05 July 2020

Altenew Educator Certification Program - Level 1 Final Assessment

Hello and welcome! You might want to grab a cuppa (or other beverage of choice, depending on where you are in the world) and get comfy, because this is going to be a long post! 


This is my final assessment project for the Level 1 AECP Certification and for this project I had specific guidelines to follow which were as follows:

* Select any 3 components from the classes in Level 1 (I ended up using a total of 12 lessons from 6 different classes).
* Explain the 3 components that you've chosen for the projects.
* Create a his & her card set as a gift set with a minimum of 6 cards per set for a total of 12 cards.
* The cards should have a cohesive theme.
* Use one recycled element on a set or packaging. I used some recycled embellishments, brown paper  as well as recycled mini pizza boxes and brown paper to create my packaging.
* Create this blogpost and include a minimum of 10 photos.
* The timeline for this was 14 days, and I have to say this was quite a challenge with work being    really busy at the moment! But I did it! and I didn't get too many new grey hairs in the process :)

I decided to make these card sets as a gift for my mum, as she loves to give out my hand made cards and has been running low for a while now, so this was a great excuse to top up her stash! So with that in mind some are specific for upcoming birthdays in the coming year (like a family members 21st) etc.

I will mention the supplies I use for each card in bold type as I go, but I will put a complete supplies list with links at the very end of this post, as I use many of the items more than once and don't want to keep repeating myself with a list at the end of every card (and let's face it, you would need more than one cuppa for that!)

MASCULINE CARD SET


So let's get to it! I will start with the masculine card set. I was struggling at first with this one, as masculine cards are a real challenge for me at the best of times and my Altenew Stamp sets (and I have a lot!) are mostly floral and sentiments! But I had the gorgeous Celestial Paper Pad that I have been hoarding and thought it would be perfect as the basis for my masculine cards and by using a little on each card, would tie them all together and give them a cohesive feel. This paper die cuts beautifully and has a wonderful sheen to it. So I tried to keep this set simple & uncluttered and I love the way they turned out.

CARD 1




INSTRUCTIONS:

* Die cut a sheet of the Celestial Paper Pad using the Candy Cane Stripe Cover Die and attach to a white A2 top folding card base using liquid glue.
* Die cut or punch a circle of white card stock and cover it with clear shimmer pen.
* Die cut the numbers from coordinating navy card using the Bold Numerals Die and attach them to the circle.
* Using foam tape attach the circle to the front of the card panel.
* Add some clear sequins to complete the card.




TECHNIQUES USED:
Easy Die Cutting - Dimensional Layering
Let It Shine - Shimmer Pen, Sequins
For The Boys - Cards for boys

CARD 2



INSTRUCTIONS:

* Stamp the Faceted Stars Background Stamp in Versamark ink onto a sheet of the Celestial Paper Pad and heat set with White Embossing Powder.
* Cut the embossed panel to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8".
* Attach the panel to an A2 top folding white card base using foam tape for dimension.
* Stamp the sentiment from the Sentiment Strips 2 stamp set in Galactic Stream Ink onto white card stock and cut into strips. Attach to the card from with foam tape.
* Add some enamel dots from the Cool Summer Nights Enamel Dot Set.



TECHNIQUES USED:
All About Layering - Dimensional Cards
Clean & Simple Boutique Cards - Dimensional Layering
Let It Shine - EmbossingPowder and Embellishments

CARD 3





INSTRUCTIONS:

* Cut a piece of the Celestial Paper Pad to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8".
* Attach to an A2 white card base using foam tape.
* Die cut the 'h' & 'b' from the Bold Alpha Dies in white card 3 times and layer together with glue and attach to the front of the card.
* Use an off-cut of the same piece of patterned paper and cut a strip the same width as the strips on the background piece.
* Stamp the Happy Birthday Stamp from the Birthday Greetings stamp set in Versamark Ink and heat set with white embossing powder. Attach the strip using more foam tape over the centre of the letters.
* Add some clear sparkling sequins to complete the card.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Easy Die Cutting - Dimensional Layering
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder & Sequins

