Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) – Level 1 Final Project (Part 2): HIS Cards

I’ve finally competed the level 1 courses of the Altenew Educator Certification Program and have now moved onto the Final Challenge of Level 1. This by no means is a simple challenge but it was very useful as it helped to push me a bit more with my card making. I’ve made sets of cards before but never with such specific requirements!

My Masculine Set (details below) :

Requirements:

• Select ANY 3 components from the classes in Level 1 (e.g., layering 1/2, Let it shine, stencil techniques)
• Explain the 3 components that you’ve chosen for the project
• Create a His and Her Card Set birthday/graduation/encouragement cards (your choice) as a gift sets. This makes TWO sets one Masculine and one Feminine. Each card (with various sentiments) can vary a little bit, but it should have a similar and cohesive theme as the rest of the set.
• Each card set should consist of 4-6 cards
• Also, use one recycle element on a set or its packaging.
• The minimum card number is six (up to 12) per set. You will also design how you package the sets as a gift. Be creative!
• Challenge blog post: Detailed step-by-step photo tutorial and/or YouTube video
• Minimum of 10 photos (close-up and process)
• So.. Not simple! This is going to be rather long post as I will be showing a total of 12 cards. So I’ve opted to split it into two posts (slightly easier to read I think) – 1 for the ‘Her’ Cards (this post) and 1 for the ‘His’ cards (posted here). I hope I can pass along what I’ve learned from Altenew’s Educator Certification Program Level 1.

There are so many great classes and so may amazing techniques. For this challenge, I opted to use:

– Easy Die Cutting Techniques

– This class covers all of the basic die cutting techniques, like Stamps and Coordinating dies, to more elaborate techniques, like Inlaid die cutting. I’ll be using Inlaid Die Cutting, Embossing with Dies, Negative Die Cutting and Stamps and Matching Dies throughout both my sets.

– Clean and Simple Boutique Cards

– I LOVE Clean and Simple cards. Do I exclusively create CAS (Clean and Simple) cards? Nope! This class is one of my favourites as it really shows you how to add some amazing details to your cards to help them pop while keeping a very clean look. I’ll be using Simple Styling, Stamped Backgrounds, Metallic Details, Letterpress and Luxury Papers throughout my sets as well to help my cards stand out.

– Let It shine:

– This class is all about adding details that can really help your cards stand out, from embellishments and heat embossing to foiling and specialty cardstock. I usually like adding at least one element to my cards to add a pop, be it Nuvo Drops, SEQUINS, Shimmer Pen Accents or Glitter and Metallic papers. This class was right up my alley and also showed me that something I use every day adds pizzazz – Heat Embossing. Throughout my sets, I’ll be using embellishments, heat embossing, Metallic Paper and Shimmer pens to help add a bit of pop to my cards.

I’ll be incorporating one element from each of those classes on every single card. I’ve mentioned the supplies used for each card in the descriptions and also at the end of the post. I hope you enjoy!

Since this is such a long post, I’ve split the Feminine “HER” card sets and the Masculine “HIS” card sets into separate posts. The HER card set can be found here.

CARD #1 Hello Card:

I started with Altenew’s Weekend Doodles stamp set. They have this really cute little leaf stamp which I thought would be perfect to create a background. I didn’t want it to be symmetrical, but instead give great coverage over the card. Since the image is so small it doesn’t feel overwhelming across the panel. I used Altenew Parrot ink for the leaves. 

Now, Onto the sentiment / die cut element. I chose Altenew’s mega Hello die and placed it over the background for placement. I went ahead and die cut out this very lovely sentiment die. I’ll be using the leftover panel with the cutout and leave the die cut for another card later. I made sure that I kept the little pieces inside the cut out to fill in the word clearly.

I cut a piece of Black Shimmer cardstock to measure approximately 5.25×4 inches to add an element of shine as per the Let It Shine class. I adhered the leaf panel to it so that the die cut out was visible in shimmer black. I dry fitted the hello word due cut out so that I would know where to place the little bits that pop out when you die cut.

I added some liquid adhesive in those spots and clearly popped those pieces in, then removed the word to save for later.

To make a coordinating envelope, I took the same leaf stamp and stamped it a couple times in Parrot ink.

And Card #1 is complete!

Card #2: Sympathy Card:

I started with Altenew’s Charming Doodles stamp set and stamped of of the larger leaves on the panel to create a background as per the Clean and Simple class. 

I went ahead and die cut the leaves out. I’ll save the actual leaf cut outs for another card in this set.

I took a Sympathy sentiment from the Fresh Freesia stamp set and head embossed it on Simon Says Stamp’s Vellum using Brutus Monroe’s Gilded embossing powder. 

I also stamped a couple of the leaves on the coordinating envelope.

