Final Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) Assignment

Hello All! 

I hope this post finds you healthy, happy, safe, and of course crafting!  In today's post I am sharing my level three final project for my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP).  This took me  taken a lot longer that I expected, but you know life…   For my final project, I decided to make a card box.  The challenge to myself was to incorporate an Altenew stamp set with my card box.   I recently purchased Altenew’s Wild and Free stamp set, love, love, love it.   In my level three classes one of the inspiration projects used this stamp set.   It is such a fun and whimsical stamp set.   I love the open lines for colouring or just leaving as outlined image.   This stamp set was simply perfect for my project.   I hope you enjoy it as much I do. 

Making the Box: Instead of make the traditional cardstock box or buying a box from the craft store.  I made my box from scratch using my Laser Printer.   Last year I purchased a Glowforge Pro (GF) but never really did anything with it.  Just recently I started devoting more time to learning how to use it.    For this project I used some 1/8" Maple Wood (12” x 20” sheet), Adobe Illustrator (AI) and a box creating application.  I was able to create my box and engrave some of the images from the Wild and Free stamp set on my box.   

For the AI part: I designed my box template in the Box Design application to be 5” x 7” with a 2” depth and saved the design as a PDF file.    For the stamped images, I stamped the images with Altenew’s Obsidian Black Pigment Ink on to some white cardstock.  I left the images uncoloured.   Once the images were completely dried (pigment takes a little longer than dye ink to dry), I scanned the image into my computer and saved the image as an SVG file.  

 

I opened both the box template and the stamped image in AI.  I sized and positioned the image on the box sides panels.   The size of your image will depend on how large your box will be.    After I sized my image on the box, I added the “Just A Note” using a font in my computer font library.   To be able to print (engrave) text in the Glowforge (because I did not purchase their premium program at $50/month-NOT!) I had to change my text to a path outline.   I changed my text to an outline, grouped the text, the image, the box panels, and saved it in AI and as an SVG file.   I saved the project in AI just in case I need to make some changes or adjustments.      

Now we are ready to print (engrave and cut): I opened the SVG file up in the Glowforge application.  I used Glowforge proof grade materials, so I did not have to put in any unknown material settings.  If you use materials that they (Glowforge) have tested, the setting for that material is preset and guaranteed to perform as expected.  If I did not use proof grade material, I would have to tell the Glowforge what type of material I'm using, how fast to cut, how much power to use, how many lines per inch to print, and how many times to perform the task.  The wood is covered with masking paper to avoid or sometimes it just decreases the scorch marks from the Laser.  Below you can see the Glowforge engraving the one of the box panels, the template engraved and cut (or so I thought...lol).  You can see the scorch marks on the finish engraving and cutting.  Unfortunately, there was some "OPERATOR ERROR" on this one.  You can see the GF looked like it was cutting out the box template; however, it did not.  I for some reason had changed the settings (still scratching my head on that one...lol).  So, yep, I had to do the whole thing all over (bummer).  After the box is engraved and cut, I removed the masking paper. As you can see, the masking paper was scotched not the finished wood.  This one came out okay, I'm pretty pleased with it.  I put the box together with some strong wood glue, clamped some places to hold the pressure, and and let it sit overnight until the glue dried.  

                                       

The pieces should just fall out but they did not, so I had to re-engrave and re-cut the project (sad face).

Note: You may notice the images look like they are white.  The colour is actually the masking tape.  It looked so nice and made the flowers and butterfly standout so well, I decided not to weed those pieces out.  I was going to attempt to colour them the same colours as the butterfly on the cards, but I didn’t want to mess the box up and have to start over again.

The cards:  I really loved the butterfly in the Wild andFree stamp set.  I used the butterfly with some of the sentiments from the stamp set to make a couple of note cards.   My note cards are standard A2 or 4 ¼”x 5 ½”.  I coloured the butterflies using Faber Castell Pencils, Gamsol, and a blending stump.  On the purple butterfly I just added some dots with a black pen.   For the Bluish-Green Butterfly I used some Altenew Sea Sure enamel dots in various sizes.   I added some Wink-of-Stella on both the butterflies to give a little bit of shimmer.   Note: I used small embellishments that I know would go through the U.S. Post Office Pitney Bowles machine for metering.

