AECP - Clean and Simple Boutique Cards

   One of my goals in starting the AECP program was that I wanted to take the time to try some of the techniques that I might have seen in the past, but haven't had the time (or nerve) to implement.  So I am trying different techniques and using the stamps and tools in my stash that have not received the attention they should.  On the upside, I'm having a great time and learning a lot, but on the downside, it is taking me a long time to get through each class.  I'm not the type of person who puts together a card in 20 minutes or even an hour or so.  So I'm a little bit worried about my slow pace.

  In this post, I will be writing about my experiences with the Clean and Simple Boutique Cards Class with Jennifer Raza as the instructor.  I should start out by saying that I love CAS cards, but I struggle sometimes with keeping it simple. What can I say? White space intimidates me! 

    In any case, I was very excited to take this class and was not disappointed.  Each lesson gave me a new idea to try out.  I made the following three cards for this class.  As you can probably tell, I didn't quite manage to keep them all Clean and Simple.  That having been said, I love the way they all came out.  In the interest of not repeating the entire class, I am only going to focus on the second card.  I chose this card because it is both representative of the class and a departure from my usual style.

Repeating Patterns

    The assignment for this lesson was to use an image in a repeating pattern. I didn't really have an image that was the right size, so I decided to use three different small images from the Wonderland and Peony Bouquet stamp sets.  Of course, I couldn't just free-hand this, so I started by testing out my pattern on a scrap piece of paper.

    Most of the time, my cards are 5x7 inches. I've started cutting  my scrap paper into 5x7 inch rectangles.  so I have a stack of them on hand to do some quick test stamping.  I tried a couple of arrangements using a stamp block.  Once I had one I liked, I tried to figure out the distances between the images.  Strictly speaking this step was completely unnecessary, but that is the math teacher in me. Finally, I stamped the images on Canson XL watercolor paper.

Coloring the Images

    I used the Color Catalog to choose my colors. I started looking through images that had a blueberry blue and some green and landed on these colors.  I was able to match the colors using the Altenew 36 Watercolor Pan.  I used Midnight Violet for the flowers, Caribbean Sky  with some Midnight Violet accents for the blueberries and mixed Lagoon and Evergreen to create the color for the leaves. Fortunately the images are really small since I am by no means adept at water coloring.

Finishing Touches

    I looked through my colored paper and found the perfect match in my scraps.  (And my family wonders why I can't throw anything away).  I liked the hugs die cut from the Hello and Hugs die set. but the loops of the "h" and "g" got lost in the white space of the card. I cut a second hugs in black and glued it slightly offset from the white.  That gave it just enough contrast to be easily legible.  I considered adding a sub-sentiment or embellishments, but I decided that it was enough.  Below is the final card.

Extra Cards

    I've been wanted to doodle these flowers ever since I first got this Billowing Blossoms stamp set years ago.  I was happy with the result, except that white space in the top left corner!  I had to add some embellishments there to finish it off.  I used the Gradient Sunset stamp set for the sentiment. 

    The last card was inspired by a blue and gold artwork I saw online.  I created the background by smooshing Persian Blue and Sapphire Crisp Dye Ink as well as  Tumbled Glass and Blueprint Sketch Oxide Inks on blue cardstock.  I foiled the leaves in the Leaf Cluster stamp set using Versamark ink and embossing powder. The sentiment is from the Eucaluptus stamp set.  I wanted to foil that too, but the fine text became too difficult to read.  The circles are from the Fine Frames Circles Die.

AECP - All About Layering #2

For my second All About Layering card for the Altenew Education Certification Program, I decided to use the Big World stamp and die set.  Like the Vintage Roses, this stamp set does not include outline stamps, so it can only be used by layering.  

Layering the Focal Point

To create this card's focal point, I started out by stamping the ocean layers in Dusk crisp dye ink.  I then layered the first land layer and stamped that in Grass Field crisp dye ink.  I considered stamping the second layer, but decided that the colors were already dark enough.  Instead, I lightly inked up the outer edges of the first land layer with Shadow Creek crisp dye ink and feathered the ink with a blending brush before stamping a second time.  Then I stamped the same stamp a third time.  This time I used VersaMark ink and embossed the land with pearlescent embossing powder to add some sparkle and dimension.

I then die cut both hemispheres (although I only used one) with the coordinating dies.  While I was die cutting, I also die cut the included stand and "World" dies in glitter brown because it was closest to the bronze color of the Globe I have in my living room.

Pencil-on-Scoring Background

I recently learned the pencil-on-scoring technique from Sandy Allnock and wanted to give it a try. The idea is that you lightly pencil over scored lines which then highlights the scored pattern.  I debated using an embossing folder to create the score lines, but in the end, I just used a score board.  As you can tell from the close-up, my scoring wasn't perfect, but I think that just added some rustic charm to the background. I used a couple of brown pencils for the table and blues and grays for the wall.

Final Touches

It was time to add a sentiment, but I did not want to introduce any new colors at this stage.  While I do not have this color ink, a little experimenting showed that if I double stamped the sentiment in rustic shore and citrus burst, the shade matched the color of the table pretty closely. 

I also added some sequins from on old mix that I had in my stash.  The colors matched remarkably well.  I love it when things work out that way!

I matted the card on the same brown glitter cardstock I used for the Stand and World die cuts.  I had initially planned on making the globe spin, but I was happy with the way the card looked and didn't want to mess it up at this point.  Below is the completed card.