained as a textile designer in college. So I created another home décor project using my Altenew supplies.

I used the solid images from the Leaf Canopy stamp set and acrylic paints to stamp on some cushion covers.

I have a good sewing machine and created these covers from scratch. You can also use readymade cotton cushion covers. I cut a square measuring 16” x 16” out of cream cotton fabric and marked the stitching lines. Used a mix of different acrylic paints in shades green, blue, pink, and orange. I also used gold for some shine. I mounted the stamps on acrylic blocks and applied the paints with finger daubers. Once my stamping was done, I allowed the panels to dry overnight. After ironing the panels on the back to set the colors, I stitched them up into cushion covers.

I used shades of green and blue, with touches of gold and orange.

For this cover, I used shades of orange, coral, and pink and added some gold. I used a little bit of green only on the outer edge.

Here are the cushions gracing the sofa in my drawing-room. The sofa is very old and came along with the house. I am happy that my stamped cushion covers are adding some style to the room!

I also created a simple tag to go with the cushion covers.

I die-cut circles out of cream and black cardstock. I inked the background with distress oxide inks and added some water droplets. After drying the panel, I stamped the sentiment from the same set with black ink. I die cut the large branch with the coordinating die for the Leaf Canopy set and adhered it to the inked panel.

I was required to complete 20 classes by Altenew Academy for my certification. These classes are so amazing that I continued taking them even today. The latest one I took was the All About Layering 5 by Lydia Evans. It is a fantastic series if you want to learn the tricks and tips for layering stamps. And it is free! I made lots of cards using the techniques from this class. And this one, using acetate is my favorite!

I used the Fresh Freesia stamp set to stamp several flowers on ivory cardstock. I colored the flowers with my Altenew Artist Markers and die-cut them with the coordinating die. Here is a close-up of the flowers.

I followed the wonderful video by Lydia Evans to create the card. The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

Here is another look at the card.

I hope you enjoyed my projects and have some new ideas for using your Altenew products with different mediums. I also hope you check out the classes offered by Altenew Academy as well as the new virtual classes. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

No blog hop is complete without some cool prizes! 

Prizes:

Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 3 lucky winners! Please leave a comment here on the Altenew Card Blog by 6/17/2020 for a chance to win. 

We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $15 Altenew gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. All winners will be announced on the Card Blog on 6/21/2020.

This is no ordinary hop! We want you to join in on the fun as well. There is a Linky Party going on at the Altenew Card Blog. All you have to do is link up your creations based on the theme of the hop, which is, “Giving Thanks” and mention that you are taking part in the Altenew Educators Blog Hop and Linky Party. So what are you waiting for?! Link up!

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 Altenew gift certificate!

Special offer:

FREE U.S. shipping with code HAPPY6T or $5 OFF international shipping with code SHOPPING6T at checkout on orders over $29.

Offer valid from 6/10/2020 at 12:01 am EDT through6/11/2020 at 11:59 pm EDT.

Shop HERE! Not valid on prior purchases. Cannot be combined with other promo codes. Not valid on Altenew Academy Classes and Virtual Workshops.

You can continue the hop by visiting Nancy McClelland. She is an amazing crafter and always has inspiring projects to share. I am also sharing the blog hop list in case you want to start at the beginning.

Altenew Card Blog

Nenette S. Madero

Christine Pennington

Vicki Finger

Amy Hill

Nandini Karmarkar - That's me!

Nancy McClelland

Neha Aggarwal

Terri Marie Koszler

Rosie Neustaedter

Helen Kalb

Laurel Beard

Maryam Sharara 

Teri Stokes

Nicole Watt 

Erin Thompson

Irina Fonina

Amber Rain Davis

Patty Mello

Virginia Lu

Love,
Nandini