Altenew Educators Certification Program Level 1 Challenge - Card Set for Women

This post will detail the cards I made for the Women’s Card portion of the Level 1 Challenge.  I decided to use the same courses that I used for the Men’s cards.  These are the Irresistible Inking Techniques, Celebration: Stencil Techniques, and Let It Shine.  I have used one or more of these three techniques for each of my 5 cards.  I selected the Fragrant Peony Layering Die Set to use on each of my cards as the main focal point.  In addition, one of the criteria was to use recycled materials and I chose to use a portion of a cardboard box, tissue wrapping paper that I had saved, packing paper remnants from making my men’s set, and old book pages.

Isn’t it strange that when I was gathering the materials, dies, etc. for this challenge, I thought that the cards for women would be so much easier than the cards for men?  This was in part because I make many more cards suitable to send to women than I do for men.  As a result, I figured that, hands down, I would not have issues coming up with ideas for the women’s card set.  But the reality has been that I found the men’s set much easier to make.  I thought that was interesting!

Pro Tip: don’t decide you can’t do something just because it is not in your normal bag of tricks.  The results could be surprising!

Card 1: using the larger Peony dies and the leaves that are included in the set, I layered two sets of the flower and leaves cut out of old book pages and then I ink blended them using Fresh Dye Ink colors.  I also ran the blending brush around the edges of the flower petals for more dimension.  For the center of the flower, I inked with Fresh Dye Ink and then added a layer of Glitter Modge Podge for a little bling.  The leaves were inked also using Fresh Dye Inks.  I assembled the flower and then set it and the leaves aside to dry

The base of this card is made from a thicker piece of craft card stock.  Then I took two book pages, glued them together, and dry brushed with heavy gesso.  While the gesso dried, I cut three pieces of white card stock using the Moroccan Lattice Cover Die and glued them together to create a stencil.  I laid this over the dried book page and stenciled using the Honeydew Glow Fresh Dye Ink Pad to give a subtle dimension to the background.  I sprayed with Shimmer Spray and set the background aside while I worked on the sentiment. 

Using a scrap of the craft card stock, I selected a stamp from the Heartfelt Sentiment Stamp Set, stamped with black ink and then restamped using embossing ink.  Then I heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  

Pro Tip: if you want to heat emboss in color, but don’t have the color you want in embossing powder, you can stamp with the colored ink of your choice, restamp with embossing ink, and then heat emboss using clear embossing powder.  This technique works best if you use your Altenew Stamping Wheel or other variety of stamping platform.

When I layered the background panel on top of the card base, it didn’t have quite the effect that I wanted, so I tore the four sides randomly, and inked with black ink.  I used several pieces of scrap card stock, glued them together, and then glued to the back of the background to raise it up off the card base.  I used scrap card stock because the book page needed more support than I felt foam tape would give.  Once this panel was in place on the card base, I decided on placement of the flower, leaves, and sentiment.  I used foam tape behind the flower, and tucked the leaves behind the flower, and then glued the sentiment in place.

Card 2: this card uses two types of recycled materials - cardboard and book pages.  I really enjoyed making this card because I used some mixed media techniques as well as the wonderful techniques I’ve been learning from my Altenew courses and felt like I was managing to blend two of my creative loves into one project.  

The cardboard was used for the base of my card.  I peeled off the top layer of most of the cardboard to reveal the corrugated ridges underneath - there is great hidden texture and dimension under that smooth top layer!  Then I dry brushed the panel with heavy gesso to lighten the color of the cardboard and set it aside to dry while I worked on the floral elements and sentiment.

I used the Fragrant Peony Layering Die Set to once again cut two layers of blooms and leaves - but this time I used both sizes of the flowers.  I layered like to like for each petal set and leaf set for stability, and then used my Fresh Dye Ink Pads to color blend the blooms and leaves.  I remembered the stenciling technique that Jennifer McGuire used in her class during the Secret Garden Weekend, and decided to dress my flowers up a little for this card, using one of the stencils from the Fresh Flower Bed Layering Stencil to add a surprise pop of color to the flower petals.  I also used the Glitter Modge Podge to enhance the centers of the flowers.  

Pro Tip: it is probably best not to use the Altenew Ultra Sticky Grid Mat when color blending old book pages.  Sometimes the petals can stick too well and leave parts of the page behind on the mat, weakening your die cut results.

Next, I die cut the sentiment and shadow using white card stock for the sentiment and black for the shadow.  Then I rubbed gold Luster Wax Paste onto the sentiment, and distressed that with touches of black ink to dull down the gold just a bit.  I cut the cardboard panel down to 5.5 x 4.25 and layered all of the elements and glued in place.  

