Creative Colour Techniques (AECP 3)

Before I share my cards for today, I have to share my exciting news. I passed Level 2 of the Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP), so I’m now in the last phase, which is Level 3. Woohoo!!

I’m a Business Coach & Mentor by day, and when I accomplish something, I always like to look back and reflect on my progress. This is what I do with my clients too. It’s so easy to move on to the next thing before taking a moment to see how far you’ve come. I’m learning to stop and reflect now.

I am SO pleased I started this programme. I have learnt an incredible amount of new things; new techniques, different media, how to watercolour and lots of colouring methods. Most importantly, I’ve grown in confidence with my card-making. I’ve even made my first video as a result of being on this programme. I get a lot of comments about how my colouring has improved, which makes me very, very happy!

Let me take a moment to flaunt my new badge for passing level 2, and then I’ll get onto the cards. Thank you, Altenew, for an incredible journey so far. I can’t wait to achieve the final stage :D

Now, onto the cards:

Today I have three cards to share as part of my Altenew Educator Certification Program Level 3 - eek!!

For a bit of fun, I used the same stamp for all three cards to see what I could create.

The cards were made for my assignment based on Creative Coloring with Erum - Advanced Techniques with Erum Tasneem. I find Erum’s work so inspiring. She makes me want to colour using all sorts of mediums. This masterclass had six lessons, each with a different perspective on how to Get creative with colour, including using woodless watercolour pencils, artist markers, coloured pencils and more.

I don’t know where to start with what I learned from this class, as there was so much. My favourite thing was learning to do Erum’s watercolour drip background, which I finally figured out. I also loved playing around with two-tone colouring with my Altenew Artist Markers. I loved this class so much that I could have created ten cards with all of the ideas she shared!

Card One - Two-Tone Colouring with Artist Markers

I’ve been watching videos by Erum for a while, and have always loved her two-tone flowers, so I wanted to have a go. I have tried before, but not with great outcomes, so I set about with two different colours and watched the video a few times to understand how she was doing it.

I’m not sure I’m the one to give tips, as Erum’s videos explain it so much better, but it might help to share what I learned as I tried this new (to me) technique. Many years ago, I was on Suzanne Dean’s design team. She is a guru on Copic colouring, and in her course, I learnt how to colour hair.

I realised that this technique is very similar to the two-tone flowers. Once I realised that, the colouring became easier.

I started this card by stamping one of the stamps in the Pristine Peonies set onto Neenah 110lb cardstock with Obsidian Black Ink.

I used the following markers:

• Flowers - Razzleberry (Sunshine Valley set), Puffy Heart and Purple Wine (Rock Garden set).

• Leaves - Olive, Bamboo and Moss (Tropical Garden set).

• Flower Centres - Espresso (Rock Garden set) and Milk Chocolate (Water Garden set).

Using a flicking technique, I coloured the Purple Wine at the base and tips of the petals, flicking the colour into the centre. Next, I used Razzleberry and Puffy Heart to blend the colours. I then used the Buttercream pen to add the yellow highlights in the middle. Next, I coloured the flower centres using Espresso and Milk Chocolate markers and the leaves in Olive, Bamboo and Moss.

I wanted to add a bit of definition, so I used the following Prismacolour pencils:

• Dahlia Purple, Sepia, Burnt Ochre, Kelp Green, Limepeel.

It’s hard to see in the photo, but the additional pencil detail creates more depth in the finished image.

Top Tip: The flicking motion needs a light touch with your pen. Start from the edge and flick into the centre of your image, and it’s now my go-to technique.

I wanted the flowers to be the star of the show, so I chose a simple black and white polka dot paper that I cut into a strip and attached to the left side of the card. I created some stacked die cuts to add to the back of the flowers to create dimension by cutting out two more flower die cuts with scrap card. Next, I added a sentiment to finish. The sentiment is from the Essential Sentiment Strips Die Set.

Card Two: Use a Stencil to Help With Colouring

For my second card, I used a stencil to help with the colouring process. I’ve never done this technique before, but I was really pleased with the results.

I have created a video to show the process, but if you prefer to read about it, here is how I made it:

I started by stamping the Pristine Flowers using Memento Black Ink. Using Pale Mauve and Amethyst from the Altenew Sugar Plums Crisp Dye Ink set and the Pristine Flower stencil, I stencilled the flower. This creates a base on which to add colour. It’s great if you want to save time, are new to colouring, or want to practice developing your colouring. It’s very therapeutic and gives you a great guide on where to add colour.

I used the following Prismacolour pencils to colour the flowers and leaves:

• Black Cherry, Black Grape and Greyed Lavender for the flowers.

• Dark Umber for the flower centres.

• Olive Green, Apple Green and Chartreuse for the leaves.

Once I’d finished colouring, I die cut the flowers (VERY carefully - you don’t want to mess up when you’ve spent ages colouring!) I die-cut another two flowers in scrap white cardstock so that I could stack them underneath the flower for dimension.

Again, I thought a background might be too busy, and take away from the flower, so I opted for the Altenew Burlap Texture die, which I cut out in purple cardstock. I then cut the piece into two and offset it to the left and right of the card to create a base for the flower to sit on.

Using the Hello and Hugs die set. I die cut the hugs shadow die in purple cardstock and the top sentiment in gold glitter cardstock. I stacked them together and added them to the flower. I finished the card off by adding three Altenew Antique Gold Sequins.

Top Tip: When you use ‘statement’ flowers, use a simple design so the flowers can be the star of the show.

Card Three - Woodless Watercolour and No Line Watercolouring

For my third card, I wanted to play with no-line water colouring using the Altenew Woodless Watercolour pencils. I can't decide if I like this card or not. Let me know what you think in. the comments below. I nearly didn't blog it, but, hey, I did the work, so why not?!

I haven’t used these pencils much, so I’m still a newbie. I love how you can wet your paintbrush and take colour from the pencil tip. It’s great for adding splats :)

Anyways, for this card, I stamped the flowers using Altenew Vanilla Cream ink on watercolour cardstock. This is a great colour that almost disappears as you colour over it. I then used the following Woodless Watercolours and Prismacolour pencils to colour the flowers:

• Moss, Shadow Creek and Limeade for the leaves.

• Deep Iris, Rubellite, Lavender Fields and Desert Night for the two flowers.

• Kelp, Kelly Green Prisma, Parma Violet, Imperial Violet, Process Red and Dark Brown Prismacolours.

Once the image was coloured, I created the watercolour-dripped background - Erum’s ‘signature’ technique. I used Midnight Violet ink mixed with water and a brush to create the dripping effect. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, as I’ve struggled to get this right many times before now.

Next, I stamped the sentiment from the Altenew Simple Roses stamp set in Midnight Violet ink onto the dripping background. As with my other two cards, I layered up double white cardstock flower dies, which I put behind the water-coloured flowers to create dimension. I attached this layered piece to the front panel to finish.

Finally, I coloured some Altenew White Satin Sequins using the Lavender Fields Artist Marker.

Top Tip: Bring your neutral-coloured sequins to life by using Artist Markers to colour them in different colours. I love doing this. It means you only need white sequins, and you can create any colour you need for your cards.

That’s it from me today. I have to do another four assignments next, so I’ll be back with some more cards soon.

Which card do you like the most? Share in the comments below.

Supplies Used:

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