It’s the first of the month, and that means it’s time for a new Build-a-Flower and a giveaway blog hop! You should be arriving from Laurie Willison’s blog. If not, you can track back to the Altenew Card Blog to start at the beginning, or continue around until you loop back here.
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introducing the balloon flower
This month’s Build-a-Flower is a large bloom and separate layered leaves along a Thanks duo of sentiments. You can get a bundle with two ink cube sets for 5% off!
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Check out my Crafty Sales page – UPDATED DAILY!
no way is that one layer….
I won’t tell you to stop staring. Yah, go ahead. I do too. Every time. This. Is. A. One. Layer. Card.
One way I got such deep shadows was by combining ink cubes. I used Sea Breeze and Turquoise from Deep Blue Seas, and then for the darkest two layers, I used Nimbus and Dark Night from the Tranquility set. The leaves are done up in Rock Collection, and I omitted the background stamp for most of them.
you can do this
Ok – if you’re done drooling over this card (don’t worry, I still do every time I look at it!), go get your colored pencils and a graphite pencil. I’m gonna show you how to get that depth and dimension from this one-layer stunner.
Thank You!
Time is precious and I’m truly grateful that you chose to spend a few minutes of your day here!
I would love to connect with you on Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest where we have the opportunity to share and interact even more!
now, about that GIVEAWAY…
To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog for a chance to win.
We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $15 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 08/09/2020.
Time to hop along!
Be sure to hop over to the talented Virginia Lu for another amazing project. And don’t forget to leave comments along the way to enter all the giveaways!
you make a difference!
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Wow! Stunning color combo!
The blue and grey is simply gorgeous !
Wow , Nicole– just “wow!” What a different take on this set, and with such stunning results! I’m in awe with what the balloon flower set provides, and then what you’ve done with it for a graphic look w/ that punch of color…amazing. Thanks for the inspiration– be well.
Oh my! This card just blew me away, I love it!
Such a lovely card. I love the blues and greys. I’ve never seen a balloon flower before, and I thank you Altenew for bringing it to life in this month’s Build-A-Flower Stamp Set. You always achieve such gorgeous detail with your stamp sets. Way to go!
Oh Wow! I must give this a try. The colors are amazing.
Incredible depth–love the blues!
Stunning colors & your pencil work is fabulous! I love this card!!
Gorgeous!
You knocked it out of the park by combining those ink colors.
Thanks for sharing!
This is stunning!! Even though you weren’t heavy handed with your pencils, I could see the amazing difference it made! Thank you so much for the demonstration. I’ll definitely have to try this!!
Absolutely gorgeous card! Love the colors.
Thanks so much for sharing.
This card is so striking in the colors you chose very beautiful
Wow, stunningly gorgeous card, love the vibrant colors for the balloon flower.
*Gulp* – Beautifully dramatic. LOVE this!
I commented earlier this morning on your video. That shading you did with the graphite pencil is stunning! Can’t wait to give it a try.
This stamp and die set to make flowers is fantastic!!! I really want to get one. There are so many sets that are so wonderful that are on my list. Thanks so much foe showing us how to use this set.
I hope I can win one of the gifts so that I can use it to add one of these awesome stamp sets. Good luck everyone!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! The technique of adding graphite shadows is simply amazing. I got a graphite pencil after watching a former video of yours and I can’t believe the difference a few minutes adding shadows this way makes. This card is simply amazing. This is my first month as a subscriber and I can’t wait to receive this stamp set! Thank you so much!
Your color choices are phenomenal! Thanks bunches for your instructions on the shadings, as they helped even me (not very artsy) feel like I could create a beautiful card.
The depth to the flower is amazing.
Beautiful flower. thanks for sharing
txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com
Your card with the graphite pencil technique is amazing! I now need a graphite pencil!
Absolutely gorgeous!
Your card is absolutely stunning! I love the blues in the flower.
Love the way you accented the leaves and petals. My goodness! I feel totally inspired to go use my graphite pencil and blending stump! The balloon flower is one of my favorites, too.
Seriously a beautiful card. Love the grey leaves. I’m a fan of one layer cards.
WOW – this is drool worthy.
Love your card and the colors and the shadowing which I have to learn how to do just accent the flower more. Love it.
Beautiful card.
Beautiful card! Great choice of color!
Loved your creation!
Gorgeous card and
looks so pretty in
these colors.
Carla from Utah
Just love the colours you have used here….blue and grey go so well together, the hibiscus flower is beautiful…luv Ursula xx
You are a fabulous artist! I love this set and how you created using it as well – such talent and soooooo very lovely TFS
Wow!!! Stunning card!!! It really does pop!!
A stunning sensational! I love the blue flower. Your card is very beautiful and gorgeous!
Nice shading technique and added blending. Very nice card and finish.
What an awesome card! After seeing an Altenew video you did with the pencil and malleable eraser I have been doing gray cards left and right. This card adds color and now I am off to a new adventure of adding color.
This card is my favorite. Well done!
Such a great technique. I don’t have pencils as I am not truly an artist but a crafter but the desire is there to improve so i keep watching.
Wow, this is a beautiful card, I never thought of using coloured pencils and graphite with my cards, what a difference, thank you for sharing your gift with us.
The card looks absolutely stunning. Definitely drooling over it. I cant believe it is just one layer. Have to try this technique!
This is so lovely. Great tips on blending and adding shadows. Thanks!
WOW want a beautiful card!
beautiful card. Love your blending and shadowing techniques. Makes the card really stand out.
