"Ink Blending Techniques".  I LOVE ink blending!  I do it all the time, so I was really looking forward to creating a project that focuses on this technique.  I tried really hard to keep it simple and highlight ink blending.

For my card, I actually had made his panel while working on the previous class, "Easy Die Cutting Techniques" .

This card is also top folding on "Neenah Solar White" cardstock measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  The front panel was made with the stencil I made previously.  Once again I used "Versamark" ink and an ink blender to pounce over the stencil onto the cardstock.  I heat embossed the image with "WoW" embossing powder.  Then, I started my ink blending.  I used "Lawn Fawn" ink until I was happy with the results, then spritz the entire panel and blotted off the water droplets after a few seconds.  I die cut a circle on the side and mounted it directly to the card base, the rest of the panel was popped up with foam and then adhered.  The sentiment "Happy Hello" is from the "Build -A- Flower: Anemone Coronaria" stamp set.

Thanks for looking!

 Now we are on to "Easy Die Cutting Techniques".  At first all I could think about was duh... I die cut most of the images that I stamp.  Then I wrote down the different techniques that the course showcased.  OK, yes, I do more that die cut stamped images.

Dies as stencils, perfect!  Time to pull out my handy dandy stencil that I made back during the "Celebration Stencil Techniques".  Hey, it has already come in handy.

My first card is a top folding 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" on "Neenah Solar White" cardstock.  Both for the base of the card and the first panel.  I used "Versamark" ink and a blending sponge and pounced my leaf design all over.  I then heat embossed with fine clear embossing powder and ink blended all over the panel with "Ranger Distress Ink", finally spritzing with water and blotting the water off and mounted that panel onto the card base.  I found some brushed gold cardstock and adhered the strips horizontally under where I knew I wanted my sentiment, I then die cut a rectangle out of some bright, happy I may add, yellow cardstock and adhered it over the gold strips.  I stamped my sentiment which is from the "Craft Your Life Project Kit: Florescence" and then heat embossed it with fine detail gold powder.  The sentiment strip is popped up with foam on top of the yellow cardstock.  I was going to embellish the card further, I did however restrain myself and will call this a clean and simple card (for me).  

For my second card I used the "embossing with dies" technique using the "you are loved" die.  The embossing turned out beautifully and reminded me of a quilted pillow.  Because of the softness I decided to watercolor the panels and leave the embossed area white.  This card is 5" x 5" and is top folding.  The actual base is "Neenah Solar White" and has watercolored paper adhered to it.   The front panel and the black panel is popped up with foam for added dimension.  I adorned the front of the card with rhinestones and then placed a little lavender heart gem to the bottom.  This card is very peaceful to me.

Thank you for viewing!

Onto the next course, "Clean & Simple Boutique Cards".

Like I stated in a previous post, clean & simple is not my forte, however, I am happy with what I created.

The first technique is about creating backgrounds.  I stamped the add-on stamp from Altenew's "Painted Flowers".  What a nice surprise with both the stamp and the coordinating die being included.  Turns out this stamp is my favorite within the collection.

  My first card is top folding and measuring 4 1/4 x 5 1/2".  I stamped a diagonal pattern using black "Versafine" ink onto "Neenah Solar White" 110lb cardstock  I then used "Distress Ink" and a small blender (one use for charcoal drawings) to place down the ink for both the flower and leaves, followed by faux water coloring using the same inks that I blended with.  I mounted the newly designed cardstock on celery colored cardstock that I die cut using a pin hole edge rectangular die.  The sentiment is from the "Beautiful Quotes" set, embossed with fine detail gold embossing powder.  The flower that is onto the sentiment was die cut and popped up with foam.  I love the bright cheery colors.

My second card features the faux letterpress technique.  This card is top folding and is slightly smaller than a 5x7.  I wanted to have an equal border around the card panel.  The card base is "Neenah Solar White" 110 lb.  I die cut a frame in a red raspberry color to go around the sentiment panel. I then debossed the sentiment into a "Solar White" panel. Then I inlayed the die cut sentiment into the debossed area.  Finally, I ran the sentiment panel through my Tim Holtz "Switch" with the Altenew "Dotted Tile" cover die, placed foam on, and mounted into the center of the frame. 

