Scrappy Gaby

Today I have a very special project. I´m participating in the first AECP Participant/Educator Hop! This is a special event organized by Altenew and Nathasha Davies.

In this hop each crafter has to CASE a fellow crafter, it means Copy And Share Everything. The idea is to get inspiration from another person and make your own interpretation or just reproduce the same project if you like.

So I got to CASE Michele Nagy Burnier, I had fun looking through her cards, on her blog and her Instagram. It was hard to choose one, but I had to start somewhere, so I let my love for the color blue decide for me. Haha!

This is the card I used for my inspiration made by Michele. Isn't it gorgeous?

She's got some great inspiration, have a look at her blog! *Michele*.

I decided to copy the card but using different media, so I kept the design, elements and color palette quite the same. I also changed the stamps but with Altenew flowers is very easy to get beautiful results.

I´m happy to have chosen this type of backgrounds, because I haven´t been creating for a while (pandemic related issues) and I needed to play for a bit before actually creating something. For her card she used alcohol inks, and I used Altenew ink cubes and lots of water.

I played with different ways of adding the ink to my watercolor paper: water on the paper and the ink, no water on the paper, drying and adding more layers, getting it wet again and dropping some ink with a brush… I created several panels; I was having fun creating blue backgrounds. It was relaxing and the perfect way to get back into creating mode. I did make some that were darker and some a bit light, so I could use the darker ones for the background and the lighter ones for the flowers.

I let them airdry, and put them under something heavy, actually I put them under my laptop, I though the heat and the weight might help with flattening them, it did! But don't try this at home…haha..or do it at your own risk.

Then I heat embossed some leaves using black, this is something that I rarely do, it´s a bit too messy for me. But it was the perfect way for these cards. Of course, I made more than one, it´s almost impossible to make just one card for me. I used the “Beautiful Day” stamp set by Altenew.

The next step was also relaxing, fussy cutting my flowers. They are not that intricate, so it was an easy task that I did while listening to my daughter studying for her biology test. Multitasking!

To assemble my cards, I die cut the backgrounds to have rectangles a bit smaller than the card base. Then I added some fun foam to lift a bit the blue backgrounds. I also added dimension with fun foam to the forward flower.

Finally, for the sentiments I decided to keep them very simple, so I just stamped them with black and cut the with scissors and glue them strait on the card, no dimension needed (I think).

I really love the results and I´m happy to be back creating. This has definitely reminded me of how important crafting is for me, so watch out for my level 2 creations for the AECP.

The next person in this hop is Evette Griffore Jacobson, don't miss it!

Have a wonderful day!

Today I have a very special post, I completed my 10 AECP classes, and now I got a great challenge as a final test to approve level 1. It has been an awesome experience, allowing myself to create is a total gift.

Let´s get to it because I have loads to share. I made a video with all the process, including my creative process, the actual creation of the sets and the packaging.

The challenge consists in creating 2 card sets, a feminine set and a masculine set, with a cohesive theme. I needed to choose 3 elements from the classes taken during this level 1. It was a hard decision as I have many favourites… But I went with these three:

*Let it shine. It provides wonderful ideas to give that extra special touch to any card, adding shiny elements that take the projects to a higher level.

*Easy die cutting techniques. This class gave me a whole new way of taking advantage of my dies, and it´s very important when mass producing as it really speeds up the process, and also make the cards look more professional.

*Irresistible inking techniques. I enjoyed so much the different ways of incorporating inks other than stamping with it, it gives a lot of more potential to all those gorgeous ink colours.

Creative Process

My mother, who is a PhD in Education, asked me about my creative process when I told her about the challenge. She was very curious to see and compare her creative process as an academic professional with a more relaxed and artistic process, so I thought it could be interesting for some of you to see how I did it.

-Before knowing all the details about the challenge:

· I chose my favourite cards from the 10 classes during level 1.

· I lay them on the table and stated (in my head) why I liked them, for example: the colour combination, the layout, the technique, etc.

-After getting all the details of the challenge:

· I wrote down all the requirements, I did it by hand as it helps me understand the idea better.

· Then I made a list of common elements I wanted my cards to have, based on what I liked the most of my previous cards. I also considered that I needed to make many cards, they had to be special but not too time-consuming.

· Then I made a little table where I put elements that were different to the sets, so I had the feminine on one side and the masculine on the other, so I could visualize the differences between the sets.

· Then I decided to make 6 cards per set. It sounds like a good number for a card set.

