Showing posts with label embossing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label embossing. Show all posts

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Masculine Card Designs: AECP Level 2 Challenge | Diseños de Tarjetas Masculinas: Desafío AECP Nivel 2

English below • Español más abajo
Artist's Note: All artwork  and card photographs shown are my original creations. AI may be used to stage photos of my work—never to create the artwork itself.

My challenge was to create four masculine themed cards, each for specific occasions and one card using repurposed (recycled) materials. I was also asked to choose three of my favorite design elements studied in Level 1 and 2 classes to highlight and discuss. And, finally, I should present one step by step tutorial. 

This challenge involves many aspects to discuss. Therefore, I divided it into two bilingual posts: this post will be for the four masculine cards and my three design elements that that I favor. 


The second bilingual post will be my step-by-step tutorial for my card made using recycled materials. Such tutorials contain a comprehensive supply list. This post about my four masculine cards will not offer the detailed supply list, but rather will include the "main component" supplies for each of my masculine cards. This will steer you to the few items that were central and totally unique to each of these four cards. 

Now, I have to tell you, this challenge really put me through changes. I make beautiful designs, without a forethought gendered specificity. Also, some of my favorite design elements are not traditionally considered "masculine". But, just as life always surprises me, I found my niche in the mainstream masculine aesthetic!

Since I felt flummoxed by the gender specific part of the challenge, I started by simply googling "masculine characteristics in greeting cards". My heart sank a bit as what kept coming up was a version of "Masculine greeting cards typically feature bold and clean layouts, (more linear than curves) earthy or dark color palettes, and themes centered around nature, sports, or everyday hobbies".  Other characteristics included an avoidance of "too much" sentimentality and bling. My art style does not naturally fit within those parameters.

One of my favorite design elements IS bling (or as I say in my professional voice: embellishments). Not to worry, as I reflected on these guidelines, I realized that it is my artistic interpretation of them that create my personal aesthetic. I found that I definitely could work within those guidelines; I may just stretch them a bit here and there.

I am embarrassed to admit that it took me a month of contemplating this challenge to feel I could authentically deliver. Of course, I could have just turned in what I knew would  check all the boxes; that would have been easy. Just get through the assignment; take the short cut. But that is not why I create; and that is not the aim of this program. I am studying to find and express my unique design style.  Armed with technical expertise, I want to design cards that carry my unique aesthetic within the paper-crafting and card making community. 


So, here we go. My four masculine cards integrate linear and ordered  designs. This is why I incorporated strong  geometric shapes in two of the four. This is seen in the geometric repetition used in my Celebrate "birthday" (sentiment stamped within) card.I am now 2/3 of the way through Altenew's Educator Certification Program (AECP). Having 20 classes under my belt, I am now completing a challenge to submit for review, in order to proceed to Level 3. Once approved, I will be on my final leg of the program. I am so excited to be glimpsing the finish line.


I
have learned so much and found a talented and generous community of fellow card makers. Altenew's certification program has given me so much more than simply card making tutorials. I am blessed to count it as one of my life's pleasures.


The linear repetition in the circle grid of my Hello Sunshine "thinking of you" card was a fun use of a cover die I bought a year ago and had never used. I had come to see this cover die as limiting. Now I see that it is how I treat the underlying surface and what I place on top of the grid that actually invites the viewer into a much more nuanced and interactive viewing. 

Since our eyes likes to reduce complexity to familiarity. I echoed the circular repetitions by choosing my focal points to be sunglasses.  The lenses of the sunglasses are not actual spherical shapes; but they have enough curve and "roundness" to recall the circles in the underlying grid.




My "anniversary" (sentiment stamped inside the card) Come Fly with Me card does use repetitive shapes in the hot air balloon. The background sky and hills are repetitive in nature but more organically shaped. While  traditional masculine designs are said to be linear over organic, I think these large repeating swathes of colors do evoke stripes.

I did have to give a nod to my preference for organic line in my "encouragement" Toucan Do It! card. However, I balanced the overall organic background of curving lines with  thick perpendicular bars.


Other masculine design elements seen in this card collection are bold designs and strong color palettes. I do not consider myself meek. So it is not surprising that my designs can be seen as emerging rather than shrinking. Also, instead of framing a central image with blank space, I tend to work the paper surface right up to the edges. (I think this is a way my background as a painter influences my card-making.) My color choices are usually bold as well; I often choose vibrant color palettes.