And then things got just a little crazy.  I decided NOT to glue the panel onto a card base.  Instead, I cut a long, fairly thin strip (about one and a half to two inches wide), and folded it to make a very lopsided Z shape, and glued it onto the back of the card to use like an easel.  This way, the recipient can place the card upright in her desk at work or on a shelf at home if she chooses.

Pro Tip: cards don’t always have to be the standard card form.  It is ok to try something new to you.  Be creative!  It’s fun!

Card 3: for this card, I decided to experiment again with canvas material.  I tore a larger than card-sized piece of canvas so that I could rag up the edges, and ran it through the Masonry Embossing folder.  Then I cut a piece of two-sided adhesive paper and affixed to the back of the canvas.  Then I placed my canvas onto my card base, making sure that the fabric was centered on the card base, so that all the fringe was hanging off the sides of the card.  Now the Masonry Embossing Folder gave the canvas some great dimension, but it did not stand out quite as much as I wanted.  So I squished Black Soot Distress Oxide Ink onto my mat, spritzed with water, and used a tiny paint brush to add some shadows to the bricks.

While the painted ink was drying, I cut two of the larger Fragrant Peony Flowers, one from white card stock and two from book pages and did the same for the leaves - one from white card stock and two from book pages.  I layered each of the book page die cuts together for strength before I inked and created my flowers.  Once I had inked all of the die cuts, I assembled the flowers and leaves onto the card panel, popping up the flowers with foam tape.  I stamped a simple sentiment from the Heartfelt Sentiments Stamp Set onto a scrap of light brown card stock and placed that below the floral arrangement.

Pro Tip: ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be sure to READ the pages you plan to create your die cuts from!  I cannot emphasize this enough!  This probably should have been the first Pro Tip I gave for this set of cards.  But I thought it would be more fun to wait and see if I got any gasps!  LOL!  Carefully read your pages, making sure to be on the lookout for anything vulgar or offensive.  I once spent hours and hours hand cutting and rolling petals from an old book, adding color, and gluing together what I thought was a most beautiful flower.  I posted it to Instagram, and a very dear friend quickly messaged me to let me know there was a VERY visible curse word front and center of one of the petals!  Check and re-check!

Card 4: this card was inspired by a paper weaving technique I watched on YouTube by Wendy Lee - CreativeleeYours.  To create this card, I cut a card panel down to 5.25 x 4 inches.  Then I selected a pale pink sheet of wrapping tissue and crumpled it up to texturize it.  I spread glue onto the card panel and then carefully patted down the tissue paper into the glue.  I folded the edges over and then glued them down to the back of the panel.  This was my second attempt - for the first one, I used two-sided adhesive, but it changed the color of the tissue slightly, making it dull, so I ditched that piece and made another.

Pro Tip: don’t be afraid to redo elements of your cards if you don’t like your initial results.  Remember - it’s JUST paper!

Next I cut 12 weaving strips from white card stock.  I tried to cut them all a quarter of an inch wide - if you measure them, I may not be exact.  But that’s ok - it’s the effect that I was after.  Each strip is two pieces glued together.  Then I played around with where I wanted the strips to be placed, finally settling on a corner to corner arrangement.  I glued the ends of three strips to one corner, and then began weaving the other three from another corner.  After I got all six strips woven, I worked on creating space between the unglued pieces until I was happy with how they looked, and then glued all the edges down.  I then turned the panel over and trimmed off the excess strips.

Once again using the Fragrant Peony Layering Die Set, I cut a large flower from Altenew Glitter Card Stock.  Then I used ink to gently add color to the glitter stock, and made sure to darken the edges of the petals.  Then I layered that up and glued the flower to the strips using foam tape.  For the sentiment, I used a scrap piece of the glitter card stock to cut my sentiment.  Then I cut the shadow from vellum.  I inked the glitter card stock with two different inks to give the sentiment a sort of ombré effect and layered it onto the vellum.  To bring some snap to the sentiment, I used some textured yarn that was in my stash that almost exactly matched the blue of the flower and added silver metallic threads to give a little more bling to the sentiment.  The yarn and thread is held in place behind the sentiment with foam tape carefully added to the back of the vellum shadow.

Pro Tip: use all of the artsy things you have tucked away in your stash - cards don't have to be made just from paper and inks.

