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 month's challenge at Altenew had me thninking of aldohol ink backgrounds. These backgrounds are so much fun to make, but can be alittle ovewhelming for card designs. I had four backgrounds made in no time at all. As you can see, I only used two of them for partial backgrounds.

I chose a Poppy as my flower for this one. It was colored using alcohol markers. When I showed my card to my husband, he thought I should use roses as that was the inspiration challenge photo. So, of course, I gave it a try.

The set I used was Antique Roses so I automatically thought vintage and thus the look for this card.

I have a few friends in mind that really love the vintage look, so this one will have a new home soon.

I think this is my favorite from today's sampling. And I have 2 more complete backgrounds to play with. This card has multiple layers but is still a simple layout. The flower is my attempt at watercoloring. I like the way it turned out.

Well, that's all for now. Happy Stamping!

Altenew-Make It Masculine

 Hi friends! Altenew Certified Educators are joining a fun Instagram hop and the theme is "Make It Masculine" showing off projects for the men in your life.  The hop starts from @altenewllc, so make sure you start from the beginning. Altenew is giving away a $20 gift certificate to 5 lucky winners! For a chance to win, please follow @altenewllc and vickie.davis77 and leave a comment by 09/01/2022.

Altenew will draw 5 random winners from the comments left on each stop of this Instagram hop and announce the winners on Altenew's Educator Instagram hop post on 09/02/2022.  

Even though I prefer floral cards, I do have a need for the occasional masculine card. I have several samples to share with you today,

I started this card by ink blending Galactic Stream, Orange Cream and Just Green inks onto a piece of white cardstock.  After this was completed, I dry embossed the piece using the Organic Linen Embossing Folder.  Using a finger dauber, I inked various areas with Versa Mark Embossing Ink, applied Rose Gold Embossing Powder and heat set it.  I cut this piece down to leave a space for my partial sentiment and heat embossed this on my card front using the same embossing powder.  My card is made from the Spicy Yogurt card stock.  This is a card stock everyone should try!  I cut the Happy Die once from some brushed gold cardstock and twice from white card stock.  These were glued together for dimension and then attached to my card front.  A bow and brad from my stash were also added. 

Below is a card I made awhile back using leftover pieces that I die cut from aluminum foil colored with alcohol markers.  I also used the same die to dry emboss on the card.  This is an easy fun fold card.  The design is very adaptable to a variety of stamps and ideas.

 I used the Fine Frames Diamond Die Set for my die cuts and embossing. The Happy Birthday is from the Birthday Greetings set.  I colored the letters with the same alcohol markers to match my die cuts.  The inside greeting is from the Just A Number Stamp Set.

Lastly, I created a card to resemble metal. At least, that is what it reminds me of.  This card is a mini slim line size, perfect for a regular envelope.

After adhering aluminum foil to cardstock, I dry embossed the piece using the Illusion Triangles 3D Embossing Folder.  Even though it was hard to capture in the photos, I ran a black ink pad over the embossed piece to give it a slightly distressed look.  I attached this to my card front, added a black frame and my die cuts.  I used the Bold Greetings Die Set for my Hello.

I used black cardstock with a tiny bit of shine for my die cuts.  I think guys need a tiny bit of bling!

HAPPY STAMPING!

Ink Blending in a Different Way

 

After watching Erum Tasneem on Instagram, I had to give this technique a try.  Below is a quick step by step tutorial.

1.  Rub bright colored ink pads over your cardstock in a random pattern.

2.  Dry emboss with the embossing folder of your choice.

3.  Ink blend brown ink or ink of your choice over the whole panel.

4.  Emboss again with the same embossing folder.  It is easy to line it up.

5.  Attach to a folded card.

6.  Embellish as you wish.

This is a quick and fun technique and I plan to try it again soon with different inks.  I may even try it with Distress Oxide Inks.

HAPPY STAMPING!

Same stamp 2 ways

 

I have so so many stamps that I purchased and have never used.  Today, I decided to take one and play with it.  This is a background stamp from Picket Fence. On one card, I heat embossed the image in clear embossing powder and on the other, I used several Altenew ink cubes to ink the stamp.  I double stamped the image and slightly off set the second time.  

The sentiment on this card is from the Japanese Mum set from Altenew.  I heat embossed in gold.

This background is subtle as I used light inks, but I love the soft look of it.  The sentiment is from the Enjoy Life set from Altenew. This set has lots and lots of great sentiments.

