Sunday, August 22, 2021

AECP Level 1Final Challenge-Feminine Card Set

 


Oh my, what fun I have had creating! This post contains my submission for the feminine set of my Level 1 Final Challenge. The Level 1 classes are so full of wonderful inspiration and ideas.  If you have the chance, you should enroll in these classes.  I guarantee you will not be disappointed and will increase your crafting skills. This card set incorporates lessons learned from the following classes-All About Layering 1 and 2, Easy Die Cutting Techniques, Irresistible Ink Blending Techniques and Let It Shine.

For my color palate, Purple or Lilac was a must as it was my mother's favorite color. I experimented with different combinations of inks and cardstocks. I fell in love with the ink blending of Antique Linen and Old Paper Distress Oxide Inks. TIP-When using Distress Oxide Inks, let your inks dry well before using your inked piece. 


CARD#1-My ink colors for this Ranunculus bloom (and all my flowers) are Pale Mauve, Amethyst, Grape Agate, and Plum.  The leaves color palate are Marshland, Sea Forest and Mangrove Root.  I ink blended Old Paper Distress Oxide Ink onto the lower left corner, letting it fade away toward the center.  I had some foil tape, but it was too wide, so I made my own. TIP-Make your own tape by adhering a double sided adhesive sheet to a foil sheet of cardstock and then cut it to your desired width. Remove the backing and attach it to the desired area of your card front.  I attached a few gold sequins for more shine.


My sentiment is from the Ranunculus set as well.  I also added some Wink of Stella to the bloom but try as I might, I couldn't capture it in a picture.




CARD#2-I used the Dotted Scales Debossing Plate to add interest to my ink blended background.  The tulips are from the Build A Flower-Bearded Iris Set.  I continued with the same purple color palate for the bloom and green color palate for the leaves.  The sentiment is from the Ranunculus Set. I backed it with purple card stock and adhered it with foam squares. 



I added a few purple gem stones from my stash for some bling.  I truly wish the color of this ink blended background was more defined in the photo.  It is such a soft background. 


CARD#3-This card uses a pale green cardstock as its background and also a recycled element-a used dryer sheet!  I used an oval die to cut out the center area of the pale green card stock and then ran it through an embossing folder.  I then placed it on my card front and traced the inside lightly in pencil.  After stamping and die cutting several blossoms from the Stunning Cosmos Set, I adhered them in place to peak through the oval.  I then covered the blossoms with a glue stick, topped this with my dryer sheet and then rubbed a tiny bit of fine glitter into the sheet and wet glue. When this was dry, I trimmed my excess and attached my embossed cardstock using foam tape. Tiny pearls were added as well.


Above is a close up to see all the glitter and sparkle.  The sentiment is from the Bearded Iris Set.


CARD#4-The ink blended background is more visible in the picture of this card ( I may need a better camera/phone-ha). I used the Gem Frame Die to cut out the center and then cut a second one from my Gold Mirror Cardstock.  The ink blended piece was adhered using foam tape to an A2 card front.  Using the inlaid technique, I then adhered the gem die cut to the card. The bloom and leaves utilize the same color palate and are from the Antique Roses Set.  Wink of Stella was added for more sparkle.


The above picture more closely shows the effect of the inlaid technique.  I also added some purple enamel dots from my stash that are just the right color.  The sentiment is from the Majestic Bloom Set.


CARD#5-The Japanese Mum Set is one of my very favorite sets from Altenew!  This card just makes me smile.  I first ran a piece of white cardstock through an embossing folder very much like Altenew's Organic Linen 3D Embossing Folder.  However, this folder is not 3D or Altenew, so it did not emboss as deeply. I then backed this piece with a Gold Mirror Cardstock. My blooms & leaves were adhered & trimmed to fit the A2 card front.


The sentiment is from the Ornamental Bliss Set.  I adhered a purple strip of cardstock to a Gold Mirror piece and after white heat embossing the sentiment to a Vellum strip, I adhered it by wrapping it around to the back of my Gold cardstock and adhering it with tape.


CARD#6-This is by far the easiest of the set when it comes to creating!  I am a huge fan of Altenew's 3D embossing folders.  I only have 2, but my wish list is VERY LONG!  I ran a piece of dark purple cardstock through my machine using the  Daisy Bed 3D Embossing Folder.  Using a VersaMark pen, I inked the center of each flower, applied Iridescent Embossing Powder and heat embossed with my heat tool.  When this was dry, I applied White Pigment Ink over the raised parts of the petals using a (you guessed it) finger dauber. TIP-Pigment Ink takes longer to dry, so either heat set it with your heat gun or wait about 30 minutes.  

I absolutely love the way this card turned out and plan to make several more in different colors.  


Above is the hand made gift box for my cards.  I used the gold foil cardstock for the "ribbon".  I just cut my strips wider than the ones I used on my card and adhered them to the box top. Below are instructions for the box.

Measure the depth that you need for your box. I wanted my box to be 1 1/2" deep.  This measurement is placed in the end blanks of the equation. Since my cards are 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", I chose 4 1/2" as my width and 6" as my length.  This gives you the measurement for your cardstock.  Cut your cardstock 7 1/2" x 9" and score at 1 1/2" on all 4 sides. TIP-FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE BOX ONLY-Before you score, cut a smidge (1/16") off of 2 sides that share a corner.  This helps your top to fit better and doesn't affect your end result.

Since I wanted my box top to be shorter in depth than my box bottom, I used 1" for my depth.  See the equation above.  Below is a screen shot to show you how to cut and adhere your box together.