Card 5: for this card, I used another piece of pink tissue and distressed it by crumpling it and then spraying with lots of different sprays and painted with mica powders to make it multi-colored and yet still allow the pink tissue to peek through.  After the sprays dried, I set them with hair spray so that the micas would not rub off of the panel.  I glued that to a 5.25 x 4 inch card panel following the same steps as I did for Card 4, and pulled the excess tissue to the back and glued in place.  Then I distressed the edges of the panel with black ink.  I used the Fragrant Peony Layering Die Set again and cut two layers from book pages, and glued the pieces together.  For this flower, I decided to lightly ink only the edges of the petals and the center piece of the flower.  Then I painted all of the pieces of the flower and the leaves with Glitter Modge Podge and set them aside to dry.

When the floral elements were dry, I played with placement on the tissue panel.  But the flower and leaves just did not fill the panel as much as I wanted.  I thought that another book page flower or book page leaves would be too much, so I decided to cut some leafy springs from vellum using the Fresh Flowers Die Set from the Secret Garden Retreat.  I placed these behind the book page elements, and allowed them to spread across the card front.  The sentiment was stamped with the Teal Tempest ink onto a craft card stock scrap and fussy cut.  

I layered the panel onto a white card base, but it lacked punch.  So I decided to use a distressed piece of packing paper that I had left over from making the men’s card set.  The piece had some of the same coppery blends as in the pink tissue panel so I thought that would be a good match.  I dragged my Black Soot distress oxide ink around the edges of this and then glued it down to my card base and centered the tissue panel on top to complete the card.

Pro Tip: don’t be totally married to an idea.  Sometimes that idea can be enhanced by adding something you had not intended to use.

Creating the Packaging: For the packaging of this card set, I made another box from black card stock based on the video made by the Serene Stamper.  This gives a sense of cohesion between the two card sets that wasn’t really necessary but made me happy!  LOL

Next I glued two layers of book pages together, creating several sets to embellish the front and side panels and top of my box.  I dry brushed the pages with heavy gesso to knock back the text of the pages.  When this was dry, I used my Faber-Castelle Gelattos to swarp (that IS a word in the South - it means to slather) colors onto the gessoed pages.  Then I took a damp baby wipe and smoothed out and blended the Gelatto colors.

The next layer in the panels was created by cutting two pieces of card stock using the Curtain Leaves Cover Die.  I glued these pieces together to create a stencil.  Once I had my stencil made, I layered it over the book pages and used an old credit card to pull gold metallic acrylic ink down to create dimension and yet not completely cover the gesso and Gelatto work that I had done previously.

Once I had the box made and my decorative panels were made, it was time to cut down the panels and glue them to the box.  (Remember that Pro Tip I gave you from the men’s box - well, I forgot to follow that!)

I got the front, side, back, and top panels glued on, but didn’t want to just use full strips on the box lid edges.  So I tore down some of the book page panels into creative strips and used those to decorate the lid flaps.  

There were two book page flowers left over from my cards.  So I decided to place one in the upper corner of the box lid for some surprise decoration and this packaging told me that it was complete.

Pro Tip: sometimes a piece that you are working on will speak to you (figuratively, not literally).  Listen when that happens.  That little voice can lead you to some interesting and creative places if you will let it.

Thank you so much for going on this Altenew Challenge Journey with me!  I hope that you enjoyed learning about my creative journey and process - even better, I hope you have been inspired.  That would just be the icing on top of the cake!

Altenew Educator Certification Program Level 1 Challenge - Card Set for Men

 It is so exciting to have advanced to the Level 1 challenge portion of the Altenew Educator Certification Program!  After reviewing the courses, brainstorming ideas for the cards, and sorting through my supplies, I chose to focus on elements learned from one or more of three courses for both the men’s and women’s card sets - Irresistible Inking Techniques, Celebration: Stencil Techniques, and Let It Shine.  Using these as my focus, the next step was to narrow down my card-making supplies.  For the men’s cards, I chose to use the Gilded Marble Press Plate/Foil Plate as the basis for a set of 5 cards.  And then I began to play!

Many card makers draw out a sketch of the intended card or have a precise idea in mind.  But I happen to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants artist.  I love to play with techniques and supplies to see what results I can get, and that is the approach that I used for these cards.  Because I am also a fiber artist, my first idea was to see if I could get rainbow foil to adhere to a piece of torn, raveled canvas.  Once I realized that would actually work, the real fun of this project began and I discovered that creating cards for men was not nearly as difficult as I had thought!

