Demystifying Mixed Media

Here I am once again with another class towards the Altnew Educators Certification Program. For this class I chose Demystifying Mixed Media taught by Tania Ahmed. I have a love-hate relationship with mixed media. I love the look and all the texture you can get but I hate the usually messiness of the techniques to get the look and texture. 

These are the six cards I made during the lessons for this class. I have to be honest and say I still have a love-hate relationship with mixed media but I am happy with the results I got with each of these cards.

Card 1 - Embossing Paste Textured Background

For this lesson we used stencils, embossing paste, and watercolor paints to create the background for this card. I watercolored the floral image from Altenew In the Woodland set and then die cut it. Once the background was dry, I stamped the sentiment from the same set in the lower corner. Tania used a cool looking spider tulle ribbon to embellish her card but since I didn't have that I used some of Altenew's metallic thread behind my image.

Cards 2 & 3 - Gesso Ghost Background

For this lesson the cardstock panel was coated with gesso. When it was dry Tania used watercolor paints for hers but since I have so many of the Lindy's Magical powders I decided to use those for my background. Once the background was dry I placed the Altenew Leaf Drop stencil on the background and used a baby wipe to gently wipe over the open areas to remove and lighten the design.

When I was happy with the background I used a circle die to cut out a circle in the backgroun panel. That circle was temporarily placed on a card base and then stamped with Altenew Sweet Pea stamp. We then colored in the stamped image with a white colored pencil to highlight the image.

When stamping the image on a card base, I messed up the first try and hated to toss it out. Fortunately the panel with the circle cut covered up my stamping boo-boo so a second card was created using the messed up card front. Amazingly the circle I had cut was the perfect size to fit Altenew's Circled Greetings: Thanks die. The sentiment strip was stamped from Altenew's Gracious Peonies set on black cardstock and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  

Card 4 - Creating Mixed Media Backgrounds

To create this background we used the letter dies from Altenew Fine Alphabet die set and randomly placed them on a cardstock panel and cut them out. Once the panel was die cut we used Altenew Fresh Dye ink Autumn Blaze and swiped the ink on the panel then spritzed it with water to "blend" the ink out. Tania use shimmer spray instead of water. Then using a brayer and some turquiose paint we add the blue in a few areas. Once we were happy with that we then used embossing ink to dab in random places. We poured on gold embossing powder and then wiping off some of the embossing powder to allow the background colors to show. After it was heat embossed we then added some more of the blue paint using the brayer again. After the panel was complete it was then adhered to another white cardstock panel.

The sentiment is from Altenew's One Go: Solid Sentiment Strips Betterpress Plate and die.I wrapped the panel with some of the Altenew Metallic thread and adhered it to a card base using foam adhesive strips.

And finally cards 5 & 6 - Book Text Collage

I think these 2 are my favorites from this class. In this lesson we used made a collage on the background. Tania used old books that she tore pieces of the pages to create her background. Since I didn't have any old books to use I had to find an alternative and instead used some Tim Holtz Idea-ology Collage Papers - Archives in my stash to create my collage background.

After the collage medium was dry the cardstock panels were coated in a thin coating of gesso. After drying the panels with a heat tool we used Altenew Fresh Dye inks and put the ink on our surface and added water then dipped the panels into the ink. Drying in between the ink layers to get more texture and movement. Because I have taking a number of classes with Tiffany Solario on ink sprays, once I was happy with the way the panels looked I had to use my water bottle and flick some droplets, as well as splatter with some white on to the panels to create even more texture to them.

The panels were stamped with the floral image from Altenew Sulfur Cosmos and heat embossed in gold. The left panel sentiment was stamped and heat embossed in black and the right panel I used another of the sentiments from Altenew One Go: Solid Sentiment Strips Betterpress plate and die. They were then layered onto colored cardstock using foam adhesive before being adhered to the card bases.

Coloring Beyond Boundaries

Another Altenew Educator Certification Program level 3 class. I enjoyed this class and learning some coloring techniques.

Card 1 - Monochrome Shading Pencils

For this card we learned monochrome shading using pencils and blending stumps. With this technique you can create shading and shape to each of the flowers. Once the shading was complete we used black ink to splatter the card front. The card front is layered on a black layer of cardstock, then attached to a card base. 

