Hello crafty friends!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.  I have a TON of content to share.  I have been a super busy bee working hard to complete my final challenge for the first level of my Altenew Educator Certification Program.  Once I publish this post I’ll be evaluated to see if I pass Level 1, so cross your fingers for me!

Here are the ground rules for the challenge:

1. create two sets of cards: a “His” and a “Hers” plus DIY coordinating gift packaging
2. the cards need to be a cohesive set for various occasions and packaged together as a group
3. Utilize at least 3 components from the classes in AECP level 1
4. Use at least one recycled element (in either the cards or the packaging)

So let’s start with the techniques I will be incorporating from my level 1 courses:

1. For The Guys.  Since I’m creating a whole set of masculine cards, I really leaned hard on the lessons I learned in this awesome course.  I chose graphic & geometric design elements, a cool color palette, and some artistic techniques like painting on dark cardstock to create interesting cards that would be enjoyed by both boys and men.
2. Easy Ink Blending Techniques.  I applied loads of inking techniques in these cards – you’ll see examples of inking entire backgrounds, getting seamless gradient blends, inking through stencils, faux watercoloring, direct-to-paper inking and much more throughout the card sets.
3. Easy Die Cutting Techniques.  I used various dies in these cards – in several cases I stacked them to create dimension, incorporated inlaid die-cutting, and used a cover die for an all-over floral look.

** I always seem to find a way to add a touch of bling on my cards – you’ll even see some DIY metallic cardstock embellishments on my masculine cards – so I also have to give a shout out to Carissa Wiley and all her tips in the Let It Shine Course!

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So enough with all the preamble… are you ready to get on to the craftiness??

In this post I’ll give an overview of the techniques and products used for each card, but if you would really like a comprehensive tutorial on how each card was made, be sure to check out the following videos on my YouTube Channel (there are two separate videos, one for the “his” cards and one for the “hers” cards):

VIDEOS:

 

“HIS” CARDS

I decided to tackle the “HIS” cards first since these are typically a little tougher for me.  I went through my products and reviewed my For The Guys course to get inspired, and decided upon basic geometric shapes for the whole set.  You’ll see triangles, diamonds, squares, and rectangles prominently featured in each design, all using the same ink colors, craft accent cardstock, and embellishments.

1. My first card is a simple happy birthday card, perfect for a male friend. I created an entire background with a single solid triangle stamp from the Trigonometry Stamp Set, then finished off the bottom edge with a strip of craft cardstock. (Tips for aligning these repeated triangles can be found in my video). My sentiment is my focal point here – it’s a combination of stamping “happy birthday” from the same stamp set and then adding a stacked “friend” die cut using the Mega Friend Die.  Finally, I made some custom gold metallic cardstock and punched a few stars to accent the card.

2. Since it is June and people are graduating all around me, I decided to create a graduation card next.  This card has a graphic diamond pattern that I created by taking a fresh look at my Cube Builder Stencil and using it in a different way.  Some soft ink blending through the stencil creates a beautiful feature on the card and all that was left to do was add a sentiment. For this I combined “Congrats” from Label Love, and “grad” that I stamped out with an alpha set from my stash.  I sprinkled a few more of those DIY gold stars around and matted the whole panel with fun foam onto craft cardstock for a dimensional finished card.

3. For card #3, I went with an anytime, just-for-no-reason card because I think people love to get a card out of the blue! This card features the inlaid die cutting technique and direct-to-paper inking.  I started with the Gradient Stripes Cover Die cut from white cardstock. Then I custom colored each strip with ink directly from my ink pads. I laid the negative space of the die cut on my card panel as a template, and inlaid each colored stripe with some foam tape, intentionally tearing a jagged edge and varying the lengths. Once they were all adhered, I removed my negative space and I was left with the perfectly aligned set of dimensional strips.  I love how the random jagged edges contrast with the otherwise structured stripes – I think that juxtaposition is very pleasing in the final design.  I dug through my stash to come up with the masculine sentiment that says “Hey There, Handsome” and glued that on top of the stripes.  Once again, those gold stars are coming in handy to add some more movement to the card. Another subtle design decision was to trim my card panel a bit and pop it up white-on-white against the card base.  This creates a little shadow and a subtle border around the card that just adds to its appeal.