Now this is where my three preferred design elements intersect with the masculine theme. And this is also where my interpretation of the general rules about masculine aesthetics come into play.

As I have already mentioned, one of my preferred design elements is embellishment and shine. Carisa Wiley's Altenew Academy class "Let it Shine" was right up my alley. And it is a great class if you are a bit shy with adding bling to your creations.

Mainstream masculinity does not embrace sparkle and flourishes.  So I eschewed rhinestones and definitely no embellishments in soft pastel colors.  Choosing enamel dots in a matte metallic for "Celebrate" gave me the little bit of specialness I wanted, but in an earthy, subdued way. 

I used a metallic gold pigment ink as background for Celebrate and metallic watercolors for  the bottom layer of my Hello Sunshine card. Metallics are my favorite earth tone.

I also incorporated small amounts of glitter paper either as as outlines in the Come Fly With Me card or as a bold perpendicular counterbalance in my  Toucan Do It card. These glitter accents are strong and decisive rather than delicate glittery highlights painted on here and there with a small brush.

In my Hello Sunshine card,  I leaned into the shine element even further by making the lenses of my sunglasses reflective. Reflective sunglasses often call up an image of a man in uniform; a common masculine symbol.  Yet I playfully made one of the rims a Miami aqua color. You don't see that with uniforms, lol.

"That touch of whimsy brings me to my other two favorite design elements: unexpected compositions and creative twists, inspired by Terese Calvird's With a Twist class, and expressive use of color, explored in her Color Your Day class. I love playfulness and surprises in my compositions. I do this with the images I choose, unusual compositions and color palettes and some quirkiness: evidenced by the mild monotone of the couple in my Come Fly with Me anniversary card and balancing an overwhelming organic flow of purple with an off-center cross in a complimentary color in my Toucan Do it!.

So, I pretty much relied on gold, silver and bronze metallics for my masculine earth tones in all my cards. But some of the boldness called for in masculine compositions came with my bold use of vibrant colors.

I made my jungle leaves in my Toucan Do It! a monochromatic study in purples and contrasted that with the glitter paper orange slashes of color. I broke up the gold dominance of Celebrate with geometric repetitions in primary and secondary colors.

My Hello Sunshine card virtually had a two-color color palette two: metallics and undiluted yellow. I wanted the viewer to conjure up the feeling of stepping out into a hot Florida summer afternoon.  I live in sub-tropical South Florida, and the the intense sun and heat can really pack a punch. 


I used a bland light green to reference the snuggling couple. That alone makes them almost appear as an afterthought. This was playing with the conventional masculine aesthetic that warns against much sentimentality. I thought this ghostly illustration was a little fun, since it is an anniversary card (sentiment on inside). But this small humor on my part still works with the theme of romance: let's have adventures together... the hot air balloon offers daring escapes among the clouds. And the pale, monotone couple acts as a foil for the balloon's striped multicolored banding and rolling clouds and hills. Those become the focus for richly saturated color.

So there you have it. It took a while to envision but I am happy with my four masculine cards. Below you will find the supply links for the key components of each card that made them unique from one another. I do get an affiliate commission if you purchase anything from my blog links, so I would be grateful if you use those links if you want to purchase any of the Altenew items I list.

Oh, and please continue reading into the next post if you want to see how I used recycled materials to create this fruit bowl 'For you 'card. 

Happy crafting.

English above• Español más abajo


Nota de la artista: Todas las obras de arte y las fotografías de las tarjetas que aparecen aquí son creaciones originales mías. Es posible que utilice inteligencia artificial para preparar la presentación fotográfica de mis trabajos, pero nunca para crear las obras de arte en sí.

Ya he completado dos tercios del Programa de Certificación de Educadores de Altenew (AECP). Después de haber cursado 20 clases, ahora estoy terminando un proyecto que debo presentar para su evaluación antes de pasar al Nivel 3. Una vez aprobado, entraré en la última etapa del programa. ¡Me emociona muchísimo comenzar a vislumbrar la meta!

He aprendido tanto y he encontrado una comunidad de artistas de tarjetas increíblemente talentosa y generosa. El programa de certificación de Altenew me ha ofrecido mucho más que simples tutoriales de tarjetería. Me siento afortunada de poder contar esta experiencia entre los grandes placeres de mi vida.