You are right—-I AM drooling over this one! Love those colors together, and the depth you achieved using them. Thanks for the details for using the graphite pencils, too. Another great B-A-F from Altenew, and you show it off so well!
What I love about this is you are combining two of my favorite things — stamping and coloring — in a way I had not thought to combine them. Going to go and look with fresh eyes at all my Build-A-Flowers. I love this and the video was super helpful.
What an elegant card. The colors you used together are gorgeous and the depth you got using the colored pencils and the graphite is amazing.
Your teal flower really stands out on the neutral background…striking
I love the color combo. The image does truly pop off the background.
Oh, the dimension is AMAZING!
Wow, the flower does really pop with the white and grey. I am definitely going to try this.
Thank you so much for sharing your video coloring and shading your balloon flower. I was in awe of the way you presented your idea of the balloon Build-A-Flower. Looking at the card I thought it was dimensional until you said it was flat. So that is what shading with stumps and graphite black pencils do. Amazing and love how you shared the video filling in on the flowers and shading the leaves and card. Thank you for sharing your video.
Thank you for the tutorial on shading.
Your flowers just pop right off the page.
Beautiful card! The colors are serene, and the shading is fabulous
Beautiful, love the colored pencil and graphite shading. It really highlights the flower, looks 3D.
Stunning indeed! Love the color combo and the spotlight effect on the flower. Thank you for sharing the video Nicole!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Great one layer card.
That’s stunning Nicole. My favorite colors and their so rich and deep.
This is gorgeous! I love the extra dimension created with the colored pencils and the graphite pencil. I bought some blending stumps years ago thinking they were for something else and now I know what to do with them! LOL
Great look to the flower. It has almost a fuzzy and soft texture. I like the addition of the pencil to give it dimension.
Beautiful card. The added touch with the pencils ready makes a difference. Thanks for sharing
The colours are so striking! Just beautiful!
What a gorgeous blue! I LOVE the deep dark color in the center!
This card is truly stunning! All that dimension you created is amazing. Thanks for sharing.
This is one of my favorite cards. I love the blue flower. Just gorgeous!
Awesome color combo for your beautiful balloon flower! The graphite pencil detail is awesome!
Wow…love the blue and grey..never thought of that ..but it looks beautiful.
Stunning Nicole. The pencils and the graphite really make the image seem dimensional. Thanks for the tutorial on how to do it.
Your card is truly a work of art! It was so cool watching you make the leaves and petals become 3D with just a few coloured pencils and some graphite!
What a wonderful card!
What a stunning card, Nicole! I love the beautiful colours you have used to make this wonderful one layer card! Thanks so much for the great inspiration and video! Take care! 🙂
Absolutely AHHHHH-MAZING, Nicole! I am fascinated by your technique and love the shading with the graphite pencil!! I had to look twice to believe it was just a one layer card!! I love this and will keep on my Altenew Pinterest board!!
Beautiful work and card.
Wow, that flower does not look like one layer even knowing it is, so totally gorgeous and looks as though it is 3D and ready to pop right off the card, stunning work!
Wow. Just wow.
This card is stunning! Can’t wait until Wednesday’s class.f
Hard to believe it’s one layer…. but it sure is gorgeous! Love the blue.
This card stands out. Very nice.
This is amazing!
OMG love how your added pencil details really made an eye popping impact on the card – thanks for the tutorial:)
Fabulous card, absolutely love the colors.
Wow! What a huge difference you made by doing a bit of shading with pencils! Thank you for a fantastic tutorial- I always enjoy them and learn so much! Your cards are absolutely beautiful- love the color combo!
I love the blue and grey. Your card is stunning.
That is a magnificent card, Nicole! I love it! Thanks for the tutorial!
Stunning one-layer card. Thanks for the tutorial for your blending technique!
Gorgeous card, gorgeous colors. I love this new BAF Balloon Flower.
Wow !! Amazing card ! This color combo is perfect ! Thank you
Oh my what an amazing looking card! Your color choices are so very unique and beautiful too!
Very striking card!! I love the use of the subtle background and the bright flower!!
Love the colours!
Lovelt card!
Your colors here are so boldly beautiful! Gorgeous card.
I’m new to watercolor. This card is amazing! You’re right! It’s hard to believe this is a one layer card!
I really like the blues you chose. The darker shade makes it look so deep. Nice
Very dramatic.
Love your creative ideas and use of color, stunning!
Oh my! Love this sophisticated colour palette and all the shading you did! What a fabulous card!!!
This is my first visit to your blog. I think I’ll give it a try, because your projects look so bright and colorful! Love the rich colors of your balloon flower!
Warm Hugs,
Michele K. Henderson
Amazing dimension! I definitely thought it was a die cut.
Absolutely beautiful! I love how you gave the flower such depth! Can’t wait to try this.
I am digging the complex blue hues in this card! So gorgeous, and it makes the flower seem like it’s popping off the page. Just spectacular 🙂
Such a striking monochromatic card! So gorgeous
What a beautiful card from an amazing stamp set! Really enjoyed your video. I have colored pencils I seldom use, and am inspired by you to try!
Beautiful card and I love when you share this technique. I added graphite pencils to my shopping list. Headed to Blick next week.
This is simply stunning!! I love the pop of this blue!! Love this flower!
Wow how stunning! The gray and teal are beautiful together!
Hi Nicole 🙂 Gorgeous card!!! Has an antique look about it! Thanks for inspiring me 🙂