Skip to main content

For the Guys || AECP

Hello, hello! I am super excited to be sharing this card! It is so incredibly unlike anything I have ever created, which was all at once invigorating and frightening! 

So, let's get into it!

The Inspiration:

One of the cards the instructor created in this class used a galaxy sky background, but instead of actually using it as a galaxy sky, the panel was cut down with a die to be something completely not a sky. 

I wanted to use the galaxy idea, but put my own spin on it. Lucky for me, one of the <ahem> four layering stamp sets I own is the Altenew Mini Moon set. This would be perfect for a galaxy sky!

Stamping & Masking:


I stamped the Mini Moon in the northern sky, using Gina K Soft Stone and Stormy Sky inks. I had hoped to create a mask for it using one of the Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity dies, but there wasn't one the right size, so I was forced to fussy cut. Ugh! (This explains the flat surface on the northeast side of my moon!) I used Gina K Masking Magic for the mask. 


I stamped the earth image from the (retired?) Gina K Wonderful World set in the lower, right corner, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, which is Copic friendly. I colored the earth using G24 & G46 for the land, and B02, B04, and B05 for the water. This circle is a perfect match for one of the Hero Arts Nesting Circle Infinity dies, so I die cut a mask for it out of Gina K Masking Magic.

The Ink Blending:

It's at this point in the process, I know I am completely like a fish out of water. The chances of me messing this up are beyond likely, but I persevered and tried to trust the process.

I chose mostly Distress Inks because I trusted them to be good for ink blending techniques, and I figured they'd give me the best chance at success. I began with the lightest color, Squeezed Lemonade, in the center of the panel. I colored a pretty big area and then moved on to the Salty Ocean

Next, I added some Altenew Crimson because I figured it was the least sky-like color, and I wanted to get that down before I added in the blue and purple. After adding Dusty Concord and Prize Ribbon, I started going back over the other colors to blend them.  

Before I finally slapped my hand away, I had almost blended all the colors into one blobby, ugly mess. Honestly, I figured it was ruined at this point, but I just kept going, thinking it would be good practice for when I started over. 

Next, I blended Gina K Black Onyx ink around all the edges, using a heavier hand right at the edges, and getting a little lighter toward the middle. I had no idea how far into the panel to go, so I just guessed at what might work. 

The Splattering Nightmare:

With the splatters, I was hoping for a romantic starry sky. What I ended up with was a meteor shower! But again, I just kept going. Practice card, right?

I first splattered Picket Fence Distress Paint, using a wide fan brush. Interestingly, this paint seemed to pick up the rainbow of color underneath it and turn a bit purpley. You can especially see that in the shooting stars just above Earth. 

After the Distress Paint dried, I splattered on some seriously ancient Apple Barrel gold paint. This is when the meteor shower showed up out of nowhere. 

Again, I just kept going. Trust the process. Let this be a practice card. 

The Reveal:

When the paint was dry, I pulled away the two masks, and I began to wonder if the card was ruined after all. The rainbow of color in the center of the card was rather Northern Lights-ish, and maybe the shooting stars really were shooting stars and not paint splatters gone awry. 

Keep going. Trust the process. Practice card (or maybe not). 

For the greeting, I stamped the sentiment from the Mini Moon set onto Hero Arts Pitch Black card stock, using Versamark ink, and then heat embossed with Hero Arts Fine Detail White embossing powder. I used a fishtail banner die from my stash to trim out the sentiment strip. I stacked 2-3 more black banners behind the sentiment for added dimension. I mounted the completed panel onto a Pitch Black A2 card base. 

The Lesson Here?

Even when you think all is lost, just keep going. Sure, this is card-related, but also in life. You can't quit just because you've made a hot mess of things. Figure out how to save the day. Who knows, maybe the meteor shower you've created will turn out to be a thing of beauty in the end. Mine did.

Thanks for stopping by!
Tammy





Comments

  1. You are such a hoot! I am having so much fun reading your posts! Your card looks RAD!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you! I'm glad I was able to capture this inky adventure on the page.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monochromatic Wedding Card

Eek! It's my first blog post. Ever. And I am so glad you're here!  Today I am sharing the card I made for my niece's June wedding.  I'm usually not a fan of the look you get from foiling the negative (leftover) pieces from other projects, but here's the truth about this card: I had already pieced together a white on white background using the  Tim Holtz/Sizzix Simple Plaid die . I'd laid it to the side because I wasn't sure how to use it yet. I also had many, many foiled leftovers from making cards with the PinkFresh Studio Simplest Gestures hot foil plate.  On a whim, I foiled one of the leftovers. And then I stood back and thought  Well, I'll never use that. I tossed it into the Someday Card Parts Pile, and it happened to land on top of the white plaid background.  <insert dramatic heavenly choir music> Even laying haphazardly in the Someday pile, it was stunning.  At this point, the card came together pretty quickly. I cut the SSS Clustered Lea

Clean & Simple Boutique Cards || AECP

This is a safe space, so let's be honest here.  After completing my first AECP course in die cutting, I needed to choose a second course. I perused the titles and was intrigued by this course in "boutique cards" because I had no idea what that meant.  According to Merriam-Webster: bou-tique ( n ) - a small shop dealing in fashionable clothing or accessories Well, yes, but what do boutique cards look like?  In the Altenew world, boutique means simple, striking, polished, and professional. Yep. That's my look! Count me in! In this course, I was inspired to use basic stamping techniques, watercolor, metallic finishes, texture, and more! And while this may sound like you're creating cards with lots of fussing and futzing, you're not! For this course, I completed six clean and simple cards with matching envelopes; here, I'm sharing my favorite two. Technique: Faux Letterpress / Embossing  I have had this Altenew Flowers and Leaves 3D embossing folder in my st

Celebration: Stencil Techniques || AECP

Hello, and welcome to the first of many card shares that will be coming over the next few days! Honestly, I've been so busy creating that I haven't taken the time to share. Sorry, not sorry. First up today, I am sharing a few cards I created for my third Altenew Educator class, which was all about stenciling. With these cards, I tried out some techniques that, while not novel, were things I'd never tried -- or even really thought of -- before.  These first two cards were created with a 2-for-1 technique. And who doesn't like a freebie?! In the past, when I've created my own card stock stencil, I've thrown it away after using it, but this time, I used that stencil on a card, too! Creating a Stencil: First, I die cut the "happy" word five times down the center of  an A2 panel of white card stock. This die is from  the Altenew Bold Bouquet bundle, which was an exclusive product from the Crop & Creative Delivered Card Making event in March 2023. This p