Feminine and masculine card sets. Altenew Challenge Level 1.

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.

 

I hope you like them and that I gave you some ideas, or at least I make you wanna go create something. Have a wonderful day!

Espero que te hayan gustado y que te haya dado algunas ideas, o al menos te haga querer ir a crear algo. ¡Qué tengas día genial!

Clean and simple boutique cards

Hello everybody!

Today I bring another card I made to keep working with my certification with Altenew, AECP. They offer many classes at their website which are really nice, I have taken a few classes over last few years but now I decided to go with the full certification. They offer a few free classes if you would like to know how they are and see for yourself if this is something for you.

¡Hola a todos!

Hoy traigo otra tarjeta que hice para seguir trabajando en mi certificación con Altenew, AECP. Ellos ofrecen muchas clases en su página web y son realmente agradables, he ido tomando algunas clases en los últimos años, pero ahora decidí ir por la certificación completa. Ofrecen algunas clases gratuitas si te interesa saber cómo son y ver si es algo para ti.

On this opportunity I’m working with a class called Clean & Simple Boutique Cards, it’s guided by Jennifer Rzasa and I really like her classes, because she explains everything really detailed and with a calm way that makes me feel very confident when trying her ideas.

After working with several ideas that she gave during the class I decided to go with this one that uses repeated stamps on the card to make my own background, the focal point of this card is the background itself.

En esta oportunidad, estoy trabajando con una clase llamada Clean & Simple Boutique Cards, está dirigida por Jennifer Rzasa y realmente me gustan sus clases, porque ella explica todo muy detallado y con una forma tranquila que me hace sentir muy segura a la hora de probar sus ideas.

Después de trabajar con varias ideas que ella dio durante la clase, decidí optar por esta que usa imágenes repetidas en la tarjeta para crear mi propio fondo, el punto focal de esta tarjeta es el fondo en sí.

I decided to use the painted butterflies stamps set for this card. I got one of the silhouette stamps and stamp it several times on my background using grey ink, I wanted a subtle background, so that’s why I didn’t use black ink. I used a pencil to make some lines to guide me when I was stamping the butterflies and erased the lines when the ink was completely dry.

Decidí usar los sellos del set Painted Butterflies para esta tarjeta. Con uno de los sellos de silueta estampé varias veces en mi fondo con tinta gris, quería un fondo sutil, por eso no usé tinta negra. Utilicé un lápiz para hacer algunas líneas que me guiaran cuando iba sellando las mariposas y borré las líneas cuando la tinta estaba completamente seca.

Then I did some water colouring with Altenew inks. I did a very loose colouring; some butterflies have light pink and a little bit darker pink. I also coloured another butterfly with the darker pink and cut it out to use as an accent next to my sentiment, I’ve stamped this butterfly with black ink because I wanted it to stand out more.

Luego pinté un poco con tintas Altenew como si fueran acuarelas. Las pinté de manera muy holgada; Algunas mariposas tienen un rosa claro y otras un rosa un poco más oscuro. También pinté otra mariposa con el rosa más oscuro y la corté para usarla como un adorno al lado de mi mensaje. Esta mariposa la sellé con tinta negra porque quería que resaltara más.

For the sentiment I used ¨just saying hello¨ from the same stamp set. I cut it into a strip and added a black and white patterned paper strip underneath, but I wanted it to stand out a bit more from the background, so I watercoloured another strip of paper with the same pink ink so it will match the card. And finally, I foam mounted the sentiment and the butterfly to give it some dimension.

El mensaje, que lo saqué del mismo set de sellos, lo sellé con tinta negra. Lo corté en una tira y agregué un papel estampado en blanco y negro debajo, pero quería que sobresaliera un poco más del fondo, así que pinté tipo acuarela otra tira de papel con la misma tinta rosa para que todo combinara. Y finalmente, pegué el mensaje y la mariposa con un poco de goma eva por debajo para darles algo de dimensión.

I tend to work on more than one card when I sit down to create, so in this case I decided to do the same stamping on an off-white panel. I did the same steps but changing to orange.

Tiendo a trabajar en más de una tarjeta cuando me siento a crear, así que en este caso decidí hacer el mismo estampado en un panel color crema. Hice los mismos pasos pero cambié a color naranja.

I hope you like it and that I gave you some ideas, or at least I make you wanna go create something. Have a wonderful day!

Espero que te haya gustado y que te haya dado algunas ideas, o al menos te haga querer ir a crear algo. ¡Qué tengas día genial!

Faux watercolor card

Hello everyone!

Today I have another entry for my classes at Altenew for the Educator Certification Program (AECP). This time is for the Easy Ink Blending Techniques class. It was very hard to choose my project as all lessons had amazing techniques with lovely results.

¡Hola a todos!

Hoy tengo otra entrada para mis clases en Altenew para su Programa de Certificación de Educadores (AECP). Esta vez es para la clase Easy Ink Blending Techniques. Fue muy difícil elegir mi proyecto, ya que todas las lecciones tenían técnicas increíbles con excelentes resultados. Cada una más bonita que la otra.

The class is led by Amy Lee and she shows a variety of techniques to use ink blending to make beautiful projects. I really enjoyed her videos and she made want to create many cards for each lesson.

La clase está dirigida por Amy Lee y muestra varias de técnicas para usar la mezcla de tinta para hacer hermosos proyectos. Realmente disfruté sus videos y me hizo querer crear muchas tarjetas para cada lección.

