AECP Level 1 - Celebration: Stencil Techniques

 Hello, friends!

I’ve done quite a bit of stenciling over the years and am quite comfortable with it.  What I liked about the AECP Level 1 course Celebration: Stencil Techniques is that it presented new ways to think about stenciling.  The technique that I liked the most was using a cover die to create your own stencil, and I used it to create card number one.  For card number two, I chose to do a traditional stenciled background.

Card 1

For my first card I thought it would be fun to create my own stencil, and the Altenew Simple Shapes Cover Die was the perfect choice.  I made my stencil by using the cover die and running it through my die cutting machine with a piece of chipboard.  I chose chipboard since it’s more sturdy than a piece of paper.

It was time to start creating the card now that I had my stencil.  I have always liked the color combination of purple and orange.  I know it can be thought of as a very bold combination - and that is exactly why I like it.  I adhered my stencil to an A2 sized piece of white card stock using some Post It Tape, grabbed an ink blending brush and some inks, and started to stencil the background.  I wanted a gradient purple background, starting light and going darker.  I chose to use Altenew Wisteria Crisp Dye Ink for the light purple on the first section of the stencil, Altenew Hydrangea Crisp Dye Ink as the medium purple on the second section, and Altenew Ultraviolet Crisp Dye Ink on the third section.  I was really happy with the resulting background!  Not only did I have the purple gradient, but I also had crisp white lines between the various shapes.

I used the Altenew Garden Delights Stamp Set to create my flowers.  These fun, whimsical flowers were a great choice to go with the shapes in the background.  I stamped two flowers using the layering stamps and the following Altenew Crisp Dye Ink colors: Sunray, Chamomile, Snapdragon, Marigold, Jet Black, and Evergreen.  A Sakura Gelly Roll White Gel Pan was used to add some additional detail to the flower petals.  I stamped multiple leaves using the following Altenew Crisp Dye Inks: Jet Black, Fresh Leaf, Grassfield, and Evergreen.  I fussy cut the flowers and leaves with my detail scissors and assembled the flowers using Altenew Double Sided Tape.

The last part was to decide on a sentiment.  I chose to embrace the name of the course, Celebration, and use a sentiment to be used for a celebration.  I used the words & shadows for happy birthday from the Spellbinders Thanks Enclosed Sentiments Cutting Dies and cut them from light purple and white card stock.

I put the card together using Altenew Double Sided Foam Tape, and used double sided tape to adhere the panel to an A2 sized card base.  I truly love the result - bold and beautiful!

Card 2

The inspiration for the second card came from the Altenew Thunderstorm Background Stencil.  It’s so simple, yet so pretty.  I adhered an A2 sized piece of white card stock to the stencil with Post It Tape, grabbed an ink blending brush, and used Concord & 9th Dove Premium Dye Ink to blend the background.

I next stamped the image of the girl dancing in the rain with the stamp from the Altenew Dancing in the Rain Stamp & Die set and jet black ink.  I used the corresponding die to cut out the girl, and I fussy cut the puddles with my detail scissors.  Next up was stamping the umbrella.  I stamped one with the stamp, and then used my silicone stamping pad to reverse stamp a second one.  I colored them with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet glitter gel pens to give a pop of color to the card.  I used the corresponding die to cut them out.

For the sentiment, I was once again inspired by the name of the course.  This time, celebrating life was the focus and I chose the stamp that says, “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass . . . it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”  I used jet black ink to stamp it onto a strip of light gray card stock and trimmed it to size.

I used double sided foam tape to adhere the sentiment strip, girl, and umbrellas to the card.  I used double sided tape to put the puddles under the girl to create a dimensional look of her dancing.  I adhered the panel to an A2 sized card base with double sided tape.  I absolutely love this card - it makes me smile.

These two cards are definitely celebrations!