Once I had the foiled canvas piece, I needed a background panel.  So I embossed a piece of white card stock using the Masonry Wall 3d Embossing Folder.  Then I used gold Luster Wax Paste to give it a dramatic flair.  To complete the look, I used the Burlap Texture Die on craft card stock, enhanced its color using various Tim Holtz Spritz sprays, and used the result to ground the canvas piece by layering it behind the canvas.  I distressed the edges of the card panel using an old pair of scalloping scissors and further distressed them by running a black ink pad along the edges.  For the final touch, I added a simple sentiment cut from black card stock that I distressed with gold Luster Wax Paste to finish off the card.

Pro Tip: do something unexpected in your creative endeavors.  Even if it doesn’t work out like you thought, you’ve stretched your mind and started looking at your supplies with a different eye.

Each of the remaining cards was created using the Gilded Marble Press Plate/Foil Plate on Better Press card stock, with the exception of the fourth card.

So…card 2: this card begins with a black panel that has been distressed with the scallop scissors.  I layered that with a cotton card panel that had been run through the Better Press using the Gilded Marble plate and black ink.  When that dried, I spritzed the panel with Glimmer spray and set aside to dry.  

I decided to create my own paper by using my Gelli Plate.  I pulled layers of metallic green, turquoise, and turquoise to create the pages that I used to cut leaves from the Fresh Flowers die set.  Sprigs of these leaves were layered on top of the pressed panel.  I topped off the card with a sentiment from the Essential Sentiment Strips Die set, glued the pressed panel to the distressed panel, and affixed this to the card base.

Pro Tip:  Don’t forget to just play with your supplies.  Have fun!  It isn’t perfection that we need to be striving for, but letting our creative voices shine.  There is something very freeing about letting loose and losing yourself in the creative process and you may just find that your soul becomes renewed.

Card 3: I pressed a cotton card panel using the Gilded Marble Press Plate inked with gold and silver inks and set that aside to dry.  One of the parts of this challenge stipulated using recycled materials.  Oh Lawdy!  My husband would probably say that I save EVERYTHING to be recycled into my projects!  But I quickly narrowed my choices to brown packing paper.  It is a lot of fun to crumple packing paper, spread it back out and distress with inks, crumple again, and then emboss using embossing ink and clear powders.  You never know exactly what your results will be.  This time it looked leathery and lusciously tactile.  I distressed it just a little more by using a coppery glitter spray and then ripping the paper.  I used a portion of this leather look to layer on top of my marbled panel and then gave it a pop of greenery by adding some of the Gelli Plate leaves.  Then I used black embossing powders to create my sentiment on a scrap of the Gelli Plate paper and fussy cut the sentiment.

Pro Tip: have fun experimenting with different supplies.  Cards do not have to be made just using the typical supplies of card stock and ink.  It is so much fun to take throw-away items and turn them into something that could be considered art!

Card 4: this card was a total experiment.  I decided to load up my Gelli Plate with turquoise paint.  Then I gently pressed the Gilded Marble Press Plate into the Gelli Plate to create an impression.

Pro Tip: when using a Gelli Plate and metal, be careful with sharp edges.  Place the stencil material on the plate very carefully and remove it very carefully.  Be mindful that the stencil material can slide easily.

After removing the press plate, I pulled the print and thought that the textures were interesting.  After the pull dried, I distressed the edges by tearing them, then rubbed Luster Wax Paste on the edges.  This panel was mounted onto a black card panel.  Then I set the card aside and worked on completing the rest of the challenge while I decided whether or not to include this turquoise piece in the collection.  I finally came back to this card to decide how I could get it to be more cohesive with the rest of the cards and finally chose to layer simple white leaf sprigs over the face of the panel to tone down the turquoise and yet still allow the textures to peek through.  A scrap of torn turquoise was then stamped with a sentiment and embossed with gold embossing powder, fussy cut, and added to a scrap of the green Gelli Plate paper.  But the gold embossing did not stand out like I thought it would, so I took a Calligraphy pen and covered the gold embossing, then outlined the two paper edges with a Stabilo pen to make them pop.  And finally, I gave the sentiment some lift by using foam tape to adhere it to the card.

Card 5: for this card, I used a cotton panel, the Gilded Marble Plate, and some gold, green, and brown inks.  Then I sprayed the panel with Glimmer Spray and set it aside to dry.  I cut sprigs of leaves from white card stock, and edged with Lettuce Green Fresh Die Ink.  I created a card panel from Craft card stock.  This panel was probably my favorite press of the collection.  But I decided to rip the panel for texture.  Gasp!  Now I didn’t like it!  So I ripped some more.  And then I decided to work on cards for the ladies before I totally destroyed my favorite panel!

