Altenew Educators Blog Hop +Giveaway

Welcome to Altenew Educators Blog Hop!  As Altenew-Certificated Educators, we were asked to share our FAVORITE ( techniques, styles.... or Altenew supplies)! If you’ve been following along, you’ve just arrived from Michelle Ochoa Murray's blog. If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the Altenew Card Blog.

I thought I'd share with you two cards using one of my favourite techniques, pairing delicate flowers with backdrops consisting of black and white elements. I love the fresh modern vibe it creates.

For my first card I used the Watercolor stripes cover die to create a black backdrop for my flowers to sit against.  I added floral elements using the Bride to be stamp and die set. I chose to use pastel inks to give a soft feminine feel. My sentiment is from the Hope stamp and die set.

My next card was created using the same idea, this time I used the Layered Medallions A cover die cut in white against a black card. I used the Fine Alphabet to die but the word Hugs, which I placed on to vellum.

As many of you will know, Altenew is a huge part of my crafting life, I'm not only a huge fan, Certified Educator but also run the Altenew fan group on Facebook, I just can't get enough of their stunning products.

When I first heard about the AECP I was ready to jump in with both feet. The program was a way for me to learn new techniques, ways to get more form my Altenew stash and take my crafting to the next level.

I adore Altenew's stamps, inks and dies (well in fact all of their products) They make such a difference to my crafting, if you are thinking about joining the AECP, I would say go for it. You have nothing to lose and so so much to gain. The lessons are full of hints, tips and inspiration and the support from Virginia who runs the program is fantastic.

I hope you will join hop along and see what the all of the other ladies have to share , below is a list of all the stops. Your next stop is Maryam Sharara

Hop participants;

Altenew Card Blog

Nancy McClelland

Kelli Cool  

Michelle Ochoa Murray

Terri Koszler

Maryam Sharara

Amber Rain Davis

Irina Fonina 

Francine Dodwell 

Teri Wilson

Patty Mello

Nenette S. Madero

Nicole Picadura

Prize Info

Altenew is giving away $30 Gift Certificate to THREE lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by Jan. 23rd for a chance to win. Three winners will be announced on the Altenew blogs on 1/25/2019.

I also have a $15 gift certificate to give away, please leave me a comment below and I will pick a winner at random and announce it here on 1/22/2019.

Thank you for stopping by today, take care, Terri.

Altenew Educator Certification Program - Final challenge

Hey there crafty friends, today has been a big day for me. I ran a workshop teaching Altenew stamping and card making as part of my final challenge for the Altenew Educator Certification Program.

My brief was to run a workshop teaching 2-3 cards that lasted around 2 hours. I had 2 lovely men and 2 young ladies on my workshop who had varying skill levels. I decided that we would use the following products in our workshop

Remember this stamp set

Floral 6 Mini ink cubes

Mini Hello stamp set

Here are my sample cards

I had so much fun seeing how everyone's confidence grew, on the last card we made everyone put their own spin on my inspiration card.

Here is a picture of my participants with their master pieces

and a closer look at their cards

I was really pleased with how everything went and the lovely feedback I had from the participants. I would have loved to have had a projector and overhead camera so that the participants could have got a closer look at me stamping, maybe that is something for the future.

I cant wait to hear if I have been successful and passed the challenge, being part of the AECP has been amazing and to be able to say that I am a certified Altenew Educator will be honour.

One Layer wonder - AECP final card

It's a very hot day here in the south west of England and I thought while hiding from the sun I'd hang out in my craft room and create my final card for the Altenew Educator Certification Program.

I've been taking the One layer wonders class at Altenew academy which is taught by Kelly Latevola. The class take you through different ways to create one layer cards which look like they have dimension.

So onto how I created my card

I used floral images from two stamp sets along four inks sets in warm sunny colours to create the background images. I will add links below.  I masked off the centre section of my card and stamped the flowers and leaves using minimal masking.

I then removed the masking tape and used a black fine liner to edge the blank area where my sentiment was going to be stamped. I then used 3 shades of grey artist markers to flick outwards from the black line, this creates a shadow giving the impression that the blank panel is raised.

I then stamped by sentiment and added a fine border around the edge of the card with a fine liner. Lastly a scattering of sequins adds that special touch.

Links

Vintage flowers stamp set

Pocket full of sunshine mini inks

Cherry Blossom mini inks

Sweet dreams mini inks

Tropical forest mini inks

Artist Markers set B

Painted Inspiration stamp set

The second set of flower stamps I used I can not link to yet as they haven't been released.......yes I've given you a sneak peek at something coming in the July release.

I can not tell you how happy I am with this card, it really captures the hot summer vibe that is going on right now. 

