AECP Level II-Magical Marker Techniques

Hello Friends.
Sharing my alcohol marker project. I learned quite a lot. I have a few alcohol markers, not Altenew nor Copics, but they did not play too friendly with alcohol on the colored image. Weird I know--alcohol based marker should mix with alcohol. I scribbled the ink onto an acrylic block, but once I sprayed the ink with alcohol it would not move. It’s like it adhered to the block. I had to scrub a bit to get it off. I’m sharing this in case someone else runs into the same issue.
After some playing and experimenting I found something that worked. I sprayed the alcohol onto the block first and then used a watercolor brush to apply it onto my paper and then put the marker to the paper. As you will see by my image, I used the stippling technique to add interest and to blend the colors.

 Another technique I learned/tried was using a stencil to add outlined images to the background. I created this stencil by die cutting the same image several times onto a sheet of paper and then used that sheet to outline the images onto my panel. I then colored the images in pale gray so as not to distract from the main image.

I then popped up the colored image onto a smaller die cut panel and adhered to the center. For the sentiment, I used one included in this Altenew Succulents set. 

When I do get some Altenew markers I will try this technique again. If you’ve ever experienced what I did, I’d love to hear how you handled it.

Thank you for stopping by and for commenting-it brightens my day! Michelle

AECP Level II-Impressive Heat Embossing

Hello Crafty Friends!
Today I have a short post sharing a card done for a heat embossing class. Svetlana Marchenko was the instructor and I thoroughly enjoyed the videos (as I have enjoyed them all). I am amazed by all of the instructors’ talent and creativity. One of Svetlana's class projects inspired me to try a version of the same. And no surprise, it is florals :)

I thought I would get a start on Mother’s Day card ideas. Never too early right? The floral set used is Altenew’s Garden Treasure and the sentiment is from the Wild Hibiscus set. I received the new ink sets, Green Meadows, Sweet Dreams, and Tea Party and chose to use all three! They are absolutely gorgeous. 

The floral set is a layered one, which allowed me to use various colored embossing powders on the same image. The powders I used were Rose Gold, Princess Gold, Classic Silver, Snowflake Tinsel. I love the look and when tilted the card looks like it is foiled-so shiny. All of the powders melted extremely well and smooth, however because of intersection points of the several layers I lost some detail in the centers. I put this 4.75x6.5 panel onto a piece of Gina K. Turquoise cardstock. I really had fun making this card and learned some new things in the class (did you know embossing powder will stick to water? I will be trying that technique very soon). That’s all for me today.

Thank you for stopping by! Michelle

AECP Level II-Masking

Hello Friends!
Sharing a project with you I did for a Masking class. Boy was this one a doozy!! I’ve done masking plenty with masking paper and post-it notes, however I had never tried masking fluid for stamping or painting. I learned in the class videos that the fluid is good for intricate images that otherwise are tedious to cut out as a mask. I opted to try the technique on the beautiful Altenew Just Because floral image. I’ve had this gorgeous round piece of watercolor paper since last year, it came in a kit. I decided this paper would be perfect to use with the arched bouquet.
Now, while the paper is heavy and very textured (I love paper like this) it was difficult to work with. I almost threw it in the trash several times, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. I even opted to do a second project. Walk with me through the process.

Above is the initial stamping done with archival ink. I did have to stamp several times as the paper is extremely textured (I think this was error number 1: very textured paper is probably not the best to use with masking fluid.) I also stamped the same image onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper which is much smoother.

After stamping, I covered the images with this masking fluid. It dried with a green finish and I liked that because I could see it clearly. I let the pieces dry overnight. Here is what they looked like the next morning:

Here’s where it got ugly. I watercolored the backgrounds and let them dry and then proceeded to remove the masking fluid. I tried my finger as well as an adhesive eraser. Look at the difference in the two pieces.

 The masking fluid just ripped up the top layer of paper on the right one no matter how gently I rubbed. I think the paper may have been too textured and the top layer just would not separate from the fluid. The same happened on the left one but not nearly as bad! At this point I thought “I will just re-stamp the image and save it.” Yeah, wellllll...