The envelopes:  I used my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board to make four envelopes.  I love white cards, so I created coordinating white envelopes for each card.  I tied them together by stamping the butterfly again and the large graphic text from the stamp set on the bottom left corners.   I used the bottom left corner so there is plenty of room for the standard "to" and "from" information, as well as the postage area.   For a different option I created plain colour matching envelopes.  

Here are some photos of the complete project:

 

Well party people this is my stop with the Altenew Educator Certification Program, but certainly not with using their amazing products.   I highly recommend the AECP if you can.  It is a good experience, and you will take away some valuable information to help you through out your craft journey.   Even if you don’t intend to teach, the classes are really good quality and highly informative.  

Til’ next time, Joyce

Stunningly Styled Stencils

 

Alrighty, let’s keep this train rolling! We are checking out card number two (2) from my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) level III class assignments.  This card is for the Stunningly Styled Stencils class.  Don’t you just love the name of the class?!  And these ladies did not disappoint.  I really like stenciling, but I always felt like they were so much work to achieve the beautiful results you often see in project and cards.  I think the problem was I was always rushing to complete the card or whatever I was working on.  Making this card was so enjoyable, which certainly encourages me to use my stencil more often.

I created the background for this card in no time!  A simple design with a bold statement.  My tip is to prepare everything you will need before you begin.  Everything from something to cover your fingers while you ink (to avoid aberrant smudges) to the damp cloth you’ll use to clean the stencil when you’re done.  If you are using a spray adhesive, include that prep as well.  Pre spray (prior to starting the project and while you are gathering the other items) your stencil in a well-ventilated area, so it can have time to be nice and tacky (sticky) when you are ready to use it.  I did this background in 10 minutes max with one attempt.  I am so please with the even distribution of ink across the card, this is thanks in part to Altenew’s Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink pad and their Chevrons Stencil.  I laid down a fairly good amount of ink and even when it dried back the colour did not fade out and lock splotchy.  To help keep my stencil secure, I used a TEMPORARY spray adhesive.  My inspiration for this card was the colours of my own crafting business which are Black, Pink, and White.  I also love the chevron pattern and wanted to make a card using that design.  I wanted a note card feel, so I added the Monogram trimmed in the gold and added a few sequins for the finishing touch.   The colour on the actual card is much darker than what is showing in the photos.  

Joyce

And it’s on to the next…

Monoprinting

 

Thank you for hanging in there with me.  I hope you are enjoying the cards and that you will find something that may be helpful and or inspiring to you in your crafting journey.   This will be card number three (3) of my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) level III projects.   Card #3 is for the Monoprinting class.  Monoprinting or another name Gel Printing uses as the name is implies Gel like shapes to transfer different media like acrylic paint, dye inks, pigment inks to different sub straits such as tissue paper, vellum, cardstock, etc.  You can use other things such as stamps to take your Monoprinting to the next level.   You can purchase Gel pads on-line (Amazon) or at places like Hobby Lobby, JoAnn’s, or Michaels if you are in the U.S. 

I purchased a set of pads from Amazon last year but never had an opportunity to use them.  I was so excited to see the Monoprinting class in the Altenew crafting class library.   This was my first time doing Monoprinting; although I had seen it done many times on YouTube videos.  I will say it was not as easy as I thought it was going to be.  I did several and I do mean several practice prints before I got to one that I thought might work.  I found that I had difficulty with colour combinations.  A tip that was very helpful was to graduate one colour or you could use the colour combinations by Kristina Werner on Pinterest.  She has put together some amazing colour combinations.  After several what I called failed attempts, I decided to monoprint with a monocolour (lol).   Graduating one colour was a little less anxiety provoking for me.   Something to remember is your print experience is greatly influence by the sub strait and media you use.   Since this was my first attempt and not going as I expected, I kept it simple with dye ink and card stock.   I like the abstractness of the prints and using stamps and other items to give the print further definition really helped. 

