Altenew Educators "Floral with Geometric Elements" 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 Pam Boedeker. I am a huge fan of her beautiful work!

I completed my Altenew Educator certification in March 2018. The Altenew team, especially Virginia Lu, was a great help in planning and conducting the workshop. Since then I have been privileged to participate in regular blog hops hosted by Altenew. AECP has also given me an opportunity to be part of an amazing group of crafters who are warm, supportive, and encouraging. I still regularly enroll in the Altenew Academy classes. I feel they are a wonderful way to keep in touch with the current trends and keep improving my skills as a crafter.

Today’s project is inspired by the 3D Floral Focus class conducted by Therese Calvird. She is an amazing crafter and a great trainer! This class is a must if you love the gorgeous 3D dies by Altenew and want to get more out of them!

One big takeaway for me from this class was to look at my supplies differently. Experiment with colors and materials and you will be surprised by the possibilities that open up!

My project for today is a little clutch that I spiced up with my Altenew dies. I used three die sets for this project – Dodec Star, Fantasy Florals& Rose Flurries.

I have a detailed video for you that explains how I ‘dyed’ my felt and created this unique accessory. You can watch it here or head to YouTube.

Here are some more pics of my project. 

I used black foam to add some texture to the background. I also dyed my yellow felt for the leaves since I didn't have any green felt.

 Close-up of the large flower

And the smaller flowers

Another look at the completed purse.

I hope you liked my project and find it inspiring. I would love to know your thoughts on this. 

The next person on the hop is Amber Rain Davis. She is such an amazing crafter! I am a big fan of her work! Here is the complete list in case you want to go back to the beginning or missed someone.

Hop list:

Altenew Card Blog

Nenette S. Madero

Kari VanNoy

Helen Kalb

Teresa Litchfield

Colleen Balija

Rachael Shedeed

Pam Boedeker

Nandini Karmarkar - You are here!

Amber Rain Davis

Neha Aggarwal 

Amy Hill

Teri Wilson

Terri Marie Koszler

Eva Bussom

Sandra Woodson

Irina Fonina

Jaycee Gaspar

Roteja Galvan

Teri Stokes

Michelle Ochoa Murray

Rosie Neustaedter

Patty Mello

Virginia Lu

And finally, no Altenew hop is complete without some great prizes!

Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 1 lucky winner! Please leave a comment here on the Altenew Card Blog by 12/21/2020 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 Altenew Winners Page on 12/23/2020.

There’s MORE! What’s a hop without YOU?! We have included an Inlinkz below for you to enter your gorgeous Altenew “Floral with Geometric Elements” creations. 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!

Love,

Nandini

Tag #1 - 25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hi! My first tag inspired by the 25 Days of Christmas Tags event hosted by Tracey McNeely on her blog In My Creative Opinion. 

This tag is inspired by Lindsay Larsen's beautiful tags on Day 5. Here is the link to her original post. I was very impressed by her clean design. I just loved the combo of kraft, black and white. I also made a short video to show you my process of creating this tag. You can watch the video on YouTube here.

I used the Forest Friends stamp set by Pinkfresh Studio. The sentiment is from the Christmas Poinsettia stamp set by Mudra Craft Stamps. I designed this stamp set couple of years ago.

Love,

Nandini

Step-by-step Tutorial for CrafTreat with Video | Layered Hydrangea Stencil

Hi! Nandini Karmarkar here, with my very first DT post for CrafTreat! 

I am a big fan of stencils and I really love the CrafTreat layered stencils. With the multiple layers for each flower, it is very easy to get a beautiful, realistic-looking image. Today I will show you a card I created using the Layered Hydrangea stencil.

I have also included a detailed video showing the process. You can also watch it here.

I created two flowers, one with light pink, dark pink and purple, and the second with yellow, orange, and purple. Using multiple shades gives added depth to your image. For the flower centers, I used distress oxide ink and then added some glitter paste. This gives some shine as well as texture to the flowers.

I kept the leaves simple. There are two leaves in this stencil and I just inked each in two shades of green.

Once the ink was dry, I fussy-cut everything, leaving a tiny border around the image. If you find it difficult to maintain an even border while fussy-cutting, first lightly draw a line with a pencil. You can simply erase it after your cutting is done.

I like cards that have a bit of drama. And colorful flowers against a dark background always look dramatic. So I decided to use a black card base. To add some subtle texture to the background, I used one of the stencils from the 2-Step Plaid and added some inking with black ink.

To assemble the card, I arranged the flowers and leaves over the card base in a pleasing arrangement and adhered them with liquid glue. I used foam tape to pop up some of the elements.

I stamped the sentiment with dark pink ink and adhered it to the card with some foam tape.

Here is another look at the completed card.

CrafTreat Supplies:

CTS439 Layered Hydrangea Stencil

CTS442 2-Step Plaid Stencil

Other Supplies:

• Dye inks
• Distress Oxide inks
• Black card base
• Cream cardstock
• Finger Daubers
• Glitter paste

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Make My Monday Challenge #125 - Use Stencils:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Bright & Cheerful:

The Flower Challenge #46 - Anything Goes:

Love,
Nandini

DIY Background Stamp & CAS Card with Video...

Hi! I here today with my very first video tutorial! I will teach you how to make a background stamp with fun foam and sun board. And a quick, CAS card using the stamp. You can watch the video below or head here to watch it on YouTube.

This is a fun technique to stretch your supplies. And very easy to do with whatever you have at hand!

I used the dies from the Bold Blooms set by Ellen Hutson.

The sentiment is from the Hip Hip set by Kaisercraft. I used the Sky Blue Mai ink by Mudra Craft Stamps for the stamping.

This is another look at the card.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes:

Yes, Virginia... June Show & Share:

Love,
Nandini