Drawing on vellum

I took a class with Marika Rahtu, in Altenew's Academy,  called Beautiful Details. Oh, how I loved her drawings on vellum and her pencil and marker shading. From the six lessons in her class, I made over 12 flowers until I felt I had one to two to use for these two cards. Part of the problem was that I was substituting some of her supplies and that made a difference. But part of the issue was my inexperience with working with vellum. That comes with time. And as I like to say, I have more time than money, so no worries. 

I was most happy with this wild western rose against a green frame. I ended up with several other roses drawn on vellum awaiting other projects. TIP: When I am setting out to make a card, I am now making several of the main design motifs so that after I finish one card, I have several design elements to use in other creative projects. It saves time to make several at the same time than only one design and card at a time. I save the extra design elements with the corresponding card making set which I keep in a flat storage bag. I guess this is only an aha! tip if you are really into card making, lol.

I have been missing in action for almost 2 months because I underwent a serious spinal crisis and had two cervical surgeries in March. I am recuperating with two neck braces and a walker but alas, I am only able to do my art or typing, etc., for half hour at a time. This is so frustrating as creating is healing for my soul and brings me so much happiness. But I am nothing if not tenacious.

So I aim to do one to two 1/2 hour sessions at my art table or computer a day however, since I have to do computer work just to manage my life, that leaves me working in tiny bits of time at my art table. It will get easier as I heal more. So, after two months, I am proudly, displaying my card, lol.

Supplies

• Altenew's Nostalgic Floral stamp and die set
• Altenew's stamps of sentiments from their Fruits and Flowers set (This is a wonderful bundled set to have but any sentiment you already have will suffice. Later, I will show a card with this complete set ;)
• Altenew's white cardstock
• Altenew's fresh dye ink in Evergreen
• Altenew's foam tape
• Altenew's glue (with needle nozzle)
• Green cardstock
• Vellum (you can substitute tracing paper in a pinch.)
• Cornstarch
• Embossing ink and clear embossing powder
• Heat tool
• Prismacolor pencils in chartreuse, lime green and olive green
• Alcohol markers in three shades of warm grey, light to dark. 
• Foam dots
• Clear drop embellishments 
  
  
  

1. Measure, cut and fold your cardstock for your A2 card (4.25"x5.5"). Cut the green panel to measure 4"x5", cut another white cardstock to 3.75"x5"and finally a white piece of cardstock to 2.5"x2.75". 
   
2. Center and adhere the green and larger white panel to your card front. Line your smaller piece of cardstock flush against the top left side of the white panel. I find that working asymmetry into a card creates visual interest.
3. Use cornstarch to brush a fine layer over vellum. Stamp your western rose onto your vellum with embossing ink.
   
   Sprinkle clear embossing power over the embossed ink. Then use your heat tool until the powder turns shiny. It may be difficult to see the clear embossed outline; good lighting helps tremendously.
4. Use lightest of your warm grey markers and begin shading in your rose. Do not outline shadows but rather lay swaths of color where you see shadows. Progressively shade in darker ares. You can use darker shades to delineate edges of the flower.

Use the rose die to cut out the flower

6. Adhere the flower to your card with small foam dots. I chose to cut off the leaves and use foam dots for the rose but flat glue dots to adhere the leaves. I felt showing the flower in two layers made the rose appear to flutter a little. 

7. My finishing touch was to add a tiny bit of embellishment. I chose iridescent drops that are flat on one side and convex on the other. They bring to mind raindrops.

This class was rich in lessons that taught me novel ways of drawing. I found it challenging and know that I will return to watch and work this class again in the future. I am far from Marika's skill with pen and marker drawing on vellum.  Also, I did not have some of the crucial supplies for several of her techniques, so that will also be remedied in the future. I have a feeling, this will be one of my toughest but one of my most favorite classes in the AECP (Altenew Educator Certification Program). 

Here is another card I made inspired by Marika's lessons. It features drawing over a stamped image with colored pencils. As an artist who has a strong hand in all my work, this suited my style more than the delicacy of drawing on vellum. 

Disabilities SD 480p

How to live with my disabilities as an artist.

07:19:25 Check-in: My Art Journal SD 480p

Here you can View my YouTube video that is a check in which focuses on my art journal pages. Here are pictures of my art journal pages that I show in the video.

CAS card using repetitive pattern

This card is a far cry from the multilayered roses in a Victorian garden card I made two posts ago. Granted, a skeletal human spine and brain are not usual thank you card images. Does it clarify things if I tell you this is a thank you card that I plan on giving my neurosurgeon(s) at my next appointment.? Thought so.

Within this last year, I had two serious spinal neurosurgeries. They were both myelopathy emergencies and I was quite ill by the time I was taken to surgery. The good news is that I have regained abilities with my hands for the most part and my doctors arrested the spinal compression that was causing me to lose my balance and that would eventually paralyze, then kill me. 

I am still trying to walk and hope the end of the year will see me getting around without a wheelchair or walker. But even if I stay as I am now, I am so very, very grateful to the neurosurgery department of Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Florida for saving my life and giving me back much of my abilities. 

I will see my main spinal neurosurgeon later this month for my nine month follow up. I am tickled to be able to give him this card. Hopefully, he will smile as he sees my colorful renditions of spines and brains; remembering all the macabre images he had to look at in the course of my treatment. It is especially poignant for me to give him this card as I remember so clearly lying on a gurney and asking him to "save my hands". I told him I was an artist and that I would rather live with a wheelchair than live without being able to create with my hands. And that is what he did. I am sure the significance of a handmade card will not be lost on him.

