AECP-Level 2-Magical Marker Techniques

 If you are like me, you have had alcohol markers for awhile and only use them for occasional coloring.  If so, then this is the class for you!  I learned so many techniques and have a few samples to show you.

I recently received the Just Leaves die set from Altenew.  I was so excited when I saw it and knew I wanted to try it for this technique.  After cutting ALL of the dies in the set out of white cardstock, I colored them with several of my green alcohol markers.  I just pulled out the shades I wanted to use and randomly colored the leaves.  The wonderful thing about this technique is there is no order-just randomly color, experiment and have fun with it. After all my colors were applied, I then spritzed slightly with alcohol to achieve a slightly mottled effect.  I only used one of the leaves for this card as it is a mini slimline card and one was enough.  The sentiment is from the Faithful Feather set and is stamped in black ink.  For added contrast, the sentiment strip is backed in a matching green cardstock. Below is a close up.

Since I had so many leaves ready, I decided to make another mini slimline card with the orientation going the opposite direction.

I mounted these leaves on a small square of white cardstock that I dry embossed with a woodgrain folder and then attached them to a piece of green cardstock.  The stripes on either side of the sentiment were made using one of the green alcohol markers and a ruler.  The sentiment is stamped in black and is part of the Amaryllis stamp set.

This card was fun and easy.  I stamped the images from the Darling Rose stamp set on Vellum and then heat embossed them in black.  I colored the rose using R301, R206 and R217 Altenew Alcohol Markers. I spritzed them with alcohol to achieve a stippled effect similar to the leaves. The result is slightly different using Vellum rather than cardstock. I then fussy cut the pieces. One tip from this class was to look at your stencils differently.  Although I didn't use my stencil with my markers, I did angle it on my cardstock and ink blended only a portion of it. I adhered the rose and leaves to this piece and then adhered that to an A2 card front.

Here is a close up of the mottled effect.  I did color the Vellum on the back side so that I wouldn't damage the tips of my markers.

One of the first techniques in this class was using your alcohol markers to color metal.  Sara used some metal sheeting she had.  I wanted to give it a try but had no metal sheeting.  This card and my next one were experiments and I love the way they turned out!  I adhered double sided adhesive to a piece of card stock and then adhered Aluminum Foil to the cardstock. This technique works best using dark colors, so I looked for my darkest blue marker and scribbled it on my aluminum foil.  Then I spritzed the area with alcohol.  After this dried, I cut it into strips of varying sizes and attached it to my card using double sided tape.  I also used the same marker to color white pearls. Now the colors on my card match perfectly!

The sentiment is from the Japanese Mum stamp set. I really like the shading and variation you get with this technique.  I may invest is some dark colors of alcohol markers just for this technique!

This is actually my favorite card from this class!  Most of the products used are discontinued, but I have them in my stash. I colored a piece of aluminum foil with a dark red alcohol marker, spritzed with alcohol, let it dry and then die cut the ornaments.  The sentiment is from the Holiday Flower stamp set. 

I hope this inspired you to try new techniques with your alcohol markers.

Happy Stamping!

AECP-Level 2-In The Mood for Color

 These cards are inspired my my latest Altenew class- In The Mood for Color.  Did you know that your color choices relay a message to the recipient?  I had never considered this when card making.  This class was another good one in the Altenew lineup.  

My first card uses blue as the main color.  Blue is calming and tranquil. I think this is a good color for a sympathy card and this one is going to my cousin in North Carolina who recently lost his wife.

I stamped each of the blooms in the Wallpaper Art set and colored them with various blue Copic markers.  After stamping the leaf stamp from that set onto my cardstock using Hunter Green ink, I ink blended Arctic blue ink around the edges. I then arranged my blooms.  I attached my cardstock piece to a black piece of cardstock slightly larger.  My sentiment is stamped in black and is from the Starry Flowers stamp set.  This piece was also backed with black cardstock.  All were then adhered to an A2 card base.  The blooms were trimmed as they were hanging over the edge in places.

The color red signifies love, passion or energy.  The Watercolor Blooms stamp set if full of blooms and is easy to stamp.  I stamped several of the images using a base layer of pink with the second layer in red.  The foliage is stamped using Just Green ink.  The sentiment is from the Paint A Flower Anemone set and stamped in red.  