4. My next card is super simple and came together in a snap, but the design is impactful and interesting and I just love it. For this card I stamped the solid right triangle from the Trigonometry Set 5 times down the left side of the card. To get the spacing just right, I used my Misti and shifted my cardstock 7/8″ between each stamping, which gave me nice overlap and even spacing. For the sentiment I used “Sending Thanks” from the same set and mounted the strip on a layer of craft cardstock.  A very important finishing detail on this card is the application of the wood veneer dots.  This carries a bit more of that craft color through the card and the random diagonal arrangement softens the design, which was very structured and linear. It creates movement and allows your eye to travel around the card better. The white space in the upper right corner balances everything out. A little fun foam behind the whole panel adds some dimension to the card and that’s all there is to this clean and simple creation!

5. I had lots of fun with this next card, which features painting on dark cardstock with distress oxide inks. These inks have unique properties which allow you to use them on colored cardstock, and it creates this dreamy, chalky finish that almost seems to glow! I used Versamark ink to stamp 2 sizes of leaves from the Wispy Begonia stamp set in a cluster at the top of the card. I added white embossing powder and heat set the whole arrangement.  Then I smooshed my distress oxide inks onto my glass mat, spritzed them with a bit of water, and used a paintbrush to tap the color into the leaves. In some cases I added a few layers of ink to get the vibrancy I wanted. My sentiment comes from the Delicate Primrose set and reads “sending heartfelt condolences”.  I stamped this on a square of white cardstock, highlighting the word “heartfelt” by using colored ink.  I layered that square onto some bright green cardstock to create a thin border and then popped the whole thing into the center of my painted leaf cluster with foam tape. I decided to leave the card alone at this point since the painting itself was so eye-catching… almost neon!

6. For my final card in the masculine set, I went back to that trusty solid triangle from the Trigonometry set (isn’t it amazing how many looks you can get from a single stamp!?) In this case, I used my Wreath Builder template from Gina K Designs and a piece of 4″ square cardstock in my Misti. I set my triangle at a wonky angle and stamped it in each of the 8 positions (see my video for more details on how to do this).  The result is a very cool spiral design that reminds me of the pinwheels we had as kids the spun in the wind! I stamped “Have a great day” which is from my stash onto a circle die cut, layered it with a slightly larger white circle, and mounted it in the center of my pinwheel. To make my card size consistent with the rest of the set, I mounted the square onto an A2 panel with foam tape, and then accented above and below with strips of craft cardstock and a wrap of twine to add texture and interest. A few more of my DIY star embellishments and the card is complete!

 

“HERS” CARDS

Now on to the feminine cards (yay, I get to play with flowers! LOL)

The set of cards I created for “her” has a dreamy color palette of peach, pale yellow, and rosy pink that is consistent throughout.  Each card also incorporates a neutral accent color with the use of gray cardstock, and a touch of bling with either gems, pearls, or shimmer pens. I used varying techniques and products so each card has a unique design, but together they make a cohesive group of cards for various occasions. Don’t forget you can check out my YouTube video for much more detailed instructions on the creation of each card.

1. For my first card, I took a beautiful stamp from the Wonderland Stamp Set and reimagined it as a whole different flower. I stamped the large bloom twice onto white cardstock with Versafine Black ink and utilized techniques from my Easy Ink Blending course to color them in. I used my pink and peach inks on a palette and a Tombow blender pen to get the beautiful watercolor-y look. I did the same process with some leaves from the Wispy Begonia set. I fussy cut everything out, right up against the edge of the stamped images.  By joining the two blooms, I created a more circular flower with a whole new look! I arranged everything onto a white card panel, adhering some parts flat with liquid glue and popping other areas up with foam tape. For my sentiment I stacked several layers of the Fancy Hello die cut and added it to the bottom of the card.  To finish it off, I found a large gem in my stash that I used as the center of my flower and mounted the entire panel on a gray background.

2. For my next card I created a cluster of flowers and leaves around the whole border of an A2 piece of watercolor paper.  All the images come from the Wispy Begonia stamp set and were stamped in Versamark ink and clear heat embossed. I did use some masking between stamps to put some images “behind” others. To color this panel I used the faux watercoloring technique from my Easy Ink Blending course. I smooshed my inks onto my glass mat and used a paintbrush and water to color in the whole scene. This technique also incorporates emboss resist as the heat embossed lines resist the ink and define the images beautifully. I added some splatters of the same inks to the panel and then got to work on my sentiment, which comes from the same set. I stamped this in Versafine Black onto gray cardstock and clear heat embossed it.  I trimmed it down into a banner shape and added it to the side of the card with foam tape.  I also trimmed the whole panel a bit and mounted it onto the same gray cardstock to create a border. A few pearls add the final details to this sweet Thank You card.