I really love this look and will be doing it again.

My final card for this course is from the specialty papers unit.  I chose vellum cardstock.  The final card is slightly smaller than a 5" x 7".  The card base is "Neenah Solar White" 110lb.  My project is made with Altenew's "Kind Words" stamp set, purchased totally impulsively, based on the phrases.  (I hope I can come up with more creative ideas for this set.) The front panel is stamped with "Versamark" ink and then heat embossed in fine detail white and find detail gold.  I used a slot punch to hold the vellum in place and mount it on the navy cardstock.  Because of warpage that often happens when heat embossing I got this brilliant idea (NOT) to press my card after it was done.  It made it worse.  Sigh, another life lesson learned.

Thank you for viewing

The next course I watched is called "Celebration Stencil Techniques".  I rarely use stencils and was quite inspired by the variety of techniques in this course.  Then I realized that I had no stand alone Altenew stencils.  I quickly went browsing in the shop and had to... sigh, WAIT (I am so impatient) for my next order.

Then I had a brilliant idea, one technique is to make your own stencil so I got my dies out from Morning Flowers and chose the solid multi leafed die.  Hmmmm what to make my stencil with... here comes my brilliant idea.... I decided to use a hot laminating sheet and seal it so I had some hearty plastic to die cut to make my stencil.  Now I can use it over and over again!  This is what it looks like.

The card below is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" with a top fold.  Both the background and the card base is Neenah Solar White cardstock.  I used an ink blender to apply distress ink onto the stencil/cardstock, then I water colored the panel with distress ink finally I spritzed the cardstock with water and blotted it, getting the cool white flecks.

The design of my card started coming together in my mind.  I continued using the Morning Flowers stamp set and also die cut some stamped leaves.  I decided to step the background up some more and used a flannel patterned background stamp with white Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink and then heat embossed with clear fine detail embossing powder.  the result is very subtle. The center flower is popped up with foam dots to add dimension.  Once again, because I seem to really like all occasion cards I stamped "Just Because" for the sentiment which was then heat embossed with a pewter powder.  I find that pewter embossing powder has a more matte appearance than silver.  The matte matte finish, I feel, mimic's the softness of the hazy background.

The final detail of this card was the application of orange "Prills" in the center of each flower.  I am quite happy with how this card came together and love the color combination.  Even though the card is bright colored it still gives me a peaceful soothing feeling.

Thanks for checking these out.

Very quickly, my new stencils came.  The first one I used certainly but me down the rabbit hole, it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.  I learned during the course about embossing paste and was very eager to try it out.  This is what I created.

The stencil is called "Illusion Twist", yeah, I'll say it is!  I felt like my eyes were spinning.  This was fun. This card is top folding measuring 5 1/2" x 4 1/4".  The card base is a light blue, the card front is the navy.  I mixed the embossing paste with blue mica powder hoping for a shimmer, it was subtle and did not really tint the paste.  I ended up mixing in Salty Ocean Distress ink where I achieved a light blue matching the card base.  The card front was mounted onto foam then adhered to the base.  I die cut the panel for the sentiment with a Sizzix dotted frame die and then die cut the "hello" onto Sizzix adhesive backed gold paper.  The sentiment die is from Simon Says Stamp.

Another stencil I purchased is called "Elegant Swirls", it has a very Baroque feel to it.  Originally I thought of using some burgundy and coordinating colors, but thought I should think outside the box.  my final card is side folded 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  I ended up using various Distress Oxides and blended them onto the stencil.  I then spritzed with water and decided it needed some shine before I pulled the stencil off.  I filled a spritzer up with rubbing alcohol and put some "All Purpose Ink" by Tsukineko in the Frosted White color.  It is very subtle on light colors but you can certainly see in person.  The sentiment die is from Altenew called "You are Loved".  HA!  To finish it off I added some sequins and metallic looking half domes for the final embellishment.

Thanks for looking!

  

I have to admit, I watched several of the courses and then started making my projects.  The second class in the sequence is All About Layering 4.  Pretty much the same as 3, but it was fun to see cards created that are a bit more detailed overall. 

