Altenew January 2016 Blog Hop winner!

Hey!

Happy Saturday! I'm popping by today to announce the randomly selected winner of a $30 Altenew  gift certificate from the January 2016 Blog Hop. So, without further ado, the winner is:

Barb Ghig! 

Congrats, Barb! Be sure to email Altenew at winner@altenew.com to claim your prize and happy shopping!

Fear not if you're not a winner here as there are plenty more prizes to be won! Check out the Altenew blog today where you'll find even more winners and links to more blog peeps announcing even more winners. Good luck!

Right, I must dash as I've got some serious crafting to do for a few magazine commissions (perk of the day job!) and for the blogeroo too so I need to go make myself a lovely cup of tea to get the mojo warmed up. I hope you have a super weekend and you're keeping toasty and safe if  you're caught up in that crazy snow storm across the pond!

Altenew & Freckled Fawn collaboration blog hop!

Hey!

Happy Friday! Woo hoo – the weekend it just about here and I'm kicking it off here on the blogeroo with a fantastic blog hop as two awesome companies join forces: Altenew & Freckled Fawn! You should have hopped across here from Adrienne Alvis; if you haven't, then be sure to start out at Altenew HQ. :)

Freckled Fawn kindly offered the Altenew Design Team some of their yummy products to work with for our blog hop projects and I couldn't resist trendy arrow-shaped paperclips, geometric washi tape and cool puffy alphabet stickers. :)

As I sat down to play with these new pretties along with my stash of wonderful Altenew goodies, I found that the products complemented each other perfectly.

• I stamped my card front with triangles from the Sohcahtoa stamp set (one of my favourites) and found they co-ordinated so well with the triangles on the washi tape. 
• To try and keep the design balanced, I purposely stamped the triangles on the card base facing upwards as they are on the washi tape. 
• The paperclip at the top helps to guide your eyes to follow the design through the sentiment. The 'you' is a partially stamped sentiment from Label Love and overhangs the focal point slightly to balance with the overhanging paperclip in the opposite corner. 

Well that's my card (and detailed explanation!) for today's amazing blog hop. Don't forget to comment along with way as there are TWO Freckled Fawn Capture embellishment kits and TWO Atlenew $30 gift certificates up for grabs for randomly selected comments along the hop. Comments must be left by Tuesday 26th January by 11.59am EST.

I won't keep you any longer as you're sooooooooo near the end of the blog hop. Next on your hopping adventure is the final stop at the Freckled Fawn blog. Happy hopping and have a fabulous weekend!

Altenew January 2016 Blog Hop!

Hey!

Happy Monday! I'm kicking off the working week celebrating the Altenew January 2016 release as part of a fabulous blog hop. You won't want to miss out as there's prizes to be won along the way! You should have arrived here from my talented friend, Aga. If you haven't then be sure to start out at Altenew HQ. :)

Well. Where's a gal to start? With 10 brand-new stamp sets released I was spoilt for choice! However, one set really hit a soft spot with me: Teachers Rule. Before my day job as an editor of two papercrafting magazines,  I used to teach and support students in a secondary school. I just couldn't resist inking this set up. :)

The multi-step stamp sets that Altenew are renowned for, now come in the form of an apple! I love this idea and wanted to show a different look you can achieve with this concept by stamping the shadow layer with VersaMark ink and dusting it with gold Perfect Pearls.

I added a little shadow to ground the apple by painting below it with Altenew's Frosty Pink ink mixed with water. I also added some splashes of Perfect Pearls mixed with water too for a fun, inky, shimmery look too. It's hard to capture in a photograph but trust me, it's there!

So, what's next? Well how about some lollypops? You may know them as popsicles, but they're ice lollies over here!

This background and sentiment are stamped from the adorable Way Too Sweet stamp set. Containing a fun mix of sweet treats and punny sentiments, this set is so sweet it's giving me toothache!

This was a super-quick card to create and could be made in a variety of colours. I can't wait to stamp the yummy cupcakes from this set in the future. :)

My final project for this blog hop (believe me, I couldn't have made way more but you've got hopping to do!) features the versatile Mini Blossoms stamp set.

I love the scale of flowers in this set – perfect for creating both focal points AND backgrounds. I used a rock 'n' roll technique with Altenew inks to ink up the flowers and leaves with darker edges. It's such a simple technique, but adds so much dimension.

Well, that's your lot from me today, but before you hop along, make sure you leave a comment on the Altenew blog by Friday 22nd January as they're giving away $50 gift certificates to THREE lucky winners! It's also worth commenting on this post as I'm giving away a $30 gift certificate too! Please leave comments here by Friday 22nd January to be in with a chance of winning.

Right, I must let you hop along as there's plenty more to see! Next on your hopping adventure is the fabulous Anna Kossakovskaya. :)