Supplies:

• White card stock
• Altenew Green Meadows gradient cardstock set 3X6"
• Altenew Permanent Black pigment ink
• Rubber stamps of anatomy
• Staedtler watercolor pencils
• Altenew Label Love stamps
  
  
  

1.Select one (one is best, but in my case I really wanted both images) image that you will stamp across the front of your card in a pleasing pattern.

2. Play with adding colorful accents with your chosen paint medium. I chose watercolor.

3. Cut a strip of accent color card stock to serve as a banner across the front.

4. Stamp your sentiment on the strip.

5. Glue the cardstock strip down.

This simple design makes a statement despite its humble methods. Patterning an image all over the front of the card which holds meaning for the receiver, makes this a very personal type of card. Best of all, it is quick and easy! 

A friendly card utilizing layers of color

I am in the Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP). It has three levels and little ole me is on the first class (All About Layering 3), in the first level. There are ten classes per level. 

My first class really inspired me to see how many different effects are easily possible when crafting cards. I used to only stamp an image in one color; if I was being fancy, I hand colored other elements. Now, I see how to produce images that look more cohesive and complicated. I learned how to layer colors using stamps and stencils. And I practiced cutting dies. 

For this class' homework, I chose to make a card featuring two women, lost in thought, day dreaming. I can picture myself writing my reflections inside and sending it off to a dear friend. Yes, several of my friends enjoy written correspondences and we have been pen pals for decades. It is so fun getting mail and handwritten notes!

Supplies used:    

• Altenew white cardstock
• Altenew pigment ink, permanent black
• Altenew Fresh dye ink in grapevine, coral berry, teal cave, dew drops, espresso, rocky shore, warm sunshine and paper bag
• Altenew layer stamp set Daydreams, with stamps, dies and stencil
• Flowering embossing folder 
• Foam stickie drops
• Altenew glue tape
• Die cutting machine
• Stamping daubers

I used four-cube mini ink sets. Eventually, as an educator, I will need to have a large inventory with full size products. I shop sales and deals. I will get there. 

I love the daydream bundle that came with stamps, dies, and a stencil. I love that one of the women has dark, curly hair, just like me.  And I love that the other woman is shown wearing a hijab, especially in these times when our Muslim friends are often negatively stereotyped by 

Americans. (A hijab is a head covering worn by some Muslim women in public.)

I should say that I had about five or six attempts with this same design. I kept having to start over because of inky blotches or smudges or the stamp did not stamp all of the design, etc.  And creating an embossing pattern that was not overwhelming to the overall picture was tricky.

Layering the stamps was little challenging as well. But I am sure that the more I work with these things, the easier it will become. I should let you know that my left hand is not 100% healed from the spinal cord compressions I had that resulted in two serious spinal neurosurgeries the past nine months. I had severe neuropathy in both hands and arms (as well as my legs and feet) before the surgery. Now, my hands have pretty much healed except for my left one which was left with numb fingers. But I rejoice that my dominant hand, the right one, is 90-95% back to normal.*

Here is a detail that shows the textured background up close as well as my inking. I used two colors for the layers on my brunette's hair and pants. As well as the hijab of her friend. I think it adds some depth.

One thing I added, taught by Tim Holtz, was buffing the sides of my die cutouts with ink to make them kind of pop. 

You can create a similar card with similar supplies. 

1. First step is to stamp your main pieces. I usually do this in a crisp, smudge-resistant black. With the main figures stamped, I played around with compositions on my card. I selected a composition and a color scheme. I used the sets' die to cut out the figures and cloud for the sentiment, which I would stamp and stick on last.

If you are at a loss as to what I am referring to when I speak of "cutting with dies", here is a brief explanation I videotaped on my YouTube channel.

2. Then, I chose the stamps to layer (in this case, the hair and pants of the brunette and the hijab and lips of the other woman). I then carefully stamped the secondary and tertiary layers onto my main figures. There were several tiny, tiny stamps for things like eyes, floating hearts and clouds. My hands could not manipulate such small items. I tried but my disability prevented me from being that dexterous with my hands. You can add all the tiny elements in your set, no doubt; and it will look better.

This is where I now need to make a confession. I tried stamping secondary and tertiary layers on white card stock that I subsequently cut out with dies and affixed to the main figures. I kept messing the alignment up and my ink ran with the tiny stamps for eyes and lips. After making several attempts, I decided to use the sets' stencil to create the layers on my main figure. This turned out well, even with tiny areas like lips. 

3. I picked an embossing folder that I felt would complement but not take over the card's main image. I embossed the front of my blank card. Again, see link above to explain how to use dies and embossing folders.

4. Next, I chose two colors from my inks to smudge lightly over the embossed front of my card. I used two daubers to rub the inks over the embossed card front. 

5. After buffing the sides of all my cutouts, I used foam dots to adhere the figures and the sentiment to the card. 

And there you have it!

* The back story to my two neurosurgeries is that I have bad rheumatoid arthritis that has really damaged my spine. I am now trying to regain my walking ability. I use a walker and wheelchair now. Last year, I prayed to be able to create with my hands again, and that is what was given back to me!  I may not be able to walk, but I can make art, crafts and write. So I am grateful.