Tag: Faux Watercolor

Uncategorized

Altenew Academy Level 3 Workshop

Karen Brown4 Comments

 

Hello!  I am so excited to share the final project for my Level 3 Altenew Academy Educator Certification Program.  At left I am talking about my samples for the ink-blending card we created.  

This has been such a fun journey for me! I started the certification program in May and since then I have taken 25 classes, written 25 blog posts about what I learned and completed a final project for Level 1 and Level 2.  The class instructors taught me new techniques and improved the skills I had.  I\’ve worked hard, learned a lot and enjoyed every moment!

I invited four good friends over for a morning of card making and it became an \”international event\” with the on-line attendance of  Virginia Lu of Canada and Erum Tasneem of Pakistan.  They have been so encouraging and were with me every step of the way.  

I started by creating two beginner level card projects to teach to my participants:  faux watercolor stamping and ink blending with stencils.  I worked on my lesson plan, came up with a timeline and created sample cards which I submitted to Virginia in advance.  The day before, I set up the workspace for my class.

Each work station had a silicone mat, microfiber cloth, blending brush, stamps, stencils, washi tape, A2 card panels, two die cut sentiments, acrylic blocks, ink, liquid glue, A2 card bases, colored envelops, tags and ribbon.  

We talked about analogous, monochromatic and neutral colors and demonstrated how to use the color wheel.  Next we selected our ink colors, inked our stamps and then spritzed with water for a faux watercolor look.   We set our faux watercolors aside to dry and practiced ink blending on a panel.  Several of my friends liked their practice panel so much that they made a third card even though the class plan was for two.  I had plenty of extra card bases and sentiments so our impromptu cards came together just fine. For our planned second card we did ink blending over a stencil.  We then trimmed and assembled our cards and we made such a happy mess!
This is what the table looked like when we were done.  Liz created the three cards above.  The one on the right is faux watercolor, the middle is the practice ink blending panel and the left was the planned ink-blending over a stencil card.  Below is Liz with her three cards.

 Nancy and her cards are below.  Nancy created a bonus card also.



Rhonda created three cards as well.
Kathy\’s cards turned out great too!

Of course we needed a group photo as well.

I think my friends had a great time….as Nancy said \”Making cards is relaxing, fun and therapeutic\”.  Exactly!
A big thank you to Virginia, Erum, Kathy, Rhonda, Nancy and Liz. What a fun day!
Essential Altenew Supplies:
Block Print Stamp Set (for faux watercoloring)
Mini Ink Cubes
Mega Bloom Stencil
Sketched Lines Stencil

Flowing Drops Stencil

Bubble Wrap Stencil
Leaves and Berries Stencil
Thanks Die
Hello Die

Sunlit Flower A2 Card Base and Envelop Set
Thanks for stopping by!  It was most enjoyable and I am happy to share the experience with you.
Karen








Uncategorized

Quick and Simple Cards

Karen Brown5 Comments
Hello, hello and welcome!  I just completed Laurie Willison\’s Altenew Academy Class called Quick and Simple Cards and I wanted to share two of my creations.  I love making backgrounds and both of these cards focus on the backgrounds.   This first card was my homework assignment for Faux Watercoloring.  

I recently purchased  Altenew\’s Block Print stamp set and thought it would be fun to \”faux watercolor\”.  The stamp set has four vingettes and I loved this one with diagonal and vertical lines.  I inked up the stamp with Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks and then spritzed with water. 

I then pressed the stamp onto Bristol cardstock and let it sit for a few seconds.  I also did a panel on watercolor paper, but the detail was lost so on this card, I used the Bristol panel.  I really love this vibrant color combination for fall.  

I wanted the focus on the background so I kept the other elements black and white.  I stamped the darling leaves cluster from The Retro Plantines stamp and die set and then die cut.  I added a simple sentiment but added a strip of Painted Grid Washi tape to the top for a little added interest.

The second card features a three tone stenciled background.  I masked off a 3/4\” border and then taped the Feathered Leaves Stencil to the panel. Using three different analogous ink colors (Wild Honey, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed), I ink blended each leaf a different color.  I thought these colors made such a pretty seasonal background.  I then heat embossed The Best Mom spray using chocolate brown embossing powder. I really like the effect on the card.  

I attached the panel to an A2 card and added a simple birthday sentiment on brown cardstock along with a couple of buttercream jewels. 