Background Magic with Altenew Academy

I recently took the Background Magic class at Altenew Academy as part of the Altenew Educator Certification Program, the class was taught by Laurel Beard and consisted of six lesson teaching ways in which you can use your background stamps to add that magical touch to your cards.

To created my card I used the following Altenew products

Pattern Play diamond stamp set

Halftone circles stamp set

Crisp Copper embossing powder

Embossing ink pad

Lagoon ink pad

Midnight Violet ink pad

Galactic Stream ink pad

Purple Wine ink pad

I started with a 6x6" piece of white cardstock, using the diamond pattern play stamp and embossing ink I stamped the piece of card, I then heat embossed using the Crisp Copper embossing power. I stamped the image again this time turning it a quarter turn to the left and heat embossed. This created a stunning pattern for my background.

I then added colour to the stamped background using Altenew crisp inks in Lagoon, Midnight Violet, Galactic Stream and Purple Wine.  I added some of each ink to my glass cutting mat and spritzed them with water, I also spritzed the stamp background. I then used a paint brush to drop in some of each colour and allowed the water move the ink around.

Once dry I cut the panel diagonally and trimmed it down, I embossed 2 strips of card using the Copper embossing powder to place just under the edge of my patterned pieces, this ties the look together. I adhered the patterned pieces to a card blank and stamped my sentiment in black ink.

I am so happy with how my card turned out, I hope you'll give this technique a try too.

Stunningly Simple Watercolor Techniques

Good morning crafty friends, today I have a new card to share with you. I created this card after taking the "Stunningly Simple Watercolor Techniques" class at Altenew Academy.

I chose to work with the colour teal as it's my favourite colour and looks so yummy in the warm weather we are experiencing. 

I started by stamping and embossing one of the large images from the stamp set in Platinum. I then added a wash of clean water to the card stock before adding teal tones to the card.  I used Altenew Sea Shore Inks with a little water to create a colour wash.  I started off darker at the top of the card and faded the colour as I moved towards the bottom. I also added flicks of teal to the card to add texture and interest.

Once dry I embossed a piece of white card with the Platinum embossing powder so that I could create some embellishments for my card.  I added a piece to the bottom of my card and also die cut my sentiment and some sequins from the same piece, continuing the colour theme.

I learnt so many things from Lydia Evans classes and will be adding the new techniques to my cards.

The products used are linked below

You Are Stamp Set

Script Word Die Set

Sea Shore Ink Collection

Platinum Crisp Embossing Powder

Embossing Ink

Party Time! Die Set

For the Love of Color - Altenew educator certification program

Today I am sharing not 1 but 2 cards I created after taking Julie Altermann's For the Love of color class over at Altenew academy.

The class was awesome and full of hints, tips and techniques to help us crafters add that extra detail and lots of colour to our projects.  I learnt lots from the class and could literally make a dozen cards with all the ideas in my head right now, but in my attempt to rein it in and stay controlled I made 2.

The things that stuck with me most from the class were not to be afraid of adding a mix of bright and bold colours to our cards and to think about different ways in which to get colour in there, be it different medium or with the use of die cuts.

I decided that I would go bright with shades or yellow, orange and red and I would also use a die to help me with making my design.

I chose to use the Mandala Die to cut a stencil to ink through. In the process of stencilling the die cut piece got very inky and looked too pretty to dispose of, so I used it to create my second card.

The inks I used in my cards were

Ruby Red

Orange Cream

Fresh Lemon

Let me know what you think of my cards, I'll be back soon with more crafty makes.

Masking Unleashed - Altenew Educator Certification Program

Today's post is all about masking and is my last card for the Level 2 Altenew educator certification program.

I haven't worked with the Painted flowers stamp set for some time and thought this would be a good time to dig it out and spend time with an old favourite.

I started by stamping the flowers I was going to be using onto some making paper and cut them out. I used the masks to allow me to place images in the back ground while protecting the stamped images in the foreground. 

I chose a combination of pinks and peach colours to work with. I stamped the peach flowers in the lower part of the card first, I then masked them and stamped the pink flowers and outline images.  I then repeated this process in the top part of the card.

I added a sentiment from the Beautiful Quotes stamp set and embellished with sequins.

I've added links to the products used for your convenience.

Painted Flowers Stamp Set

Painted flowers die set

Green Fields mini cube inks

Red Sunset mini cube inks

Warm and Cozy mini inks

Beautiful Quotes Stamp set

I hope you've enjoyed today's post, I will be back with more very soon.

Polychromatic Peony Dreams

I am so excited to share this post with you, I recently took the Polychromatic class at Altenew Academy and loved the inspiration shared, this coincided with my Peony dreams dies arriving so I just had to use them to make my next assignment for the Altenew Educator Certification program.