See how nicely the cards fit into the box!  I made the box for my masculine set in the same way.


Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you found some inspiration and enjoyment. And give Altenew classes a look, you will not be disappointed.

AECP Level 1 Final Challenge-Masculine Card Set

 






I have recently completed the 10 classes in Level 1 of the Altenew Educator Certification Program and I learned so many techniques, tips & tricks.  The instructors were so easy to follow and gave such great inspiration!

As my final challenge for Level 1, I was challenged to make 2 sets of cards-one masculine & one feminine. Each set should have a similar & cohesive theme. A package for each set should also be included. I really enjoyed making these sets. My masculine version follows. Please read on to see the specifics for each card.


I used techniques from several of the classes for this set-For The Guys(geometrics), Easy Ink Blending, Let It Shine, Clean & Simple Boutique Cards and Irresistible Inking Techniques.  For my cohesive color scheme, I chose Navy, Grey and Burgundy with Silver highlights. 


Card # 1 uses the Cube Builder Stencil. I used grey cardstock, inked half in Navy, flipped the stencil and inked the other side in Burgundy. For my inking tool, I used a finger dauber. These have been around a long time and I had them on hand.  I also inked the edges for more contrast. The sentiment is from the Ornamental Bliss stamp set. I stamped it in Navy and Burgundy onto grey cardstock, inked the edges as well and backed it with a Burgundy piece of cardstock.  I used fun foam for added dimension when adhering it to the card front.




Card # 2-I really got inky with this one! If you look closely, you can see that I wore out the burgundy finger dauber!  I used nesting circle dies to cut several different sizes of circles out of masking paper. Using white cardstock, I then inked one circle at a time in each of the colors in my color scheme and in different sizes of circles.  After this was done, I cut a circle from the corner. I stamped my sentiment from the Stunning Cosmos stamp set onto a white card front and added a few splatters using watered down ink from my Burgundy ink pad and a paint brush. I then adhered my inked circle piece onto the A2 card.  My husband says this one is his favorite!


Card # 3-This card utilizes a recycled element.  We had some Drywall joint tape from an old home improvement project and it sure came in handy! I applied Grey Denim ink onto the tape using my finger dauber and let it dry.  I applied the tape to my navy piece at an angle.  This tape is sticky on one side so it was no problem to adhere it to the cardstock. I then stamped my sentiment from the Ornamental Bliss stamp set using Versa Mark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I added splatters using watered down white acrylic paint and a paint brush. The small diamond shaped pieces were cut from grey cardstock using the small die from the Shattered Triangle die set. White enamel dots were added as well. This piece was then backed with Grey and Burgundy cardstock to follow my color scheme.





Card # 4-I started with grey cardstock and embossed it using the Modern Squares 3D embossing folder from Altenew. I inked various areas using Navy ink and attached it to a Navy piece of cardstock.  I then used the Waterbrush Hello die from Altenew to cut 3 pieces from Navy cardstock.  I used Navy so that from the side, the card would look more cohesive.  I covered the complete die with Versa Mark Ink and embossed it using silver embossing powder. I did this 2 times, adhered it to my Grey embossed piece, added a few solid silver sequins and attached it to an A2 card.

Card # 5- Again using grey cardstock as my base, I used the Deco Wallpaper Stencil and inked part of it in Navy and part in Burgundy.  I went darker in some spots than others and let the lower left corner fade away.  This was the look I wanted to achieve. 
I used the stencil to trace one of the large diamond shapes onto a scrap of white cardstock.  I then cut triangles from Grey cardstock, inked those using the stencil and inked the edges as well. These were adhered using foam for dimension. I stamped the sentiment from Ornamental Bliss onto a piece of Vellum using Versa Mark Ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Here is a tip for adhering vellum to your cardstock-squirt a small amount of glue onto a scrap piece of cardstock & using your fingertip, smear the glue onto the vellum.  It will dry clear and unseen. Navy enamel dots finish out this card.

                                                       Below is a closeup of my template.

Card # 6-This card starts with a white piece of cardstock. I attached a piece of brushed silver cardstock to the left side and embossed it using a folder with a triangular pattern.  I then used the Shattered Triangle Die Set from Altenew to cut several pieces from Grey, Navy and Burgundy cardstock. Here is another tip- After deciding how I wanted them placed on my card front, I used GLAD Press'n'Seal to pick up my pieces and keep them in place. I then flipped them over, applied adhesive and placed them on the card front. I stamped the sentiment from the Ornamental Bliss stamp set onto another piece of brushed silver, backed it with a Burgundy piece of cardstock and adhered it to the card front with adhesive dots.

The white piece was adhered to a Burgundy piece before being added to an A2 card.


My gift packaging takes a traditional path. I rolled several ideas around, made several "containers" and threw several away! I have boxes of paper and cardstock that I have "collected" over the years.  I started looking through them for possible inspiration. Below is a piece of patterned paper that I thought was perfect!

My tag was made using strips from each of my colors and vellum.  The sentiment is stamped in Navy using the Label Love stamp set from Altenew. If you look closely, you will see one of the banners is checked.  I use the drywall tape as a stencil, was unhappy with the card front, but used it as a piece of my tag.






The picture below was made before I adhered the tag to the top, but shows how nicely the cards fit. My box measures 4 1/2" x 6" x 1 1/2".  I measured the height of my cards and envelopes to determine how deep to make my box, then measured the width and length of my cards to determine the width and length of my box. I wanted my burgundy card stock bottom to show, so I cut my box top to 1" in depth.




Happy Stamping!



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