Pro Tip: when a creative idea doesn’t seem to be working and yet you refuse to give up on it, set it aside and work on something else.  When you return to it, your subconscious may have come up with a workable solution to save your work.

After making a few of the cards for the Ladies Set, I came back to this panel, inked the edges, and glued it onto the card base.  Then I created the sentiment using a scrap of my leathery recycled paper as a base for stamping a sentiment in black and then restamping with embossing ink.  I then used clear embossing powder and heat embossed, then fussy cut.  I layered this sentiment strip onto black card stock and fussy cut again, then used foam tape to adhere it.  I then layered the green-tipped leaves behind the sentiment, but over the focal piece.  And then it was time for a nap!  LOL

My packaging was inspired by a greeting card box created by The Serene Stamper on YouTube.  I used her basic dimensions, plugged them into my Cricut Design Space, and cut the pieces for my box out of black card stock and assembled the box.  Since I had so many pressed panels left over from creating my cards, I decided to use them to decorate the outside of my box.  So I added dimension by running the panels through my Big Shot using a Tim Holtz 3d texture folder.  Next I sprayed the card panels with Shimmer Spray.  After they were dry, I cut them down to fit the front and sides of the box and the sides of the box lid.

Pro Tip: it is MUCH easier to adhere decorative panels BEFORE completely constructing your box.  Ask me how I know! 

The top of the box was decorated with a black panel that had been embossed with the same 3d folder and sprayed with shimmer spray.  I had cut an extra piece of the Burlap Texture die from craft stock that had been sprayed with a variety of Tim Holtz Spritz Sprays, but it didn’t quite stand out enough on my box top.  So I took a dried out baby wipe (does this count as using recycled materials?!?) and sponged on blue and turquoise acrylic paints to add more dimension.  That gave the box top some interest and texture that was a little different from the front and sides but still corresponded with the cards inside.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these makes as much as I enjoyed creating them!  If you made it to the end of this novel, you are my hero and I greatly appreciate your efforts!  Thanks so much for taking the time to read about my journey making the Men’s portion of the Altenew Level 1 Challenge!

Altenew Educators Certification Program Level 1 Challenge - Sneak Peek

 Today I am winding up my creations and preparing to write the narrative for my Level 1 Challenge journey.  In celebration of that, I offer this very messy sneak peek.  Most of my prep photos will be messy because that is how I work - I apologize in advance!

Altenew Level 1 Challenge Journey

 And then there are the days when you simply sit and spin your wheels.  No wind in the sails, no ideas floating in the ether, no muse sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear.  Just totally stymied…

My Altenew Level 1 Challenge Journey - Day 12??

 Well, OBVIOUSLY I am unable to properly count days!  My official notification was on September 3rd.  That makes today the 12th day of my challenge.  I THINK…Lol

Anyway, I am thinking about packaging today.  Cellophane.  A real live box.  Ribbon.  Wrapping paper.  Gift Bag.  Ziplock Baggie.  Brown paper poke.  Hmmm.  The choices seem to be endless.  Anybody wanna donate some cigar boxes to the cause?  LOL

Altenew Level 1 Challenge - Day 13

 OH MY GOSH!!!  Totally got wrapped up yesterday in composing my "How To" on making my cards for the Level 1 Challenge and absolutely forgot to add anything to the blog.  The proof is in - I am a really bad blogger because I cannot seem to maintain a consistent track record.  Same for YouTube.  OH MY GOODNESS!  Welp, anyhoo, I am gonna post a sneak peak below of something I am working on today.  Got your eyes closed?  

Okay, now open them...

Altenew Level 1 Challenge - Day 8

 Today has been a very strange day so far.  I didn't sleep well last night, and woke up in my chair at 4:30 this morning.  Ugh.  Not a good start!  The morning has been spent floundering around, no real energy, not wanting to do a thing.  But of course, now that I have to leave the house, the idea came to me that I needed to create SOMETHING - just SOMETHING - not challenge related even - just to reignite the spark.  So...I glued canvas to a tag, embossed it with an Altenew embossing folder, then stenciled with a Tim Holtz stencil using Berry Cool and a tiny hint of Teal Tempest.  Next came the flower - I used plain white card stock and cut the larger Fragrant Peony.  Breezy Easy and Be Grapeful were the inks that I blended, and a hint of green also came off my blending tool onto the bottom layer, adding a little glow.  The center is completely colored with Be Grapeful in a heavy hand in order to pop out a little.  I glued that to my tag and now have an interesting textural bookmark!