What does Polychromatic mean I hear you say, well the dictionary defines it as

Polychromatic

of two or more or of varying colours; multicoloured.

I started working with a A2 piece of card (4.25" x 5.5") I used some Black Soft form relief paste from Colourcraft  along with the Watercolor stripes stencil to add some texture to the panel. I set this aside to dry.

Next I gathered 4 sheets of purple cardstock and also a sheet of white. I added double side adhesive sheets to the back of all the cardstock.

Using the layering guide I cut my flower dies in the purples shades and leaves in the white. By adding the double sided adhesive before cutting it saves me having to use wet glue and I also get edge to edge adhesion.

On the reverse of the die packaging there is a layering guide, which can also be found at Altenew.com 

I used the Grey Artist Markers from set B to colour the leaves, next I peeled the backing from the die cuts and layered them together. To put the card together I added the leaves and die cut flowers before  adding a stamped and heat embossed sentiment to a strip of card.

The products I used to create the card are listed below.

Painted Encouragement stamps

Artist Markers set B

Watercolor Stripes stencil

Peony Dreams 3D dies

In the mood for colour - Altenew Educators Certification Program

I recently took the "In the mood for color" class over at Altenew Academy as part of my Educator Certification program that I am taking part in.

In the class I learnt about how certain colours reflect mood and emotion. This morning I was feeling really calm and as such chose to work with blue. I also felt strong and organised so thought it would be good to work with a shape that also reflects that feeling.

I couldn't wait to use my new Trigonometry Stamp Set and Tirgonometry Die set to create a card.  I love geometric cards as they are suitable or all genders and ages.  I wanted to make a modern looking cards so added some of the triangle shapes using the newly released Deep Blue Seas mini ink cubes (which are also available in Large ovals size too).  I used some silver embossing powder to add some shine in places. I die cut a couple of the Trigonometry die in to the stamped panel to add extra detail. I then used the "thanks" sentiment from Halftone circles Stamp Set to add my message.

I've never really thought to much about why I use the colours I do in my crafting but now when I look at my cards I can see what I was feeling at the time I crafted them.

Thank you popping by today, I'll be back soon with more crafty creations.

Terri x

Creative Watercolor media - Altenew Educator Certification program

Today I am sharing a card I created as part of the Altenew Educator certification programme. After taking the Creative Watercolor media class I was inspired to get creative.

I used an ink smooshing technique to create a coloured panel which I dried with my heat gun.  I then used the diamond pattern play stamp to heat emboss in white on top of the coloured panel.

I then used the Layered Medallion B die to cut, creating a beautifully decorative piece. I added a black die cut sentiment using the script word dies 2 die set.

I am really please with how my card turned out, the bright colours and the intricate pattern are so pretty.

Seasonal scene building - Altenew Educator Certification Program

Good morning, today I am sharing a post featuring a card i made for the Altenew  Educator Certification program.

The task was to create a stamped scene using masking 

I stamped my image on to white cardstock and used Spectrum Noir pencils to colour it in.

I fussy cut the image and added it on to a card blank which I had decorated with distress ink and Black card accents.

The stamp set I used was from Altenew and you can find it here >>>>> Succulents stamp set

Thank you for stopping by today.

For the guys - Altenew Educator Certification Program

Morning everyone

I'm sharing a card I made recently whilst participating in the Altenew Educator Certification Program.

I used Altenews cube builder stencil to create the geometric background,it's perfect for the men in your life. I added my sentiment using the Bold Alphabet dies and the best dad stamp set. The stars were stamped using the Trophy life stamp set.

I love the bold black against the green tones. I am so glad I added this stencil and dies set to my stash.

Here's links to the products I used

Bold Alphabet dies

Best Dad

Trophy Life 

Cube builder stencil

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back later in the week with more crafty projects.

Anniversary card - Altenew Educator certification program challenge

I am so excited to be sharing this project with you, this card is my final one for the Level 1 Altenew educators certification program. After taking all 10 classes and submitting my work I was asked to make an Anniversary/love/wedding card skils things I have learnt from 3 of the classes.

Choosing which three was to use was a little tricky as I learnt so much and in a way I think my card combines elements from several classes.

I was inspired by the All about layering 1 and 2 classes and wanted to use layered floral images so choose to use the Vintage rose stamps and dies. 

I used the following colours for my flowers; Blush, Peach perfect, Rouge and Caramel toffee.

I loved the Easy die cutting class and some of the things I learnt, so my leaves were die cut from vellum and then heated embossed using Golden Peach embossing powder.

In the Clean and Simple Boutique cards class I learnt about the use of white space and adding foiling or metallic elements to projects, adding embossing powder to the leaves creates a metallic effect, the shine is stunning yet subtle.

