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!

AECP-Clean and Simple Boutique Cards

                                    This is a long post-grab a cup of coffee!

This class was so, so much fun!  Each technique was one I wanted to try & I did!  I made so many more samples than the ones here, but wanted to share these with you.  For the above cards, the stamped background was the technique. I used a color wheel to choose complimentary colors & really like this color combo. It is one that will be used again & again. Both cards use the same colors, just different stamps.  The diamond shaped stamped background is not as random in appearance as the other background. Below are closer looks at each card.

Another technique was foiling.  I must admit that I have had several sheets of foil in my stash for quite some time.  This class encouraged me to get them out to experiment & I did alot of it!  Not all attempts were successful, but I had fun with the process.

The dragonfly wings were stamped in a coral color along with the sentiment & partial flowers in the top right corner.  The dragonfly was stamped using VersaMark Ink & then heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  When that was done, I cut a piece of foil to cover the embossed piece, laid it on top (shiny side up), placed my cardstock in a parchment sleeve & ran it through a laminator set on 5ml.  It helps to run your cardstock through a second time for good coverage.  Let your piece cool & then peel off the foil.  Here is a close up of all that shine & sparkle!

There was a lot of foiling happening in my craft room as you can tell by these next examples.  Below is a card made using the Majestic Bloom stamp set. I used the 3rd layer of the bloom to stamp in a coral color, then stamped the outline using VersaMark Ink & embossed with clear embossing powder.  Two of the small leaves were stamped around the bloom with VersaMark Ink & then embossed as well.  Using the same process as the dragonfly, I applied the foil. The sentiment is from the Paint-A-Flower Anemone set.  For added interest splatters were added along with embossed lines at the top.  The card front was adhered to an A2 card front.

Here is a close up of all that sparkle.

One more example using foil! This one is the easiest-apply double sided tape to your card front, cover tape with foil (shiny side up), rub lightly with your finger & then remove the foil piece-instant shine! The flower is one in the Stunning Cosmos set, the leaves are from Watercolor Blooms & the sentiment is from

Japanese Mum.  All were stamped in black ink and a little pink was ink blended into the center of the bloom. The foil used was a very shiny pink. The cardstock color is light gray.  This was adhered onto an A2 card front.

And here is another one!  Our homework was to use a speciality paper.  The paper for this card was a metallic silver, backed with a purple cardstock & adhered to a white card front.  The flower is from the Dotted Blooms set, stamped in black ink & then colored with matching purple ink.  I cut 2 more blooms & adhered them to the stamped one for added dimension. Black gems were placed in the flower centers. The sentiment was embossed with black embossing powder onto white cardstock, fussy cut & then adhered with foam dots. 

I hope you received some inspiration to try these techniques.