Pencil is soft and will rub off with handling so it will need to be sealed. I used Krylon Kamar Varnish to seal the image.

Card 2 - Ink & Graphite Alchemy

For this card we used Altenew Sulfur Cosmos to stampthe image and used the coordinating stencil with Altenew Fresh Dye ink to color the image. Then using pencils we shaded in the image for additional depth. After creating a mask for the image we used the background stencil that is part of the coordinating stencil set for Sulfur Cosmos to create a background with blending brushes. Again we used black ink to splatter the card front before attaching it to a card base.

Card 3 - Metallic Stenciling Magic

For this card we used the Altenew Rustling Leaves Simple Coloring Stencil. Using the Altenew Sticky Mat to hold the black cardstock piece and the stencil. We then used the Altenew Metallic Watercolors and a foam applicator to "paint" in the leaves starting with the gold moving to the copper and then to the garnet to get a varigated blended look. Then using a thin brush and gold watercolor we painted in the stems for the leaves. Heat embossed the sentiment on the black panel. Layered the black piece on to a piece of Altenew Brushed Gold cardstock. 

For the background we used the Sulfur Cosmos stencil to embossing a white panel. Layered the embossed panel on to a card base and layered the gold and black panel on to the top. 

Card 4 - Metallic Watercolors

For this card we used the Rustling Leaves 3D embossing folder set off to one side of the card front. Using the metallic watercolor paint and a small brush we started at the top painting the leaves & stems and going from gold to jade and then to topaz slowly going from full color to a blended color by mixing the colors with each other. Using the 3 paint colors the card front panel was splattered.

We used a white piece of cardstock and blending the 3 paint colors. When that piece was dry we used the Altenew Birthday Wish die set to cut the sentiment. Using the Hero Arts circle dies I cut a small black circle to fit inside the embossed circle then layered the sentiment on top for a little bit of depth.

SUPPLIES USED

Stamps, Dies and Embossing: Altenew Sulfur Cosmos, Rustling Leaves Embossing Folder
Paper: Hammermill cardstock, Taylored Expressions cardstock, Neenah cardstock
Ink: Altenew Obsidian Pigment, Altenew Fresh Dye, Versamark
Misc: Altenew Metallic Watercolor, watercolor paint brush, Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder, Staedtler Mars Lumograph 10B pencil, blending stump, Altenew small and mini blending brushes, blending tool and foam, Krylon Kamar Varnish

Chromatic Harmony

I made it through my AECP level 2 final project and now get to move on to level 3 classes. For my first level 3 class I chose to do Chromatic Harmony taught by Aditi Mahajan. In Chromatic Harmony Aditi does a great job of teaching about color theory and using a color wheel when creating your projects. 

Aditi's projects really stretched my creativity using ink colors from different color families to ink blend each project. I have done ink blending on stencils and dies but Aditi takes it so many steps further than I have ever tried before and the results are fantastic.

Chromatic in art is the use of colors that have a dominant wavelength or hue, and are rich and vibrant. Harmony in art is the use of colors, shapes, and other elements to create a pleasing or balanced effect.

There are 13 cards that you can create in this class. All of the projects were terrific but the three above were my favorites. 

In lesson 2 we learned about analogous color composition. This lesson uses the Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Hellabore die and for the bonus project in the middle I chose the Altenew Craft-A-Flower: Sulfar Cosmos die. I accidently made extra flowers so instead of stashing them or trashing them I made the 3rd card to the right. We used variousink groups to blend the die cut pieces before assembling them giving them depth.

We started out by die cutting all of the flower pieces using colored cardstock. Once we had all of the pieces cut, we then started ink blending each of the pieces with various ink colors. Aditi showed how you can mix inks from different color families to give you more options and to give your project added depth. When everything was ink blended we then assembled the flowers. Altenew's keyhole system and step-by-step insturctions makes assembly of their layered flowers so easy.

We finished off by using Altenew Metallic Watercolors to splatter each project for a little extra shine.

 
In lesson 3 we continued with blending analogous colors but this time we used Altenew Build-A-Garden: Lovely Rose Peony and the Altenew Peony & Lilac Swag stamps, dies and coordinating stencils. 