Mi desafío consistía en crear cuatro tarjetas de temática masculina, cada una destinada a una ocasión específica, y una quinta tarjeta utilizando materiales reutilizados o reciclados. También debía seleccionar tres de mis elementos de diseño favoritos, estudiados en las clases de los Niveles 1 y 2, para destacarlos y comentarlos. Finalmente, tenía que presentar un tutorial paso a paso.

Este desafío abarca muchos aspectos que merecen explicarse. Por eso decidí dividirlo en dos publicaciones bilingües. En esta primera publicación hablaré de las cuatro tarjetas masculinas y de mis tres elementos de diseño preferidos.


La segunda publicación bilingüe incluirá mi tutorial paso a paso para crear una tarjeta con materiales reciclados. Este tipo de tutorial requiere una lista completa de materiales. En cambio, en esta publicación sobre mis cuatro tarjetas masculinas, no ofreceré una lista detallada, sino los materiales principales utilizados en cada una. Así podrán identificar fácilmente los productos esenciales que hacen que estas cuatro tarjetas sean únicas.

Ahora bien, tengo que confesarles algo: ¡este desafío me hizo pasar por todo un proceso de transformación! Yo creo diseños hermosos sin pensar de antemano en un género específico. Además, algunos de mis elementos de diseño favoritos no se consideran tradicionalmente «masculinos». Pero, como tantas veces ocurre en la vida, terminé encontrando mi propio espacio dentro de la estética masculina convencional.

Como la parte del desafío relacionada con el género me tenía bastante desconcertada, comencé simplemente buscando en Google "características masculinas en las tarjetas de felicitación". Se me cayó un poco el alma a los pies cuando encontré repetidamente versiones de esta descripción: "Las tarjetas masculinas suelen presentar composiciones atrevidas y limpias, con más líneas rectas que curvas, paletas de colores terrosos u oscuros y temas relacionados con la naturaleza, los deportes o los pasatiempos cotidianos". Otras características incluían evitar "demasiado» sentimentalismo y los adornos brillantes." Mi estilo artístico no encaja naturalmente dentro de esos parámetros.

¡Uno de mis elementos de diseño favoritos ES precisamente el brillo y los adornos! (O, como diría con mi voz profesional: los elementos decorativos). Pero no había por qué preocuparse. Al reflexionar sobre estas pautas, comprendí que es mi interpretación artística de ellas lo que crea mi estética personal. Descubrí que definitivamente podía trabajar dentro de esos parámetros, aunque quizá los estirara un poquito aquí y allá.

Me da algo de vergüenza admitir que pasé un mes entero reflexionando sobre este desafío antes de sentir que podía presentar un trabajo auténticamente mío. Por supuesto, podría haber entregado algo que sabía que cumpliría con todos los requisitos. Eso habría sido fácil. Simplemente terminar la tarea y tomar el camino más corto.

Pero esa no es la razón por la que creo arte, ni tampoco es el propósito de este programa. Estoy estudiando para descubrir y expresar mi propio estilo de diseño. Con los conocimientos técnicos necesarios, quiero crear tarjetas que reflejen mi estética personal dentro de la comunidad de las manualidades con papel y la tarjetería.

Así que, ¡manos a la obra! Mis cuatro tarjetas masculinas incorporan diseños lineales y ordenados. Por eso utilicé formas geométricas marcadas en dos de ellas. Esto se puede apreciar en la repetición geométrica de mi tarjeta de cumpleaños Celebrate, cuyo mensaje de felicitación está estampado en el interior.


La repetición lineal de los círculos en la cuadrícula de mi tarjeta Hello Sunshine, creada para expresar "estoy pensando en ti", fue una oportunidad divertida de utilizar un troquel de fondo que había comprado hacía un año y que nunca había usado. 

Había llegado a considerar ese troquel bastante limitante. Ahora comprendo que es el tratamiento de la superficie que se encuentra debajo y lo que coloco encima de la cuadrícula lo que invita al espectador a una experiencia visual mucho más matizada e interactiva.

