AECP All about layering 4

I am continuing my Altenew Educator Certification Program (AECP) journey having just completed the All About Layering 4 course. This course expanded on the prior All About Layering 3 class, including more examples on creative uses with layering stamps and a greater emphasis on layout and design. For my class project, my card features the Altenew Vintage Roses layering stamp set using the warm yellows and oranges found in the Summer Afternoon crisp die ink set. There are several tips I took away from this course and used in my card and they are listed below.

• Place flowers in odd numbers to create a harmonious look
• Place images in a loose triangle shape to create a natural looking image
• Add foam and/or additional paper die cuts to create dimension
• Trim your die cuts as needed to create your desired shape

Following the tips from the class, I stamped each image first using the lighter shades of ink and moving to the darker, lining up each stamp using three alignment points. Unlike the class videos, I used my Misti stamping platform instead of an acrylic block to stamp my layers. Using a stamping platform not only ensures you have more accurate stamping, but also allows you to easily stamp multiple images without having to realign your stamps.

After stamping and cutting two copies each of the 5 stamped roses and some of the stamped greenery, I decided I would add in additional interest using leaves cut from the Itty Bitty Branches die set in two shades of green cardstock. Next, I pulled out my Fancy Thanks die set and cut several sentiments from copper colored cardstock matching the Paper Bag die ink used in the roses. Now that I had all of my pieces it was time to design my layout.

I pulled out pattern paper I had in my stash with a gold cross pattern and cut a 2″ by 5 and 3/8th” vertical strip for my background to add a little visual “texture” for my roses. Next, following the tips and tricks provided in the class I laid out my images in a triangular pattern, using an odd number of flowers, three roses in the top right corner and five roses in the the lower left, playing around with size and shape to create a layout I was happy with. I then adhered the images together using Glad Press ‘N Seal cling wrap, flipping everything over and adding both glue and foam tape to those elements I wanted to have greater height. Once I had all of my main images glued down, I started to play with my greenery, trimming down leaves so I had just enough green to break up all of the yellow from the flowers.

Using the triangle method with my flowers, I had just enough space to center and right justify my Thanks sentiment. I glued together three die cuts to create dimension and help the sentiment stand out. Once glued to the card, I realized the sentiment needed a little “extra.” I pulled out my Touch of Shimmer pen and added a little sparkle and shine to the Thanks. The image below shows a close up of the sparkle.

I just couldn’t be happier with how pretty this card turned out. Thank you so much for visiting!