AECP Level 1: All About Layering 4

Hello, friends!

Welcome back to the Paper Play blog.  I just finished my second course in AECP Level 1, All About Layering 4, which continued to focus on layering different stamps and inks together to create images. I'm happy to share with you my two projects from the course.

Card # 1:

My first card focuses on the gorgeous Altenew Calming Reverie Stamp and Die Bundle.  This set may be used for so many different types of cards and occasions.  My inspiration for the card came to me as soon as I saw the set on the Altenew website.  I knew that I wanted to show the juxtaposition of this flower in a vibrant color against a monochromatic color.  I love the look of one pop of color standing out against a more muted color palette.  

I started with stamping the red flower first:

• There are two stamps used to create the main part of the flower.
• Stamped the first one with the Altenew Ruby Red Crisp Dye Ink using my Tonic Studios Stamping Platform; loaded up my stamp with lots of color and pressed down, and repeated this step again as I wasn't happy with the color saturation.
• Noticed that there were a few spots that didn't take on as much color as the rest of the flower base. It dawned on me as I looked at the second stamp for the flower base that I'd be using black ink for it and that it might cover up these few spots.
• TIP for layering stamps and inks: the second color will be darker than the first and may help cover up any color variations from the first stamp!  Align the second stamp onto the stamped image to see if you'll get coverage like this.
• Aligned the second stamp with the stamped image, loaded it onto my stamping platform, inked it up with Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink, and stamped it.  The black did indeed cover up those lesser saturated red spots, and I was happy with my image.  You can see this in the pic below.

There are three stamps used to create the center of the flower:

• Aligned the first stamp, loaded it onto my stamping platform, inked it with Concord & 9th Cranberry Premium Due Ink, and stamped it.
• Repeated this process with the second & third flower center stamps using Concord & 9th Buttercup Premium Dye Ink and Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink.

Two stamps are used to compose the leaves: 

• Inked the base leaves image stamp with Altenew Shadow Creek Crisp Dye Ink and stamped it.
• Aligned the second stamp with the stamped image, loaded it onto my stamping platform, inked it with Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink, and stamped it.

The first flower was now complete!  I repeated the steps above using the following inks to create the gray monochromatic flowers and leaves: Altenew Gray Denim Crisp Dye Ink, Altenew Charcoal Suit Crisp Dye Ink, Altenew Silver Lake Crisp Due Ink, Altenew Cloudy Night Crisp Dye Ink, and Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink.  The stamped flowers were then cut out using the coordinating dies.

A 5x7 white card base was used in order to accommodate the size of these flowers.  My design had some black ink spots in the background and I thought that some splashes of black ink might be too small.  I decided to use one of the color splash stamps from the Altenew A Splash of Color Stamp Set to make the background spots larger.  I stamped it in several places using Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink.

I was now ready to assemble the design:

• Started by cutting the set of gray leaves in half so that each gray flower would have some leaves with it.
• Affixed one half at the top of the card using Altenew double sided tape, and one at the bottom.
• Placed the two gray flowers in the corners on the left hand side of the card and used double sided tape to affix them once I was happy with the placement.
• Following along the card edges, cut off the excess parts of the gray flowers that stuck out from the base.
• Adhered the green leaves to the center-right area of the card using double sided tape.
• Put the red flower into position using Altenew double sided foam tape to add some dimension.

I really wanted the card sentiment to say something about the juxtaposition of colors.  Luckily for me, the A Splash of Color stamp set had the perfect one:

 

I used the following steps to create it: 

• Used a torn paper die to cut a piece of small piece of light gray card stock for the sentiment.
• Put the sentiment stamp onto my stamping platform.
• Loaded Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye Ink onto the stamp and used a small microfiber cloth to remove the ink from the word color.
• Stamped the sentiment and wiped off the remaining ink using the cloth.
• Used a red alcohol marker to ink the word color and stamped it.
• Traced over the stamped word color with a red glitter gel pen.
• Put double sided foam tape onto the back and affixed the sentiment to the upper left hand corner of the card.

Three Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces Drip Drops were added to the card using craft glue.

Card #2

My second card showcases the Altenew Build a Flower: Columbine Stamp & Die Set.  This columbine flower is so pretty.  It was a bit of a challenge for me since this set doesn't have an outline stamp to help guide you along.  The resulting flower doesn't have any colored lines outlining the flower, and it was my first time creating one like this.  Luckily, with the stamp set layering guide and a little bit of patience, I created a beautiful columbine that made me smile.

 

The flower uses eight different stamps to create the image - three for the outside shape of the flower, three for the inside shape of the flower, and two for the stamen.  The process to create it included:

• Loaded the first stamp onto my stamping platform, inked it with Altenew Iceberg Crisp Dye Ink, and stamped it.
• Carefully aligned the next stamp, loaded it onto my stamping platform, inked it with Altenew Eastern Sky Crisp Dye Ink, and stamped it.
• Repeated these steps for each of the next six stamps using the following inks: Altenew Azurite Crisp Dye Ink, Altenew Iceberg Crisp Dye Ink, Altenew Ultramarine Crisp Dye Ink, Concord & 9th Buttercup Premium Dye Ink, and Altenew Marigold Crisp Dye Ink.
• I found that the best way to align the stamps with the stamped image is to make sure that you're looking at it from a direct overhead view.  This allows you to see where the stamps line up and intersect.
  

Next up was stamping the leaves, which was created using three different stamps and inks:

• Loaded the first stamp onto my stamping platform, inked it with Altenew Limeade Crisp Dye Ink, and stamped it.
• Carefully aligned the second stamp with the stamped image, loaded it onto my stamping platform, inked the stamp with Altenew Bamboo Crisp Dye Ink, and stamped it.
• Repeated these steps for the third stamp using Altenew Fresh Leaf Dye Ink.

The last piece of the flower to create was the stem.  I stamped it using Altenew Fresh Leaf Dye Ink.

 

All pieces of the flower were then cut using the coordinating dies, and the flower was assembled using craft glue.  I used a white gel pen from the Altenew Must-Have Gel Pen Set to add some white highlights onto the columbine flower.

 

I created the card sentiment, hello, using the word and shadow dies from the Altenew Versatile Greetings Die Set.  I cut the word hello from a light blue card stock, and the shadow from a darker shade of blue card stock. The word was then glued onto the shadow.

 

An A2 sized piece of white card stock and used to create the front panel of the card.  I had a vision of this columbine standing in front of a old, white-washed fence.  I chose the Weathered Wall stamp from Deep Red Stamps and filled this front panel with the image using Altenew Jet Black Crisp Dye ink.  I then added a slightly distressed look to it with a little Tim Holtz Antique Linen and Weathered Wood Distress Inks using some ink brushes.

The front panel was adhered to the card base using Altenew double sided tape.  I then adhered the columbine and greeting to the card using Altenew Double Sided Tape, and added three Taylored Expressions Bits & Pieces Clear Drip Drops to the columbine with some craft glue.

Below is a pic of both cards together.  I hope you enjoyed them as much I enjoyed creating them.  Until next time . . . be well!