I used a blue ink and graduated the colour starting with the most concentration of ink at the bottom.  I kept using what was on the pad until it was nearly gone.  I added droplets of water and square stenciling in gold to give it a grunge look.  After it was dried I used Altenew’s LeafCanopy stamp set add some leaves to the print.  I wasn’t happy with the print while I was creating, but what I learn during the AECP classes was to keep going eventually something will come to you.  I’m glad I kept going.  In the end I manage to come out with something I’m at least okay with.  For me what really made me like the card was the sentiment.  I think using Altenew’s “A Note Of Thanks” stamp from the Many Thanks Stamp Set trimmed in gold brought the card together.   Here are a few phots of my finished card.

Thank you for taking the time to visit.  Card #4 coming up.

Joyce

Muse

 

Moving along to card number four (4) from my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) level III projects submissions.   Now this card was inspired by the Korean artist Lee Ungno.  She was definitely my MUSE, which is also the name of the class for which this card was created.  Her “Bamboo” painting is just so peace to me.  When I look at her painting, I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a bamboo forest and I can hear the soft musical sounds of the culms and leaves moving in the wind.  I love this painting.  It’s very clean and simple like the card it inspired.  

I stamped several bamboo trees across the card front in Altenew’s Jet Black Ink.  I started off the card front and ended off the card front to give the look of an endless row of Bamboo trees.  There is no sentiment for this card externally.  My sentiment will be inside.   I think this would be a good sympathy or encouragement card.  Bamboo trees are strong, and both losing someone and being motivated in times of distress take a great deal of strength.  There is an implied message of strength in the image. 

I cut a frame four times in beige cardstock and clue them together.  I wanted the image to set back as if it was a picture in a frame like in the museum.   I really like the simplicity and the image that comes to my mind when I see it.   You can see a picture of Lee Ungno's painting below. 

Sometimes less is more...

Painting by Lee Ungno "Bamboo" 1971

Thanks for stopping by...

Mixed Media Page up next!

Joyce

Mixed Media for Memory Keeping

And last but not least…my Mixed Media for Memory Keeping class.  I really, really, really enjoyed this class.  Natalie De Souza is the best!   I love mixed to begin with, but Nat just really makes you enjoy it even more.  Her style is more of a cleaner mixed media when you compare her to people like Diane Wakely and Tim Holtz.   Natalie does get “inky” as we call it, but her style is bright and homey.   She imparts so many tips and tricks during the class.   So, let’s jump into it.  My inspiration was my K-Pop idol bias SUGA of BTS (Bangtan Sanyeondan) translation: Bullet Proof Boy Scouts.  SUGA is aka Min Yoongi, AgustD, and lil’ Meow Meow.  Can you tell I am lovin’ me some SUGA?!  Okay, I’m focused now…  I used the layout Natalie created because it was perfect for my subject.  SUGA loves and cannot live without his coffee.

I changed a few things to fit my subject for my page.  SUGA also loves and writes music.  So, for my background I embossed sheet music.  His favorite colour is white, so I wanted to keep the overall page as light as possible.  I added the coffee rings using a mini Coke can bottom and the Altenew Coffee with A Splash stamp set.  His favorite coffee is Iced Americano (sadly for him, he has had to switch to decaf recently).  To create the Iced Americano and the Decaf, I used the insert packaging from a Tim Holtz stencil.  In the class Natalie mentions some kind of transparency she uses to make some of the drips on her page.  I used that same Tim Holtz packing (the outer packing-clear bag) to create some of the drips on my page.  I do not journal on my pages, but I wanted to incorporate his name somewhere.  I had quite a bit of white space left over, so I ink blended some colours to match the blending under the stencil and cut out his name “SUGA” in Hangul.  I also loved the idea of using vellum behind some of your photos.   his was a fun project.  I planned to do a hole lot more of the clean mixed media.   

Well, that is it for my ACEP level III submissions.  I hope you enjoyed my little journey and that myself and Altenew were able to inspire you in some way.   I hope also to share some exciting news about the Altenew’s Educator Certification Program soon, so pray for me, stay safe, and stay tuned.  Until next time...