For these cards we heat embossed the stamps on white cardstock. Then using the coordinating stencils we again used a variety of ink colors to ink blend each flower and the results are just stunning. Aditi showed us how to take our ink blending further than just using one color family but how to get added depth and dimension by using different ink from multiple color families. 

When the ink blending was complete we cut each of the pieces using the coordinating dies. The dies leave a white border around the images but for these we used a black marker and colored the white border which gives the colors much more pop. 

On the card on the left we used the back textured side of the Altenew Sticky Mat to stamp and create a background with gold ink. This was something I had not thought of doing but it gives a terrific look.

For the card on the right we again ink blending the image and colored the white border left by the die. We used an embossing folder to create our background for this card. For mine I used the Altenew Deck Planks embossing folder. This is a fabulous embossing folder that I can seeing getting a lot of use. Because the images is such a large image we were able to cut the image in half and create a different layout than we would by just placing the image on the card front. 

Lesson four had us watercolor with analogous colors. We again used the Lovely Rose Peony stamp for this card.

We stamped the image on a piece of cold press watercolor paper using Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The images were watercolored using a variety of Altenew Fresh Dye inks. The inks were smooshed onto a palette and then water was added to get a good consistency for painting in the images. A wet-on-wet technique was used to get the inks to blend.

This class would be great for a beginner and for those more experienced cardmakers who wants to learn more about color blending and mixing.

AECP Level 2 Final

This is going to be a long post…sorry! But I hope you read through the end and let me know what you think about my final project.

I have reached the end of Level 2 of the Altenew Educators Certification Program. This level consisted of me doing 10 classes with projects and then a final project. I learned some new things and brushed up on some old techniques during all the classes.

For the final project for this level I have been tasked with making 4 masculine cards with birthday, love/thinking of you, anniversary, and encouragement themes + an altered item/upcycled project.

I had to pick 3 components from the 20 classes I have completed so far to use in my cards. I chose Let it Shine, For the Guys, Easy Ink Blending, and Beyond Basic Backgrounds. To be honest there are probably even more components of other classes that I used in these projects.

In the Let it Shine class Carissa went over all things shiny from embossing powder to glitter to metallic cardstock and everything in between that adds shine to a project. In For the Guys class Jen talks about way to create masculine cards using geometric shapes, die cuts, ink blending, and interactive elements. Easy Ink Blending is pretty self-explanatory in this class Amy talks about different ways to use ink blending to create backgrounds and give your card a little something extra. In Beyond Basic Backgrounds Lydia showed many different ideas to create background techniques using embossing, ink blending, stencils, and more.

Without further ado here are my Level 2 final projects.

Card 1 – Birthday

For this card I used a geometric stencil and ink blended it on my white panel using Altenew Fresh Dye inks and small blending brushes. I randomly placed the colors around the panel. 

TIP – Use ink colors that are beside each other on the color wheel so that you do not create a muddy brown color.

When I was happy with my ink blending, I then used a gold gel pen to randomly trace some of the blocks to give a little extra something to the background.

I used the Altenew Birthday Wishes die to cut the sentiment in Altenew Brushed Gold cardstock and the shadow in a dark blue. The card panel was then layered on a piece of brushed gold cardstock and the same dark blue cardstock.

Card 2 – Encouragement 

For this card I started out with Altenew’s Masking Paper and cut a piece to A2 card size. I then just randomly tore an ovalish shape in the center of the masking paper. The mask was stuck on the white cardstock panel and I used the lightest shade to ink blend the shape. I then placed the Altenew Dotted Waves stencil over top of the card panel and started in the center with the lightest shade in the ink set at the middle and then used the next shade towards the outer edge of the “oval”. When I was happy with the center, I removed the outer mask and used the piece I tore from the center to cover the center ink blended section so I could use the 2 darker shades, as well as navy blue and black to continue ink blending around the panel to the outside edges.

I die cut the 2 koi fish from Altenew Calming Koi set in white cardstock and vellum paper. Then using the coordinating stamp set I stamped the marking on the fish before adhering them together. Using my stamp positioner, I carefully heat embossed the encouragement sentiment in the center of the card panel, placed the fish around the sentiment and using some shimmer I splattered the card panel before layering it on the card base.