· I created a little sketch for each card, I made 6 models, so I would make 2 cards of each design, one for the feminine set and another for the masculine one.

· I had all this info in one piece of paper, and I used it all along, some ideas I used exactly as I wrote them and some I had to be a bit flexible and change.

· This way of working kept me on track at all times, I had my guide to refer to at any point.

Since making 12 cards counts as mass producing I created all elements for all cards step by step: first I made all the backgrounds, then stamped and heat embossed flowers, leaves and sentiments, then painted flowers and leaves, then assembled the cards 2 by 2, using my guide for the designs. This saves a lot of time and makes the elements more cohesive.

Creating the cards

Backgrounds

I created all the backgrounds at once. I cut around 16 pieces of watercolour paper, a bit bigger than A2 size. I sprayed both sides of the paper with water and inked a sleek surface with blue ink, then I picked some colour with a bush and started adding it to the panels.

I changed a bit the way I added the ink, sometimes using an acetate to smoosh the ink, sometimes more ink or more water. I just wanted to create different backgrounds with the same colours.

I let them air dry and placed them under a stack of books overnight to flatten them bit.

I wanted to add a shiny element to the backgrounds, so I heat embossed a few dots here and there, making it a bit distressed. I didn’t use a powder tool as I didn´t mind the embossing power sticking everywhere.

Later I decided to add some geometric element to the masculine set, so I stamped some lines with grey ink, I stamped them horizontally and vertically to create squares in the backgrounds.

Elements

Using my guide, I guessed how many flowers and leaves I would need, just to have an idea.

I chose the set “Adore You” for my images, I love this set and I also have the dies which makes everything easier.

Since I needed many flowers and leaves, I decided to leave the stamps in their original place, I took out all the sentiments. I prepared the surface with and antistatic power bag, inked the stamps with embossing ink and left them flat on the table, then I brought the paper on top of the stamps, rubbed it really well with my fingers but making sure it didn´t shift and lifted it carefully. Then sprinkled some embossing power and heat set it.

I repeated the process a couple of times and then changed colours to make enough elements for both sets. I also made a few more with only leaves for the masculine set.

For the sentiments I used “Painted Butterflies” and “Adore you” stamp sets. I used a stamp positioner this time, I like to stamp it 2 or 3 times to make sure all letters are properly stamped, without squashing them.

I lined all the sentiments so I would get many at once.

I used black cardstock and white embossing powder, always preparing the surface with the antistatic bag, and cleaning up the area with a dry brush to make sure there is no stray powder.

Painting flowers and leaves

I used a similar technique to paint the flowers and leaves as I did for the backgrounds. I wanted a distressed-watercolour look. So I wet the elements using a clean brush, then added a light colour to the whole image going outside of the line, then I picked a darker shade of the same colour and added a few touches here and there and let the ink flow on its own, this technique allowed me to paint everything really fast and I love the organic look it gives. I let everything airdry.

Cutting

I die cut all the flowers and leaves using my die cutting machine and I placed them in mugs, one for the feminine and another for the masculine to keep them organized.

I also cut the sentiment strips and trimmed the backgrounds to an A2 size.

Assembling

After creating my card bases, I distributed the elements and sentiments among the 12 cards, to make sure I had enough of the elements and balanced among the 6 models.

I worked on pairs of cards following my sketches. So, I had models 1 to 6, depending on the design I wanted a darker or lighter background, I wrote the number of the model behind each background to identify them. There are 3 background that needed some die cutting.

This is the general process for each pair of cards.

· Place elements according the model I was working on, move things around and arrange them in a way I like them. Do it for the feminine one and the masculine one.

· Add dimension to elements using fun foam, I use all my scraps.

· Glue all elements. Including the sentiment.

· Work on the next pair.

· When they were ready, I added a couple of sequins to some of the feminine cards.

Model 1

Model 2

Model 3

Model 4

Model 5

Model 6

Feminine card set

Masculine card set

Packaging

I used recycled elements to make my boxes. For the cardboard part I used the backing of cardstock packaging, the ones that come in a spiral book. And for the plastic cover I used a box of some make up brushes (for crafting of course!).

I drew a sketch for the bottom part of the box, a rectangle with flaps, cut it out and glue the corners. For the top, the piece was the perfect size, cutting it in half gave me the right size for each box. I decorated this plastic clear cover with some leftovers from the backgrounds. And to attach the top and bottom of the boxes I used a string, so I wouldn’t have to deal with gluing plastic to the cardboard, and it gives a nice touch.

I left the cardboard its natural colour, I think it goes well with the cards.