Altenew final challenge Level One

 

So I am attempting my final challenge for level one of the Altenew Academy Educator Certification Program.  It was a super fun challenge and I ended up making 14 cards (7 masculine and 7 feminine).  I hope you stick around to the end of this post as it is a LONG one...you might want to grab a drink first.  

 

So first was to determine what I wanted to do for the challenge.  I needed to make several male and female cards that looked cohesive as a group but were not just replica cards...that part for me is easy as I usually do different cards verses mass producing anyway.  I saw this colour palette while scrolling through the internet and I loved the colours in it so decided that is where I would start for the challenge.

I pulled my papers and some embellishments to get started and challenged myself to use only what I pulled out in advance.  I felt these colours were more of a masculine feel to them which is where I needed to go anyway so that worked.  I also decided to give myself an extra challenge and try to make my feminine cards with these masculine colours as well just to add to complexity in my brain. 

My next step in preparation for a weekend of card making was to quickly design some general sketches I may want to follow.  Nothing specific and no measurements, just a loosely based sketch for some quick balance.

 

My first step for the sets was to determine a theme for my cards.  The feminine card theme was easy as I chose floral and Altenew has so many perfect florals to choose from.  For the masculine cards I chose the deer head from the Festive Silhouette set to try and use a Christmas set for something other than Christmas cards.  Then I chose to do a diamond pattern for several cards to make the sets connect.

I was inspired by the techniques in the "For the Guys" class to use geometrics and really took hold of that for the diamond pattern in my cards.  I tried to do the female cards a little lighter and airier than the heavy look of the male cards while still running with the same theme throughout the two genres.

                                        

 

I am also all about the glitter and bling and was so happy to take the "Let it Shine" course to see that other people celebrate it the same way as I do.  I use several different metallic, shimmery and glittery card stocks and specialty papers in my cards.  I made sure to cut several of the diamonds out of the glitter paper to have just subtle hints of it throughout my cards.  A little goes a long way and that was one of the tips from the class.

I love how you can do nearly the same card design  change it up so much that it looks like a completely different card.  I actually made 4 cards with this design as I liked the look so much I accidentally did it twice without realizing until I started laying out my cards. I guess two of my sketches were so similar that I ended up making almost identical cards.  I figured it would be okay as I had enough extra cards that it wouldn't affect the work that I had done.  I love the look of the metallic embossing power on this deer to make it look like an embellishment rather than a stamp.  Another lesson learned from the "Let it Shine" class.

I loved the all about layering classes.  They really helped me perfect some of my layering techniques.  I was struggling with my layering prior to taking these classes and they forced me to practice and find the line up points of the different flower stamps.  I am definitely getting better results now and enjoying these layering stamps way more.

So this was my feminine set with masculine paper.  I think they turned out pretty good without any pink or purple.  I do love a teal flower and the peach and orange turned out well together too, in my opinion.  I also liked using the pattern paper on different flower layers to make them look less harsh.

I was really pleased with the look of my masculine cards.  I often struggle with masculine cards and my Altenew supplies are definitely mostly feminine.  I wanted to think outside the box and not just do space or planets for my cards in this challenge.  I do believe that I achieved some very masculine looking birthday cards in the end.

Here is the whole set together.  From what I can tell, I think the meld together perfectly into one large set of boutique looking cards.  Below are some close ups of some of the cards in the set.

The second part of this challenge was to make packaging for the cards.  There was also a requirement to use something recycled in your project at some point.  I chose to use my recycled item as my packaging.   I had kept a couple of Ferrero Rocher containers left over from Christmas because of their size and shape. I originally thought I was going to use them for my Altenew ink cubes but then bought too many cubes and my waist line couldn't afford for me to eat more chocolates, so I found a different storage solution for those.  I had two containers so I made both masculine and feminine packaging.

I had to get the labels off so I used some goo gone and a razor to scrape them off....by the way, their labels are amazingly stuck on their containers pretty permanently so this was no small task and I was regretting my decision, but I persevered.

Once I got the containers all cleaned off and dried I measured them and cut some coordinating paper to the cards to place on the bottom of the boxes.