Then I cut down a panel of green shimmer paper to approximately 4 x 5.5 inches and adhered the die cut panel to it so allow the shimmer paper to show through the die cuts as well as on the sides of the card. This is called using the negative space of the die cut. I really like this technique as it adds a bit of pop to a relatively simple card. I also added some Nuvo drops to add an element of shine to the card without using gems. I adhered the vellum strip about 3/4 of the way down the panel.

Card #2 is complete!

Card#3: Thank you Card

I love the looks of wreaths, so I thought having a wreath card would be nice. I also love at the look of embossing with die cuts – I think this is my favourite technique from the Easy Die Cutting Techniques class. 

I started with Altenew’s Weekend Doodles stamp set and stamped the lined wreath on a scrap piece of white cardstock using Shadow Creek Dye Ink and die cut the image out. 

I then dry embossed Altenew’s Gradient Lines Cover die on a panel of white cardstock. When dry embossing a die, remember to use your embossing mat. It makes the difference between leaving and impression (dry embossing) vs. cutting the image out (die cutting). Then I pulled a small “Thank You” stamp from Altenew’s Thank You Builder stamp set. I needed to make sure it would fit nicely inside the wreath once everything was put together. I prepped the card based with my anti static powder bag and used Versafine Black Onyx ink and Brutus Monroe’s Icicle Embossing powder and head embossed the sentiment near the top of the card. 

I cut a panel of Black Shimmer paper to measure approximately 4×5.25 inches. I cut my main embossed panel down to approximately 3.75 x 5 inches and adhered it to the Black Shimmer paper to allow a small border of shimmer paper. 

I added foam squares unto the back of my die cut wreath and adhered it around the Thank You sentiment.

Then I adhered everything to a White A2 card base.

I took one of the small sprig stamps from the same set – it looks pretty similar to the pattern on the wreath so it was perfect – and stamped it on the coordinating envelope in the same colour. Voila! A clean and simple card, with interesting die cutting techniques and shimmer! I love the simplicity of this card. It’s definitely a card I’ll remake in the future. 

Card #4: Happy Birthday Card:

So I absolutely LOVE the way this card came out. I love the pattern, the Inlay…just love it.

I started off with Altenew’s Engagement Wishes stamp set and took one of the large leaves and stamped it in Sweet Leaf Die ink. I think that name is soooo appropriate here! 🙂

I repeated the pattern, being sure to turn the image with each stamp for some variation through the panel.

Using Altenew’s Maga Happy Die, I cut out the word Happy from the panel. By the way…Altenew’s Mega Dies are AWESOME (I’ve used several in this challenge).

I also cut out this die two more times in white cardstock so that I can stack the die cut word together for some added dimension. 

I adhered all the layers together and ended up with a panel with the word Happy cut out, and the word Happy. I was very careful to make sure that I didn’t lose any of the negative space in the word since I’d be putting it all back as is. 

I took a Birthday sentiment from Altenew’s Mega Greeting 2 stamp set and white heat embossed it using Brutus Monroe’s White Alabaster embossing poweder unto Black Shimmer Paper. 

I cut down the sentiment into a smaller rectangular strip and adhered is near the bottom on the right below the cut out. 

I cut down another piece of that black shimmer cardstock to approximately 4×5.25 inches and adhered the die cut panel to it. Right now, the happy is nicely cut out with a Shimmery black cardstock showing behind. I could’ve stopped right here as it’s quite lovely, but I wanted an Inlay…so I kept going. 

I added back the stacked die cut word into the open space. Have the die cut stacked adds dimension, so while it’s still quite subtle, in real life it’s very visually appealing.

I also stamped the same leaf using the same Ink colour on the envelope to coordinate.

And finally Card #4 is completed.

CARD #5: You Make My Heart Happy Card:

Alright – this card I hesitated with multiple times throughout the process. It wasn’t what i envisioned when I started, but I think it turned out pretty well in the end.

I started off with a leaf sprig from Altenew’s Weekend doodle stamp set in Volcano Lake dye ink. 

I repeated the pattern all over the panel until it was covered…here is where I hesitated as it didn’t turn out as crisp as I had hoped it would be. 

I then dry embossed the Gradient Dots Cover Die on Neenah Solar White Cardstock. It’s always important to remember to use your embossing mat when going for dry embossing (imprint on the cardstock) vs Die cutting (getting a clean deep cut through the cardstock)

I got a “You Make My Heart Happy” sentiment, but since I’ll be using the “Happy” from the Mega Happy Die set, I used a post it note to mask the “happy” part of the sentiment before inking it up with Versamark and stamping on Gina K Black Onyx cardstock. Alternatively, you could stamp the entire thing, pour the embossing powder then just brush off the portion you don’t need. As you can see below I didn’t get the cleanest mask off so I ended up just brushing off the little smidge that got powder on it. I then heat embossed using Brutus Monroe’s Sterling embossing powder.

I then trimmed down my sentiment strip to fit my panel, then cut a fish tail on the internal edge for a bit of pizzazz and adhered to the upper portion of the panel. I also trimmed down two strips of Gina K Black Onyx cardstock to match the sentiment strip. This would just show to small black strips on either side of the panel. I then added this panel onto a white A2 cardbase.