Card 3 – Anniversary

For an interactive feature I decided to make a shaker card. I used a piece of Altenew Watercolor paper to create an embossed resist. Going with more of the geometric, I stamped the Shine Like a Diamond background stamp using Versamark ink and white embossing powder. 

TIP – If you have a stamp positioner this is a perfect use for it because of the texture of watercolor paper it can take several stamps to get complete coverage.

When the panel was cool, I lightly sprayed the watercolor panel with water and then used Lindy’s Magical powders and more water to do my ink blending. I dried the panel using my Ranger Heat Tool. Once the panel was dry, I used a circle die to cut the circle out for the shaker area.

I heat embossed the sentiment from Altenew Ambridge Roses set onto heat resistant acetate.  I also heat embossed in Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder a smaller sentiment to add on to the card front on a piece of navy-blue cardstock.

TIP – Make sure that your acetate is heat resistant because it will melt. There are several companies that sell heat resistant acetate. 

Card 4 – Thinking of You

Just like with the anniversary card I did the emboss resist technique. I continued the geometric theme and this time I stamped the Altenew Whimsical Herringbone background on to a A2 cardstock panel and using my Distress Stain and Oxide sprays I “ink” blended the background.

TIP – I would definitely suggest using a piece of watercolor paper to do this type of technique because you will get a better blend. However, I do like the way this turned out even if I was too lazy to dig out another piece of watercolor paper.

When I was happy with the background, I used my Ranger Heat Tool to dry the panel and cut it down to the size I wanted for my card front. I then used cardstock to die cut the Altenew Bird of the Mountain die. Altenew makes die cutting so EASY with their keyhole system. The die was super easy to put together.

Using Versamark and Altenew Antique Silver embossing powder I heat embossed the thinking of you sentiment from Altenew Heartfelt Sentiments set on to a piece of dark blue cardstock cut to the size I needed. Adhered the 2 background pieces to the card base and then adhered the bird where I wanted him to sit.

Altered Item

When we purchased our home a couple of years ago my husband created an Art Studio for me in our basement rec room. It is a huge room that gives me a place to do all the paper crafting, painting, sewing, or quilting I want. The one thing it has lacked is anything to decorate the space. So, for my altered item project I decided to make something that I can use to hang on the wall for décor.

Since we have decluttered our home and try not to allow things we are not using to hang out for long I had to purchase a blank canvas to use for my project. I purchased a black gesso painted canvas from our local craft store.

I have said for quite some time I wanted a sign in my art studio that said “Create something every day even if it sucks”. So that is what I have made for this altered item. Using Adobe Photoshop Elements I did a mockup of the sign so that I could decide on what font I wanted to use, what size the words needed to be and how I wanted to the layout to be.

Once that was all determined I used Word to print out each word. I placed the words on the canvas where I wanted them. 

Using some transfer paper from my sewing supplies and my dry embossing stylus I transferred the words to the canvas.

Then I used heavy-body acrylic paint and a small round paint brush to paint the words onto the canvas.

I let the painted words dry overnight and then came time to stamp the flowers from Altenew Sulfur Cosmos stamp set. This is where I ran into some problems. Even though my husband had cut some scrap wood pieces for behind the canvas I could not get a complete image when I tried to stamp on it.

After much thought on how to make this work, it dawned on me to remove the canvas from the wood “frame” stretcher. Once the canvas was flat, I was able to use Versamark ink to stamp the flowers on to the corners of the canvas and then heat emboss with Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder.

As you can see from my mockup, I originally was going to paint in the flowers using metallic paints but after seeing them embossed on the canvas I decided I like the clean and simple lines of it without the extra color. This clean and simple look goes much better with the midcentury modern aesthetic that I am working to create in our home.  

Masking Unleashed

The last level 2 class...YAY!! Looks like I will be able to meet my goal of finishing level 2 by the end of the year.  This is the card I made for the Masking Unleashed class taught by Svitlana Shayevich at Altenew. Svitlana teaches different masking ideas and gives lots of tips on masking.
 

For my card I started out by using Altenew's Masking Paper and stamping my image on the masking paper to create my mask.

TIP 1 - Depending on how you are layering your image you may need more than one mask. Because of the size and layout of my image I only needed one mask.

TIP 2 - when cutting out your mask make sure to cut just inside the image lines so that you do not end up with white spaces between your images when they are stamped.

