Altenew April 2022 Gardens Around the World Collection Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($300 in total prizes)

Hello everyone and thank you so much for joining me today. You should have started at the Altenew Card Blog and arrived here from the blog of the amazing Rosie Neustaedter

I really envisioned a one-layer card for this project with Victorian Greenhouse. I began by stamping the image onto masking paper, trimming it out, and adhered into place. I stamped the sentiment with Obsidian pigment ink and heat set it with clear embossing powder. I taped off the part that would be the sidewalk on my project before moving onto the sky.

I then used Caribbean Sky ink with a blending tool, and Cloud stencil to add my perfect cloudy day. I moved the tape from the sidewalk to the sky portion to create my sidewalk with Silver Lake ink and a blending tool. I removed the masking tape, and the mask so I could stamp the image with Obsidian pigment ink. Once the image was stamped, I used the coordinating stamps with Misty Morning to create each of the roof sections.

I splattered Antique Gold metallic ink spray across my panel. To finish this project, I added enamel dots from Green Meadows.

For my second project, I chose to work with the gorgeous Morning Flowers with two of my favorite colors (currently) teal and gray. In this project I changed up the teal colors a little bit, combining the two sets. I used Volcano Lake, Teal Cave, and Emerald. The leaves used my favorite Rock Collection (Limestone, Silverstone, and Industrial Diamond). The flower centers were stamped with Fresh Lemon and Maple Yellow.

My sentiment was stamped with Industrial Diamond before running through my die-cut machine with Checkered Diamonds 3D embossing folder.

This was likely my favorite set out of the release. I began with a piece of patterned paper from the Altenew Blends set. I chose a sentiment from the Victorian Greenhouse stamp set and clear heat embossed with Obsidian and Crystal Clear embossing powder. Then I used Classic Greenhouse to die-cut Woodgrain Powder cardstock. I cut the top layer twice and the bottom layer once. I set these aside and began to work on the greenery that would be in my greenhouse. I chose Victorian Greenhouse for the greenery, these sets work SO well together! I used Mocha for the flower pots and Shadow Creek for the greenery. Once I had placed the cacti where I wanted, I adhered the top layer to a piece of thick vellum before adhering to the second top piece and finally the back piece. I then trimmed around the greenhouse to remove the excess vellum. The Classic Greenhouse was finally ready to adhere to my panel. When I did it felt like something was missing. Using a Halftone Circle die, I decided to trim a “sun” from one of the Altenew Blends paper pack.

For this project, I was super inspired by the amazing Tasnim. She had posted a gorgeous sneak peek of this set months ago that she was using the 24 pan set to watercolor. You can actually see this on the back of the packaging! I knew I had watercolor this image as well — I was SO inspired! I stamped the image from Castle Garden with embossing ink and used Antique Gold embossing powder onto A2 loose watercolor sheets before heat setting. I then used the 24 pan set and the detail paintbrushes to color in my florals. I used Pocketful of Sunshine, Sea Shore, Tropical Forest, and Coffee Break. Finally, I chose a sentiment from Castle Garden and heat set using Antique Gold embossing Powder.

To begin my Small World project I began to work on my background. I wanted to create a galaxy background using: Rubellite, Midnight Violet, Fresh Lemon, and Lagoon. I used blending brushes to get the color down onto my Neenah 110# cardstock. I decided to add Obsidian, but it didn’t get dark enough. So I sprayed Antique Silver ink spray across the panel before spraying Jet Black ink spray. I loved how you could still see the colors poking through vibrantly, but somehow the Jet Black ink spray also dulled it. It’s a conundrum, but I loved the look :).

I used Opaque White paint and Pure White ink spray to do my splatters. The white splatter is what really makes a galaxy background. Remember when doing these backgrounds — you want it to look like a complete mess! While the panel dried, I worked on my main elements. My world was created with Tanzanite, Green Opal, and finished with Pure White embossing powder. I love that final touch of the white embossing powder — makes the world POP! My sentiments were stamped with clear embossing ink and heat set with Antique Gold embossing powder before being die-cut with Featured Sentiments Dies.

I felt like my panel still needed one more touch…or I just wanted to make a mess with embossing paste! I used the Milky Way stencil to create my Milky Way, lol! I love how the embossing paste picked up some of the colors from my panel!

For this project with Meadow Reflections, I decided to use Parchment cardstock. I go through periods where I use a lot and others when I say “Why haven’t I used Parchment lately?” I began by stamping all of the butterflies with embossing ink and then heat set with Crystal Clear embossing powder. My sentiment comes from another set released today, Castle Garden. Although I did not heat set this with clear embossing powder, you could for an extra special touch. I trimmed my sentiment and added it with foam tape.

Giveaway Prizes

$300 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $25 gift certificate to 8 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 04/20/2022 for a chance to win. 

Altenew will draw 10 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 04/22/2022.

The next stop on your crafty journey is Emily Midgett