At the end I decided to use her faux watercolor technique, where she does some ink blending and on top adds more ink to give the effect of watercolor. I loved the vibrant colors she used so I went with the same vibe. I used some Altenew inks to blend them on top my heat embossed flowers using an ink blending tool. The flowers and sentiments are from the Altenew stamp set Adore You.

Al final decidí usar su técnica de falsa acuarela, donde hace un poco de mezcla de tinta y encima agrega más tinta para dar el efecto de acuarela. Me encantaron los colores vibrantes que usó, así que seguí esa misma idea. Utilicé tintas Altenew para mezclarlas por encima de mis flores que había sellado con heat embossing blanco.Las flores y los mensajes son del set de sellos Altenew Adore You.

When I was happy with the blending I painted the flowers using the same ink to give a more intense tone, making it a bit loose. Then I added some splatters using the same inks watered down and a brush, I also added some black splatter as I wanted to tie in with the black sentiment strip.

Cuando ya estaba contenta con la mezcla de tintas, pinté las flores con la misma tinta y un poco de agua para dar un tono más intenso, haciéndolo un poco relajado. Luego agregué algunas salpicaduras con las mismas tintas con agua y un pincel, también agregué algunas salpicaduras negras ya que quería unificarlo con la tira negra del mensaje.

I hope you like them and that I have given you some inspiration or ideas.

Have a wonderful day!

Espero que te hayan gustado y que te haya dado alguna inspiración o idea.

¡Que tengas un día maravilloso!

Gabriela and her flowers Card/ Gabriela y sus flores, tarjeta

Hello everyone!

Today’s entry is a project with a beautiful stamp. I’ve been stamping it with different inks, markers, watercolor, I’ve been experimenting with paper and color. The stamp is so pretty that I had fun mixing and trying a few techniques. 

¡Hola a todos!

La entrada de hoy es un proyecto con un hermoso sello. Lo he estado utilizando con diferentes tintas, marcadores, acuarela, he estado experimentando con papeles y colores. El sello es tan bonito que me divertí mezclando y probando varias técnicas.

I made a set of 4 cards using a different color of embossing powder for each one. 

Hice un conjunto de 4 tarjetas con un color diferente de polvo de embossing para cada una.

 

I prepared my watercolor paper for heat embossing, which requires an antistatic powder tool to prevent the powder from sticking to unwanted areas.

Then I inked the stamp with versamark Ink and stamp it. I used a stamp positioner so I could inked it twice, because watercolor paper has a bit of a texture and sometimes stamping it once doesn’t give the best impression.

Preparé mi papel de acuarela para el embossing, que requiere una herramienta de polvo antiestático para evitar que el polvo se adhiera a áreas no deseadas.

Luego entinté el sello con versamark Ink y lo sellé. Utilicé un posicionador de sellos para poder sellarlo dos veces, porque el papel de acuarela tiene un poco de textura y, a veces, estamparlo una vez no da la mejor impresión.

Then added the embossing powder and used a dry brush to get rid of any stray powder.

Then I let my heat tool warm up for a few seconds and melted the powder moving the heating tool around and on both sides of the paper to minimise warping. I love this step, it’s like magic seeing that powder melt and becoming a beautiful image. 

I did the same process for the sentiments, I stamped several messages so I could pick the ones I liked the most, and also have some left over to use on other projects. I like doing this because it saves time and paper.

Luego agregué el polvo de embossing y utilicé un pincel seco para eliminar cualquier polvo perdido por ahí.

Luego dejé que la herramienta de calor se calentara durante unos segundos y derretí el polvo moviendo la herramienta hacia ambos lados del papel para minimizar la deformación. Me encanta este paso, es como magia ver que el polvo se derrite y se convertir en una imagen hermosa y brillante.

Hice el mismo proceso para los mensajes, sellé varios mensajes para poder elegir los que más me gustaban y también para que me sobraran para usar en otros proyectos. Me gusta hacer esto porque ahorra tiempo y papel.

Then the fun part begins!!!! Smooshing color!!! On a slick surface I put on Distress Inks and sprayed some water then “smooch” my panels against the wet ink. I added a few layers. Then I got a brush and color with the same Distress Inks some parts of the stamped girl and flowers, specially flowers and leaves.

After everything was dried I die cut a frame and adhere the centre portion and the frame to a notecard.

¡Aquí comienza la parte divertida! Smooshing color! Sobre una superficie no porosa, puse tintas Distress, rocié un poco de agua y luego "smooch" mis paneles contra la tinta húmeda. Hice varias capas de esta manera. Luego con un pincel y las mismas tintas con agua pinté partes de la imagen, sobretodo flores y hojas.

Después que todo se secó, corté un marco y adhierí la parte central y el marco a una base de tarjeta.

In case you were wondering what I used, besides the Prima Marketing Stamp Gabrielle, here is a picture of the inks and other materials I used.

En caso que te interese saber qué materiales utilicé, ademas del sello de Prima Marketing Stamp Gabrielle, aquí muestro una foto donde se ven los colores de tinta que usé y algunos otros materiales.

It was really fun creating these cards and I already have fans woooohoooo.

Have a great day :)

Fue muy divertido crear estas tarjetas y ya tengo admiradores woooohoooo.

Que tengas un día genial :)