Not so hot.  I still couldn’t bring myself to toss it. I finished watercoloring the images with my Kuretaki Gansai Tambi watercolors. Added gold paint splatter and a sentiment from Neat & Tangled. I still had to go back and re-draw some of the lines with a fine liner pen.

This is the completed project, you can see it isn’t very crisp or neat but after much work I think the watercolors covered a lot of the imperfections and it is good enough to keep for myself.  And also the second image, but I did not turn it into a card. This one is much cleaner.

After all of that I decided to do another, much easier project using post-it notes for masking (another technique done in the class videos). Take a look:

 I used the multi-layer Winter Rose set and the new Altenew inks (swoon!).

 This is the first rose stamped and masked. I then stamped and masked the second in order to add the leaves.

 Finally I added a sentiment and more stamping on the inside.

While the last card was easy for me, I am glad I tried a new technique! I will have to experiment more with the masking fluid. Thank you for reading to here and for stopping by!
Michelle

AECP-Level I Final Project

Hello Friends!
I have completed the first level of the Altenew certification program. It has been a joy to watch the instructors share their talent! I’ve tried some new-to-me techniques, picked up tips and tricks, and these classes have made me think about the creative process a little differently.
I am excited to share with you my final project. I was asked to select any 3 components from the classes and I chose to combine my selections to create an encouragement card. I also challenged myself to use images other than flowers (SO hard for me as elegant floral cards are my favorite genre).
The three components used are layering (All About Layering), embossing with dies (Die Cutting Techniques), and using metallic paper (Let It Shine). I have listed the supplies used at the end of this post. Let’s take a look:

When I decided against flowers, I knew I wanted to try butterflies. They are such beautiful, delicate creatures and remind me of my childhood running after the Monarchs. I haven’t done much rainbow coloring or stamping on my cards but I thought this would be the perfect project for that so I chose a more pastel-colored rainbow for the first technique of layering. This butterfly set has three layers for each image. *Tip: it helps to use a stamp positioner when you are inking onto thick watercolor cardstock. I had to re-stamp the images because the textured paper was “thirsty”. Another advantage is that you can get perfect placement of the layers with a positioning tool. Coordinating splatters above each butterfly balanced out the scene.

This card measures 4.25 x 9, plenty of room to play with. To add interest to this panel I embossed the images with the matching dies on the top portion of the watercolor card, incorporating my second technique. *Tip: thicker cardstock results in a better impression when embossed; I used a second piece as a shim underneath the panel before running through my cutting machine. Next I partially die-cut the wings for a peekaboo look at the gold foil cardstock underneath, then scored lightly from open edge to open edge to easily “flip” or fold back the wings. *Tip: use washi tape to secure your die to the panel and use the tape’s edge to create a visual line of where you will cut. For my final technique of using metallic paper I adhered a panel of gold cardstock behind the panel and then gently lifted the die-cut areas. I also trimmed the panel slightly smaller than the gold card to leave a tiny gold frame around my panel.

Next I added the front sentiment, which I stamped onto a piece of the same cardstock, cut and notched the end, and added a notched gold flag piece as well to bring everything together. Stickles were the finishing accent for the front of this card.

 I added an inside sentiment and included a couple of butterflies in there, too.

Finally, I carried the theme over onto the back of my card just above my logo.
So there she is, a compilation of crafty knowledge from the Level I course of the AECP. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed creating it! A big "Thank You” to Virginia Lu for her guidance and patience through the process!

Main supplies used:
Canson XL 140# watercolor paper
Tim Holtz Stamp Platform
Altenew Painted Butterflies stamps and dies
Spellbinder Platinum Machine
Altenew Ink Sets: Red Cosmos, Warm and Cozy, Pocket Full of Sunshine, Sea Shore, Cool Summer Night, Shades of Purple
Altenew Gold Foil cardstock
Platinum Stickles
Altenew Adore You set
Altenew Beautiful Inside

Thank you for stopping by! Michelle