Cindy Brown AECP Level 2 Final Challenge

I have paired the four cards with a coordinating Altenew envelope.

AECP Level 2 Final Challenge

3 components from the classes in Level 1 or 2 and explain the 3 components chosen
Share design tips
Make 4 masculine cards in themes: birthday, love/thinking of you, anniversary and encouragement
Make an altered item/upcycled project
Challenge: detailed step by step photo tutorial and/or YouTube Video
Minimum of 10 photos
Submit by September 22, 2019


 
BIRTHDAY

I used components from the lessons in Altenew Academy's course "Polychromatic" which accounts for all the many pops of color on a white background. The course teaches that a white background allows colors to create the most impacted that interest can be created by color placement. In my card, I have used this concept to guide me to put the blue shades with the greens in one area with pops of warmer and brighter colors around them. The balloons were stamped with Altenew's
"Birthday Greetings" with the Altenew dye inks of Puffy Heart, Ruby Red, Warm Sunshine, Frayed Leaf, Dusk and Volcano Lake. The word HAPPY was die cut with Altenew's "Fine Alphabet Die Set" and the word birthday was stamped with Altenew's "Birthday Builder" set.

THINKING OF YOU

This card was inspired from the lessons in Altenew's "Magical Marker Techniques" which taught me to use stencils to create a sketchy, hand-drawn look that can be colored in with alcohol markers. I  began with outlining the Altenew "City Scene Stencil" using a Copic 0.1 marker with one side of the stencil and then above this, outlining the other side of the stencil. I then colored this with Altenew Artist Markers in Sea Glass and Dessert Night. I created a mask and then used ink blending to color the sky with Altenew's Rose Quartz and then used the Altenew "Milky Way Stencil" to ink blend Altenew's Honey Drizzle. The moon was created with Altenew's stamp and die set "To the Moon" and was stamped with Altenew's Sea Glass and Honey Drizzle. The sentiment "Thinking of You" was white heat embossed from the Altenew "Geometric Landscape" stamp set. 

ANNIVERSARY
This card was inspired from the Altenew course "In the Mood for Color" while mindful of colors which are considered masculine which I was taught in Altenew's course "For the Guys." I chose the color brown for the flowers as brown is a color that means stability, the teal is a combination of blue, for soothing, and green, for renewal. The pink flower and the hints of pink in the brown flower symbolize caring. I think all of these colors encompass marriage and are appropriate for an anniversary card.
I focused on a white background with the addition of splatters in Altenew's Emerald Ink. The flowers were stamped with black dye ink from the Altenew set "Forever and Always" and were colored with Altenew's Artist Markers, set D. The florals were colored with Sand Dunes, Rocky Shores, Mocha and Espresso for the browns and Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart, Purple Wine and Cosmic Berry for the pinks. I then twisted gold thread and adhered the die cut florals over the thread to allow the thread to randomly peek from under the florals. I stamped part of the sentiment with black pigment ink and heat embossed it with clear powder from the Altenew stamp set "Happy Together." I die cut the word "love" from the Altenew "Script Words Die Set" in Altenew's Mirror Gold Card stock. The same card stock was cut in a thin sliver to embellish the border of the card. I added these beautiful glass embellishments which are from Honey Bee Stamps and are called "Oceanside dew drops." I think the teal drop matches the Altenew colors Emerald, Lagoon and Volcano from the Altenew Artist Marker set D which I used to color the leaves. The card was adhered with tape to a top folding A2 size base.

