Altenew Build-A-Flower: Crocus Hop
There are so many ways to use Altenew Build-A-Flower: Crocus! Are you feeling totally inspired by the hop?
I have 2 cards and a video for you today and I’m sharing layer stamp techniques that will help you produce varying levels of saturation and highlights.
If you’ve made your way here from the talented Jaycee Gaspar’s blog, then you’re right on track!
Altenew Build-A-Flower: Crocus may be the easiest layer stamp set to line up. I didn’t even use my MISTI. Check out this layering guide.
Altenew Build-A-Flower: Crocus is available as the standard Stamp & Die Bundle or as a Stamp, Die, & Ink Bundle.
Layer Stamping Techniques
Let’s talk layer stamping. Depending on your card design you may want to vary the saturation and highlight of your images. Varying the saturation can help to create the illusion that some flowers are in the foreground and some are in the background.
These Crocus flowers only have 3 layers and the Altenew ink sets have 4 colors. So, you could vary the color by using the lightest ink for the base layer or the second lightest ink for the base layer.
Base layer full inked, base layer rock n roll inked,
base layer rock n roll & sponge inked, base layer omitted
However, I love bright white highlights in my flowers. So I frequently omit the base layer all together as seen in the Crocus on the far right. If I’m creating a scene I may fully ink up the base layer and place those flowers in the background and put images where I’ve omitted the base layer in the foreground.
If I want a 3rd variation in color, I’ll ink the base layer with the rock n roll technique so that only the edges of the stamp are inked. See the video for details!
Create a Crocus Garden
Sometimes I have a specific card design in mind before I start crafting, but not today. I was stamping these little lovelies when my mom called. We got to chatting and before I knew it I had a ton of flowers and leaves.
I could picture these flowers sprouting up between cobblestone crevices. So, for my first design, I stamped my sentiment across the top of an A2 card panel and dry embossed it with Altenew Stone Wall Stencil.
Then I arranged the crocus flowers and leaves. The flowers are arranged closely together so rather than vary the saturation, I omitted the base layer of each crocus to retain bright white highlights.
Create Huge Gerbera Daisies
After the first card, I still had loads of pretty flowers. I fanned them out in my hand like a deck of cards and that’s how I had the idea to create huge Gerbera daisies.
The leftover flowers were a mix of color saturation. I tried to keep the flowers with the bright white highlights in the forefront and the darker stamped images in the background and worked with what I had stamped.
To create the flower centers, I used stitched circle dies to cut Curious Metallic Ink (navy) cardstock. I considered adding texture to the flower centers with dry embossing or heat embossing, but left them plain to keep the focus on the flower petals.
The sentiments were stamped in Obsidian Pigment Ink and Starlight Crisp Dye Ink. The stamped panel was then dry embossed with Altenew Sketched Lines Stencil.
And that’s a wrap! I sure hope you enjoyed these cards and techniques today and I’d love to hear what you think! Let me know in the comments below.
As always supplies and Giveaway information is below. Thanks for stopping by! Breathe · Ink · Inspire
Supplies
Giveaway
To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog for a chance to win.
Altenew will also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left my blog. All winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 6/9/2019.
Next Stop
The next stop on the hop is the lovely Kelly Griglione! The full list is below in case you get lost along the way.
Altenew Card Blog
Vicky Papaioannou
Therese Calvird
Nathalie DeSousa
Virginia Lu
Svitlana Shayevich
Laurie Willison
Ilina Crouse
Jess Francisco
Ashlea Cornell
Patricia Roebuck
Altenew Scrapbook Blog
Maryam Perez
Jaycee Gaspar
Amber Rain Davis – You Are Here
Kelly Griglione
Teri Wilson
Seeka
Emily Midgett
Beautiful set of cards, loved the idea of Gerbera with the amazing stamps.
Ingenious! And so creative. Love both cards and your ability to turn the crocus into a gerber! Great video, too. Thanks for the inspiration.
I love both of your cards. I am so impressed with how you turned your leftover crocus into a completely different flower. You are so creative! Thanks for encouraging us to think out of the box.
Thank you for your video! Your cards are so pretty! I love how you created the daisy with the Crocus petals- you’re so creative! I’m definitely going to look at my floral stamps to see if I can do something like that!
Didn’t know you could emboss with stencils. This opens up tons of new possibilities. Thanks for the tip. How creative you are to make big flowers out of little petals. Beautiful cards!
This is a wonderful reminder to look at our stamps in a different way to get more from them. The crocus card is beautiful indeed, but the gerbera daisy is equally so and very creative! 🙂
I love the fact that you took the leftover crocus stems that you had and turn them into huge giant Gerbera daisies – Simply Beautiful. This is why I love doing blog hops for ideas and inspiration. Beautiful release as always.
SNAP! Clever arrangement for the Gerbera daisies 🙂 Pretty cards; thanks for the tip and inspiration.
Pretty crocus card and creative use of the stamps to make gerbera daisies.
Lovely cards – they are so clean and bright and I love the subtle texture
Such beautiful cards, Amber, and I totally love how you used the crocus petals to make that big Gerbera daisy! I enjoyed your process video, too. Thanks for your ever-inspiring posts here each month!
Fantastic ideas Amber. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
T x
Clever idea to use this stamp set to create sunflower! Love your vibrant colors.
