AECP Transcending Tattoo Techniques - Cards and Crafts by Samantha

I am nearing the end of my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) and these advanced technique classes have been so amazing. The project I am featuring today focuses on a card made using techniques from the Transcending Tattoo Techniques Course taught by the ever amazing Jaycee Gaspar.

When I first signed up for the course, I wasn’t sure what to expect, By the end, I was totally blown away by all the creative ideas shared by leveraging popular tattoo styles. Further, my feature project has to be my favorite card I’ve made so far in this program. All inspired by Trash Polka tattoo art.

Trash Polka, a style I had never heard of until the course, is a style of tattoo art created in the late 90’s combining realistic images along with layers of bold graphics, typically done only in saturated blacks and reds. After the course, I took Jaycee’s advice and googled Trash Polka art and was amazed by all of the inspiration. I couldn’t wait to go through my stash. I actually got down on the floor and laid out every Altenew product I own carefully selecting the graphics I wanted to feature.

Altenew products used for this card include:

In addition to the supplies listed above, I also grabbed a Bokeh layering stencil from my stash.

I started my cards by stamping all of my images onto heavy white cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I then grabbed my Copic markers, choosing only blacks, neutral grays, and reds, to color my images. I am typically known for using markers to color detailed images, but taking Jaycee’s advice from the course, I kept my strokes loose and more graphic, leaving white at the edges and creating larger blocks of color.

Once my images were colored, I die cut them with the coordinating dies and played around with arrangements before starting my background. Because I chose a bunch of larger images, I decided on a 5″x 7″ white card panel in order to have enough room to show off the images and techniques.

I started my background with the Sphere Stencil using Black Soot Distress Oxide Ink. The circle would be the guideline for the rest of my design. Next, I grabbed my Bokeh stencil and generously added overlapping circles to my background in a gray and black gradient, this time using my Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Lastly… It was time for splatter.

I grabbed my Altenew Jet Black Ink Spray, opened the bottle and strategically applied larger splatter drops all over the page.

Before adhering my dies cuts, I selected a sentiment from the Beautiful Butterflies Press Plate set and applied to my card using my Betterpress. The sentiment “I see your Strength and Beauty” seemed so perfect for the vibe of this card.

Lastly, I arranged my flowers and greenery in a loose triangle shape following the left side of the card panel using both thick and thin foam tape for layers of dimension, before applying my final focal image, the butterfly, in the center.

This card is so different from my usual style and I just love how it turned out. I hope you like it too!

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