Joyce

Polychromatic

 Hello All,

Today, I am sharing my last project for the Altenew Academy Educator Certification Program.  This project is for the Polychromatic class.  This time I wanted to change things up a bit, so I decided to do a post card instead of traditional card.   I was inspired by the water coloured Daisy card from one of the class lessons.  I used Altenew’s Spring Daisy Stamp & Die Bundle as my main image for the post card.  This is a 6 x 8 stamp set that comes with 15 stamps total, two of which are cheerful sentiment and a cute font.  One of the pros of this stamp set is that you can also use it to create beautiful Sunflowers (my favorite flower by-the-way).  You will definitely get your money’s worth out of this stamp set.

Since the plan was to use water colouring on this project, I started with a piece of Bristol Smooth 270gms card stock/multimedia (red cover).  The card stock is smooth, bright white, and though it is not a “water colour” card, it does well with a limited amount of moisture.  It really worked out well for the water colour effect I was trying to achieve.  

I used the smallest Daisy (floweret) from the stamp set for my main image.  To colour the image instead of my Zig Clean Color Markers, I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers.  I used the Distress Markers because the tips are a little more durable than the Zig tips.   For the floweret I used the colours: Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, and Wild Honey.   I love the Distress Markers because they are water reactive, so they give rich vibrant colour.   I cut a mask using the matching die and covered the Daisy image before stamping the leaves.  To colour the leaves I used Peeled Paint and Forest Moss.   I used Ground Espresso, Brushed Corduroy, and Wild Honey for the floweret.   I used a Post Card stamp I had on hand and stamped that with Momento Rich Cocoa.  I did not add any other embellishments because it is a post card and it needs to be able to go through the meter machine at the post office.  I absolutely love how it turned out. 

Wow! The majority of my journey is over for the Altenew Educator Certification Program, next up the Level II challenge.  If you are interested in the Program or Altenew products click here.

 Altenew Products:

Spring Daisy Stamp & Die Bundle  

                

                                                                Joyce

Altenew Magical Markers Class

Hello my crafty friends,

I think this is my last card for the Altenew Educator Certification Program (woo-hoo).  If not, I have only one to go.  Today's card features Markers.  I love my markers! The class title was Magical Marker Techniques.  In this class we learned about using markers in different ways other than shading.  I pretty much use my markers for shading...lol.  The instructor coloured on different types of substrate/mediums such as vellum and aluminum (tape).   My card was inspired by one of the demonstrations card in the class.  

For this card, I did a tent fold slender card.  The measurements for the finished card are 6" x 3 3/4".  I used some off brand alcohol markers instead of my Copic Markers (way too expensive to just play with).  Altenew has alcohol markers in a variety of colour families like their dye inks, so if you intend to shade the guess work is done for you.  They also come in sets of 12.  Another tip is that the price point for the Altenew Alcohol Marker is a little more reasonable as compared to Copics.  

I decided to try something new for me, which was just to use the markers to do colouring.  I really liked the technique the instructor used for the card.  I also love the look of  the shape and the geometry of the image.  In order to achieve this look, I had to first create a stencil since I did not have the stencil used in the video.  I used the information about creating stencils from an earlier class in the program.  The sentiment was created with a die I had on hand.  I cut the sentiment out twice once on white cardstock and then on black card stock.  I offset the black just slightly to create a hint of a shadow.  I used some foam tap to give the "thanks" some dimension.   It looked kind of plain initially, so I add some black dots with of course a marker and that really tied it up nicely.  It is true for my eyes at least, that odd numbers draw in the vision.  Randomly placing the 3 black dots was such a good idea.  I think this would make a nice masculine card.  

See you later...

Altenew Products:

Alcohol Markers 

Cube Builder Stencil 

Halftone Everything Stamp and Die Bundle

Here is picture of the card with artificial lighting

Joyce

Masking Unleashed

Hello,

And welcome back.  I am nearly finished with my Level 2 Altenew Educator Certification Program courses.  This card is for the Masking Unleashed class.  While I have done a lot of masking over my 9 years of crafting, I have to say, this class renewed the joy and magic of the masking technique.  The demonstration card is so very inspiring and beautiful.  I will say this card or rather the technique was a bit challenging, but if you take your time the results are amazing. 

