Showing posts with label Coneflower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coneflower. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Level 3-Botanical Illustration Inspired Watercolor

 I am continuing my learning journey into the Altenew Educator Certification Program!  My first class in this level is Botanical Illustration Inspired Watercolor with Jaycee Gaspar.  He is extremely talented and I have admired his work for a long time.  I have a very long way to go, but so enjoyed this class. I highly recommend it.

As I only have the Essential Watercolor set from Altenew, I only had 12 colors to choose from.  This is a great starter set but I will soon be ordering the 36 pan set! I have a long way to go to improve my skills and envision many more practice sessions in my future. I will share a couple of my completed cards.


This image from the Darling Rose stamp set was stamped onto watercolor paper.  I mixed purple and black watercolors for my flower. Greens and blues were mixed for the leaves.  The sentiment is from the Tulip stamp set. I added a few splatters and gem stones along with mounting my art piece onto a matching green cardstock to complete the card.  It helps to tape your paper down to prevent warping as shown below. You can also run your cardstock (protected between copy paper) through your embossing machine to flatten it somewhat.


One of the hardest things to do with watercoloring is to let it dry!  I had to walk away or set it aside and work on something else! Below is a close up of the rose.


I also practiced with the Coneflower set. I added details with pencils, especially to the centers. The sentiment is from the Just a Number set and is heat embossed in Rose Gold.  Splatters and sequins finish the card.


Below is a close up of the flowers.  I need a few more stamp sets with larger blooms! Just to practice, of course-ha!

Again, I highly recommend this class. I plan to take it a few more times and keep practicing!

Happy Stamping!

Monday, November 15, 2021

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!

Saturday, November 13, 2021

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!

Saturday, October 9, 2021

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!

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