Wednesday, February 16, 2022

AECP-Transcending Tattoo Techniques

 Hello! I hope you are having a great day.  I recently completed another Altenew class and really found this one fascinating.  The instructor, Jaycee Gaspar, researched different tattoo techniques and transferred them into card making techniques.  Not only did I pick up a few card making techniques, I learned a little about tattooing. I will note the tattoo technique that inspired each card as we move along.


The above card was inspired by the tattoo technique called Trash Polka.  I was so intrigued by this that I actually googled several tattoo images-give it a try yourself. I found some truly beautiful artwork. All images were stamped onto a sand colored cardstock from my stash and then adhered to a white A2 card.  The background was partially stenciled using black ink and the Woven Stencil. The circles were stamped in red and the image is from a bicycle stamp in my stash.  I also added black splatters.  The blooms are from the Wallpaper Art set (one of my favorites) and the leaves are from the Darling Rose set.  The sentiment is from the Halftone Happy set. 


Here is a close up of the flower.  I did rough up the edges of my background and lightly ink blend the edges in black to add to the organic feel of the card.


This card utilizes the Loose Watercolor Technique.  After stamping and heat embossing the butterflies from the Painted Butterflies set in black onto watercolor paper, I wet specific areas and scraped dry pigment from the 12 color pan watercolor set onto the wet areas.  I did move some of the pigment around with a wet brush.  I used the same method on another piece of watercolor paper, then stamped and heat embossed the word happy and the sentiment from the Halftone Happy set. The background is dry embossed using the 3D Cloudy Day Embossing Folder.  The clouds were enhanced by adding highlights with white craft ink.


I hope you can see the pigment in the enlargement.  Can you see the variation of pigment? 


This card refers to the tattoo technique called Old School/Graphic Coloring.  To do this, first stamp the outline and then stamp the most detailed layer.  Hand color using your preferred method and use to create your card. I added some splatters and black gems to complete my card.  


The blooms and leaves are from the Always There set and the sentiment is from the Japanese Mum set.  The small white and black images are the tips from the Starry Flowers set.


This card was inspired by the Dotwork/Pen Shading Details technique.  I was slightly intimidated at first, but found it relaxing as I went along. Below is the stamped image prior to any dot work.


I used the Dotted Scales Debossing Cover Die, the Fancy For You Die, and the Just Leaves Dies to complete my card.  The bloom is from the Build a Flower-Gardenia set.


I hope you enjoyed this post and will give this class a try.  

Happy Stamping!

Thursday, February 10, 2022

AECP-Stunningly Simple Watercolor Techniques

 The journey to become a Certified Altenew Educator continues and so does my learning!  Another great class was just completed.  If you have ever considered taking one of Altenew's many classes, I encourage you to do it.  You do not have to be part of the Educator Program to do so and I assure you that you will love it!  This class is taught by Lydia Evans and simplifies watercoloring.  


This is a sample of no line watercoloring.  For the card base, I ink blended over the Classy Stripes Stencil using Gray Denim ink and then stamped partial images using the Tall Foliage stamp.  The sentiment and bloom are from the Build A Flower-Gardenia set.  


The bloom was stamped on watercolor paper and then colored with purple and blue ink pads. I smooshed some ink from the pads onto my worksurface.  


This card uses an embossed image to "catch" your watercolors.  The raised embossed outlines help to keep the colors from bleeding into each other.  For the background, I ink blended Aqualicious around the edges and left the center mostly untouched.  Using the Garden Trellis Cover Die and a circle die, I cut my cardfront. After adhering it in place, I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Garden set in black ink.


 Again, the bloom was stamped onto watercolor paper. Ink colors used for my watercoloring were Hunter Green, Aqualicious, Heart Beat and Caramel Toffee.


The focus of this card is the background.  I wet the entire piece and then added my colors and allowed them to blend on their own. The butterflies are from the Painted Butterflies set and the sentiment is from the Tall Foliage set.