I started by stamping the flower image from Altenew's Amazing Things stamp set. This was stamped in the lower left corner of my card panel. I placed the mask over the flower image and because I was using the Altenew Stampwheel I was able to rotate the top plate to stamp the image two more times on each side of the first image without moving paper.

Then I proceeded to stamp the second layer using Altenew Rubelite Fresh Dye Ink. The thrid layer was stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with Altenew's Antique Gold embossing powder. 

I chose a sentiment from the Amazing Things stamp set and heat embossed it as well. Because I had some minor smudging of my ink in a couple of places I "fixed" the card using black and gold splatters to make the smudges not as noticeable.

The card panel was then layered on black and dark pink cardstock from Taylored Expressions and Concord and 9th.  

SUPPLIES USED

Stamps - Altenew Amazing Things
Paper - Hammermill, Taylored Expression Oreo, Concord and 9th Wildberry
Ink - Altenew Obsidian Black, Altenew Rubelite, Versamark
Misc - Altenew Embossing Powder Antique Gold, Dr PH Martin Black Star Matte India Ink, Yasutomo Japanese Watercolor Sumi-e Pale Gold

AECP - Magical Marker Techniques

I was able to finish up another class for the Altenew Educator Certification Program today. My hope is to finish all of level 2 before the end of the year so I can start level 3 fresh in the new year.

Sara Naumann gave several different terrific ideas for creating on your cards using alcohol markers in the Magical Marker Techniques class. Creating splatters, coloring on non-porous surfaces, and using stencils were just a few of her techniques. We all think about using our alcohol markers to color in images but this class will give you some ideas for creating backgrounds and do other things with the markers.

I use 3 of Sara's techniques to create my card. I did a splattered background, coloring on a non-porous surface (vellum), and spritzing the colored image with alcohol. 

For this card I started out by creating the splattered background and then set it aside to dry. While that dried, I used Altenew Fresh Flowers to die cut the flowers and leaves out of vellum. I prefer a heavy vellum for this type of project but any vellum will work.

Once I had everything cut out and sorted the matching flower pieces, I used my Altenew Alcohol Markers in Pocketful of Sunshine, Cherry Blossom, Green Valley, and Beach Garden sets to color each piece on the back side of the vellum. You can use any brand of alcohol markers you already have to do this technique.

After they were colored, I used my spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol and lightly spritzed the pieces giving them a mottled, splattered look. I used liquid glue to build each flower following Altenew's keyhole system and the layering guide provided on the packaging. The keyhole system makes creating the flowers so simple.

I die cut the sentiment in black cardstock using Altenew Waterbrush Hello die. After everything dried I was able to play around with the layout of the flowers and sentiment until I was happy with how they looked. I used liquid glue to attach all the pieces. And at the last minute decided the flowers needed a little something more so I dug out the Ranger Glossy Accents and used it on the flower centers.

SUPPLIES USED:

Dies - Altenew Waterbrush Hello, Fresh Flowers 
Paper - Vellum, Taylored Expression cardstock, Hammermill cardstock
Misc - Altenew Alcohol Markers, Ranger Glossy Accents

Tools - Bearly Arts liquid glue, Spellbinder Platinum 6 die cut machine

AECP - Impressive Heat Embossing

I am getting closer to finishing up Level 2 of the Altenew Educators Certification Program. Only a few more classes after this one.

The Impressive Heat Embossing class taught by Svetlana Marchenko is all about heat embossing and what it can add to your card making. Heat embossing just gives your card a little something extra that you don't get stamping with ink alone. It can also as in my case make watercoloring an image a little quicker because you don't have to skip around waiting for paint to dry or worry about ink running.

I stamped the image from Altenew's Craft Your Life: Fragrant Florals onto Altenew Hot- Press Watercolor paper using Versamark ink. TIP - because of the texture of the paper you will need to stamp a few times to get good coverage when stamping on watercolor paper so it is best to use a stamp positioner, like the StampWheel or Misti.

Once it was stamped I used Altenew Embossing Powder in Platinum to heat emboss my image. After allowing the embossing powder to cool I used Altenew Artists' Watercolor 24 Pan set  to watercolor the image. And because it was heat embossed I did not have to skip around and wait for paint to dry because the embossing acts like a dam to keep the areas separated. 