The circle of black and white is preprinted vellum from my stash backed with a white piece of cardstock.  I dry embossed my card front with an embossing folder in my stash as well.  I thought the tiny dots continued the theme of my card.  After die cutting and attaching all of my pieces, I adhered my card front to an A2 card base.

Yellow is a color that can demonstrate energy, optimism, or cheer.  I think this card does that.  It utilizes a partial die cut technique that I have been wanting to try.  The bloom in the Ranunculus set is perfect for this. I used Mocha, Citrus Burst, Maple Yellow, Honey Drizzle and Caramel Toffee for the flower.  The foliage was stamped using Galactic Stream, Dew Drops and Aqualicious inks. I then ink blended the edges using Maple Yellow.  The sentiment is stamped in Galactic Stream, then in Versa Mark and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. To finish off the card, I added tiny gold splatters.

The next two cards are quick and easy ones using embossing folders.  Altenew has some amazing folders.  I received this one in my last order and love it!  This is the Floating Foliage embossing folder.  I used a very light green cardstock from my stash.  After the panel was embossed, I lightly ran Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide Ink over the raised portions.  I used Lucky Clover Distress Oxide ink to darken the centers of the leaves. I cut a 1 1/2" strip off one end of my panel and after white heat embossing my sentiment, I attached it to black cardstock.  I then attached the top portion, added a few pearls and attached to an A2 card base.

Words associated with the color green are growth, soothing and natural.  This embossing folder seems to use those words as well.  The card below uses the same technique as above with a slight color change.  I used Mowed Lawn and Luck Clover Distress Oxide inks.  I completed the card using the Fancy For You die cut out of some gold card stock in my stash. I did add a few matching gems from my stash as well.

Two slightly different looks using the same embossing folder.  I hope you enjoyed today's cards.

Happy Stamping!

AECP-Level 2-Impressive Heat Embossing

 Hello! Another wonderful Altenew class is the inspiration for today's cards.  Impressive Heat Embossing is another must take class.  After finishing the lessons, I pulled out ALL of the embossing powders in my stash.  And of course, there were quite a few.  But what fun it was to play with them all.  The card below is the first of my Christmas cards for this year.  I embossed the Amaryllis outline in Gold.  The second layer was stamped using a dark red ink.  The third layer was embossed using an Iridescent Embossing Powder and the fourth layer was embossed using Gold Embossing Powder. I opted to not use the stamen for this flower.  The greenery die cuts were embossed using a Green and Gold Embossing Powder.  I die cut all the pieces along with a Gold foil frame.  For added interest, I die cut the Garden Trellis Cover Die out of white cardstock and used this as my background. All pieces were adhered to an A2 card front.

Below is a close up spotlighting all that glitter and sparkle!

The card below uses several colors of embossing powders-Gold, Silver, Copper, Clear, and Holographic. I heat embossed each color separately.  It wasn't hard, just a slow process.  I think it was worth the effort.  

I used several stamp sets as well.  The sentiment is Copper embossed on Vellum and from the Ornamental Bliss set.  The leaves are from the Darling Rose set and the small branches and dots are from the Watercolor Blooms set.  I enjoy mixing stamp sets to get more out of them.

Here is a close up of all the different colors on this card.  I added a few matching gems, adhered the piece to a copper foil cardstock and then to an A2 cardfront.

This technique turned out to be a 2 for 1 card.  Using my stamp positioner was a great help.  Using 2 pieces of cardstock (one white and the other colored) cut to the same size, I stamped the white cardstock in an ink that matched my colored cardstock.  I then stamped in VersaMark Ink and heat embossed in Clear Embossing Ink. I then stamped my colored cardstock in VersaMark Ink and heat embossed using Silver Pearl Embossing Powder.  I die cut the center out of the colored cardstock and die cut a sentiment to match. A few clear gems were added to the front as well.

The close up shows how the stamping is continuous on the colored cardstock.  I also added some liquid glitter into the flower centers.  I really like how this card and the next one turned out.

This card uses the leftover frame from my previous card and is a very simple card. I stamped my flower in matching ink and Clear Embossing Powder as before. The flower images are from the Starry Flowers set and the sentiment is from the Always There set.

I added color to the flower centers and blooms.  The tiny butterflies were in my stash and just matched my flower centers.  I hope you enjoyed today's post.

Happy Stamping!