CARD 4




INSTRUCTIONS:

* Cut a piece of the Celestial Paper Pad to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8". Tear an uneven edge about a third of the way from the bottom. Then Tear that piece again from the bottom and layer the pieces together with the smaller piece just coming out below the bottom of the larger piece, using a little foam tape in between. Attach the piece to the front of a white A2 card base.
* Die cut the shadow portion of the Hello die from the Hello & Hugs dies three times from white card and layer together using liquid glue.
* Die cut the top layer of the Hello die from the leftover piece of patterned paper and glue to the top of the shadow. Then attach the completed word to the front of the card base.
* Stamp the 'awesome friend' stamp from he Hello & Hugs stamp set using Plum Ink. Cut into a thin strip and attach over the Hello word.
* Attach some silver metallic stars to the front of the card using liquid glue.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Recycled Element - Silver Stars (these were collected from the table at a Christmas party last year!)
Easy Die Cutting - Dimensional Layering
Let It Shine - Metallic Stars

CARD 5




INSTRUCTIONS:

* Cut a piece of iridescent gold card stock to 4.25"x5.5" and attach to the front of a white A2 card base.
* Die cut the Candy Cane Striped Cover Die from white card and attach to the front of the iridescent card using liquid glue.
* Die cut a circle from one of the sheets of the Celestial Paper Pad and attach tot he front of the card using foam tape.
* Die cut the Hello from the Handwritten Hello Dies, twice from white card and once from the iridescent Cardstock and layer them together with the gold on top. Then glue to the centre of the die cut circle piece.
* Stamp 'you are amazing' from the Sentiment Strips 2 stamp set in Galactic Stream ink. Cut into a strip and attach under the hello using foam tape.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Easy Die Cutting - Dimensional Layering
Let It Shine - Iridescent Foil Cardstock

CARD 6
(shhh..don't tell the others but I think this is my favourite of the masculine cards. I just love this die!).




INSTRUCTIONS:

* Die cut a pice of the Celestial Paper Pad using the Striped Leaf Cover Die and attach to the front of a piece of white card.
*  Using foam tape, attach the complete panel to the front of a white card base for added dimension.
* Using another pice of the same patterned paper (there are multiples of each design in the pack), stamp the sentiments from the Sentiment Strips 2 stamp set in Versamark ink and heat set with white embossing powder.
* Cut into thin strips and attach to the front of the card using foam tape.
* Add gold sequins to complete the card.

TIP:  To create a cohesive feel, I lined the same pieces of patterned paper up with each other and worked out where I wanted my sentiment before stamping, so that when I layered it on top it would line up with the pattern on the background.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Easy Die Cutting
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder & Sequins

PACKAGING



 I was originally going to box all of the cards together, however with envelopes included they would not fit so I made a separate gift box for each set of cards and envelopes and that way I could also match the packaging to the cards.

We save a lot of packaging at work that we re-use where possible and I managed to find two small 6"x6" pizza boxes (one was a little marked but you can't see it once it is folded inside out and covered). I also used recycled brown paper that our cardstock comes wrapped in.


INSTRUCTIONS:

* Fold the pizza boxes inside out so that they were white on the outside, and place the cards and envelopes inside.
* Wrap the box in brown paper.
* Create a belly band with pieces of the Galactic Paper Pad which is cut to 3" strips and join them in the middle where the tag would hang so you could not see it.
* Wrap some silver thread around the band.
* Cut a circle from two different pieces of the Galactic Paper Pad and cut the striped piece in half and attach it to the bottom of the circle.
* Die cut the letters from the Tall Alpha Dies three times from white cardstock and once from silver foil card. Layer together with liquid glue and attach to the tag.
* Add some silver recycled star embellishments with liquid glue.
* Use a punch to put a whole it the tag to add some thread and attach to the package.
* At this point I felt it was still a bit plain so I stamped some small stars from the Starry Night stamp set in Galactic Stream Ink.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Clean & Simple Boutique Cards - Stamp A Background
Let It Shine - Metallic Cardstock

FEMININE CARD SET 


For the feminine cards I went with a floral theme, and chose 3 stamp sets with similar lined images to create a cohesive feel. I also tried to stick mostly to the same colour palette, although I did add a little extra colour to a couple of the cards.

