Hi there
Today I have three new cards to share as part of my Altenew Educator Certification Program. I'm reaching the end of level 2 now with just one more masterclass to do and the final challenge.
It's taken me FOREVER as life has thrown a lot of curve balls, but that's the beauty of this programme, you can go at your own pace. Then there's a final challenge to complete level 2. Once done, I must work out how to video my card-making process. I've decided to leave it until I start level 3 to give myself a bit of breathing space :)
Here are my three cards, with more info on how I created them below:
These cards were for my assignment based on Color Your Day by Therese Calvird. This masterclass had six lessons, each with a different perspective on being inspired by colour, including a colour formula, the colour wheel and using pictures as inspiration.
I feel quite comfortable with colour, so this assignment wasn't as challenging as some of them have been, but if you tend to use the same colours or shy away from anything outside your normal colour palette, you will love this class. I particularly loved seeing Therese's process of picking colours and how she used her formula to create a card. I'll be adding that to my toolbag for sure.
Card One: Use a picture for inspiration
I was inspired by a dress that I have, with a navy background mixed with pink and coral (see below). I knew I wanted to make a die-cut card as I haven't done much die-cutting lately, and I thought the Altenew Jumbo Garden Picks roses would be perfect for the job.
Once I'd chosen the different coloured cardstock to match the dress, the card came together quickly. I've listed the details below.
Die-cut a navy rounded rectangle using Altenew's Rounded Rectangle dies and attach it to a white card base.
Die-cut the layered roses, flowers and leaves in various colours using Altenew's Jumbo Garden Picks.
Adhere the rose panel together and adhere it to the navy card base.
Stamp the sentiment in pink ink on white cardstock. I used the 'Thank You' sentiment from Altenew's Striking Flower stamp set with Altenew's Puffy Heart dye ink.
Die-cut the sentiment using a banner die and adhere it to the navy panel.
Add Altenew Satin Gold sequins and some Zig Wink of Stellar glitter pen to finish.
My original plan was to have a full navy background, as I keep seeing dramatic backgrounds but rarely do them myself. However, when I was testing out my design, it looked too dark and drab.
Top Tip: If a card doesn't look right, try taking photos and then compare the different takes on your design.
Card Two: Use all of the colours
This title was not one of the masterclasses, but how I was inspired in general, having watched all of the videos
For my second card, I channelled some Laura Bassen and made a clean and simple rainbow wreath card. I dug out my Altenew Artist Markers to colour the rainbow. It took me a while to find the perfect colours that I wanted to use. I had markers all over the place! I'm pleased with how it turned out.
I don't know why, but I always feel slightly intimidated using rainbow colour themes, so I tend to shy away from them. I also find wreaths hard to use. I love them, but I look at them, wondering what to create! I challenged myself to have a go anyway. After all, this programme is about stretching you out of your comfort zone. Here's how I made the card. I'll share the marker colours below with you too.
Stamp the wreath using Altenew's Weekend Doodle stamp set and black ink. I used Memento as I never know whether Obsidian black ink works with the markers.
Spend a crazy amount of time figuring out your marker colours, or use my time-saving list below!
Colour two leaves in each colour, and once coloured, die cut the wreath using the matching die set.
Stamp the sentiment from Altenew's Circled Sentiments (I love this set - I must use it more!)
Die cut the sentiment using the matching circle die, then cut an extra two circles in white cardstock.
Layer the circles using glue, adding the black sentiment to the top.
Carefully ink smoosh the pink background (I used Puffy Heart ink again here) to create a bit of contrast on a white card base.
Attach the coloured wreath to the card base, and add the sentiment.
To finish, colour the sequins using the Altenew Puffy Heart Artist Marker and attach them to the card.
NB. I did consider layering up a couple more wreaths, as I did with the circled sentiment, but decided to layer up the sentiment instead. Both versions look nice :)
Top Tip: If something feels intimidating to you, try it anyway. You never know; it might work out okay. Remember, it is just a card ;)
Artist Markers used:
Teal Cave and Aqualicious (Water Garden set)
Lagoon and Mountain Mist (Sea Shore set)
Persian Blue and Caribbean Sky (English Country garden set)
Azulite and Sapphire (English Country garden set)
Ultraviolet and Hydrangea (Water Garden set)
Midnight Violet and Deep Iris (Meditteranean Terrace set)
Purple Wine and Puffy Heart (Rock Garden set)
Rubellite and Pinkalicious (Sunshine Valley set)
Velvet and Crimson (English Country Garden set)
Heartbeat and Coral Bliss (Island Garden set)
Firebrick and Autumn Bliss (Tropical Garden set)
Autumn Bliss and Maple Yellow (Tropical Garden and Sunshine Valley sets)
Maple Yellow and Fresh Lemon (Sunshine Valley set)
Olive and Parrot (Tropical Garden set)
Shadow Creek and Grass Field (Sunshine Valley set)
Just Green and Sweet Leaf (Island Garden set)
I LOVE having these rainbow colours sorted and written down, ready for future use. No guessing next time! I have a little book of colour swatches. How do you keep a record of colour combos you like to use? Let me know in the comments.
Card Three - 70/20/10 Formula
For my third card, I wanted to have a go at the 70/20/10 formula that Therese shared, where you split your colour palette into rough percentages. It's a great idea :)
I wanted to send my friend a celebratory card as she just got a little part-time job, and I thought the fox and the word 'yay' would be a fun combo. I'm obviously in a more clean and simple mood this week, as this is quite a plain card for me. Here's the deets:
Stamp the fox from Altenew's Hug Me stamp set, and colour him in. I used my markers again for him. I chose the complementary colours of orange and teal from the colour wheel as I know these work together well. Marker colours used: Firebrick, Autumn Bliss, Teal Cave and Aqualicious.
Fussy cut (or die cut) the fox. (NB. I don't have the dies for him. They seem to be really hard to get over here. If I dared to look for him in the US, that would be a rabbit hole ending with my bank manager knocking on my door, so I stuck to fussy cutting him out!)
Add some Ranger Glossy Accents to the balloon and the fox's nose before setting him aside to dry.
Using Altenew's Bold Alphabet Dies, die cut the letters 'YAY' three times in white cardstock, and layer them up for dimension, as I did with card two.
Next, die-cut three stitched rectangles in various sizes, two in white cardstock and one in teal.
Adhere the larger white rectangle to the card base, then the teal, and finally the smaller white.
Attach the layered 'YAY' sentiment to the left of the white panel, and add the fox once he's fully dry.
Finally, colour three Altenew White Satin sequins using the Teal Cave marker and attach them to the card.
Top Tip from cards 2 and 3 - Instead of using pop dots that get squished in the post, try Jennifer McGuire's tip of using old pieces of cardstock to layer up your die cuts. They are much more solid, and you're using up old scraps of card too. They also look really nice layered up.
I hope you enjoyed my take on this masterclass and that it's inspired you to play more with colour ideas :)
Supplies Used:
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You blow me away with your work every time!!!