Como nuestros ojos tienden a simplificar la complejidad buscando formas familiares, decidí repetir visualmente los círculos eligiendo unas gafas de sol como punto focal. Los lentes de las gafas no son círculos perfectos, pero tienen suficientes curvas y redondez para recordar los círculos de la cuadrícula que se encuentra debajo.


Mi tarjeta de aniversario Come Fly with Me, cuyo mensaje está estampado en el interior, también utiliza formas repetitivas en el globo aerostático.

El cielo y las colinas del fondo presentan repeticiones más orgánicas. Aunque se dice que los diseños masculinos tradicionales favorecen las líneas rectas sobre las formas orgánicas, creo que estas grandes franjas de color evocan visualmente las rayas.


Tuve que hacer una pequeña concesión a mi preferencia por las líneas orgánicas en mi tarjeta de ánimo Toucan Do It!. Sin embargo, equilibré el fondo predominantemente orgánico, lleno de líneas curvas, con gruesas franjas perpendiculares.

Otros elementos asociados con el diseño masculino que aparecen en esta colección son las composiciones audaces y las paletas de colores intensos.

No me considero precisamente una persona tímida o apocada. Por eso no sorprende que mis diseños parezcan expandirse en lugar de retraerse.

Además, en vez de enmarcar una imagen central dejando espacios vacíos alrededor, suelo trabajar toda la superficie del papel hasta llegar a los bordes. (Creo que esta es una de las maneras en que mi formación como pintora influye en mi tarjetería). Mis elecciones de color también suelen ser atrevidas; frecuentemente prefiero paletas vibrantes.

Y aquí es donde mis tres elementos de diseño favoritos se cruzan con la temática masculina. También es donde entra en juego mi interpretación de las reglas generales de la estética masculina. Como ya mencioné, uno de mis elementos preferidos son los adornos y el brillo. La clase de Carisa Wiley, Let It Shine, de Altenew Academy, ¡me vino como anillo al dedo! También es una excelente clase para quienes sienten cierta timidez a la hora de añadir brillo y elementos decorativos a sus creaciones.


La masculinidad convencional no suele asociarse con los destellos y los adornos elaborados. Por eso prescindí de los cristales de imitación y, definitivamente, de los adornos en suaves colores pastel. Elegí pequeños puntos decorativos esmaltados con acabado metálico mate para Celebrate. Así conseguí ese toque especial que buscaba, pero de una manera más terrosa y discreta.

También utilicé tinta pigmentada dorada metálica para el fondo de Celebrate y acuarelas metálicas para la capa inferior de mi tarjeta Hello Sunshine. Los tonos metálicos son mis colores tierra favoritos.


Incorporé pequeñas cantidades de papel con purpurina, ya fuera para delinear elementos de Come Fly with Me o para crear un fuerte contrapeso perpendicular en mi tarjeta Toucan Do It!. Estos detalles brillantes son firmes y decididos, en lugar de delicados reflejos de purpurina aplicados aquí y allá con un pincel pequeño.

En mi tarjeta Hello Sunshine, llevé el brillo un paso más allá al crear lentes reflectantes para las gafas de sol. Las gafas de sol reflectantes suelen evocar la imagen de un hombre uniformado, un símbolo masculino bastante común. Sin embargo, juguetonamente hice una de las monturas de color aguamarina, muy al estilo de Miami. ¡Eso no se ve mucho en los uniformes, jajaja!

Ese toque de fantasía y humor me lleva a mis otros dos elementos de diseño favoritos: las composiciones inesperadas y los giros creativos, inspirados en la clase With a Twist de Terese Calvird, y el uso expresivo del color, explorado en su clase Color Your Day.

Me encantan los elementos juguetones y las sorpresas en mis composiciones. Los incorporo mediante las imágenes que elijo, las composiciones y paletas de colores poco convencionales y ciertos detalles extravagantes. Esto se aprecia en la pareja representada en tonos suaves y casi monocromáticos en mi tarjeta de aniversario Come Fly with Me, así como en el equilibrio entre la exuberante corriente orgánica de tonos morados y una cruz descentrada de color complementario en Toucan Do It!. En resumen, recurrí principalmente a los tonos metálicos dorados, plateados y bronce para representar los colores tierra asociados con la estética masculina en todas mis tarjetas.

Pero parte de la fuerza visual que se espera de las composiciones masculinas también surgió de mi uso atrevido de colores vibrantes.