This is a large image and some times it can be difficult to decide where you want to trim it down to adhere to a cardbase. TIP - when trying to decide where to trim a large image down I use my A2 rectangle die to "audition" the panel so that I can determine how I want to trim it. You could also make a frame with a piece of paper and use that to get a better visual of what it will look like in order to decide which areas you want to trim off.

After I die cut the panel using my A2 rectangle die, I then used one of the sentiments in the set and Altenew Obsidian Black ink to stamp directly on to the panel before adhering it to my card base.

SUPPLIES USED:

Stamp - Altenew Craft Your Life: Fragrant Florals
Paper - Altenew Hot-Press Watercolor paper, Neenah 110 lb. cardstock
Ink - Altenew Obsidian Black, Versamark
Misc - Altenew Platinum embossing powder, Altenew Artists' Watercolor 24 Pan set, Princeton Velvetouch brush, Misti stamp positioner 

AECP - Color Your Day

Altenew's Color Your Day class taught by Therese Calvird was right up my alley with how I create cards. This class is all about finding new and unusual color combinations for your projects. Therese talks about how to use a color wheel in that class as well. If you struggle with making color choices or stepping outside of a regularly used color combination this might be the right class for you.
 

Pro tips: Look for color inspiration everywhere. Color wheel, photos, fabric, other cards, color challenges and in my case Sarah Renae Clark's Color Cubes.

Therese also suggests a 70/20/10 ratio for using colors on your project. 

For this card I stamped the image from Altenew Gracious Peonies and then using the coordinating stencil & blending brushes I colored in the image using 2 purples and 2 greens that I choice using the Color Cube card I had selected. I was able to get plenty of color variation by changing how lightly I blended with my brush.

Once my image was colored I used the coordinating die to cut out the image as well as cut 2 additional out of white cardstock. By layering the 3 die cut pieces I get just a little pop up of the image without using a bunch of foam tape.

I played around with the image on the card front until I was happy with the position and using a Mini Misti stamp positioner I stamped the sentiment from the Gracious Peonies set with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. Once the sentiment had cooled off so I did not risk smudging it I used Bearly Arts glue to attach my floral image and then adhered the piece to a card base.  

Supplies Used
Stamps - Altenew Gracioius Peonies
Ink - Taylored Expressions, Lawn Fawn, Concord & 9th, Versamark
Paper - Taylored Expressions, Hammermill
Misc - gold embossing powder, Bearly Arts glue, Color Cubes

AECP - Beautiful Details

I have completed the Beautiful Details class at Altenew taught by Marika Rahtu. She teaches how to use markers, color pencils, and pens to add detail to your stamped images. Marika gives lots of tips and ideas for adding additional details to bring out your images.

 

I stamped the solid image from Altenew's Garden Hydrangea layering stamp set in the lighest color and then using the same ink I stamp the last of the layers . Once my ink was dry I then used a Pigma Micron 0.3 pen and went around each flower in the clusters to define each one. Lastly I used my Faber-Castell Polychromos  color pencils and added in the center details and some shading.

There was too much white space for my liking so I went in with the purple ink as well as some Dr PH Martin's Bombay ink in black and created splatters just around the flowers in the white areas. Heat embossed a sentiment from Altenew's Beautiful Quotes stamp set.

Supplies Used

Stamps - Altenew Garden Hydrangea, Altenew Beautiful Quotes
Ink - Taylored Expressions, Versamark, Dr PH Martin Bombay
Cardstock - Hammermill, Lawn Fawn, Neenah, Taylored Expressions

Misc - Faber-Castell Polychromos, Pigma Micron pen

AECP - Polychromatic

Merriam-Webster defines polychromatic as showing a variety or a change of colors. In Altenew's Polychromatic class, Nina-Marie teaches how to use color combinations and ranges of color to give you more confidence in color usage in card making.

Nina's monochromatic card technique with partial die cutting of the sentiment makes for a quick and easy set of cards. Since I don't do monochromatic or partial die cutting very often I decided to use both of these techniques to make a few cards.

I started out by selecting several pieces of colored cardstock and inks in 1-2 shades darker than the cardstock. Some times it is nice to just grab a few supplies and create a card or two to have on hand. I wanted something simple that could be masculine or feminine, so I chose a simple background stamp to use for these cards.

