AECP Academy 2 Final Project – Masculine Cards

I am making great progress on my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) and I just completed my final project for Academy 2. For this assignment I was tasked with making four masculine cards covering the four themes below using techniques I learned throughout my courses. I was also tasked with making an altered item that I will cover in a second post.

• Birthday
• Encouragement
• Love/Thinking of You
• Anniversary

The class techniques I used for the four cards I am sharing today include:

• Easy Die-Cutting Techniques – With my masculine birthday card I employed inlay techniques with my dies to create a fun design.
• For the Guys – Also for my birthday card, I created a pop art design which was a both first for me and a recommendation from the course. For my anniversary card, I used a geometric shape via an embossing folder and added metallic accents, also tips from the class.
• Seasonal Scene Building – Both my encouragement card and my thinking of you card rely on scenes I created inspired by guidance from the course.
• Masking Unleashed – For my encouragement card I combined masking techniques to create a scene with stamps and stenciling.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

For this fun birthday card I decided on a pop-art design using the Leaf Mix Die Set from Altenew. To start, I went through my card stock to select the four colors I wanted for the card, choosing a bright blue and green, my husband’s favorite colors, and a hot pink and orange, which are a favorite color combination of mine. Next, using my paper trimmer, I cut 4 equal sized rectangles from the colored cardstock each measuring 2″ x 2 5/8.” I then selected 4 different leaf shapes from the die set, using one die each to cut a space the colored rectangles and then later die-cutting all 4 leaves from brushed metallic black cardstock. I put all of my die cuts, including the negative pieces into a bowl for later use when doing my inlay work.

I started by gluing my 4 die-cut rectangles down onto a white card panel measuring 4″ x 5.25.” Next, I inserted my black leaf outline die cuts into the openings of my colored cardstock rectangles, followed by the colored cardstock negative pieces from my leaf cuts. For my orange rectangle I used pink for my leaf inserts and for the pink rectangle I used orange. I followed this same pattern for the blue and green blocks.

Once everything was glued in place, I created a sentiment using the One-Go Birthday Stamp and Die set and heat-embossing the sentiment in black onto white cardstock. I then adhered everything to an A2 sized card-base and my card was complete. It’s not only a fun card, but my husband gave it a thumbs up!

ENCOURAGEMENT

A masculine encouragement card was the one card idea, where I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to make. I decided to go through my entire Altenew stash to look for inspiration and I am sure glad I did. First, I ran into the “Keep Going” sentiment from my Paint-A-Flower Iris stamp set followed by the Mini Camel stamp set that was an Altenew incentive set from earlier in 2023. I knew then exactly what scene I wanted to create.

I started by first stamping my camel image onto Copic-friendly paper. Next I stamped the same camel image on to masking paper, fussing cutting out the mask, and then adhering the mask to my paper. Then, I used making tape to tape of the area I wanted to protect from my stenciling and got to work creating mountains using the Abstract Mountain Scene Stencil. Once my stenciling was complete, I added a few spatters of gold using Altenew’s Metallic Watercolor Pan Set, I removed the masks and Copic-colored my camel.

To finish things off, I stamped my sentiment in espresso ink and cut my panel to 4 1/4″ x 5 1/8th” and added a border to the left and right in gold and orange cardstock. I think this card might be my favorite of the 4.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

I recently acquired the Delicate Dragonflies die set and I knew I had to use it for this final project. I kept things fairly simple and started with die-cuts using white cardstock for the body and under-layer of the wings. For the top wing layer, I used metallic gold cardstock. Next, I ink-blended the body in a dark gray and for the wings I used shades of lime green, teal, and ocean blue. To add another sparkly touch, I used my gold shimmer pen on the dragonfly body, before assembling the pieces.

For my layout I decided to make a 5.5″ x 5.5″ square card, a shape I have not yet used in my AECP journey, and feature a background color in peacock blue. I cut my blue panel in a 5 1/8″ square along with a metallic gold panel 5 1/4″ square to create a 1/16″ matted frame. I then used circle dies to cut out the centers, using a smaller size for the gold layer to create an inner gold ring for my feature image. Next, to bring in a geometric shape into the card and create a little texture, I used my Diamond Stars 3D Embossing Folder to create a background in dove gray. Once all my panels were glued down, I bent the wings of my dragonfly, adding some thick foam tape under his wings to create dimension, and finished everything off with a gold heat- embossed sentiment from the One-Go Birthday Stamp and Die Set. I chose the message “More Years to Come” as I thought this message could equally apply to a marriage as well as a birthday.

I can officially say this was my husband’s favorite card of the four, even though we have a while before our next anniversary.

THINKING OF YOU

This last card is the one masculine card I made exclusively with my husband in mind. My husband is an outdoorsman and extreme sports fanatic that loves skiing and backpacking above all other activities. I decided to pull out my Chestnut Tree Layering Die Set and create a winter tree scene inspired by my husband’s love of nature and snow. This was the third time I have used this set, the first being last summer when I created a Father’s Day card, and again, when I created a Fall scene for my Seasonal Scene Building project. Come Spring, I will have to use it again.

To start, I grabbed all my ink sprays in shades of wintery blues using products from Altenew, Distress, and Lindy’s to create an array of shimmery papers to use for my die cuts. Once everything was cut, I used the layering guide included with the die set to assemble my tree, adding small pieces of foam tape under each layer for added dimension.

To complete my scene, I next pulled out my Cloudy Day 3D Embossing Folder. I wanted to leave about an inch border on the bottom of my white card panel for my sentiment and to ground my tree image. When I inserted my paper into the embossing folder, I made sure leave one inch of paper peaking outside of the folder at the bottom. Once embossed, I then masked off the un-embossed bottom and pulled out my Distress Oxide Inks in Tumbled Glass, Speckled Egg, and Weathered Wood. I used these colors to ink blend a winter sky along the edges of my clouds.

The last and final element to complete my winter landscape… SNOW! I took white acrylic paint, mixed it with a small amount of water, and then used a fan brush to spatter snow detail all over my tree and sky. Once dry, I removed my mask, stamped a sentiment picked from the Dainty Flowers Stamp Set, glued every down onto a dark gray mat, and then an A2 card base. I presented the card to my husband and got another thumbs up.

Thank you so much for following along on my Altenew journey. Stay tuned for my Altered Object post!