Masking Unleashed (AECP Level 2)

Hi there!

Well, I've been getting very inky and creative with my Altenew Educator Certification Programme this past week. I fell in love with one technique, which I'll share with you in a moment. Today, I'm sharing three cards with you for my 3rd assignment for level 2.

Here are my three cards, with more info on how I created them below:

The cards were made for my assignment based on the Masking Unleashed Video by Svitlana Shayevich. This masterclass had six lessons, each with a different perspective on how to use masking. Some of which I'd done, and some new to me.

Spring Daisies - Paper Masking

For my first card, I wanted to create a masked background where I used loose watercolouring. I love the artsy look of it, so wanted to have a go.

I started off by creating a rough design of the placement of my daisies. Next, I folded a sheet of A4 paper into four and stamped on the two different daisy outlines. I then fussy cut the images. Tip: By doing this folded paper method, you can create four masks in one go.

Once I'd masked and stamped the daisies in three different places, I used the masks again to stamp the leaves.

The next stage took forever because I just couldn't decide on the colours I wanted to use. Using a couple of mis-stamped pieces, I played around with different versions and decided that I wanted to keep the card quite neutral instead of the bright colours I'd been testing. I'm sure you've noticed I always opt for bright colours, so this was a refreshing change for me. I do still like the lime flower with the orange background though. Maybe a card for another day.

I coloured the panel using my Altenew Watercolor Brush Markers - Tropical Fiesta Set. I painted the daisies with Lava Rock, the leaves with a blend of Lime and Fresh Lemon, and Paper Bag and Lemon for the flower centres.

I stamped and die cut the sentiment on white cardstock and Altenew Obsidian Black Pigment Ink using the Sentiment Strips 2 stamp set. I layered the white strip onto a piece of charcoal cardstock using the matching dies, Featured Sentiment Die Set. I then layered the sentiment up on a few strips of scrap cardstock for dimension. I'm a bit late to the game with this stamp set. Why have I not bought these sentiment sets before now? They're FABULOUS!

To finish, I used the lovely Satin White sequins from Altenew from the Make a Statement Sequin Bundle and popped the panel onto a white card base.

Tea With Friends - Masking Fluid

By the time I'd finished this card, I looked like a smurf! My hands were covered in blue! I like clean hands, so I wasn't impressed lol.

I knew I wanted to use my Altenew Tea Time stamp set and had the idea that I wanted to make a card that was like the blue and white china you sometimes get. However, I wanted the colours in reverse.

I stamped the background in Altenew Sapphire ink from the Glacier Caves collection and then used masking fluid to fill in all images I'd randomly stamped over the background. If you've not used masking fluid before, it's another way to mask your images. You use it like paint and simply paint the fluid onto your image with a paintbrush and let it dry.

Tip: As Svitlana says in the lesson, follow the manufacturer's instructions for how to use your fluid as they don't all come equal. You need to take care of your paintbrush when using the fluid.

Once I was happy with the masking, I used one of my gorgeous Altenew Ink Blending Brushes with some Persian Blue ink to cover the panel. I am starting to collect these brushes. They are soooo good. I then went in with the Sapphire ink to darken the edges.

Next, I used an adhesive eraser to remove the masking fluid. The 'reveal' is always exciting with masks!

Tip: If you have areas that haven't quite taken, use a fine liner pen and or a tiny bit of ink from your ink pad with a paintbrush to fill in the gaps. I used both to tidy up this card.

The panel looked a bit plain, so I went back in with some Sapphire ink mixed with a little water to create some paint splats, and then I also added some more paint splats using white gouache.

This completed card was attempt card number two, as my first card had a lot of gaps around the edges when I removed the masking fluid.

Tip: Practice with a scrap piece of card first to learn how your masking fluid behaves.

To finish this card, I stamped the sentiments 'The Best Time Is' and 'Time spent with friends' in Sapphire ink on white cardstock. The actual wording of the stamp in the set reads 'Is The Best Time', so I did some stamp surgery and cut off the word 'Is' and put it at the beginning to create a bespoke sentiment. To complete the label, I then die-cut the white panel using the Altenew Rounded Rectangle Die Set.

Tip: If a sentiment isn't quite what you need, adapt it either by masking part of the wording or doing some stamp surgery as I did.

Before adhering the sentiment to the card base, I added some white cotton for a bit of interest, and then I used pop dots to attach the label. The last step was to add the completed panel to the card base. I used a larger card with a nice big white border to offset the blue. The background really is a stunning colour in real life. I love it.

It's Okay to Make Mistakes - Masking with Freezer Paper

So the title, It's Okay to Make Mistakes, sums up the outcome of the card. It didn't turn out as planned. However, I managed to save it! In this lesson, Svitlana shares how you can use freezer paper for masking. The process is as follows:

Create a stamped design on scrap paper. I decided to use the new Altenew Golden Days stamp set. I used the flower twice, once in the upright position and again facing downwards. I also stamped one of the leaf clusters twice and one leaf once. See the image below for the finished plan.

Once you've got the design, you die-cut each element out of freezer paper so that you end up with an outline of the overall design. You'll see I accidentally cut through the paper with one of the dies, but no matter. Sellotape to the rescue! Let's just say this card was definitely a challenge, haha.

You then carefully iron the freezer paper onto a watercolour card base. Funny true story: I couldn't work out why I could smell onions as I was ironing on the paper, then I realised that the smell was coming from the wooden chopping board that I must have used previously for cutting onions. It was so random smelling onions while making a card! Anyway, I digress. More on the card ...

Adhere your panel down, and then create a galaxy background with watercolour paints. I used purple, red, yellow, turquoise and blue, let it dry, and then repeated that process making the colours stronger. Once it was dry, I went back over it with a loose layer of black, let that dry and then added more concentrated black across the image.

Once I was happy with the watercolouring and the panel had completely dried, I added some 'stars' to create the galaxy look using some white gouache, first with a bit of water to create looser splats and then with less water to create more vibrant splats. I set the panel aside to dry one last time.

Next, using my heat gun, I removed the freezer paper, taking care not to remove it too quickly and damage the watercolour cardstock underneath. However, despite very careful ironing initially, I still had some watercolour seepage. See below :(

At this stage, I was not prepared to give up and wondered how I could rectify the card. I decided to get creative with masking and use my original 'draft design' as a mask. Using two different inks from the Altenew Sugar Plum set, I ink blended the background around the mask and was SO pleased as it created a really cool effect. It looks like I've used embossing powder to create the background, but it seems to be that the freezer paper has created a mottled effect on the watercolour cardstock.

Tip: If your card and or technique hasn't worked out how you planned, don't give up on it. Get creative. You never know what result you might get!

Because the card was all about rectifying mistakes, I laughed to myself when I saw the sentiment in the Golden Days set, 'It's okay to make mistakes'. You couldn't have had a more perfect sentiment for this card! To finish the card, I heat embossed the sentiment in white onto a charcoal piece of card stock. I wanted a pop of white, so decided to die cut a white sentiment strip, which I then cut in two. I then added each half to the left and right-hand sides of the sentiment strip for some added interest.

I finished everything up with some Altenew Antique Gold sequins before adding the finished panel to a white card base.

I hope you're managing to get some crafty time in this week and remember, whether it's in cardmaking or life in general - Mistakes are okay!

Until next time!

Supplies Used:

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