Altenew Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Release Blog Hop + Giveaway ($200 total prizes)

Hello and welcome!

It's the first of the month and I am delighted to be joining  Altenew for their Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Release Blog Hop! The Altenew Build-A-Garden project set is an exciting monthly package that is sure to get the creative juices flowing! Each month includes a stamp set along with a coordinating stencil set and/or die set PLUS a customer-favorite Mini Blending Brush! When signed up, you are guaranteed a spot in their monthly Build-A-Garden releases and will receive a set each month - at a specially discounted price! ($35.99 →$29.99)

If you arrived here from, Mindy Eggen's Blog, then you are on the right track. If this is your first stop, then you will want to start at the beginning, the Altenew Card Blog. We've got tons of inspiration and giveaways for you on the hop today, so keep reading till the end of this post for more information.

 The Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Set can help you create two card fronts at once with this first-of-its-kind floral stamp set! The imaginative set features a magnificent tree branch bearing flowers that you wouldn't normally see together in nature. Cut the design just right for a card featuring the cupped rose and another card featuring the flat rose. Stamp the heartwarming sentiments and quotes to inspire your loved ones. 

This set contains the following products:

- one 6" x 8" stamp set containing 10 stamps made in the USA from high-quality photopolymer

- one layering stencil set containing 4 stencils that coordinate with the stamp set

- one Mini Blending Brush for ink blending

Note: These products are NOT sold separately. 

I made a bright and cheerful thank-you card using the Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Set, Pattern Play: Diamond Stamp Set, and Simple Alpha Die Set.

The Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Set is simply incredible! The layering stencils in the set function very similarly to the layering stamps for which Altenew is known so well, but they allow for huge versatility in size and technique that can’t be achieved as easily with a stamp set. 

To create my card, I started by stamping the image on a card panel of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock using Obsidian ink. Then, I added color, layering one stencil at a time (there are 4) using Mahogany Bark, Burnt Red, Canyon Clay, and Pastel Sunrise inks for the flowers and Evening Gray, Moon Rock, and Lava Rock inks for the leaves on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock plus Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate inks for the branches using the Mini Ink Blending Tool Brush Set.

I trimmed the panel down a bit and then fussy-cut the different images using a pair of scissors and kept them aside to work on my card background. To create the background, I stamped the background design from the Pattern Play: Diamond Stamp Set in Versamark Ink onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock, then sprinkled some White Embossing Powder over the image, and melted the powder with a Heat Tool. Then, I watercolored the panel using Lava Rock Brush Markers and drug the color out loosely with water for a soft, watercolored background. 

Once that was done, I splattered the card front with Enchanted Gold, Sterling Silver, and Rose Quartz paints from the Metallic Watercolor Set for a fun, artsy look. I also used some Antique Gold Metallic Spray to add some shiny, shimmery gold splatters to the flowers and leaves. Then, I used the Instant Dimension Foam Tape and Craft Glue to add lots of layers of the stenciled  pieces to the card panel. I adhered them all over the card front, leaving a small space on the left side for a greeting.

For a greeting, I die cut the word 'Hi' three times from the Simple Alpha Die Set from some Black Glitter Cardstock and Citrine Cardstock, then adhered them all together to create a dimensional die cut and adhered it to the left of the blended bouquet. The thick charcoal die cut pops off of the center of the heat-embossed background!  Then, I stamped the sentiment from the Build-A-Garden: Magnificent Branch Stamp Set onto a strip of White Cardstock using Obsidian Ink and affixed it to my panel using foam adhesive. The sentiment in the set isn't present in a vertical line, so I masked the stamp to have it combined into one line. Many of your sentiment stamps can be masked off to create different messages. Simply arrange your stamps on the block, then place a piece of tape over the word(s) you don’t want to stamp. You can use clear tape, washi tape or any other kind of low-tack tape!

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To complete, I adhered the panel to a top-folding A2-sized white card base using tape runner. I added a few Antique Gold - Sequins to help add some sparkle to the card front.

Giveaway Prizes:

$200 in total prizes! To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners and a $20 gift certificate to 5 winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or each designer’s blog post on the blog hop list below by 05/07/2022 for a chance to win. Altenew will draw 7 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this blog hop and announce the winners on the Altenew Winners Page on 05/092022.

Blog Hop Order:

Next Stop on this Blog Hop is, Laurie Patterson's blog. Just in case you lose your place along the way, here is the complete list of participants so that you can find your way back:

Altenew Card Blog

Vicky Papaioannou

Emily Midgett

Cheryl Espie

Jaycee Gaspar

Carol Hintermeier

Jenny Colacicco

Natasha Davies

Laurie Willison

Nathalie DeSousa

Rosie Neustaedter

Terri Koszler

Bridget Casey

Virginia Lu

Sande Woodson

Michelle Short

Nenette S. Madero

Colleen Balija

Tenia Nelson

LauraJane

Maryam Perez

Amy Hill

Mindy Eggen

                       Hussena Calcuttawala (You are HERE)

Laurie Patterson

Nandini Karmarkar

Daniel Diaz

Susan Busada

Katrina Howe

Ann Taylor

Eva Bussom

Linda Westfall

Susan Stagno

Preeti Chandran

SathyaKala Sankaran

Well, that’s all for my projects today! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading. I hope you have a wonderful day!

If you like what you've seen from me, please give me a follow over on my Instagram (@hussena_cal) and/or subscribe to my blog if you haven't already.