I used the Altenew’s Mega Happy Die to cut out one image from the patterned leaf cardstock I made, and one from Gina K Black Onyx cardstock. I stacked the patterned Happy on top of the Black Happy and shifted it slightly over to create a shadow. The shadow helps to break up the two busy patters – the leaf pattern and the dry embossing.

Of course I also stamped the sprig on a coordinating envelope…and I’m done!

CARD #5: Thinking Of You Card:

Wondered where I was going to use those die cuts from Card #2? Right here!

I started with Altenew’s Charming Doodles stamp set and stamped of of the larger leaves on the panel and die cut them out.

I cut a panel of Gina K Black Onyx cardstock down to approximately 3.75×5 inches and dry fitted the leaves in a circular almost wreath like pattern in order to fit the Thinking of you sentiment from Altenew’s Thinking of You stamp set

I heat embossed the sentiment using Versamark ink and Brutus Monroe’s White Alabaster embossing powder. I cut a panel of Simon Says Stamp’s Fog cardstock to approximately 5.25×4 inches and adhered the black panel on top. I then glued everything onto a white A2 card base.

I glued down the leaves around the embossed sentiment.

I added a little bit of “shine” by adding some Nuvo Stone Drops in Rusted Iron in between the leaves. I also stamped the same leaf on the coordinating envelope.

And FINALLY, my card sets are complete!

PACKAGING:

As a part of this challenge I was required to package these cards as a gift set. I opted to save my recycled item for the packaging. I found a really simple tutorial online by Catherine Pooler on how to make a simple card box. I opted to modify this tutorial to add a window in the cover of the box. I used old acetate packaging to make this window. The following will give a high level description of the process.

I started with two pieces of cardstock, one in grey for the base of the box, and one with Orange on one side and yellow on the other for the cover. I cut the panels down to 8 9/16 x 9 13/16 for the cover, and 8 1/2 x 9 3/4 for the base. 

I then scored both panels at two inches all the way around. Then snipped the corners to create the box folds. I used tape runner adhesive by Gina K to adhere the sides up and close the base of the box.

Learning from the box I made for the Feminine set, I cut out the panel for the acetate BEFORE taping the lid closed. I cut out a window that would be slightly smaller than my recycled acetate piece. I used liquid adhesive to adhere the acetate to the lid of the box. 

I wanted to add a bit of green to the inside of the box, and also to hide a bit of the acetate seams. So I cut strips of the green cardstock and adhered it to the inside around the window. Then I taped the lid of the box closed. 

I had some left over die cut pieces from my projects in this set, so I used them to decorate the outside of the box.

Having a “fancy” window in the lid of the box means that I can show off one of my cards, so I picked to display the “Thank You” Card. I also added some Nuvo drops in Bright Gold to the front of the box. I didn’t want anything to feminine, but wanted to add some shine to the packaging.

And Finally, the first part my Level 1 challenge is complete!

WANT TO SEE THE FEMININE CARD SET? HEAD OVER TO THE BLOG POST HERE.

PRODUCTS USED :

Altenew Stamps/Dies:

-Hello Card: Mega Hello Die, Weekend Doodles stamp set,

-Sympathy Card: Fresh Freesia, Charming Doodles,

– Thank You Card: Thank You Builder, Weekend Doodles stamp set, Gradient Stripes Cover Die,

– Happy Birthday Card: Mega Happy Die, Engagement Wishes stamp set, Mega Greetings 2,

 

– Thinking of You Card: Charming Doodles, Thinking of you,

– Heart Happy Card: Weekend Doodles stamp set, Mega Happy Die, Halftone Cover Die, Floral Shadow Stamp Set,

Inks Used:

– Altenew Crisp Dye Inks (Colours listed in descriptions)

– Tsukineko’s Versafine Onyx Black Ink

– Tsukineko’s Versamark Ink

– Altenew’s Permanent Black Ink

Other Supplies:

-Brutus Monroe’s White Alabaster,Gilded, Sterling, Icicle Embossing powder

-Nuvo Drops – Bright Gold, Pale Gold-Simon Says Stamp Vellum-DCWV Metallics Paper Pad-DCWV Shimmer Paper Pad

-Studio Katia’s Sparkling Crystals

– Neenah Solar White cardstock

– Gina K Designs Cardstock (Black Onyx)

– Simon Says Stamp’s Cardstock (Fog)

– Ranger’s Glossy Accents

– Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue

– Ranger’s Multi Media Matte

– Craft Foam

Tools:

– Krystal Katana Jewel Picker

– My Sweet Petunia’s MISTI Stamping Tool

– Tim Holtz Mini Comfort Trimmer

– Simon Says Stamp’s Acrylic Blocks- Simon Says Stamp’s Grid Transparency

 

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