I will not give the details on how to the make card for a couple of reasons.  One, I think your results will come out better if you hear the instructions and watch the person who taught the class and two, because it is a class.  You can take the class individually or you can apply for the Altenew Educator Certification Program.  The class is not expensive and the information you will receive will stick with you throughout your crafting years.  Click here for more information on this class other Altenew products.

This is my second attempt at this card.  My first attempt was okay, but I was not so happy with it and felt I could do a lot better.  I let it go for a couple of days, then gave it another try.  This one turned out beautiful!  Love, love, love it!  The card looks complicated, but it is not.  It is time-consuming; it took me about an hour and half to complete the card, but the result was worth it.  The finished card size 5 ½” x 4 ¼” (A2).   I think I am going to keep this one for myself…lol

I did not have the die that was used in the demonstration, so I used something similar.  Of course, you know I have ordered the die, it was just too pretty to pass up.   Many of the other products used to make this care you should have on hand if you have been crafting for a while or if you are just getting started the products such as vellum, acrylic paint, masking tape, and blending tool can be found at most major craft stores and many privately own craft stores.   I use Altenew’s Sand Dune and Rocky Shore Crisp Dye Ink Mini Cube to ink the card stock.   See the list Altenew products below

 

Coffee Break Crisp Dye Ink Mini Cube Set 

Leafy Wreath Die 

Leafy Garland Die 

Script Words Die Set 

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time. 

Joyce

 

With A Twist

 Hello everyone,

It has been a while since my last post for my Altenew Educator Certification Program.  Besides COVID in the world, there has been a lot going on with me personally.  Thankfully, things are slowly getting better and I can return to crafting.  Not quite crafting full time as before, but soon.   Today’s card is for the “With A Twist” class.  This card was inspired by one of the class demonstrations.  I really like the stamp set and the technique.  The technique was a kind of faux embossing.   

The images and the sentiment are from Altenew’s Bamboo Rose stamp set.  The instructor used the stamp set and matching dies.  I do not have the matching dies (yet…lol).  I used my cutting machine to cut out my images.  This stamp set has nice thick lines, so if you cannot get the dies and you do not have a cutting machine that will outline, fussy cutting is a breeze!  The card base is a standard A2 size (4 ½” x 5 ¼”).  I used Alcohol markers and pencils to colour the images.  Tip: to make sure my sentiment would fit in the space I wanted, after I cut the images out, I used some temporary adhesive on the back of my images to arrange and tack them down to the card base.  Then I lightly drew the outline of the inner edges (the part that would be closest to the sentiment) of the roses.   After I drew the outline, I took a picture of the arrangement so I could place them back once I stamped my sentiment.  I am usually not a wet glue person, but for this card I had to use glue to make sure all the edges of the images were fastened securely to the base card.  This way when I cut off any excess the image would not lift from the card; especially, the outer edge or borders of the card.    

I really enjoyed making this card because I got to practice combining markers with pencils.  The colouring was the most time-consuming part of the card; although, it did not take long at all to colour the roses.  If you plan to make this card, which I highly recommend you give it a try, I would definitely make more roses than you think you will need.  You could use any extras roses in the inside of the card or save them for another project.   

If you are interested in the Altenew Educator Certification Program or any of the Altenew products used to make this card, you can find information here. 

 Altenew Products:

Bamboo Rose Stamp Set 

Bamboo Rose Die Set

Obsidian Pigment Ink 

I did not use Altenew for my colouring; however, for your one stop shopping convenience Altenew has many options for colouring here 

 Until next time, stay safe

Joyce

In the Mood for Color

Hello and welcome back to my blog.  Today, I am sharing my In the Mood for Color card for my Altenew Educator Certification class.  In this class we went over different colours and the moods that are commonly associated with them.  My favorite colour is Red.  For me, the colour red represents life, love, faith, hope, and strength.  Most often we associate the colour red with love, like on Valentine’s Day or a relationship Anniversaries (marriage, dating).  Either way you cannot go wrong with red. 