Convertí las hojas selváticas de mi tarjeta Toucan Do It! en un estudio monocromático de tonos morados, contrastándolas con llamativas franjas anaranjadas de papel con purpurina.

En Celebrate, interrumpí el predominio del dorado mediante repeticiones geométricas en colores primarios y secundarios.

Mi tarjeta Hello Sunshine prácticamente tenía una paleta de solo dos colores: tonos metálicos y amarillo puro e intenso. Quería que quien la observara evocara la sensación de salir al exterior durante una calurosa tarde de verano en Florida. Vivo en el sur subtropical de Florida, donde el sol intenso y el calor pueden golpearte con una fuerza impresionante.


Utilicé un verde pálido y apagado para representar a la pareja abrazada en Come Fly with Me. Ese color, por sí solo, hace que casi parezcan una ocurrencia de último momento. Estaba jugando con la estética masculina convencional, que aconseja evitar el exceso de sentimentalismo.

Me pareció divertido representar a la pareja de una manera casi fantasmal, especialmente porque se trata de una tarjeta de aniversario, con el mensaje romántico en su interior. Pero este pequeño toque de humor también funciona con el tema del romance: vivamos aventuras juntos... El globo aerostático nos ofrece atrevidas escapadas entre las nubes. Y la pareja, pálida y casi monocromática, sirve de contraste frente a las franjas multicolores del globo, las nubes ondulantes y las colinas. Estos elementos se convierten en el centro de atención gracias a sus colores intensamente saturados.

¡Y ahí lo tienen! Me tomó bastante tiempo imaginar cómo quería abordar este desafío, pero estoy contenta con mis cuatro tarjetas masculinas. A continuación encontrarán los enlaces a los materiales principales de cada tarjeta, aquellos componentes que las hacen diferentes entre sí. Recibo una comisión de afiliada si realizan compras a través de los enlaces de mi blog. Por eso, les agradecería mucho que utilizaran esos enlaces si desean adquirir alguno de los productos Altenew que menciono.


¡Ah! Y no olviden continuar leyendo la siguiente publicación si quieren descubrir cómo utilicé materiales reciclados para crear esta tarjeta For You, con su frutero lleno de color.

Materiales principales de las cuatro tarjetas:

¡Que disfruten creando!

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Create texture on your cards with embossing/Crea textura en tus tarjetas con embossing

English below • Español más abajo

This card is quiet in it's design. The subtlety appealed to me. I like the visual surprise of a shadowbox frame that continues the lines seamlessly. And the monochromatic color palette creates an understated feeling.

Card maker Svetlana Marchenko passed on a great embossing tip in her Altenew course Impressive Heat Embossing.  If you use clear embossing powder on colored cardstock, the result is a natural deepening of the paper's color. No hunting for the right embossing powder. Keeping the same color but deepening its intensity is what created the subtle color palette. 



Supplies
  1. Cut green cardstock into an A2 (4.25"X5.5") foldover card and also a separate 4.25"X5.5" piece of green cardstock.
  2. Use your embossing ink to stamp floral elements around the border of the card front and the solo piece of green cardstock. I recommend using the Stampwheel 2.0 to keep your stamped design in the exact place on the two different cardstock pieces. This is key to getting the seamless look of continued lines once you layer the pieces of cardstock over one another with dimensional tape. 




  3. Sprinkle clear embossing powder over the embossed ink and heat it with your heat tool until shiny. I advise you use some type of antistatic powder over the cards before inking. This helps the embossing powder adhere just to the inked designs. I use plain ole cornstarch.
  4. Use your frame die to cut out a border on your solo piece of green cardstock.
  5. With dimensional foam tape adhere the cut out frame to your card front. Make sure the lines connect for a seamless overall design. 
  6. Optional: add a few clear sequins to your card front for a little bling. I recommend keeping your sequin clear to go along with the subtle look. 



  7. Stamp your sentiment with antique gold pigment ink for a rich look to your lettering.

Here is a similar card with different color cardstock. Which do you prefer? 





Esta tarjeta es discreta en su diseño. Esa sutileza fue precisamente lo que me atrajo. Me gusta la sorpresa visual que crea un marco tipo shadowbox cuyas líneas continúan de manera fluida. Además, la paleta monocromática aporta una sensación elegante y contenida.

