Altenew AECP Level 1 Challenge

Welcome to my post about the Altenew Level 1 Challenge. So you’re asking yourself, what is she talking about. Well, I decided to take the Altenew ACEP program. I have completed the first ten classes. Once you complete those, your “cheerleader” mentor will issue you a challenge.

The Challenge –

• To create 2 card sets that included 4-6 cards each.
• The kits are one feminine and one Masculine.
• They must be cohesive together.
• One item must be recycled in your set.
• You need to use three different techniques you learned.

The classes for this challenge and the components I used were tough to pick. I finally decided to work with the following courses. I love these courses. The For the Guy’s class helped me with my struggle with making guy cards. I highly recommend it if you have the same problem. Ink Blending Techniques class gave me many ah-ha moments on how to use my ink that is not really out of the box but I had simply forgotten about. Such a wonderful refresher. Season Scene building helps you figure out the way to watercolor around your image and a bit of masking to make those images stand out on your card.

• For the Guys
• Easy Ink Blending Techniques
• Season Scene Building

You will find bits from several other classes such as Let it Shine, Celebration: Stencil techniques, and Clean and Simple Boutique Cards.

The first part of my challenge was to pick a color scheme, and a stamp set that I could work with that would be Masculine. The masculine card is a challenging topic for me. I have a husband that in his past life, worked on boats overseas and is all about sailor life. So I choose the Seas the Day stamp set by Altenew. I wanted to show how you can get many looks out of one stamp set.

I also wanted to use the same colors for these cards. I choose to use Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks because I love how they blend, and the ink is very smooth for this process. I also love how it gives a water-colored look without much effort.

Colors –

• Scattered Straw
• Cracked Pistachio
• Peacock Feathers
• Salty Ocean (my personal favorite)
• Black Soot
• Shabby Shutters
• Chipped Sapphire
• Tumbled Glass

Masculine Card Set

Seas the Day

This card I created using mainly the Easy Ink Blending Techniques class.

1. I took some thick white cardstock and stamped and embossed my white scene. I used the Seas the Day stamps from Altenew.
2. I blended four colors in this order from top to bottom.
   1. Chipped Sapphire
   2. Salty Ocean
   3. Peacock Feathers
   4. Cracked Pistachio
3. When the ink colors e blended in, I rubbed off the excess ink on the embossed scene.
4. Using a water painter, I added a touch of water to all the sails on the boat, some on the clouds, and the boat’s body.
5. I then added a bit of extra color to the water creating a bit of shadow from the boat.
6. Once all of this was dry, I stamped the sentiment in black.

A closer look at the card

Dream Big

This one is my personal favorite out of the masculine cards. This idea is straight out of For the Guys.

1. Take some random colors I choose salty ocean, scattered straw, and peacock feathers. You will rub them with your blender brushes on some thick white cardstock.
2. Take another blending brush and some black soot and start blending this around till you create what looks like northern lights. You will get depth in the next step.
3. I took some shimmer mist (white), sprayed it on a glass surface, and used a paintbrush to splatter droplets all over my northern lights scene. Do some scattering close and some far away to give you different sizes of droplets.
4. Once you have your splatters, take your black soot brush and blend some more at the edges to give the illusion of depth. Set it aside for now.
5. I now stamped my sentiment in versa mark, and heat embossed it with black embossing powder. Then I fussy cut it out.
6. Now stamp your lady from the Seas your Day stamp set and color her.
7. I colored her in with multiple items.
   1. Her jeans and hat were done in Watercolor brush markers by Altenew in Persian Blue.
   2. The rest of her was colored in with alcohol markers.
   3. I did take some water and the peacock feather ink and rub it around her edges after she was die-cut out.
8. Place the lady and the sentiment with foam tape on your galaxy scene.
9. The background was also placed atop my white card front with foam tape.
10. I placed the entire card on top of some basic gray for a framed look.

A closer look

World’s Greatest Dad

1. Using the Graffiti Scribble stencil and some brown cardstock and blended some Salty Ocean distressed oxide onto the cardstock.
2. Once completed and dried, I used a marker a shade darker than the cardstock creating shadows and notches in the “rope.”
3. I used the cardstock and cut the sentiment out. I used my brother’s scan and cut. I love my machine.
4. I love the blending here. Simply using the blending brushed with Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio at the bottom is just a touch.
5. I embossed white embossing powder once it was completely dry with the water waves stamp from Seas the Day.
6. I stamped the Seagulls around the sentiment, ensuring I had plenty of room for my Sailboat.
7. My Sailboat was cut out and colored with distress oxide like watercolor. So fun to use this creative idea from the Irresistible inking technique class. I also colored my Seagulls with the same method.

A closer look.

Hello

Inspired by the Clean and simple Boutique cards and the Let it Shine for this one. Seas the day stamp set has so many possibilities. I decided not to use the wonderful lighthouse and the adorable Sailboat and focus on the birds of the set. There are four in the set, complete with matching dies. This card reminds me of being at the beach and watching them soar over your head, searching for food. Sometimes it is your lunch.

1. I colored my seagulls the same as I did on my first card—a touch of Tumbled Glass and a water painter. Put a touch of the ink on your work surface or an acrylic block, whichever works for you.
2. My sentiment is a cut-out of hello that I colored some cardstock with Chipped Sapphire, blending it to white.
3. I cut it so that it had a bit of the white portion, then I covered it with versamark and covered it with silver embossing powder, then heat set.
4. The base cardstock is your average black.
5. I then layered a piece of white and blended color on it to match my chipped sapphire hello.
6. I then cut a sliver of silver metallic cardstock; these are all layered together; then, I put foam tape behind the chipped sapphire paper.
7. My sentiment is placed on a piece of vellum and adhered to the card front using clear gel circles.