If you look closely, you can see that the butterflies have a slight blue tint.  After heat embossing them onto vellum, I ink blended light blue onto the backs.  They are adhered with tiny glue dots behind the gold embossed areas.

The birthday card above used ink smooshing for the background.  The card on the right uses an ombre technique for the background.

This class was fun and I hope to utilize more watercoloring techniques in the future.

Happy Stamping!

Friday, February 4, 2022

AECP-Layering 3D Dies & More

 Another class from Altenew has done it again!  This class focused on using dies and not stamps.  My plan was to make cards with minimal or no stamping-just using dies.  Let's get started.


I started this card by cutting the Floral In-N-Out Border die from masking paper and adhering it to my card front.  I then used Altenew Alcohol Markers R301, R206, R403 and G702 to color through the openings in the die.  I then removed the masking paper and touched up a few areas.  After using the same die to cut another out of black cardstock, I adhered it to my card front.  The strip along the left side and the sentiment are cut from Dazzling Diamond cardstock.  The sentiment is from the dies for the Majestic Bloom set.  A few crystal gems are added for a tiny bit of bling. I also rounded my top and bottom edges on the right side.


With Valentines Day close, we all could use "love" cards.  I will have to admit, this card got a little messy!  After cutting the hearts and the You Are Loved from heavy white cardstock, I covered them with VersaMark ink.  I then added Red, Black and Silver embossing powders in random order and heat set.  I then added 2 more layers of cardstock to my sentiment.  I had a cover plate in my stash to make the pierced heart background.  After adhering my pieces to the pierced background, I attached it to a red A2cardfront.


This card can be completed in about 10 minutes and is one of my favorites!  I looked through my scrap stash (we all have them) and found some bright, coordinating colors.  I then used the Waterbrush Hello die on each piece.  I adhered them to my cardfront  and then used the Mod Squares 3D Embossing Folder for dimension.  After this was done, I ran the Antique Gold Pigment Ink Pad over the card lightly.  This card is one that can be used for a wide variety of ages. 

This post was short but these cards were a joy to create.  Until next time-

Happy Stamping!

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Altenew Craft Your Life Retreat-New Beginnings 2022


 Have you ever seen a stamp set used in so many ways?  If you have not taken advantage of Altenew's retreats you have been missing out!  This was my first retreat but it won't be my last.  I will list each class and show my samples.  They are slightly different than the instructors but isn't that what crafting is all about?

Class1 was taught by Jaycee Gaspar who is a wonderful colorist of botanical illustrations.  His control of watercolors is amazing, but that is for another day.  


Class 2 focused on journaling and was taught by Bridget Casey.  She is a ball of energy and is so full of ideas!  I quit trying to write them all down.  I haven't decided if I want to make a card or a journaling page with the sample on the left.


Class 3 was all about the backgrounds which are so hard to see in these photos.  The cards were also not your typical A2 size which I liked.  Erin Thompson is another wonderful instructor and is so easy to follow.


Class 4 focused on coloring with pencils and although I didn't have the set the instructor used, I am very pleased with the end result.  Amy Hill did an awesome job walking us through each step.  Her relaxed style helps give you the confidence to carry on!


Class 5 projects appeared daunting, but Teresa Litchfield simplified each step and the end results inspired me to try them again with other sets!  She also had some extra inspiration with additional projects.


Class 6 highlighted a fancy fun fold card.  The sample was very sparkly.  I chose to use pink cardstock as my base instead of white as that is what I had on hand.  Annemarie Caister provided wonderful instructions.  This class inspired me to try her fancy fold in different sizes. And we made a shaker element to the card as well.


I didn't go into detail for any of these cards.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  I am always happy to share my love of card making!

Happy Stamping!

Altenew April Inspiration Challenge

It has been a long winter here! I woke up to snow on the ground again! Next winter may be a time for travel to a warmer climate! This m...