Be Well - with Altenew Dye Inks

Hello crafty chums! How did it get so close to Christmas? I have managed to write all my cards and send them off - I didn't quite get them all hand made (burn out!!!), but I was pleased I managed to make what I did. Next year I plan to start quite early - so this Boxing Day maybe??

I made rather a large purchase in November from Make the Day Special (they are rebranding in January as Seven Hills Crafts! Can't wait!) and one of the items bought was a set of the mini ink cubes from Altenew. I've seen them so much on Instagram with all the wonderful Design Team's work, and although I do prefer colouring images, I'd like to extend my crafting repertoire with some inks. As they retail for less than £10 with four colours in each pack, I thought this was a reasonable price, plus they don't take up lots of storage space.

I really, really love the colour combinations especially Ocean Waves and Sea Glass - they are such beautiful blue-greens.

I had a good play around on Friday evening seeing how they fared with solid images using my SSS 'One with Nature' set:

 
They coordinate perfectly as I'd hoped, and although I found they did require the odd second stamping to give full coverage with a solid image, they covered well and didn't stain the stamps as much as the Ranger inks. 

I love how all the colours work together, even with my other blue inks, so I can see more options when using them. This is with Ranger Caribbean Coast:

I also love how you can stamp light on dark and this strange alchemy occurs so the light is seen on the dark - I had no idea that would work!!

I used my Neenah Classic Crest 110lb card to get the best coverage - if you want quality results you often need to use quality products.

Can I blow my own trumpet a bit?? It is nearly Christmas :) I absolutely love the card I made using them. I started with a rectangle of Neenah Classic Crest 110lb cut with the largest of my SSS stitched rectangles. I then picked three of the four ink colours and stamped a tree block in each on the front of my panel. I then stamped the tree outline on top, slightly offset in a different colour to the base. I then stamped the sentiment down the side in Desert Night. I felt the bottom was a bit empty, so I cut some strips of snippets I had lying around and glued them just underneath. I then adhered it to a blue A2 card base (I am loving coloured card bases at the moment!).

[Supplies: Neenah Classic Crest 110lb; Blue and turquoise card stock 240gsm; Simon Says Stamp Shapes with Stitches - Rectangles; Simon Says Stamp One with Nature; Altenew Crisp Dye Inks Cool Summer Night - please note I bought mine at Make the Day Special, but it is closed for Christmas and will open in the new year under a new name Seven Hills Crafts; Stick It! Permanent Adhesive Roller;]

What do you think? I am definitely going to buy more of the Altenew cubes over the next year. I don't need or want all the colours as I don't do a lot of just stamped cards, but I do like that they coordinate perfectly and it gives me more options when I make cards.

Thank you so much for reading as always. We move into the last few days before Christmas, and my younger sister has arrived to spend some time with us, so I have two very excited small people - it's going to be a fun few days!