La creadora de tarjetas, Svetlana Marchenko compartió un excelente consejo sobre embossing en su curso de Altenew Impressive Heat Embossing. Si utilizas polvo de embossing transparente sobre cartulina de color, el resultado es un oscurecimiento natural del tono del papel. No hace falta buscar el color perfecto de polvo para embossing. Mantener el mismo color mientras se intensifica su profundidad fue lo que permitió crear esta paleta de color tan sutil. 


Materiales


Instrucciones

  1. Corta una cartulina verde para crear una tarjeta plegable tamaño A2 (4.25" x 5.5"). Corta también una segunda pieza de cartulina verde de 4.25" x 5.5".
  2. Utiliza la tinta para embossing para estampar los elementos florales alrededor del borde del frente de la tarjeta y también sobre la pieza adicional de cartulina verde. Recomiendo utilizar la Stampwheel 2.0 para mantener el diseño estampado exactamente en la misma posición en ambas piezas. Este paso es fundamental para lograr el efecto de líneas continuas cuando las dos capas se superponen utilizando cinta dimensional. 



  3. Espolvorea el polvo de embossing transparente sobre la tinta para embossing y aplica calor hasta que el acabado se vuelva brillante. Te recomiendo aplicar algún tipo de polvo antiestático antes de estampar. Esto ayuda a que el polvo de embossing se adhiera únicamente a las áreas entintadas. Yo utilizo maicena común y corriente.
  4. Utiliza el troquel de marco para recortar el centro de la pieza adicional de cartulina verde.
  5. Con cinta adhesiva dimensional, pega el marco recortado sobre el frente de la tarjeta. Asegúrate de que las líneas coincidan para crear un diseño continuo y uniforme.
  6. Opcional: añade algunas lentejuelas transparentes para un toque de brillo. Recomiendo que sean transparentes para mantener la apariencia sutil del diseño. 

  7. Estampa tu mensaje con tinta pigmentada Antique Gold para darle un acabado elegante y sofisticado al texto. 

Aquí tienen una tarjeta similar realizada con un color diferente de cartulina. ¿Cuál les gusta más?



Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Creating Victorian Inspired Floral Cards with "The Drawing Room"

These two Victorian-inspired cards were created with Altenew's The Drawing Room bundled kit.



I really love this set. So many period tidbits to mix and create different tableaus. I am dying to make a card with the drawing room furniture. The card fronts were so complete in my mind,  I chose to keep one card blank and include an embossed sentiment on the inside of the other card. 

The colorful, layered florals appear vibrant against the neutral backgrounds. I chose four different colors to stencil the flowers and four for the leaves. While this had potential to look like a paint store exploded, it all works because I kept the colors in the same color family and increased the saturation in fairly even levels. Big tip: you can let others do the work for you by purchasing color sets already assembled with these considerations in mind. If you do not have a pre-packaged color set, then you can will likely need to whip out your (two level) color wheel. Here's my supplies and the steps I used to create them. 
Supplies
Optional: 
  • Anti-static powder (I use corn starch)
  • Washi tape
  1. Cut and fold an A2 card (4.25"X5.5"), cut a piece of 4"x5.25" black cardstock and a piece of 3.75"X5" white cardstock. Set side.
  2. On a separate piece of white cardstock, use the kit's layering guide to stencil the flowers and leaves. I find it helpful to use a blending brush for each color. If you plan on continuing making cards, it is a good idea to invest in several. It's not a good idea to use a damp brush (recently cleaned) to stamp a new color. It will majorly slow you down if you need to wash and dry brushes between colors. 
  3. Using your die cutting machine, cut out the flowers with their leaves. I use low tack tape (washi tape) to keep my die in place while cutting.
  4. Using the desired stencil on your 3.75"X5" piece of white cardstock, create your neutral background with your gray tones. I originally made the stenciled background gradient in color by using an ombre effect with my inking. This is seen in my supplies photo above. It looked unfinished, so I later changed it to the solid color background seen in final card. This kit provides many options to use for backgrounds; ranging from stamps, stencils and an embossing folder.
  5. Assemble the pieces of the card. I used flat double sided tape to center glue the black cardstock over the card front. And I tried two different layering approaches with my two smaller pieces of white cardstock. On one, I centered the white panel over the black. And on the other I nestled the smaller white cardstock to the lower left, leaving more black edge around the top and right sides. This is evident in the supplies photo. However, again, I changed my mind and centered it. I like asymmetry and planned on adhering my flower at an edge with her leaves partially extending beyond the card. I felt that was enough asymmetry. 