I then placed the cards and envelopes in the box and measured the upper remaining portion to make a box frame to hold stamps etc inside so that the cards can be sent once filled out.  I made the frame from coordinating paper cut into 4 strips with an angle on one side and scored in 5 even intervals so that it can be folded into a square tube.  I then glued them shut and glued the angle edges to the straight edges to make the rectangle.

Next I cut out some labels and letters to put on the front of the boxes.  I chose coordinating paper and some sparkly silver to bling it up and blend it all together.  I lined up the letters with a ruler and covered them with some removable tape to keep them in line when I flipped them over to glue and then placed them where I thought they would fit best.  I then added some sequins and some sparkly tulle to finish them off.

The final result:

Thanks for sticking through with me to the end of this challenge.  I was a fun one to do and I hope that I pass with flying colours.

SOS - oh the place you will go

 This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to imagine where you would like to go once all of the travel restrictions are lifted and Covid is a thing of the past - whether it is from vaccine, adaptation or elimination of the virus, I am all for it packing it's bags and leaving.  We have been in lockdown here since October 28.  Only in the last three weeks has it been allowable to have up to two designated people at our houses and store are finally open to 25% capacity.  Some restaurants are open but you can only go with family in the same household so lots decided not to open until you can sit with other people because they know most people are sick of only being with their household members so what is the point? lol.  I chose to do my card for somewhere tropical that is warm and sunny...not here.  Somewhere with no snow and beautiful blooming flowers...possibly Hawaii...maybe Fiji or Tahiti...any one will do at this point. Play along with us, will you?

Altenew - Seasonal Scene Building

 Well, I have finished my last class of level one for the Altenew Educators Program.  This one was called Seasonal Scene Building.  This class had so many techniques from masking to shaker cards.  I have done all of these in the past but it was a nice reminder of the different style of scenes that can be made.

I really enjoyed the inside out look of this card.  It was so much fun trying to come up with a surprise inside for this card that didn't give up too much outside of the window so you really want to peek inside.

And then there are the shaker cards.  I love making shaker cards.  They have been some of my favourite cards over the years.  So many options and such a different look for the same technique.  I quite enjoyed the inking on both of the shaker cards with the clouds in the sunset sky (this card mimicked the colour of the sky outside my craft room window at the time that I was making it) and the brick wall effect with embossing and 8 colours of ink.

I was really torn for a favourite between the card with the koi and the macarons.  There are so many stamps and layers involved in the macaron one that it was a labour of love....but the fish have won the vote of the favourite from this class.  I put some grey die cuts underneath and offset from the fish to make them look like shadows of them swimming.

Well, that is the first 10 classes on the journey to becoming certified through the Altenew program....thanks for looking. 

Altenew - Celebration Stencil Techniques

This class for the Altenew Educator's Program was Celebration Stencil Techniques.  I enjoy stencilling but find I do not do it very often.  I am not sure why as it is really fun to get inky and play around with my supplies.    

                                                

I think my favourite technique was making my own stencil from my dies.  The "Thanks"cards were made from my home made thanks stencil with inks and sprays.  I love the look of the ink blended rainbows on the above cards. I also loved the look of the stencil after I was done the three cards and decided it would make a good masculine looking card so I used the spray paint looking stencil to make a card front.  I used the left over letters from the stencil and put them on a shadow to fill in the centre of the stencil.

I also tried some metallic watercolours on some black watercolour card stock on the above card.   It was cool the way the intensity of the watercolours held on with the black card stock in behind.  The card below was made with embossing paste and super chunky glitter.  Note to self - do not use super chunky glitter with embossing paste.  It is not quite strong enough to hold the chunky weight of this glitter and now this card leaves a trail of sparkle wherever it goes lol.

 

Altenew - Irresistible Inking Techniques

 This Altenew class for the Altenew Educators Program is called Irresistible Inking Techniques and to me it was like a throwback Thursday type class.  I am not sure when it was filmed but it brought me back to techniques I haven't used in absolute ages and had really forgotten about.  It was a nice refresher to some old techniques of days gone by.  I tried to put an updated twist for myself on some of the class project assignments. I also appreciated the tip of using a smaller block for smaller stamps as I tend to always use the same block and found that I did have an issue of rocking on my block at times and I hope now that know this I can prevent this from happening in the future.

