AECP-Level2-With A Twist

 I have completed another fantastic class in the Altenew classroom!  These classes are wonderful and each one is filled with techniques and tips to take your cardmaking and crafting up a notch.  This class is named With A Twist and was such a delight.  Therese Calvird is the instructor and so easy to follow. 

My first example is using a stamp in a slightly different way than it's designed use.  I started by stamping the Ranunculus outline stamp with Versa Mark ink and heat embossing it onto a blue cardstock.  For the second layer, I used only one of the shadow stamps and stamped it in Sapphire Ink. For the background, I ran two pieces of cardstock (one silver and one white) through my die cutting machine using the Dotted Scales Debossing Die.  I adhered these to my card front and attached a matching cardstock strip for added detail.  I then popped my flower and added a sentiment from the same set heat embossed in silver as well.

Here is a close up of the Ranuculus bloom.  I really like how this turned out and have another one in my stash for another card.

The above card used a different cut from the normal A2 design.  I have had this Ornamental Bliss stamp set for awhile and only used the sentiments.  That is really the reason I purchased it, but decided to use it for this design.  I think it worked well.  It is very easy to line up the layers.  The most difficult part is deciding which colors to use!  My color choices were Vineyard Berry, Amethyst, Caramel Toffee, Maple Yellow, Sweet Leaf and Galactic Stream. A few of my colors were not bright enough for my liking, so I brightened them up with Prisma Color Pencils.  After die cutting my stamped pieces, I adhered them to my circle card front.  The card front is ink blended in Sweet Leaf and the sentiment is stamped in Galactic Stream. I also added a few gems.

My final card used the twist of "inside out".  The front of the card depicts an indoor scene and the inside of the card is an outdoor scene.  I used five different stamp sets for this card and some of them are discontinued.  I mix and match my sets and I encourage you to try it as well. I did place a piece of acetate in the window for my glass.

I used Kraft cardstock for my window and lightly ink blended a darker brown for added detail.

After stamping the inside, I colored my images and used a Versa Mark Pen to the trees. I then heat embossed some white for snow.  The sentiment is from the Holiday Flower set and the Altenew ink colors used were Hunter Green, Just Green and Heart Beat.  If you would like the details of this card, please email me and I will give them to you.

Happy Stamping!

AECP-Level 2-Polychromatic

 

I can't say enough about the Altenew Classes!  Each one is filled with tips and techniques to help you with all your crafting.  The cards below were inspired by the Polychromatic class.  Polychromatic is defined as using 2 or more colors. The class consists of 6 different lessons, each using a different technique.

This technique is called Faux Watercolored Effect.  I really enjoyed this technique and made 3 different cards using it.  I colored my stamps using waterbrush markers, spritzed with water and then stamped onto watercolor paper.  You will get a slightly different look each time.  The stamps used were from the Coneflower set and the Stunning Cosmos set.  I wanted the emphasis to be on the flowers so I opted to not use sequins or jewels.

As you can see in the above photo, each flower is slightly different as well as the leaves.

I used the Gardenia set for this card and did add a few black splatters.  The sentiment is heat embossed with black embossing powder and is from the Coneflower set.  I ink blended my card front with Kitch Flamingo Distress Oxide Ink and also added a die cut using the Garden Trellis Die.  I mounted my stamped piece onto a slightly larger piece of black cardstock, added a few gems and mounted it to the card front.

This card was made using the same technique.  The stamp set for the flower is Antique Roses.  The sentiment is from All The Hearts set as is the sentiment.  This stamp set has a matching die that cuts out several small hearts. I attached several to my stamped piece and used the stamp to stamp the edges of my card front.  The edges are also LIGHTLY ink blended with a green ink that matches the leaves.

As you can see from the picture, I used Heart Beat, Honey Drizzle and Azurite inks to watercolor my background piece. The inks are lighter when spritzed with water and added to the watercolor paper. I used the same technique on another piece of watercolor paper and die cut the balloons using the Birthday Greetings Die.  I added 2 more balloons to the back of each one for added dimension. The sentiment and balloon strings are from the Faithful Feathers set.  The balloon strings are the center stamp for the feathers.  This is a way of stretching your stamps! I added Glossy Accents and tiny stars to the balloons as well.  To finish them off, I added some white twine knots.

Happy Stamping!

AECP-Level 2-Masking Unleashed

 The Altenew Educator Classes are some of the best around!  Each class is full of wonderful tips and tricks.  The instructors are varied and each has so much to offer. My latest class was no exception! Masking Unleashed is all about using different masking techniques on your cards. 

The steps for this card are simple but do require a little time.  Start by cutting a circle out of a piece of masking paper and using the outside piece for masking. Adhere it to your card front, align your stencil over your circle opening and lightly ink blend a light ink color over the area.  Keep the area that you plan to place your flowers lighter than the rest.  Remove your mask and decide on your flower placement.  After stamping the main image, mask it off and continue stamping and masking until your image is complete.

The ink colors on this card are Altenew Misty Moor, Marshland, Sea Forest, and Mangrove Root. The flowers are from the Always There stamp set and the sentiment is from the Faithful Feathers stamp set.  I heat embossed the sentiment in gold onto a matching color of cardstock.  I also added a tiny gold piece of cardstock on either side of the sentiment strip and a few gold sequins.

These cards use die cuts from the Just Leaves die set as masks.  I cut 2 of each one from masking paper, adhered one to white cardstock and began ink blending.  After a light coat of ink, I then attached the second mask, off setting slightly from the first and ink blended a little more. I white heat embossed the sentiments and finished the cards as shown.  The card on the left uses the Leaves Frame die with one cut from brown cardstock and another cut from vellum.  Adhere the 2 frames with the leaves turned in different directions.

For this card, die cut the You Are Loved die out of masking paper and place it on your card front.  Ink blend over your card front.  Without removing your die, stamp your flowers and leaves.  Remove your mask, adhere some jewels and your card is finished!  I used Altenew inks for this-Teal Cove, Vineyard Berry, Coral Bliss, Citrus Burst, Sea Forest and Pink Pearl(for the blending). The flowers are from the Stunning Cosmos set and the leaves are from the Always There set.

When masking, always start with your top layer first, the pink flower in this card. Mask it off after stamping and stamp your second layer-the blue and purple flowers.  Mask this layer off and stamp your third layer-the leaves.  After my stamping was done, I colored the image using various alcohol markers.  To finish the card, I added some black splatters, the sentiment(white heat embossed on black cardstock and fussy cut) and adhered my piece to an A2 black card.  The leaves and flowers are from the Perfectly Perfect set and the sentiment is from the Coneflower set.

Happy Stamping!

Altenew-November Challenge

 Just a quick note today to spotlight the Altenew November Challenge.  I ink blended the colors for the challenge onto a piece of white cardstock and then ran it through the Cloud embossing folder from Altenew.  I cut one of the leaves die 3 times from black cardstock and glued them together.  I then adhered all to the ink blended piece. I added a heavy dose of Wink of Stella to the die cut, white heat embossed my sentiment and added some silver splatters.