  6. Using the foam tape, adhere the flower onto the card. I placed it lower right, with a tiny bit of overhang.
  7. I chose to include an embossed sentiment inside one of the cards. True to form, Altenew kept the fonts and the wording in keeping with the Victorian feel. I love their attention to details.
I hope you can see that even though one might have a step by step process in mind when creating, you are always tweaking and changing course. Even re-doing entire cards to get the desired one. Some of your best creations will be the result of happy accidents. Have fun with your artistry!

Sunday, March 1, 2026

Creating with an intentional use of colors

 




One of the most delightful aspects of card making is the choices you have in colors - both in inks as well as papers and embellishments. Indeed, my art is characterized by a bold use of colors.  I wanted to create a card being more intentional about my choices of how I use  color. 

I started out wanting to create a veritable kaleidoscope. I chose a stylized flower bud from Altenew's Simple Flower set and thought of filling my card's front with all different colors. 

I set out to use almost all my Altenew inks I own. I stamped with select individual Altenew mini inks from all my mini-sets (golden sunset, pocketful of sunshine, summer afternoon, red cosmos, lapis lazuli, sweet dreams, shades of purple and coffee break). I also used a few of Ranger distress inks and select full size Altenew inks in fresh dye crimson, sweet leaf, and crisp ink parrot. Whew! I went crazy with color and loved it. 

But a funny thing happened. After I had filled the cover of my card with a rainbow of swirls, I noticed some blank spaces that seemed to interrupt the flow. I saw a tiny circular-ish stamp in the Simple Flowers set and used embossing ink to stamp the small shape in the large blank spots. My plan was to heat emboss it so that I had a faint clear, shiny design in the empty spots. It did not turn out as I hoped. I do not know why but they embossed in varying shades of brown and basically looked messy.

So, what is a girl to do but improvise. I cut the paper in strips, avoiding the ugly embossed stamps.  I layered a black cut out over a white card front and added the strips of color with a Hugs sentiment from Altenew's Garden Gala set in the upper left corner. Since the card was already becoming quirky, I chose different lengths and widths of colorful strips and placed the hello at a slant. In the end, I really like the bold variety of colors. This design was not a favorite of mine, but I did create an interesting look after all was said and done. This is how it goes - occasionally "oops" will happen. Sometimes your art muse lets you succeed in salvaging the design.


Because of the hitch in this card's design, I chose to make another. This time I chose a monochromatic use of color. I absolutely like this card. Not love or even prefer. For me, the hand drawn petal outlines make it look less polished than I wanted. And the choice of silver for the sentiment was not wise, as the silver is too close in tone to white and light lavender to really stand out.

But c'est la vie. I learn from my mis-steps. The two cards are nice. Just not ones I like to look at over and over, lol. Do you agree with my assessments? What do you think?

Supplies

  1. Cut and fold an A2 (4.25"X5.5") card. Cut an A2 size single piece of lavender card stock. 
  2. Using the limestone ink, stamp the Blooming Thanks flower all over the lavender card stock. Create a haphazard arrangement with some stamps cut off by the paper's edges.
  3. Outline the flower with a deep purple alcohol marker. Leave the leaves in the pale grey color so that they do not detract from the purple theme of the card.
  4. Use your metallic purple watercolor to paint the center of the flowers.
  5. Paint in the petals with the acrylic lavender marker
  6. Place your Hello die center on a 5.5" side of lavender card stock and let half be off the paper. Die cut the Hello die. Glue the lavender card stock onto the white card front.
  7. Die cut a full size Hello from silver card stock. Cut two more Hello's from white cardstock (Not the A2 card).
  8. Stack and glue the three Hello's with the silver Hello on top. 
  9. Glue the thickened Hello cut-out onto the card front where it fits into the half cut-out. The effect is to have the silver Hello lying on top covering the card front - half on white and half on the lavender card stock.
  10. Glue a few sequins in upper corner for embellishment.
As an aside, since I am one of many artists who offer written and video tutorials online, I try to offer something unique with my contributions to this field. I enjoy checking out other card makers and craft companies. It helps me grow as an artist and crafter. But I have noticed one thing with the majority of online creators. And that is an almost pristine presentation in so far as the actual vibe of their visual and written content. I admit, this is a weak spot for me as a content creator. I am naturally a messy girl and enjoy a kitchen table feel to my writing. This translates as my being OK with less than perfect tidiness in  crafting workspace and in a writing style that is transparent about my errors and bloopers. 

