Let It Shine Course AECP

Hello, crafty friends! Today, I am sharing two cards with you after completing the Let It Shine Course from Altenew's Education Certification Program. I learned so much in this course. I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know with regard to adding sparkle to my cards until I took this course with Carissa Wiley. She had a happy and uplifting spirit that made the class a lot of fun! Carissa shared some incredible tips and techniques, and I will be sharing what I have learned and how I incorporate them into my cards below.

Card #1

I used the Altenew Marbled Bloom Stamp Set. This set contains layering stamps, coordinating dies, and stencils. I colored my images with the layering stamps. I was inspired by the sight of my blossoms in my garden and until now, all I see are yellow flowers peeking out.

I immediately jumped right into the lesson and created my own “shine” on a panel of Neenah Solar White #110. I created two horizontal lines down the left side of the panel and one vertical line on the bottom of the panel using my Versamark pen and ruler. Wow! Love this technique! 

I stamped my images with Versafine Onyx Black Ink and colored them with the matching layered stamps using Altenew Fresh Dye Inks Buttercream, Warm Sunshine, Caramel Toffee, Paper Bag, Jade, Eucalyptus, and Forest Fern.

I then adhered the floral images to the panel with foam strips, and the rest directly with glue. Next, I stamped my sentiment using the Simon Says Stamp All About You set. I used Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I adhered the sentiment to the panel with foam dots. I attached a foam sheet to the back of my panel with adhesive tape and then adhered it to my card base with glue.

I often struggle with deciding where to add embellishments to my card front, so I was happy that Carissa covered this in her lesson. This allowed me to easily add some black sequins to complete my card.

Card #2

I used the Altenew Ambridge Rose Set for my second card. This set contains a large rose image that I felt would be perfect for practicing my watercoloring technique. Once again, Carissa provided valuable techniques that I shall elaborate upon in the specifics of my card.

The 10th Anniversary of Altenew inspired this card. This is my means of expressing gratitude and applauding their accomplishments.

To start my card, I prepared a panel with an anti-static powder. I proceeded by inking the images with Versamark ink and heat embossing them with black embossing powder to preserve the color within the lines. I was surprised to learn that you could use a shimmer pen to watercolor. This technique actually removed a step in creating my card, as I would have watercolored first and then applied some shimmer. This was pretty cool! To apply some color to my images, I used my Wink of Stella Glitter Brush and Altenew Fresh Dye Inks: Blush, Rouge, Crimson, Eucalyptus, and Forest Fern. 

After allowing my image to dry, I then used the coordinating dies to cut them out. I ran a panel of Neenah Solar White 80# through my Big Shot Plus machine using Lil' Inker Wood Grain Cover Up (retired) and again using You've Been Framed Die by The Rabbit Hole Designs.  I adhered my floral image to foam strips and placed the rest of the images directly on the panel with glue. 

After that, I prepped some black cardstock with an anti-static embossing tool and stamped the sentiment from My Favorite Things Bitty Hugs and Kisses (retired) with Versamark Ink. I then heat embossed it with white embossing powder. To complete the card, I added clear sequins. I have attached a photo below to provide a close-up view of the shimmer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and feel that I gained a significant amount of enjoyable techniques from it. 

I appreciate you taking the time to visit. Have a wonderful day! 

CHALLENGES:

Word Art Wednesday - #641-642

Digichoosday - WK13

As You Like It - Florals - work for every occasion

Polkadoodles - WK13

Penny's Paper - #568 AG

Paper Funday - #64 AG

Creative Inspiration - #13 AG

Die Cut Diva's - Spring flowers

Beautiful Blossoms - #15

Pammie's Inky Pinkies - #2413

Colorful Options - Pastels

Crafts Galore - #122 AG

The Crafting Challenge - AG