Pink Crafty Mama: Arty Divas DT 31 Dec

01 January, 2020

Arty Divas DT 31 Dec - Working on my AECP

Hi Lovelies!

Today is Challenge 12 at Arty Divas. This is a FORTNIGHTLY "anything goes" (any type of project and any theme) challenge with a design team who makes projects showcasing the sponsor who often offers PRIZES!

This week there is no sponsor so we had free reign!

My choice is Altenew and it requires a backstory.

I joined their certification program almost a year ago and I hoped to complete at least Level 1 during 2019. Easy right? But then January became June and then June became the business end of December so I had an internal freak out.

Each level consists of 10 classes and you submit a project based on each class. Each class consists of 10 short lessons. You don't have to do one for each lesson, but in order to dip my toes in, I'm going tp. And to help me get into the groove of making something every day during 2020. I wonder how long that will last? 😂😂😂

It's not a resolution, just trying to catch up with layouts and other projects. I find it's much easier when i make stuff regularly, I feel so rusty if I let time lapse between makes! Silly I know.

Anyway I chose to start with the class called "All About Layering" and it's free to take in Altenew's Altenew Academy. It's taught by Nicole Picadura. I didn't have the exact stamps she used (which is fine) but I buy particular types of stamps and avoid certain types.

For the first card she used a set where the coloured part of the images is deliberately offset to look like watercolour. I used a combination of Botanical Garden and Peony Bouquet sets and chose the layers that look most similar to a loose watercolour taking care to offset it.

The sentiment seemed to slot into a natural spot but getting a clean image with the Label Love set was touch. Mine at least seemed to be carved really shallow so to get clear words you need little ink, but then you get a blotchy background.

Tp get a lovely solid background, in flows into the recesses of the words and obscured them. Yes I did season the stamp and all that stuff. I'll keep playing with them and see if I can get them to stamp better.

The sequins (from Spiegelmom Scraps adhered with my beloved Glue Dots) were not in the most aesthetic location. They are hiding a multitude of sins caused by getting ink on my fingers and transferring it unwittingly.

I used adhesive foam to attach the card from to the base. It has adhesive on one side and typically I add Glue Dots to the other. My usual Kokuyo adhesive is possibly not strong enough and I'd hate for a card to fall apart.

The second card needed stamps with an outline that had a kind of pattern almost filling in image, More like the butterflies and a tiny bit like the flower. Just a single layer of stamping and die cutting. I have the dies, but fussy cut instead partly because I needed to remove the leaves from the flower which would have stamped pink, I don;t always cut legs and antennae when I fussy cut insects, but I did this time! I enjoy fussy cutting so 🤷🤷🤷

The other reason is because the Big Shot acts as a door stop to prevent a certain Fat Cat doing his best Jack Nicholson impression and tormenting his sister.

You gotta do what you gotta do, right? 🤷

So Back to my card for Lesson 2...(tangents are regular part of this bloggy Mama, I'm afraid!)...Most of the cut images are on foam with some elements stamps directly on the card. Mt method for doing this differed from Nicole's. I positioned my elements and very lightly traced around them then stamped first. It's pretty forgiving so I can fiddle with the elements later to get it to look the way I want to.

My clear Wink of Stella was singing its swan song, and with several squeezes as firm as my arthritic fingers could do, she sputtered and coughed and kinda flowed into the exact centre of the flower! So pretty, but unfortunately I wanted a sequin there all along! 😭

Add a few more sequins in strategic places to hide some unintended marks and I think it's done.

My aim is to complete the remaining 8 lessons and my final submission for this class this week. I don't think I'm going to be doing a full card for each lesson in each class for each level, but if something inspires me, then maybe I'll do a few here and there... Or if it's a foreign concept like CAS when I'm on Team Moar. 🙈🙈🙈

I fear much of the lessons have the CAS vibe so it's going to be an interesting ride! Hold on tight cos I'm about to push the nitrous to boost my way through. (what can I say, I'm a Boy mama and I love cars!)