I hope you find this refreshing- my writing about two cards that did not measure up to my preferred standards. I value transparency and realness for my readers and viewers. I know that is what is attractive to me as a lifetime student of the arts. I hope it makes me more relatable and encourages any shy crafter out there thinking of purchasing their first supplies. I say "clear that kitchen table and roll up your sleeves". Don't worry about making mistakes. Everyone has a creativity muscle, you just have to exercise it. And I see all my missteps as valuable lessons and  every now and then I let you, dear reader, in on some of my bloopers.

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Watercolor Flowers Made Easy: Painting with Ink Pads


I love working color onto surfaces in interesting ways. So playing with watercolor in unconventional ways was fun. I made a couple cards using watercolors in loose and surprising ways. These techniques require you leave your perfectionism at the door. I will go over one of those methods here.

Supplies

  • Embossing ink and powder
  • Cornstarch 
  • Heat tool
  • Water spritzer
  • Sequins
  • Optional: Stampwheel 2.0

  1. Cut and score an A2 card out of your white card stock and set aside.
  2. Brush a fine layer of cornstarch over a piece of watercolor paper. This will help your embossing powder stick to only the inked image.
  3. Apply your stamp onto this prepared watercolor paper, using permanent black pigment ink.  Then stamp over the same image with embossing ink. I like to use a base coat of black ink to create a crisp outline in case my black embossing powder does not adhere perfectly. 
  4. Sprinkle your embossing powder over your inked image and tap off excess. If you have stray embossing powder, use a clean, dry paintbrush to brush the powder away. 
  5. Use your heat tool to emboss the image.
  6. The embossed lines serve as a waterproof ridge that keeps the water inside the enclosed area. Use your brush to lay a film of clean water over the image you are going to paint. Change your water often so as not to contaminate your color.
  7. Select the colors you want to use from your available water-based ink pads. Uncap your ink pads and lay them face down onto a water resistant surface. You can use a craft mat, a palette or a glass mat as shown here. And rub the ink onto the surface. Deposit about three good smooshes of ink. (Smooshes is my very technical art term.)

  8. Spritz the ink with water until it beads up and you have a puddle of color. Be careful to leave the paint highly pigmented. Do not lighten the color with more water until you want a soft glaze of color. 
  9. Moisten the tip of your brush and then use it to pick up color.
  10. Dab color onto the already wet surface in an area you want to see paint flow. (I.E. the inner petals, close to the center.) The paint will flow outward from the initial deposit of color. 
  11. Allow each layer of color to dry before applying more watercolor. You can use your heating tool, but be careful to not burn the paper by holding it too long over one area.
  12. After you are satisfied with the initial painting, use metallic watercolor to accent select areas. It gives a lovely sheen and catches light beautifully.

  13. Once dry, use the coordinating die to cut your flower out. Also, with the colored card stock, cut out the 4"X5.25" piece you will glue to front of the A2 card.   

  14.  Glue the colored card stock onto the surface of your card. Leave a small, uniform white border showing. 
  15. Stamp a piece of white card stock with the sentiment and use the coordinating die to cut it out. 
  16. Assemble the front of your card. Your vibrant blossom is the star, but your sentiment can balance the composition. 
  17. Give your card an extra touch by glueing a few sequins to your 




    Here is another card in which I used same watercolor technique.
What I love about this type of watercolor painting is that the brush work is loose and surprises are welcome. As card makers, we measure with care, cut exact, imprint precisely... we are meticulous. So these dabs of color that disperse in wonderful patterns are so fun. Happy accidents. 

Creating Cards with Repurposed Materials: AECP Level 2 Challenge, Part 2 | Creando Tarjetas con Materiales Reutilizados: Desafío AECP Nivel 2, Parte 2

  English below • Español más abajo Artist's Note: All artwork and card photographs shown are my original creations. AI may be used to s...