3. I had lots of fun with this next design, which is similar to one of my masculine cards. For this one, I used the Scallop Builder Stencil with varying ink colors to create a band across the card. I didn’t really fit the scallops into each other like the stencil was intended, I just created “stripes” of color leaving white in between. I masked off a straight edge at the bottom of the inked section for a cleaner look, and then set off that edge by adhering a strip of gray cardstock. I found a dainty “happy birthday” die in my stash and used it to cut this sentiment from black cardstock and adhered it to my panel. For a touch of bling I added 3 small gems along the gray stripe and added clear Wink of Stella shimmer pen to the large arches in the design. The whole panel got popped up onto a gray background with some fun foam and there we have a perfect cheerful birthday card for any friend or relative.

4. Card #4 is another coloring card, but this time I went with colored pencils on gray cardstock. I used outline images from the Delicate Primrose set to create this line of florals down one side of a gray cardstock panel. Each one was stamped in Versamark and embossed in white. I colored them all in with my Prismacolor colored pencils in the same pink, peach, and yellow tones. For My sentiment, I chose “thanks” from Wispy Begonia and heat embossed that in black on a strip of vellum. I wrapped the vellum around the card panel and adhered it to the back before mounting the whole thing to a card base.  For a finishing touch I added white and pink Nuvo drops throughout the card. I love how the vellum allows me to add the sentiment over the top of my colored flowers without distracting or covering up my design too much.

5. My fifth card is a striking combination of a beautiful cover die and and an entirely ink blended background. I used the Layered Floral Cover Die A to cut the design from white cardstock.  On another A2 panel, I used my ink blending tool to blend peach ink all over. While referencing the cover die, I added light pink ink, blending behind where all the flowers would be, and then added even more intense pink ink behind the centers of those flowers. The resulting combination really highlights that die and brings the blooms to life! Sentiments can be tricky when you have the entire card front covered in an intricate die, so I white heat embossed my sentiment (from Delicate Primrose) on a strip of Gray cardstock and popped the whole strip up with foam tape across the card. For a final touch, I stamped and fussy cut a tiny heart in the same pink inks and popped it up on my card, covering it with Wink of Stella shimmer and then a coat of glossy accents.

6. Ok, so we have finally come to the last card of my whole challenge (thanks for sticking with me!) which is a “missing you” card inspired by one of my besties who lives on the other side of the country.  This card has a similar design to one of my masculine cards because I created a background with inking and stamping and then ran the Mega Friend Die cut across the center as a focal point.  For my background I stamped all the layered images from the Layered Laurel set around the edges of my panel with peach and pink inks. To soften and mute the stamping a little bit, I blended pink ink all around the edge of my panel – covering right over my stamping – and then blended peach ink into the center. This pushed the details into the background a bit and made them less busy.  To make my die sentiment really stand out, I stacked it several times and added it to a strip of gray cardstock.  I added “missing you” (from the Extra Special Stamp Set) above the die cut by stamping in Versamark and heat embossing in white.  The whole strip was mounted to the inked background with foam tape and then finished off with some pearls.

GIFT PACKAGING

The final step in my challenging was to create packaging for my card sets, and this is where I incorporated my required “recycled element” as well. I found an old box full of inexpensive A2 cards and envelopes that I had bought at Michaels.

I wrapped the box like a present, using craft paper to tie into my accent color from my masculine cards. I also lined the inside of the box with pale yellow cardstock (to tie into the feminine cards) giving the whole interior a tidy, finished look.

To decorate the package, I chose that same triangle stamp to mimic the geometric designs from the masculine cards, and I stamped it in all the colors from my projects (both masculine and feminine) in rainbow order to create two long strips.

I cut these strips apart and attached them end-to-end to create a belly band around my box.

I also wanted to include a floral accent, so I stamped the flower and leaves from Wispy Begonia (can you tell I love this flower?) and colored it with my inks and blender pen.

I fussy cut this out and mounted it on a tag that I created with the same pale yellow paper as my box liner. I added the sentiment “Just for you” from Label Love and a few gems to the tag also.  I tied this all onto the box with a bit of that same twine and voila!  my gift packaging is complete!

I love this package because it repeats so many of the elements from the cards inside: the twine, the colored floral image, the stamped triangle band, the craft color, the gems and more.  It also houses all 12 cards and 12 envelopes comfortably so it is the perfect size.

So that wraps up this super exciting challenge for me… I loved working on this project and stretching my creative muscles to come up with designs for these cards – Altenew makes it easy with so many amazing products to inspire me!

THANK YOU for visiting me today and making it through this extra long blog post.  If you haven’t clicked over to the youtube links, I really encourage you to check out my videos (see links above) for more information and a walk through of the card design process.

Have an awesome day and I hope to see you again soon!

xo,

Tricia