  

  

Altenew Level 1 Challenge Day Seven - Wait! WHAT??? ALREADY???

 Well!  How did it get to be TUESDAY already?  See what happens when you take the weekend off?  All of a sudden it becomes Tuesday morning and you realize you have NOT created your Level 1 Challenge Blog!  Good grief!

But not to fear!  I have not been negligent without results.  Today is the 7th day of my 21 day challenge and I am making so much progress that the dogs and hubby are complaining of neglect!  We have an ancient Great Dane and an ancient Shih Tzu that own us.  The Shih Tzu, named Daphne, sits at my feet while I work on my cards.  She says that I am spending far too long at my desk and not enough time giving her treats!  Well, time to get back to work for now.  Want a sneak peek?

Altenew Level 1 Challenge Day 3

 Whew!  No sneak peeks, but my desk is a mess once again, my dining room table is littered with paper scraps, and my hands are covered in ink and glue.  I’ve been busy all afternoon getting my mind wrapped around what I want to do, creating prototypes, playing with layouts, and generally strewing confetti wherever I go!  LOL. At any rate, I sorta, sorta, maybe have an idea of where this is headed.  Game on!

Altenew Level 1 Challenge, Day 2

 Desk Cleaning continues, but I had to stop and attempt a couple of experiments.  Well, Ok...fourto be exact.  Two were COMPLETE fails; two turned out pretty good.  So I have some things to consider as I continue cleaning my space.  Can you guess which ones are fails?  And can you see DESK?  LOL!

Altenew Level One Challenge Progress, Day One

I think that in order to chart my Level 1 Challenge progress and keep myself motivated, I need to do a daily post, if possible, of what needs to get done so that deadlines can be met.  So...here goes:

1.  CLEAN MY SPACE!!!  My paper arts desk is an unholy mess!  And I can't really blame the online retreat that I attended with Erin Reed and Eileen Hull this weekend.  It's ALWAYS a mess.  So my task for this evening is to make everything clean as a whistle.

2.  Find a desktop liner that does not create glare.  Why?  Well, I want to attempt to film my card makes for this challenge and post them on YouTube.  So this naturally falls right after the clean your desk step.

3.  Pin my card ideas on the sides of my monitor for inspiration.  Last night and this morning, I spent some time thinking about the cards I potentially wanted to make.  Because I forget things so very quickly (my mind is like Swiss Cheese - full of holes so that ideas randomly drop off radar! - I wrote them down, best I could remember from my late night, can't sleep imaginings.

4.  Shop my stash to be sure that I have mentally selected the best possible supplies in order to create my cards.

5.  Revisit my Level 1 courses to ensure that my after-midnight choices for creativity are the best ones for my ideas.

6.  Find and order some type of camera mount for my webcam that I can actually operate and that will give me the options I want for my filming...

7.  Get off the computer and get some of this accomplished!!!

8.  REMEMBER THAT THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!!!!!!!

My Altenew Educators Certification Program Journey

 Oh My Oh My Oh My!!!!  I have progressed from Level 1 Certification courses to the Level 1 Challenge!  And now I am FROZEN!!  Will my ideas work?  Are my ideas stretching enough.  Am I planning on using enough stamps, dies, inks, plates, etc?  And what about the packaging?  Is there enough time?  Can I do this?  

Did/Has anyone else who participated in the Certification Program gone through this?  Talk about anxiety!  LOL!

#altenewaecp

#altenewllc

Wonderful Creative On-line Retreats!

This weekend, I participated in the 2024 Erin Reed Makers Retreat.  And I had an absolute blast!  Erin Reed, Eileen Hull, and Kassandra Louise were the main presenters, but then an entire host of sponsors also provided content and projects.  The retreat was geared toward journaling and doodling.  We learned how to create all things journaling - a book, tassels, bookmarks, doodle pages, mini books - and all very timely, as I can now carry my journal with me and play while my Mom takes physical therapy.  Do stop by to check out Erin's webpage and YouTube channel.  Be sure to visit Guest Teacher Eileen Hull's YouTube channel and her Etsy Shop.  Guest Teacher Kassandra Louise has a YouTube channel as well as an online store and an Etsy storefront to visit.  And while you are rambling around visiting, stop by and see my little Youtube channel and even consider subscribing.  Thanks!! 

Here is a shot of my journal - I also made a one-page wonder to go in the back of the journal.