After stamping each piece of cardstock, I trimmed each piece to 3.75" x 4.5". Then I partially die cut each sentiment from the top of the colored cardstock panels and attached them to my card bases. The sentiments were die cut from Altenew Brushed Gold cardstock and pieced into the tops of each panel.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Altenew Faceted Stars, Altenew Gracious Peonies
Dies - Altenew Fancy Thanks, Altenew Script Words, Altenew Simply Hello
Inks - Altenew Fresh dye inks, Versamark
Paper - Altenew Brushed Gold cardstock, Taylored Expressions cardstock 
Misc - Imagine Crafts irRESISTible Pico Embellisher Gold, old epoxy embellishments,
embossing powder, Wagner Heat Tool, Spellbinders Platinum 6

AECP - Creative Watercolor Media

In Altenew's Creative Watercolor Media class, Jennifer Rzasa, Laura Bassen, and Debby Hughes give lots of ideas about using your ink pads, ink refills, and shimmer sprays to watercolor on your cards.

Using ink pads and ink refills to watercolor has been around a long time in the stamping world but it is often a forgotten technique. This gives you more uses for you inks and you can get a great watercolor look without the expense of buying watercolor paints.

I started out my card by stamping a piece of Altenew Watercolor paper with Altenew Alluring Orchids using Versamark ink and then embossing the image with Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder.

Then using a wet-on-wet watercolor technique and Altenew Fresh Dye Ink refills I painted my image. With the wet-on-wet technique you start with wetting your paper with “clean” water and then use your brush drop on the inks and allow them to flow where the water takes them.

You can use your brush to push the inks around while they are wet to get darker and get lighter areas for shadows and highlights. Ink do stain the paper so you will only be able to lighten the image a small amount.

Supplies used:

Stamps – Altenew Alluring Orchids

Inks – Altenew Fresh Dye Inks – Frayed Leaf, Evergreen (Green Fields color family), Amethyst, Plum (Sugarplum color family), Citrus Burst, Maple Yellow (Pocketful of Sunshine color family)
Misc – Altenew Antique Gold embossing powder, Altenew Hot Press Watercolor paper, Silver Brush Black Velvet watercolor round brush #4, Simon Says Stamp Anti-Static powder

AECP - With A Twist

 

My cards for the Altenew Academy’s With a Twist class taught by Therese Calvird. Even though I have been a card maker for 17 years Therese gave a few ideas that I had never tried before. She gives instructions and ideas for layering stamps in different ways, using unusual color mixes, acetate, cutting the card front differently than just straight, mixing modern & vintage designs, and faux embossing.

For my cards I decided to do partial die cutting for the cut oddly and the faux embossing technique.

Card 1:

Was done using the cut oddly technique. I did partial die cutting using the coordinating die for Altenew’s In the Woodlands stamp set and after deciding where I wanted it to cut, I lined up the top cutting plate on my Spellbinders Platinum just to where I wanted the cut to stop and ran the card front through my machine. I was then able to line up the stamp to the cut and use Altenew Jet Black ink to stamp the outline. Once the image was stamped on the card front, I used the layering stencils to color in the image using Altenew Fresh Dye inks.

Products Used:
Stamps – Altenew In the Woodlands, Altenew Classic Greetings
Inks – Altenew Fresh Dye Inks in Jet Black, Pale Mauve, Amethyst, Firefly, Grass Field, Shadow Creek

Card 2:

Was done created using the faux embossing technique. Therese used an alphabet die set to cut the word she used for her card. I decided to be lazy and use one of the many word dies that I have in my collection.

For this I die cut the Altenew Waterbrush Hello die six times to cover the card front, then using Bearly Arts liquid glue I glued each of the words to the card front. Once they were dry, I used scissors to trim off any overhanging pieces. 

The butterfly was stamped using Altenew Jet Black Fresh Dye Ink and then I used Taylored Expressions Honey ink to layer the stamps. After the butterfly was die cut using the coordinating die, I popped it up on the card front with foam.

Products Used:
Stamps – Altenew Dovetail Butterflies
Dies – Altenew Waterbrush Hello
Inks – Altenew Fresh Dye Inks in Jet Black, Taylored Expressions Honey