My card was totally cased from class project video.  I absolutely loved this card when I saw it!  I know the card was meant for me to do because I had everything the instructor used to make her card…lol.  

I started with a A2 sized (4 ¼ x 5 ½ “) white card front, 80# cardstock.  I used Altenew’s Vintage Roses stamp set.  This is one of my first stamp sets and one of my favorites.  This is a 6 x 8” layering stamp set with loads of images and a couple sentiments.  This stamp set creates beautifully detailed roses with foliage in a couple different sizes.  Altenew has several different colour mini cube sets in the red family.  I used the Tea Party Mini Ink Cubes (my favorite) for the roses and Green Fields for the foliage.  I don’t want to give away too much detail in how I created the card.  I think It is so worth it to take the course and I do not want to spoil your fun and excitement.   I will say that I stamped the layered images, then I masked all the stamped roses before I started on my branches.  I created a border that tied in with the main image, added a little detailing to connect the border strip with the main image.   The sentiment is from the ever popular “Label Love” stamp set, this is another definite must have stamp set! The black background with the outlined sentiment can dress up or dress down any card.  I stamped the “love you” with Obsidian Pigment Ink.

Once all the stamping was completed, I adhered the card front and the border strip to a gray A2 card base and added some clear cup sequins in a couple areas.  I left in the inside blank for now.  What a beautiful card!

For more information on card making, scrapbooking, or if you are interested in the Altenew Educator Certification Program, visit Altenew here.  

Altenew Products used in this card:

Vintage Roses Stamp Set 

Tea Party Mini Cube Set 

Green Fields Mini Cube Set 

Label Love Stamp Set 

Obsidian Pigment Ink 

Joyce

Beyond Basic Backgrounds

Hello, I hope you are all staying safe and feeling well during these most challenging times.  Thank goodness we have crafting!  Today, I am posting my card for the Altenew-AECP Level II course Beyond Basic Backgrounds.  This is a quick and simple card.  To create my background, I started by inking some white card stock (CS) with Altenew’s Glacier Caves Mini Cube Set.  I used blending brushes to lay down my colour.  I used all four colours in the set to create an ombre effect.  I took my time with the blending to make sure the colour gradient transition was smooth (no harsh demarcation lines).  Once the CS was inked, I used Altenew’s Shutter Cover Die to cut out my piece.  The die cut is a little smaller than a A2 size (4 ½ x 5 ¼ “) card.   I used a glue pen to apply adhesive to some areas on the back of the inked die cut and then adhered it to the card base.  Since I started taking Violin lessons just recently, I thought this would be a perfect time to use Altenew’s Treble Love Die.  This die set comes with three metal dies, a Treble Clef, the sentiment “love you”, and a staff.  I cut out the Treble Clef and the “love you” twice in black CS.  I doubled-up each piece to make them a little more durable.  I added some tiny (and I do mean tiny) pieces of foam tape to the back in a few places and adhered them to the front of the card. I let the Cover Die parallelogram bars represent the staff.   Here are a couple photos of the finished card, for now the inside is blank.

Altenew products used to create this card:

Shutter Cover Die 

Glacier Caves Mini Cube Set 

Treble Love Die Set 

Impressive Heat Embossing

Hello Everyone, welcome back to my blog.  Today, I am sharing two little Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) that I created for my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) class Impressive Heat Embossing.  For more information on the program click here Altenew.