Happy Stamping!

AECP Level 3 Workshop

                                                                                    

Hello! It has been awhile since my last post.  Every day life sometimes gets in the way of crafting time, but today's post is a very special one for me.  I recently completed all of my Level 3 courses in the Altenew Educator Certification Program.  This journey was an excellent way to gain knowledge about different techniques and learn new ways to stretch my crafting supplies.  As my final challenge of the program, I held an in-person workshop with four of my friends. After ironing out a few technical glitches, Virginia joined us virtually.  Each in person participant made 3 cards using what I like to call the triple A Technique: Alcohol Markers, Alcohol and Aluminum Foil.  I originally called it the A & A Technique but then realized I used three items beginning with A. 

We began by attaching aluminum foil to a piece of 8 1/2" x 11" lightweight cardstock using double sided adhesive sheets.  It is best to use lightweight cardstock as you will add some thickness with the foil. You can apply the foil with your hands or a brayer.  AND wrinkles are fine, they just add unique texture and interest.

After applying the foil, we cut it into 3 pieces measuring 5" x 3 3/4 ".  Each of these pieces were used in different ways to make 3 cards. One piece was colored in your choice of either a single or multiple colors.  The next piece was colored in a green of your choice and cut with a die.  The third was colored in a Christmas green of your choice, embossed and cut into 2 pieces at an angle.  Some extra steps were added to this piece for added shine.

I was surprised to learn that no one in the class had worked with alcohol markers before, so we had a short session on how they worked.  Below is a picture of one of the foil pieces before getting spritzed.

After we colored the pieces with alcohol markers, we spritzed each piece with 90% rubbing alcohol.  Below is the result of one of the pieces after spritzing.  Be sure to work in a well ventilated area to lessen any fumes. 

As you can see, this piece above has lots of unique texture due to the creases in the foil and the alcohol spritzing.  If you hold the spritzer bottle close to the art piece, the mist will make larger splotches.  The farther away the spritzer bottle is from the foil, the finer the mist and therefore the smaller the areas of splotching.  This characteristic gives you plenty of opportunity to experiment.  There is no right or wrong resulting pattern, each is unique in the way it's made.  For example, notice the following piece.

Above is a picture demonstrating how the markers react with a large amount of alcohol.  This piece created by one of the participants turned out to be one of my favorites!

For the first card, we placed our foiled piece (after it was dry) into an embossing folder, backed it with a piece of black cardstock and then attached our sentiment.  Following is a photo of two examples of the first card. Stay tuned until the end for each participant's unique take on all three card projects.  

As a tip, before adhering the foiled piece to the solid cardstock, cut a frame from the center for the sentiment.  This saves on your cardstock and no one will ever know.  This is a good way to stretch your supplies. The Geo Diamonds and Illusion Triangle 3D embossing folders were used for these cards.  The sentiment is from the Smiles and Hugs set.  This set appears to be a feminine set, but takes on a masculine feel on this card.  Again, another way to stretch your supplies.  If your foiled piece is not completely dry and the marker transfers ink onto your folder, just clean the folder with a spritz of alcohol and a dry cloth.

Our next project was a mini slimline card.  No one in class had ever made this size, nor had they ever used a Misti or layering stamps.  No worries, it presented the opportunity for another quick introduction session. It was so enjoyable to hear the oohs and aahs after each one finished stamping!  

The sample above has a green frame, but for class I chose black as I wasn't sure which shade of green the participants would choose.  They also chose Coral Bliss and Vineyard Berry ink colors for the Poppy layers.  The center piece was debossed for added texture.  The foiled leaf was cut using one of the leaves in the Just Leaves Die set, one of my favorites from Altenew. If you look closely, you can see the different shades of green in the leaves, which adds depth and interest to the project.

Our last card was slightly more involved and everyone's first Christmas card for this year. This sample demonstrates that you can use a slimline embossing folder to make an A2 card. 

This picture does not capture all of the shine and texture on this card.  After coloring, spritzing and drying our foiled piece, we used the Classic Pinecones 3D embossing folder to dry emboss.  NOTE: We then used a disposable eye shadow applicator dipped in alcohol to remove the ink from the pinecones.  After this dried, we applied embossing ink using a VersaMark pen, applied gold embossing powder and then heat embossed our piece.  After drying completely, we cut our piece at an angle for the card front.  No one wanted to cut their work at first, but they were all good sports and did it with great results! The picture below is a panel before the gold heat embossing and cutting step.

