Clean & Simple Boutique Cards

Hello Friends.
I hope this post finds you warm and safe! This weather is perfect for staying in and crafting 😀
I went through the Altenew Academy class, Clean & Simple Boutique Cards, by Jennifer Rzasa. What a great class!! I learned a new technique that I will share today. This project actually incorporates four of the class videos by Jennifer; faux letterpress, luxury paper, simple styling, and envelope styling.
Here is my final 5x7 project:

Main supplies used:
Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock
The Stamp Market Ampersand die
140# watercolor paper from my stash (it is the only piece I have, it came in a Hero Arts kit)
Altenew Celebrations stamp set
Memento Brilliance Dew Drop Galaxy Gold

The faux letterpress technique is new to me, but I absolutely love the results!

• I die cut the ampersand six times from 80# Neenah Solar White cardstock (I will do 5 in the future as my machine almost didn’t take 6.) and then glued them together.

• Die cut the image one more time out of vellum and glue that to the bottom of the others.
• Inked up the bottom with gold ink (or not-it would look stunning just white).
• Placed the die cut on the center of my watercolor 5x7 panel and secured with washi tape.
• Using the embossing sandwich for my Spellbinder Platinum I ran through the whole panel. 
• Ooohhh’d and Ahhhh’d at the results.

I then added the mr. and mrs. by hand. This is a nod to the simple styling technique of adding your own handwritten lines or doodles. Finally, the congratulations sentiment comes from the Altenew stamp set.
This is my first try using a less expensive watercolor paper, it had quite a bit of cracking:

After adhering the panel to a 5x7 base, I embellished the envelope using other images from the same stamp set.
The result is elegant and eye-catching! By the way, you don’t have to be part of the Academy to take these classes. They are offered on the Altenew website under the Education tab.
Thank you for stopping by! Michelle