I have had a blast and learnt so much form some very talented designers/tutors.

I hope this card gets me a pass and I can progress on to level 2.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have liked this project.

Terri

Easy Die cutting techniques - Altenew Educator Certification Program

Good morning everyone, today I am sharing a clean and simple stamped and die cut card.

I created my card using Altenews Vintage teacup stamp and die set. I was inspired by the Altenew class Easy die cutting techniques. I think sometimes it's easy to get caught up in trying out the next new technique and to forget about how we can make clean simple cards using the set we have in our stash.

I stamped my tea cup and saucer onto some Solar crest card and used Altenews Artist markers to colour the image.  I added the polka dot detail using the stamp in the set along with Lavender fields ink set.

I added the steam image in grey and my sentiment in black.

I think letting the imagery speak for itself makes this card beautiful

Here's links to the products used

Vintage Tea cup stamps

Vintage tea cup dies

Lavender feilds Inks

Jet black ink

Rocky shore Ink

Clean and simple Boutique cards - Altenew Educator Certification Program

I have been dying to share this card with you, I was totally inspired by the Amazing Jennifer Rzasa and her Altenew Academy class; Clean and simple boutique cards.

In the class Jennifer talk about not being afraid of white space on your cards. This is something I have previously struggled with but not any more.

I created my card by blending a section using Distress inks and flicking water at it.  I adhered this to a white card and added a black die cut Elephant from the Baby Zoo die set.  I then stamped my sentiment from the Be strong stamp set.

One of the other things that hit me in the class was how we can make the recipients experience even ore special by decorating the envelopes we put our master pieces in.

I blended a piece of white card using the same colours as on my card, I then die cut the word hugs and a heart and added then to a white envelope liner.

When the envelope is opened you see the word hugs first and then as the card is taken out you then get the surprise of the heart.

Here's links to the products I used

Baby zoo die set

Script words die set

Be strong stamp set

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you like todays project.

Irresistible inking techniques - Altenew Educator Certification Program

Today I am sharing a card inspired by the lovey Sara Naumann and her Irresistible Inking techniques class at Altenew Academy.

As you know I am taking part in the Altenew Educator Certification Program and have to take course to pass each level. This course was part of the level 1 requirement but you to can take the course to learn new skills and new ways in which to use your crafty stash.

So what did I make?

This card is very different than my usual style but I adore it, it reminds me of some of the cards my Mum and step farther used to get each other, they were on recycled hand made paper and very muted water coloured images.

I used Sara's tips on brayering a background panel using my Altenew crisp inks, I dab a little ink on to my glass mat and spritzed with water, I then roll my brayer through it and then onto my white cardstock. I first did this with the Caramel Toffee ink, blasted it with my heat gun and then repeated with the rouge ink.

I then stamped and die cut some tulips to co ordinate with my chosen colour palette. I adhered my brayerd background onto some white card and edged the card with Caramel Toffee ink by running my ink pad against the edges of the card.

I finished it off by adding some twine and a sentiment. I used foam pads to adhere the brayerd panel to add some depth and dimension. My sentiment on the outside reads "sending you" and on the inside of my card it says birthday wishes.

Here are links to the items I used

Rouge

Caramel Toffee

Buttercream

Frayed Leaf

Mocha

Tulip stamps

Tulip dies

Let it shine - Altenew Educator Certification Program

I can't believe it's Wednesday already, I'm looking forward to the weekend and a few extra hours of sleep. Going back to routine after the Christmas holidays has really thrown me.

While the whole house tries to fight off a yucky virus I'm keeping busy by creating pretty cards.

Todays card is Inspired by the Let it shine Altenew Academy class I took this week as part of the Altenew Educator certification program.

I started by stamping the main flower layers using the Cool Summer nights crisp inks onto white cardstock. I then stamped the outline with embossing ink and sprinkled some bonding powder over it. I then used my heat gun to cure it before adding some copper transfer foil. This gives a very pretty effect and a stunning shine.

I repeated the same process for the leaves but use Frayed leaves crisp inks. I then fussy cut both sets of images and set them to one side.

For my back ground I stamped a panel using the smaller images in the stamp set and coloured them using Altenews Artist markers in colours which match the ink pads. I coloured very simply as I dont want them to be the prominent feature of my card.

I then die cut a white front panel and stamped a few of the smaller images in the top right corner as I will be adding my die cut flower and leaves over them, this help to and depth to my card.

My sentiment is also foiled in the same way as the flower and leaves. All that was left to do was but all the pieces together.

Here are the products I used

Beautiful day stamp set

Green Fields mini crisp inks

Cool Summer nights

Embossing ink

Altenew Artist Markers set A

WOW bonding powder

Stix2 copper transfer foil