CARD 1



INSTRUCTIONS:

* Cut a piece of smooth white card to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" and use some masking tape around the edges to create a 3/4" border.
* Blend the inks from darkest to lightest from the bottom using a blending brush in the following colours:
   Cosmic Berry, Purple Wine, Puffy Heart & Rose Quartz.
* With the masking paper still in place, stamp the image from the Delicate Bouquet stamp set in Jet Black Ink.
* Once the ink is completely dry, carefully remove the mask to reveal your inked panel.
* Attach the panel to the top of a black A2 card base using foam tape for dimension.
* Stamp the 'So Happy For You' Stamp from the Precious Peony stamp set in Versamark ink and heat set with white embossing powder. 
* Cut into a strip and add to the front of the card with foam tape.
* Add some sequins to complete the card.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Basic Ink Blending - Ink Blended Background
Masking
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder & Sequins

CARD 2



INSTRUCTIONS:

* Stamp the image in Jet Black Ink onto smooth white card (I used Neenah) measuring 3 7/8" x 5 1/8"
* Colour the image with Polychromos Pencils (the colours I used are numbers 170, 267, 174, 133, 125 and 124) and blend with Gamsol.
* Attach the coloured panel to a piece of black card measuring 4"x5.25" using foam tape and attach the completed panel to an A2 card base.
* Stamp the sentiment from the Sentiment Strips 2 stamp set in Versamark ink onto black Cardstock and set with White Embossing Powder. Cut into a thin strip and attach to the card from with foam tape.
* Add some clear sequins to complete the card.


TECHNIQUES USED:Clean & Simple Boutique Cards - Clean & Simple Styling (using white space).
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder

CARD 3



INSTRUCTIONS:
* Cut a piece of white Neenah card to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" and stamp the floral images from the Precious Peony stamp set randomly over it using Versamark ink and heat set with White Embossing Powder.
* Once cool, ink the whole panel with Baby Pink Ink using a blending brush. Then come in around the edges with a darker shade of Fuchsia Ink. 
* Mount to the front of an A2 white card base using foam tape.
* Die cut the Hello sentiment using the Handwritten Hello dies. Cut the shadow from black and the top layer from white. Glue together and then glue to the front of the card.
* Stamp the 'my sweet friend' sentiment form the Hello & Hugs stamp set in Versamark ink onto black card and set with white embossing powder then attach to the card using foam tape.
* Add some frosted sequins to complete the card.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Ink Blending Techniques - Emboss Resist
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder

CARD 4
I loved playing with this faux watercoloring technique and will definitely be using this more! I love the soft watercolour look and the beautiful colours.  This is probably my favourite of this set. 



INSTRUCTIONS:

* Stamp the image from the Delicate Bouquet stamp set onto a piece of Altenew A2 Watercolour Card using Versamark ink and heat set with white embossing powder.
* Ink the four colours randomly over the image using a blending brush. The colours I chose were Citrus Burst, Baby Pink, Aqualicious and Limeade.
* Place some of the ink onto a craft mat and spritz with water.  Then using a wet paintbrush, paint over using the same colours on top of each other. Leave to dry.
* Repeat this step but use slightly deeper colours. For this I used Magenta, Teal Cave and distress inks Mustard Seed and Twisted Citron.
* Pick up some of the colours using a brush and flick onto the background to create some splatter and leave to dry.
* Stamp the 'just because' sentiment from the Fancy Greetings stamp set using black pigment ink and heat set with clear embossing powder.
* Cut the completed panel down to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" and mount to a black A2 card base using foam tape.
* Add some clear droplets using liquid glue to complete the card.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Basic Ink Blending Techniques - Faux Watercolouring from Lesson 5
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder
Basic Ink Blending techniques

CARD 5
This card started as a simple stamped background technique card, but it was too plain and so I decided to add the black marker and woah! What a difference! I love the striking look of the final project. And it was so easy to do!