After the foiled and embossed piece was cut, we placed it on a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"  piece of white cardstock, matching the top and bottom edges. NOTE: The gap was marked lightly with pencil and this was used as a guide for our sentiment.  The lateral edges of the white cardstock were dipped in the VersaMark ink pad and gold heat embossed.  Be sure to heat emboss both sides of the cardstock as the embossing powder is on both sides. Then the sentiment was stamped and heat embossed using the same gold embossing powder.  Pencil marks were erased and the foiled piece was then adhered to the white cardstock and then this was adhered to the A2 card.

On a personal note, I truly missed in-person stamping with friends during the pandemic and hope to resume this fun and enriching gathering.  Here are each participant's wonderful creations!!!

Below are Robin's creations.  She is the only one who chose to add a few gems to her card.  She left a few areas of her pinecones with the silver showing through which just adds to all that gold even more!

The samples below are Karon's creations. She has never stamped before!  You would never know it by the results. She did a fantastic job and we plan to get together again soon for more stamping fun and creativity.

Below are the wonderful creations from Minerva.  I love the bold colors of her first background. She did a great job using alcohol markers for the first time!

Below is Stacey's work and she thinks outside the box.  None of us wanted her to cover up that beautiful blending on her first foiled piece.  She used the Organic Stones 3D embossing folder and after cutting a frame for her sentiment piece, decided not to use the frame and off-set the sentiment in the corner.

I think all of the participants did a fantastic job making unique and interesting pieces. We all had a wonderful time.  I'm already thinking of what to do for our next gathering!  I hope you enjoyed this post and will give this technique a try.  If so and if you have any questions, please contact me.

Happy Stamping!

 

Altenew Dahlia Bright Eyes

 

After watching Erum from Altenew color this flower stamp, I just had to give it a try.  This is my first attempt and I really like the way it turned out.  It is by no means as pretty as Erum's!  But for a first attempt, I am happy with it.

I fussy cut the edge, ink blended the edge of an underlying piece of card stock and debossed the inked edge with the Dotted Tile Debossing Cover Die.  A few black splatters and light blue crystal drops were also added.

The sentiment was stamped onto another small piece of ink blended card stock and the sentiment stamped in black.  The sentiment is from the Magnolia Ballerina set.  I also debossed the sentiment for added dimension.

I hope you enjoyed today's card.

Happy Stamping!

Playing With Inks

 It has been awhile since I have posted.  Life happens!  And I am preparing for my final challenge in the AECP.  Wish me luck.  It has been a wonderful journey thus far and I do feel my techniques have improved.

This card came about as I was watching videos on layering stencils.  I don't have many of those in my stash but I did see this Decorative Florals 3D Embossing Folder in my stash.  After embossing it onto white cardstock, I played with my inks by adding them to the embossed image.  I really like the results and did not use any stencils.  I was just careful when adding my ink. The sentiment is from the Tall Foliage set. I did add a few line details with a gold pen.

I hope this short post inspires you to play a little.

Happy Stamping!

Bleaching Technique

 I was blessed last Saturday to facilitate a class through Bridget Casey.  Many, many thanks to her!  She is an amazing talent as well as a terrific lady!  We all made different projects using many brands of paper as well as different stamps.  Below are just a few of my finished cards using my images made during the class.  

This technique is fun but unpredictable as you never know how your cardstock will react with the bleach,

Each cardstock reacted differently but I think all turned out well.  I may have another class using this technique soon.  But, I still have bleached images left from last Saturday's class to turn into cards!

Happy Stamping!

Magnolia Ballerina

 This is just a fun post to showcase a great Altenew set.  I gold heat embossed this stamp onto vellum several week ago and never did anything else with it.  As I was cleaning my craft space, I found it and decided to make a card.

I colored the images on the BACK of the vellum with water based markers and then adhered my vellum to double sided adhesive.  After die cutting the image, I adhered it to my cardfront.  To make the card front, I applied a wash of matching ink and water to an A2 sized white cardstock, dry embossed it with one of my embossing folders and then applied Altenew Enchanted Gold Pigment Ink with a dauber to random areas. I also applied it to the sentiment after die cutting it. I trimmed the protruding petals from the blooms and adhered them to the cardfront as well.

I am very pleased with how this card turned out.  Now on to all the other bits and pieces that I have saved from previous sessions!  

Happy Stamping!