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!