INSTRUCTIONS
* Cut a panel of white card to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" and randomly stamp the images from the Poppy Garden stamp set in Jet Black Ink.
* Colour around the poppies using #S Black Artist Marker. Once dry, repeat this process.
* Using the WG01 Artist Marker add a few accents inside the flowers.
* Attach the panel using foam tape to a piece of black card measuring 4"x5.25" and then mount that onto a white A2 card base.
* Die cut the Hello from the Handwritten Hello die set three times from white card and once with gold foil Cardstock and then layer together using liquid glue. Then attach to the card front.
* Complete the card with some gold sequins.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Clean & Simple Cards - Stamp A Background
Let It Shine - Metallic Foil Cards & Metallic Sequins

CARD 6



INSTRUCTIONS:

* Stamp the Poppy flower, stem and leaf from the Poppy Garden Stamp set using Jet Black Ink onto the Altenew A2 Watercolour Paper..
* Trim the panel down to 3 3/8"x4 5/8".
* Colour the image using Altenew Artist Watercolour Palette. I chose the Tea Party and Tropical Forest colours.
* Once it was dry, I went over the image again using the same colours to add a second layer.
* Use a wet brush to splatter some of the paint onto the card then leave to dry.
* Mount the panel onto a pice of black card measuring 3.5"x4.75" and mount onto a white A2 card base with foam tape.
* Stamp the 'sending lots of love' sentiment from the Hello & Hugs stamp set using Versamark on black card and heat set with white embossing powder. Cut into a thin strip and attach to the card with some foam tape.
* Add some clear sequins to complete the card.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Clean & Simple Boutique Cards - Clean & Simple Styling
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder and Sequins

PACKAGING
I have used the same box and brown paper as I did for the masculine set.


INSTRUCTIONS:

* Fold the pizza boxes inside out so that they were white on the outside, and place the cards and envelopes inside.
* Before wrapping the box, randomly stamp the brown paper with the Delicate Bouquet stamp set using Caramel Toffee Ink.
* Wrap the box in the brown paper and wrap some twine three times around the box and tie in a bow.
* Stamp the Delicate Bouquet stamp onto some A2 Watercolour Card with Versamark Ink and heat set with white embossing powder.
* Colour the image using the Faux Watercolour Technique used on Card 4, in the same colours and allow to dry.
* Cut the panel down to 3"x3.75" and use a corner rounder punch on the top two corners.
* Stamp the sentiment from the Hello & Hugs stamp set in Versamark onto black card and heat set with white embossing powder. Cut into a strip and attach to the tag using foam tape.
* Punch a hole in the top of the tag and tie to the package using the same twine as before.
* Add some clear droplets to complete the tag.


TECHNIQUES USED:
Clean & Simple Boutique Cards - Stamp A Background
Basic Ink Blending Techniques - Faux Watercolouring from Lesson 5
Let It Shine - Embossing Powder
Basic Ink Blending techniques

And that's it! That wraps up all of my cards for this project. And what a project! I think it took me almost as long to write this blog post as it did to make the cards. Haha! But I had a lot of fun doing all of the classes in level one and learned lots of tips along the way and got to play with techniques I had not used in a long time!  I can't wait to start on the Level 2 classes.

Below is a supply list with links to the Altenew products that I have used in my projects.

If you're still here, thanks so much for sticking with me and for taking the time to look at my projects. I really appreciate it!

ALTENEW SUPPLIES LIST



2 comments:

Jenny said...

Beautiful cards Jodene, thanks for the instructions!

Erum Tasneem said...

WOAH!!! I just love that masculine card set! I am not even looking at the feminine cards LOL you have done an excellent job with the sets. Everything looks incredible! You could sell these!
Thank you for entering your work to the AECP assignment gallery.