A closer look.

The Feminine Cards

I made my feminine cards out of the same colors and added purples and yellows. I added various floral images to them.

Don’t Forget to Smile

This one is probably my favorite. The flower and popped leaves are from the Golden days’ stamp set.

1. I started with a piece of white cardstock, layered my two different stencils (leaves on the bottom), and taped them down so there was no movement.

   

2. Blend your color for the first stencil with the blender brush; for me, it was peacock feathers.
3. Remove that stencil carefully so as not to move the other stencil.

   

4. Now add your color for the leaf background in the same method. I used Cracked Pistachio.
5. Remove this stencil as well. Look at that design. Love it.
6. With scrap paper, color your sentiment piece by blending colors until you cover it to your liking.
7. With scrap paper, stamp the flower from the Golden Day stamp set. I used various shades here. The outlined stamp was stamped with milled lavender oxide ink. I used three Stampin’ Up! Inks Fresh Fresia, Highland Heather, and Gorgeous Grape for the remaining layering stamps. Once it was all stamped, I filled the white portions with a bit more milled lavender color using a water painter.
8. Also, stamp your leaf images from the same stamp set with another scrap piece of paper. For example, I used Granny Apple Green and Garden Green inks from Stampin’ Up!
9. Now you can use some foam tape to adhere your sentiment piece on your stenciled card front, then layer your flowers around it. I placed the whole thing atop a piece of matching cardstock.

I did create a video on the process for you to check out.

A closer look picture

Thank you

This card is a resist technique using blending as well

1. Stamp and mask image with versamark, add your embossing powder, then heat set.
2. Take a piece of white cardstock and blend out your colors using a blending brush or favorite tool.
   1. Tumbled Glass
   2. Salty Ocean
   3. Peacock feathers
   4. Cracked Pistachio
3. I took some very thick white cardstock and die cut out the Thank you sentiment twice and then cut it out with black cardstock.
   1. Layer all these together to give dimension but not as much as foam tape.
4. Once your background is dry, gently rub off some of the ink on your embossed image with a damp towel.
5. Now add some splatters. I combined a touch of chipped sapphire with white shimmer spray.
6. I placed the sentiment on top once dry, added it to a black card front, and then onto my base.

A closer look.

Wishing you the most beautiful day

This card is very similar to the resist technique. You could do it the same way, but I chose to do my watercolor first.

1. I am using watercolor paper here. Tape it down and wet both sides with a spritzer.
2. Using your mat, block, or whatever you have, stamp your ink and pull it up with your water painter. Stamp a bit of ink for all colors
   1. Cracked Pistachio
   2. Peacock feathers
   3. Salty ocean
   4. Tumbled glass

3. Using your water painter, pull a bit of color up with water, drop, and brush across the wet watercolor paper. Once you have this done, allow it to dry. You can heat set it if you like.

4. Once it is dry, you can stamp your images on top. I used images from both the golden days’ stamp set and the Beautiful day stamp set.

5. I took a piece of watercolor paper scrap, stamped my sentiment, and placed it with foam tape.

6. Then place the entire card front on some matching cardstock.

7. I added a bit of sparkle and bling.

A closer look.

Thinking of you

I love this card. It is a play on another card I have done in the past. It again uses blending techniques and a bit of water coloring.

1. I used a piece of masking paper cut into a circle to mask the moon.
2. I took a piece of white cardstock and blended a bit of chipped sapphire to create a horizon by using a piece of copy paper going horizontally across the cardstock.
3. Once that was completed, and I had a horizon, so to speak, I added lots of ink all around the edges. Again, ensure it is darker on the edges and fading as you go into the center.
4. I took the same ink and stamped some “branches” from around the chipped sapphire ink.
5. I added a bit of chipped Pistachio to the center on the bottom to create a grassy area. Not much, and I used a tiny blending brush from Altenew.
6. Remove the mask on your moon, and stamp some branches if you like.
7. I stamped a sentiment from Bold Sentiment stamps by Altenew using black. I then added it with some foam tape.
8. My lady is from the Seas the Day stamp set is colored in with a water painter and Persian blue watercolor brush. I die cut her out and added her with foam tape.
9. I added the card atop a piece of matching cardstock before placing it on my card base.
10. Of course, you cannot forget the bling.

A closer look.

The Gift boxes

My Recycled item for my challenge is two different things. I started with a recently finished cereal box of Special K and a piece of cardboard from my specialty 12 x 12 paper. If I do this again, the cereal box is the better choice.

I cut both down to 9 x 9 inches.

Then used my envelope punch board (you can find these at your local hobby store or online) and scored and punched at the 3 1/2 inches and the 4 1/2 inches. Next, turn your cardboard clockwise, line up the score lines, and punch and score again. Follow this around on the other two sides till all four sides are complete. See the picture of what it looks like when done.

I cut the patterned paper the same size and glued it to my cardboard.

For the outside of the box, I used the same designer series paper from Stampin Up! The paper is called Waves of the Ocean and is retired. I created the tag just as I did for card three. My sentiment came from a Charming Sentiments bundle. The sentiment was heat embossed with Black embossing powder and cut with the dies. For the ribbon, I had some old silver mesh-looking ribbon which reminded me of the metal fish netting. I tied this around the box, attaching the tag to it. I also added charms that I had lying around an anchor and ship’s wheel. I tied those off with some twine, so they hung staggered.

My finished Masculine Gift Box

My Feminine Gift Box

Supplies