AECP Level 1: All About Layering 3

Hello, friends!

Welcome back to Paper Play!  I'm excited to share with you this card making post that focuses on my first completed AECP Level 1 course, All About Layering 3.  The subject of this course was using multiple stamps from a set to layer different inks to create the images.  I made two cards for this course that I'm sharing with you today.

Card 1

The first card that I made used the Altenew Build a Flower: Wild Rose Layering Stamp and Die set.  This beautiful stamp set includes 6 stamps to layer & build the wild rose, 4 stamps to layer & build the leaves, and two other stamps used to make some flowers & branches to accompany your completed rose.  The stamp set also comes with a layering guide that walks you through the layering steps and points out how to align the various stamps to create the images.  

When layering inks, you want to start with the lightest one and work your way up to the darkest one since it’s easy to layer on color . . . but not as easy to take it away.  I also suggest using a stamping platform to stamp each layer so that you can easily stamp the image again if you're not happy with the first go at it.  It ensures that you will stamp the image in the same spot and allows you to not have to align it again.

With this in mind, I started my on my rose image:

• Stamped base image with Concord & 9th Ballet Slippers Premium Dye ink onto a piece of white card stock.
• Aligned the rose outline stamp on the base image using my Tonic Studios stamping platform, inked the stamp using Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye ink, and stamped it.
• Repeated that process for stamps 3, 4, 5, and 6 using the following Altenew Crisp Dye inks: Cotton Candy, Pink Pearl, Citrus Burst, and Sunkissed.
  
• Note in the picture below how each shade of pink sits on or next to the other and creates a beautiful layered detail to the rose.

I did this again for the set of leaves, using:

• Altenew Bamboo Crisp Dye ink for stamp 1,
• Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye ink for the outline,
• Concord & 9th Parsley Premium Dye ink for the third stamp,
• Concord & 9th Evergreen Premium Dye ink for the fourth.
• These green inks are so vibrant and work so well layered together.

I then stamped the extra branches and flowers with Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye ink and colored them using Ohuhu Honolulu Series alcohol art markers.

All of the stamping and coloring was now complete and I used the coordinating dies to cut out the rose, leaves, branches, and flowers.  I needed a front panel and base for my card, and knew that I wanted to use a patterned background behind the flower that wouldn't take away from it:

• Used a background die with an A2 (4.25" x 5.5") piece of white card stock.
• You can see that it created the background with the diamond shapes cut out of it.
• Cut an A2 sized piece of pink card stock and used double sided tape to adhere the white background to the pink.  Don't you love the little pops of pink peeking out from behind the white?
• Cut an A2 sized card base from white card stock, and used double sided tape to adhere the white & pink panel to it. I used the hugs word and shadow dies from the Altenew Versatile Greetings Die Set for the card sentiment  The word hugs was cut from a small piece of white card stock colored with the Concord & 9th Parsley ink, and the shadow was cut from pink card stock.  I used craft glue to paste the word over the shadow.

I adhered the leaves, small flowers, and branches to the card using double sided tape.  The rose and sentiment were adhered using double sided foam tape to give some added dimension.

Card 2

 

The second card was made using the Altenew Fairy Tale Florals Stamp & Die set.  This time I started with the front panel and card base:

• Cut an A2 sized card base from white card stock.
• Cut an A2 sized piece of cream colored Recollections card stock and used the Altenew Organic Linen Embossing Folder to create the front panel.
• I knew that this embossing folder would give me a nice amount of texture in the background.
  

It was now time to focus on some coloring.  This particular stamp set has flowers and leaves that do not take on ink when stamped - only the raised shading area take on the ink. That means that the uninked areas are the color of the card stock you use.  I was stamping on white card stock and knew that I wanted to have colored flowers in addition to a layer of inked shading.  I started by stamping the outline image using black ink, and then coloring it using Ohuhu Honolulu Series Artist Alcohol Markers (Pale Grayish Blue, Pink, and Viola.)  I used the Altenew Bamboo Artist Marker for the base of the leaves.

Time for some stamping fun to layer in the shading!  This set also comes with a stamping guide that walks you through how to align and stamp each part of the image.  I stamped the flowers and leaves with:

• Tim Holtz Blueprint Sketch Distress ink on the blue flower and blue bud.
• Tim Holtz Wilted Violet Distress ink on the purple flower.
• Concord & 9th Honeysuckle Premium Dye ink on the pink flower and bud
• Concord & 9th Parsley Premium Dye ink on the leaves.
• You can see in the pic below how the stamped ink shading is layered onto the colored images and helps make them pop!
  

 The sentiment was made by using the “you're the best” stamps from the set and stamping them with black ink on to a piece of 1" x 7" vellum.  I traced over the words using a Sakura Black Glaze pen to give it a little dimension and help it stand out.

The last steps included die cutting the images using the companion dies and a combination of double sided tape and double sided foam tape to put the card together.  There was a little space down in the bottom left corner that was calling out for some attention.  I used some craft glue to adhere three Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces Clear Drip Drops to make it happy!

Here are both cards side by side:

I hope that you enjoyed these cards and learning more about my creative process.  I'd love to hear your feedback, questions, or any thoughts on the blog.  Please consider leaving a comment below or reaching out to me on social media on Instagram or Facebook!

Until next time . . . be well!