Wowww!! Gorgeous cards!! I lovvve the second one so much, it is so creative and like how you showed in the live video using tulips! Fantastic work! 🙂 <3
Oh my goodness. So inventive! And thank you for the stamping techniques. You made the same stamps each look different…and beautiful.
Beautiful cards! I love your color choices. So vibrant and dramatic. TFS.
WOW! Just wow, look at the giant gerbera daisies. I love it!
Clever idea to use the Crocus flowers as the “petals” of a flower! Gorgeous examples!!
OMG!! These cards are stunning!! I love the bright colors you chose, and I love that embossed wall behind the first one! I think though that your Gerbera daisies are my favorite!! I never come up with anything that creative..they are beautiful!!
Gorgeous cards, Amber! I love crocuses & the way you turned them into gerbera’s is pure genius!! What an awesome design!
Love your elegant cards! I love that you used the crocus to make a gerbera daisy (one of my favorite flowers)! That was ingenious!
I love all the possibilities for this crocus, but turning it into a Gerbera daisy — I would have never thought of that! It’s absolutely gorgeous. Your projects are beautiful.
Great colors and use of the stamp. Very creative.
Thanks for the samples using different variations for the base layer – it made the results very different. Your cards are lovely, and such a great idea to use them to make a completely different flower. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful designs!! Such a creative idea to use the crocus for a Gerbera Daisy!!
I don’t know how you do it but your projects are always beautiful!
Thank you for the video Amber & the two wonderful cards. I agree with you, now that I’ve seen the difference, about omitting the bottom layer to leave a pop of white. What a great idea. Thanks.
love these designs – lovely colors
LOVE the gerbera daisy designed card! So clever to use the crocus stamps to make these. And, your crocus card is lovely, too.
Both cards are beautiful, but I really like how you used the Crocus to create your own Sunflowers. So inventive! And kerping the white highlights in front really works.
Amazing!! Beautiful cards girl!! The colors are bold and beautiful! The designs are spot on. I love both cards, it would hard to pick a favorite!! 😀
Your designs are lovely. The different inking options are great, thank you for sharing them. I will certainly be giving them all a go. Gorgeous!
Beautiful cards, love the vivid colors. Thanks for sharing.
These are beautiful cards, it was very creative the way you made the larger flower. It looks like a sunflower. Those blue colors you used are beautiful.
I love how you made daisies with this stamp set. So creative! Beautiful cards!
Gorgeous cards! Love the way you made the big Gerbera flowers from these lovely crocus blooms!
Lovely cards.
Beautiful cards.
Great cards! Love your art!
Wow! I love how you turned this stamp into a Gerbera Daisy. Your cards are gorgeous! Love the textured backgrounds!
Beautiful cards! Love how you made the crocus into gerbera daisies. Who would of thought. and they look so gorgeous.
Like the rich colors of your flowers, Amber. tfs
Using the crocus petals to build a Gerbera Daisy – gorgeous! The bright bold colors are stunning.
Love your Gerbera daisies! What a great interpretation!
Wow! How creative of you to make gerbera daisies from the crocus!
Beautiful cards! I love the designs you used and such great colours!
Your colors are CRAZY VIVID! Gorgeous! I love your card designs!
These are beautiful! 🙂
love how versatile you made this stamp! So creative
Beautiful cards! I love your color choices!
Lovely cards – neat to see the bunch of crocus become a gardenia! Thanks for sharing the stencil embossing technique.
Stunning Amber. Love yo ur idea for leaving the base layer out looks amzing with the white highlights
I also love white space and have fun playing with layers. Both of your cards are stunning! And this set looks so straightforward, it’s going on my wishlist for sure!
Beautiful cards! Your creativity in using the stamps differently is amazing and inspiring!
Beautiful cards. I love your idea for creating the gerbera daisy
I love the look of omitting the base layer on the first card. It really makes the crocuses stand out. Making daisies out of the stamp is brilliant. I love the beautiful outcome.
Pure Brilliance. Love the alternate use of the bloom. That just make the set even more wanted.
Brilliant to have made that stunning “bouquet” into full gerberas. Just wonderful, both cards, but SO creative to re-purpose the set for yet another stunning design.
Wow! I really like your take on these stamps! Unique!
Thanks a bunch Susan!
Genius desings and so bright
Thanks Sandy! 😊
Amber, these cards are stunning!! Love the way the gerbera daisies came about! Very creative!! I’ll be watching the video later.
Thank you Saundra!
Completely wonderful, Amber… now please share your fabulous nail polish? lol [not kidding!]
=]
🤣 I am totally obsessed with this color. It’s Good Lighting from Esse. Just enough color to add a little something without it being distracting in the videos. Love!
Both cards are gorgeous!
Thanks Cynthia!
Great techniques and great colors used. My question is what eraser did you use to prime the stamps? You are truly blessed.
Thank you Bonnie!! Don’t laugh, but I “borrowed” that eraser from one of my girls school supply box a few years ago. If you look closely you’ll see their teeth marks 😱. It’s just a regular white eraser, nothing special. I’ve gotten packs of them at the dollar store before.
Gerberas are my favorite flower. You done them proud!
😊 Thanks Cindy! I love Gerberas too!
I love the colors and thanks for the tutorial about different layers techniques. The white highlights do make a difference on the look of these layering stamps.
Thanks, Dawn! I so glad you enjoyed the techniques
Beautiful bold designs! I love the way these turned out!
Thanks so much Debbie!