AECP Seasonal Scene building

I made it!!! My final Academy One course is complete. I still have a LONG way to go with my Altenew Certified Educator Program (AECP) classes and assignments, but it does feel like I have reached a milestone. My final Academy One course was “Seasonal Scene Building” led by the wonderful Nichol Spohr. I was really excited about this class because, at heart, I am a scene building card maker who is always on the lookout for new ideas. Techniques I used from the class include:

• Creating a masked scene
• Building a background using inks
• Using foam adhesives for dimension

In keeping with the season I knew I wanted to create a Fall scene card, and what better way to show off this lovely time of the year than to show a tree with its changing leaves. My Altenew Chestnut Tree Layering Die Set, which I bought a while back to create a Father’s Day card for my nature loving husband, was the clear choice. Instead of using colored cardstock or ink-blending techniques to color my tree, having also just finished the “Let it Shine” course, I decided to grab my Tim Holtz Distress Mica Stain Sprays instead.

One of the things I have learned with sprays, is that even with a few colors, you can create different effects and color palettes by using the same sprays in combination or using them on colored cardstock. For my first layer, I used the Harvest Moon and Decayed Mica Stains on white card stock to achieve a lovely gold. For the green layer, I just stuck with the Fresh Balsam stain on white cardstock. BUT… for the orange layer and the tree trunk layer, I grabbed two panels of espresso brown cardstock and sprayed one with Burning Ember and the other with Decayed. The sprays also mottled up on the colored cardstock creating an even cooler color and texture. After I had made my papers and let them dry, I die cut each layer and then assembled the tree with thin foam squares following the layering guide on the back of the packaging. This magnificent tree both deserved and loved the added dimension.

With my tree assembled it was now time to create a background.

I decided early on I didn’t want my entire card to feature the background scene. I wanted to keep some white space available to relieve the eye and to leave space for a stamped sentiment. As such, I masked off the card with masking paper leaving a two inch open space towards the left side of the card panel. For my ink-blended background I decided to go with Distress Oxide Inks. If you have never used Distress Oxide hybrid inks, they ink-blend like a dream, though the pigment is muted in comparison to die inks. I use them most often when ink-blending a large area such as a sky, especially when I am using several colors and need an effortless blend.

I started my scene by masking off an area on the bottom of my card to create the ground for my tree in a dark brown. Once complete. I flipped my mask around, protecting my “ground” and then moving on to the mountains in the background. To create the mountains, I grabbed my Abstract Mountain Scene Stencil and created a couple of soft mountains in a lighter brown shade. The wonderful thing about the Abstract Mountain Scene stencil, is the bottom of the stencil has the mirror image to the top, so it can be used as a mask after you have stenciled your design. I masked off my mountains with my stencil and got to work on the sky. I used two shades of yellow and two shades of orange for the sky, blended from the bottom up going light to dark. Once my ink-blending was complete, the background needed a little “extra” so I grabbed my Altenew Metallic Watercolor Pan Set and added some gold spatter before removing the masks on each side of the scene.

For final assembly, I cut down my scene panel so I would have enough room to add a mat using a dark brushed gold cardstock. I then arranged my tree along the scene making sure most of the tree was in the scene a leafy portion flowing into the white space. Lastly, I needed a sentiment. I knew I wanted something small that would reflect gratitude. I found the perfect “Heartfelt Thanks” from the Rosy Blooms stamp set. I stamped my sentiment in a rich brown ink to keep with my Fall color theme, and my card was complete.

This might be one of my favorite class projects!

Thank you.