Two quick, simple and easy to make cards!  

I am also playing along with:
Card 1:  Try It On Tuesday Autumn Colors
Card 2: Sunday Stamps Earthy Tones Color Challenge

Thank you for stopping by!
Karen



Uncategorized

Altenew Academy – Let It Shine

Karen Brown3 Comments

I finished Altenew Academy\’s Let It Shine Class and wanted to share this card on my blog.  As the name suggests, our teacher Clarissa Wiley, taught us to embellish our cards with a bit of shine. I am happy with the way this card turned out….but boy did I put in a lot of work.  I had a different layout created in my mind, but when I laid out the design there was  too much metallic gold.  I kept diecutting flags, banners and sentiments strips. Originally there was a lot more metallic gold cardstock but I decided for me, less is more…a little gold goes a long way!    I will save the other elements I created for future cards and it will be nice to have them all ready to go.

Altenew Academy Let It Shine card featuring gold embossing and gold metallic card stock accent.
My inspiration was to use metallic cardstock (lesson #5), gold embossing (lesson #2) and faux watercoloring over ink blending that I learned in Altenew Academy\’s Easy Ink Blending Class.  Another example of this fun technique is here.
My Process:
I started by heat embossing this beautiful daisy in gold and then I lightly inkblended a pale yellow over the bloom.  Next I gently sprayed the flower with water and then used a #8 brush and distress inks to paint on some darker yellow highlights using  wet on wet watercoloring.  I dried with a heat gun and then added random orange highlights using wet on dry watercoloring.  I repeated the same technique with the leaves.  I assembled the card using liquid glue and foam adhessive to raise up the flower bloom.
Supplies:
Altenew Smile More stamps and dies
Distress Inks
Watercolor Paper
Picket Fence Studios Life Changing Blending Brush
#8 Paint Brush
Gold Embossing Powder and Versafine Ink
Metallic Gold Cardstock
Scrap of green cardstock for sentiment
Liquid Glue
Foam Adhesive Tape
A2 cream colored card 

As I said above, I tried a lot of  layouts and decided in this instance, CAS was best for me.

I am also playing along at:  

The Sisterhood of Crafters Favorite Technique Challenge.  I recently learned how to faux watercolor and I am having so much fun with this new to me technique!

Global Design Project – Floral Challenge I am happy to add my flower to the GDP challenge.  

I am so pleased that you stopped by!
Karen
Uncategorized

Altenew Academy – Easy Ink Blending Techniques

Karen Brown1 Comment
Hello and welcome.  I am excited about this new technique I learned at Altenew Academy!  I love ink blending but had never done \”faux watercoloring\” like this.   This is my homework assignment for lesson #5 and I was very inspired by our instructor, Amy Lee, and the process she walked us through. 
 This card has two firsts for me….ink blending on watercolor paper and faux watercoloring over ink blending.  I personally had never considered ink blending on watercolor paper as it is rough, but it worked beautifully! 

 I started by heat embossing 8 images from Altenew\’s Smile More stamp set.     I then inkblended yellow, pink, yellow green and blue over the embossing.  Next,  I dabbed 6 colors of dye ink on my glass media mat.  When my palette was ready, I very lightly spritzed the lower inked panel with water.   With a largish brush, I added contrast using very loose watercoloring (wet on wet). I dried the panel with my heat gun and then added more random color variation using the wet on dry technique.  In total, I used 10 different colors of dye ink to complete my watercoloring. Last, I very lightly added some blue paint splatters.  The watercolor paper warped slightly so I flattened it inside a heavy book.

I finished the card by stamping a large sentiment, mounted on a card base using craft foam for dimension and then added five buttercream jewels.  I will definitely use this technique again in the future.  
Supplies:
Altenew Smile More Stamp Set
Watercolor Paper
White Embossing Powder and Heat Gun
Picket Fence Studio Life Changing Brushes
Black Velvet Brushes (#8 for watercoloring and #2 for paint splatters)
Mini Spray Bottle

I made lots of beautiful ink blended backgrounds during this course, but
 this was my favorite card.

I am playing along at As You Like It \”Favorite Embellishment\” Challenge  I used these buttercream jewels which are my most used embellishment. The color seems to go with everything I create.

UPDATE:  I was so pleased to see my card selected as \”Top 3\” at the As You Like It Challenge.


Thanks for stopping by!
Karen