I think this card was my favourite project because I am not very good or experienced at watercolour techniques so it was a really good reason to practice a little bit.  I used 11 colours of ink in this project (frosty pink, coral berry, ruby red, grapevine, butternut, pumpkin pie, yellow ochre, Sicilian amber, evergreen, forest glades and frayed leaf) and tried my best at blending them out to look like a smooth and natural watercolored flower.

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Altenew - Easy Die Cutting Techniques

 As the name indicates,  this class from Altenew is all about easy die cutting techniques.  I think from all of the classes that I did for the level 1 course of the Altenew Educator Certification Program, this one was the one I enjoyed the most.  I love die cutting and this class was right up my alley.  I completed several cards from this class and I had a hard time choosing my favourite project.

This cityscape card almost made the cut as my favourite and it was so simple to make that it may become one of my go to cards for a quick masculine version for a birthday card.  I love the way it embossed with the two dies and I wasn't sure if it would turn out by running it through the big shot twice but it remained embossed for both layers so that was a win.

But I think the winner of the favourite project from this class is the one where I made my own embossing folder with die cuts.  I arranged them in a pattern on the card and did a white on white combo so that I could use the "folder" as a card front after I was done with the embossing part of it.  It turned out so well.  I did learn that if your are going to emboss with a die cut and you need to run the card front through the die cut machine to make a border or edge cut to do that first or the embossing flattens out somewhat as shown in the grey card.  It is still visible but a much softer embossing on the second pass in the machine.

All about family

 This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is "All About Family".  We are to use something family related in our project.  It also happens to be my niece's 16th birthday and that means the right of passage for driving has arrived for her.  I made her this super fun light up card with a bunch of safari family animals in a jeep to represent her ability to go and get her driver's license that is coming up soon.  I hope she likes it...how could anyone resist a safari animal light up box card anyway?  Play along with us, will you?

Altenew - Let it Shine

 

                                                

 Altenew Let it Shine class was right up my alley....I could use bling and glitter for days.  I really enjoyed the different techniques done in the class sections.  I think my favourite ended up being the use of minimal metallic paper on a project.  I am not hesitant to use up my foil cards stock (I probably have a lifetime supply in my craft room and can never resist buying more).  I chose to do some super narrow frames from my altenew die that I just received with some tropical flowers.  The little bit of black and white stripe really added to the card and made my sentiment strip stand out as well.

I loved the embossing of the thank you sentiment as well.  It's something that I don't do very often and it was a forgotten about technique that I used to use years ago.  I am glad I was reminded about it as I really like the look of the faux metal on the this card.

Altenew - For the Guys

This For The Guys class by Altenew was a well needed class for me.  I often find masculine cards incredibly difficult to make.  I don't know if I over do it or what, but they always end up looking feminine in the end.  

This class led to some awesome inspiration for masculine looking colour combinations and backgrounds to make things look presentable to any make in my life.

My take on an interactive card was to make a light up card.  I used vellum on the moon and on the star bursts so that you could easily see the light coming through but it was opaque enough that you couldn't see the little lightbulbs.

I took inspiration from the class by using a pun to make a funny card for a boy.  I hope your day is electric went perfect for the lightening on this card.  I tripled up and layered the clouds to make it look like a stormy prairie sky - some with all the layers and some with only a couple of the layers.

 

Altenew Easy Ink Blending Techniques

The Easy ink blending techniques class from Altenew was exactly as advertised.  I love ink blending so this was more of a refresher for me than new information but the sample designs offered in the class were inspirational.

 

I started with the first two lessons.  The background orange turned out really well with the firebrick ink.  I also ink blended the thanks in the same colour to make it coordinate perfectly.

I finally had a good excuse to ink up my jellyfish card by making a watery background.  I did a bokeh technique with some white ink on top and it is so subtle but looks awesome as you don't notice it unless you look really closely - it gives it such dimension while being completely flat.

The course challenge was to make a holiday shaker card.  I love the looks of these birds for Christmas so I figured I would get a jump start on my Christmas cards - seeing as how it is -36 C here today and too cold to do much else.  I was inspired by our winter sunset out the craft room window and the colour that the sky looked in the cold at that exact moment.  Pastel perfection in my opinion. Plus, who doesn't love a shaker card with little styrofoam snowballs?  I added a tiny amount of baby powder to the paper to cut the static down from the little balls so they didn't stick to the acetate.