I knew I was going to water colour, so I started by cutting two pieces of Strathmore Cold Press 

water colour cardstock to ATC size 3 1/2 x 2 ½”.  I applied some anti-static powder to the surface of both the little card fronts.  I used some Versa Mark ink to imprint the images on the card fronts.   On both the cards I used white embossing powder.  Then I heat set the images using my (standard) heating tool.  For the “hugs” card I used the Altenew Dearest Friend stamp set. The Dearest Friend stamp set is a 6" x 8", high quality photo-polymer, clear stamp set containing 17 stamps total.  This stamp set contains floral, greenery, greetings and sentiments. Oh yeah and don’t forget the Dearest Friend matching die for the two floral images.   I created the colouring using a moderate amount of water and Gansi Tambi water colours (yellows and oranges).  After I finished the water colouring, I helped the drying process using my Tim Holtz heating tool (this has less concentrated heat than a standard heating tool).  If you don’t have the Tim Holtz heat tool, you can leave to images to dry in room air or use your standard heating tool but, I would make sure you have quite a bit of distance between the heating tool and the image to avoid warping.  To further minimize warping, once the images where dry, I placed them both between the pages of a very heavy book and put another heavy book on top of that and left them overnight.   I cut the “hugs” twice using a small Momenta die, one in white and the other in light blue.  I wanted the hugs to really stand out from the background, so I off-set the two “hugs” and then popped them up on some foam tape. It also brings the eye directly to the embossed image.

For the Sending Love & Hugs ATC, I followed the same process as I did for the “hugs”.  This time I used Altenew’s Breezy Bouquet stamp set and the sentiment is an Altenew exclusive gift stamp set called "Best Sentiments".   The Breezy Bouquet stamp set contains 12 stamps.  You get images to create a stand-a-lone floral image, a bouquet in a vase, or a wrapped bouquet.  You also get words and phrases in a beautiful soft font. And just in case you really want to impress the recipient, you can cut out some of the images with the Breezy Bouquet matching die!  I used my Gansi Tambi water colours, in greens, browns, reds.  I stamped the greeting with Gina K’s Amalgam ink.

 

See you next, Joyce

Creative Watercolor Media Cards

Good Evening Folks,
Today I am sharing my assignments for the Altenew  Creative Watercolor Media Class.  I used my Altenew Crisp Dye Ink cubes to color both cards.  I love, love, love water colouring.  I did an A2 size birthday card and a 4 x 4" any occasion note card.   After I finished the birthday card, I sealed the water coloring with some Tim Holtz Micro Glaze.  If something is spilled on the card the colors will not run.  For information on

For the Birthday card, I started with Arches Cold Pressed Water Colour (WC)  card #140, cut to A2 size.  I dusted the WC card stock with my anti-static pouch first.  I used my Altenew Peony Bouquet stamp set and Versa Mark ink pad to stamp the outlined images in random places on the card front.   The Peony Bouquet Stamp is a 6x8* layering set.  There are nine images and each has it own layer or set of layers.  Including the layers you get 24 total images.  This is a excellent stamp if you want to practice layering.   I used Gold embossing powder and my heating tool to set the images on the card front.   The Gold embossing not only adds to the dimension of the image when water colouring but, it also acts as a barrier to keep the water colours from mixing and causing an uncontrolled muddy appearance.   I coloured the images and background with the following Altenew Crisp Dye ink cubes: Citrus Burst, Maple Yellow, Honey Drizzle, Pink Pearl, Coral Bliss, Heart Beat, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Eastern Sky, and Ultramarine.  After I finished with the images,  I did the background in small sections at a time by adding a little water to the WC and washing the background in colour.   This card took a little while as I was trying to get some detail in the flowers in the leaves. 

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Altenew Products used in this card:
Peony Bouquet Stamp Set
Summer After Mini Cube Set
Tea Party Mini Cube Set
Lapis Lazuli Mini Cube Set
Green Fields Mini Cube Set

The Blessings card is a 4x4" not card (blank inside).  I followed the same process as above for the colouring with WC.  I used Ruby Red, Coral Bliss, Heart Beat, Paper Bag, Espresso, and Sweet Leaf. I got the majority of the color choices from Yoonsun Hur from Rejoicing Crafts.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts DC212 Blessing Stamp & Cup.  I cut the image twice with white card stock, once with Gold card stock and glued all 3 pieces together to give the sentiment some depth.

Altenew products:
Peony Bouquet Stamp Set
Tea Party Mini Cube Set
Coffee Break Mini Cube Set
Green Meadows Mini Cube Set

Well, that is it for now, until next time...

Joyce