AECP Level 2-Creative Watercolor Media

 As I take each class, I am so amazed at all of the cardmaking talent out there.  This class was taught by Jenn Rzasa, Debby Hughes and Laura Bassen. Each instructor has her own style and I learned tips from each one.  I must admit, this is one class I was really hesitant to take as I am slightly intimidated by watercoloring.  I am pleased with my results and hope you are too.

I white heat embossed several images from the Perfectly Perfect stamp set onto a watercolor panel.  I then wet my panel and added watered down reinkers in blue, green and yellow.  I loosely used my stamped images for color placement, but didn't mind if colors ran outside the lines.  This is the loose look I was going for. After this dried, I cut the panel down and adhered it to my card front at an angle-a tip from Jennifer McGuire.  My sentiment is the Miss You word die cut from a coordinating card stock.  

This is a close up of the watercolored panel.  I added a few sequins to finish the card.  This card was fun to create and quick as well.

The background for this card was done by a Smooshing Technique.  I placed ink pads face down onto a slick nonstick surface ( a large piece of acetate will work) in a random pattern, spritzed with water and dipped the watercolor paper into it.  I repeated this process until I was satisfied with the results and set it aside to dry.  When my panel was dry, I heat embossed the flower from Paint A Flower-Hydrangea in gold. Below is the panel before adding color.

I then used reinkers to watercolor my image.  After this was dry, I added a few splatters in matching colors using reinkers as well. 

The sentiment is from the Ornamental Bliss set and was gold heat embossed onto a white strip and backed with a green coordinating cardstock strip.

My last example is a very simple card, but I wanted the focus to be on the flower.  After heat embossing the image from the Coneflower set in Copper onto watercolor paper, I watercolored it using Honey Drizzle, Hunter Green and Mocha inks.

To complete the card, I dry embossed a white cardstock panel with a dotted embossing folder.  I cut a smaller piece of cardstock, dry embossed it in a linen folder and added some extra interest by running my Sand Dune mini ink cube over it.  I attached it to a Copper Foil piece of cardstock and then popped my Coneflower on that.  I did add two layers of cardstock beneath my Coneflower for added dimension.

I hope you enjoyed these samples and picked up some inspiration along the way. 

Happy Stamping!

Level 2-Color Your Day

 Hello! It has been awhile since I posted because I have been traveling some.  I am home now and am again so enjoying my Altnew classes! I just finished with the Color Your Day classes and was so inspired by Therese.  Her accent is lovely as well. You should definitely give this class a try as there are so many tips to help you with color choices. Below is one of the cards I made utilizing these tips.

I chose the colors for this card by using the color wheel.  These are colors that I probably would have not used together before this class.  I stamped the blooms and leaves from the Majestic Bloom stamp set in coordinating red inks.  I used Misty Moor and Sea Forest inks for my leaves.  The background was created using the Stacked Diamonds Cover Die. I loosely used the 70/20/10 rule for the design.  (You will have to take this class to get this tip). 

I also used the Color Wheel for the color choices for this card.  I was surprised at how well I liked this color combo and will probably use it again. The background was stamped using the Antique Roses set and the sentiment is from the Ornamental Bliss set. This was a fun quick card to make.  I did add a few clear gems as well.

I received the Coneflower set before we traveled but did not have time to use it.  This was the first set I used when we returned!  I absolutely love it and will use it often. Therese encouraged us to look around for inspiration and also to participate in challenges.  These two cards were made with the October Color Challenge from Altenew in mind.  The inks used came from the Sweet Dreams, Sunflower Fields, and Coffee Break sets. My sentiments are from the Smiles and Hugs set and the Japanese Mum set. I used a few enamel dots made with Nuvo Crystal Drops in Buttermilk for the card on the right.

For this set of cards, I used the same stamp set-Delicate Bouquet.  Therese encouraged us to use different coloring mediums to achieve different looks from the same stamp.  The card on the left was colored using Copic Markers and the card on the right was painted with Altenew watercolors.  My watercoloring needs a great deal of improvement. I white heat embossed the stamp but may try this again using a darker embossing powder.  I did use the colors in my stamped image to color the sentiment strip and white heat embossed the words.  I added a die cut using the Burlap Texture Die to the background of the card on the left for more dimension.  A few gems were also added to each card. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Stamping!