I highly recommend anyone new to stamping that they should definitely watch this series. It is very step-by-step and you learn a lot of tips, that way you don't learn the "hard way".

My next project is made with the Honeysuckle stamp set.  I absolutely adore the smell of honeysuckles, therefore, when I saw this stamp set, I knew I had to have it.  This card is 5"x7" with a side fold.  A stitched rectangle die was used for the white panel, mounted to black cardstock and then onto the lilac base.  All images were cut out with the coordinating Honeysuckle die and stamped with Lawn Fawn ink.  The actual flower is adhered with foam for added depth and the sentiment "with love" was hot foiled with the Spellbinders Glimmer machine in a metallic pink foil.  Unfortunately I am disappointed with how the sentiment photographed,  in the full card image, but trust me, it looks really nice.  At this point I knew I wanted something else, I then decided to mimic the spotted area of the flower.  I made a mask using the dies to cover the areas I did not want splattered and then used the same lilac ink that was used in the flower as well as the Altenew silver metallic watercolor.  In hindsight I wish I made smaller splatters, good lesson to learn.... start small and GRADUALLY go big!

With the start of Altenew's ACEP (Altenew Educator Certification Program) series, the first course is all about layering. 

Altenew has an amazing line of 2 step (and more) stamp sets that are not only beautiful, but serene.  Once you get the hang of it, they are very easy to use and you achieve fabulous dimensional looking images.  They coordinate well and the sets are quite generous.  Most are 6X8" sheets with multiple images and sentiments that pair well with the stamps.  Often there are correspondent dies for easy cutting.  

Being a portrait photographer, I found it very hard to photograph a flat front facing card for viewing.  My phone takes horrible pictures so I used my big bulky camera.  I have also included a detail shot as well.

I watched the "All about Layering 3" series first.  The assignment was to show layering.  As I already stated, Altenew is a master at layering stamp sets.

The first stamp set I reached for was "Ethereal Roses" and the coordinating die set.  Once I stamped the first flower it reminded me of vintage greeting cards that my great grandma had.  I must admit, I have a hard time keeping things simple so this was a challenge for me.  

This card is side folding and measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/5".  On coral cardstock , then mounted onto a confetti white cardstock, I used the Spellbinders "Fluted Rectangles" die. This die adds a very subtle detail that is very pleasing to my eye.  I stamped with Lawn Fawn inks and the sentiment was embossed in gold.  I quickly realized that I used not as high quality cardstock for the stamped images than I am used to.  The ink bleed, however I was fine with the soft images so I kept on going. The confetti cardstock is fun, there are flecks of colors throughout and it reminds me of handmade paper.

Several flowers, as well as leaves, with popped up with foam for added dimension.  I generally make "all occasion" cards.  This way I can just grab and go. Don't get me wrong, I do create cards with other sentiments as well. 

 

Hi Ya!

Let me start with saying....Please have patience with me as I figure out how to blog.

I am a very grateful, stay at home mom, and have four amazing children and I am  extremely happily married.  I hold a Bachelors of Fine Art degree from CCS in Detroit as well as having a cosmetologist license (this was a great resource for assisting in paying for my college).  I am an artist and also a photographer, portraits are my passion.  We live in a teeny tiny house and it certainly is not big enough for my creativity!

The reason for this blog....I have been accepted into the Altenew Certification Educator Program, I am very excited about this opportunity. 

I love to learn new techniques, get new ideas and stretch my creativity in any fashion possible.  I believe this is perfect for me.  I was an independent consultant with a leading stamp company for almost 18 years.  This experience gave me the perfect opportunity to teach others about paper crafting, learning different techniques and increasing their creativity.  I joke around that I stamp in my sleep (in all honesty, I actually do, not to mention other creative activities, shhhh).

In addition, for many years, I was an independent contractor teaching art at an alternative homeschooling school.  Both the "Elements of Design" and an "Art with the Masters" course, The kids ranged from pre-K up through high school, this was fun, too bad Covid happened and I have not yet gone back.

I can already tell that learning to blog and to link my work to the required site is going to be a challenge.  I am sure this will have a huge learning curve, but I am up for this.

Now I have to start photographing my work!  Stay tuned.  ~Beth