ENCOURAGEMENT
This card was inspired from the Altenew course "Seasonal Scene Building" as I created a theme-focused scene of a lighthouse to tell a story of strength with the sentiment "you shine." The scene is built from the Altenew "Be A Lighthouse" stamp set which I slightly modified to reflect a less shadowed lighthouse and with less landscaping on the ground. I achieved the story-telling by using masking, arrangement of all of the stamps involved, including bringing a stamp from another Altenew set. 
I stamped the clouds with Altenew Sea Glass ink and used the same color to ink blend the sky. The water was stamped with Altenew Dusk Ink and ink blended with Sea Glass. The lighthouse was stamped and then outlined with a Copic 0.1 black marker and then colored with Altenew Artist Marker in Ruby Red. The white was colored in with a Sakura White Jelly Roll pen. The birds were stamped with black pigment ink and filled in with the Copic black marker. The sand was colored with Altenew Artist Marker in Sand Dunes and the boulders were colored with Altenew Artist Markers in Sand Dunes and Mocha and were drawn in with the Copic black marker. The concept of framing is achieved with Nautilus (dark blue) paper from Hero Arts as a background with two opposite-going level of Altenew's "Leaf Frame Cover Die" in white creating a feeling of a scene within a painted frame or a snapshot in a frame. I chose this frame because though it is meant to be leaves, it has always looked like fish fins in the sections where there are only 2 leaves together, consistent with the ocean theme.
The twine is tied in a sailor's knot, again to symbolize strength and to stay consistent with the story telling and is from Lawn Fawn in the color Peppermint. The sentiment "you shine" is from Altenew's Geometric Landscape" and is stamped in black pigment ink and then heat embossed with clear powder for brightness and is Popped up with foam adhesive over the twine.

The light in the lighthouse was created with a star from Altenew's Starry Night stamp stamped with Altenew's Warm Sunshine Ink. I then used a small yellow crystal from Lucy's Over the Rainbow Crystal Collection and small yellow stars from Lucy's Unicorn Crush Collection. The yellow was placed to make the scene "pop."

Opened folder. Small magnets hold cover in place. The Leafy Garland is fortified with extra layers on the front and back to protect the delicate leaves. 

The dimensions are 6 X 4 1/2 X 3/4 inches and the sides are designed to be accordions. 

Because of the flexible sides, the folder can hold 5 envelopes and 5 handmade cards. These cards are all single layer and of course for multi-layer cards, it will hold less. 

UpCycle Project: Folder for 5 gift handmade cards with envelopes

I like to make cards for people and give them a small assortment as a gift. I have been purchasing clear boxes to present them in but I have wanted to make the presentation container a part of the gift as well. I designed a folder that will hold these cards. It has accordion sides that allow it to expand enough to easily hold those cards. It has a strong (neodymium) magnet which is very small but holds the flap down. I think this folder/box is so beautiful and long after the cards inside have been used, it can be used to hold other things. I am listing the dimensions used and the materials used below for your reference. The instructions are my video. This is the first video I have made. I have had to learn so much to produce this video and I can only hope to keep practicing and getting better. 

Materials used to make folder
Neenah Solar White Super Smooth 80 pound paper

Neenah 100 pound Dessert Storm paper

Neenah 80 pound Solar white paper

Altenew 80 pound Rouge paper

Altenew “Bride-to-be” Stamp and Die Set

Altenew Leafy Garland Die
Altenew Classic Alphabet Die - Letter "E"

Altenew Dye Inks: 

Blush, Rouge, Frayed Leaf, Forrest Glades

Altenew White Ink Spray

Altener Reflection Collection Wood Venner Butterfly

Art Glitter glue 

Gina K Connect glue

Glue Dots Super Strength Permanent Adhesive 1/2 inch

Neodymium magnets 1mmX8mm—2

Assorted pearls and jewels for embellishment

Dimensions: 
Cut one sheet of Neenah Desert Storm 100 pound paper to 10 1/2 X 8 1/2
Cut this sheet to 6 inches for the body
With the leftover piece: cut this into two pieces 4 7//16 X 2 1/2 inches for the sides
Score the 6 X 10 1/2 inch at 4 1/2, 5 1/4, 9 3/4
Score the two pieces every 5/8 inches to create the accordion fold
Cut the second sheet of the same paper into one piece 5 X 6 inches
Use the remaining paper from the second sheet to cut the reinforcing pieces of the Leafy Garland Die
The Altenew Spicey Yogurt will be used to cut the Leafy Garland Die once
The Altenew Rouge paper will be used to cut an E only
The 80 pound Neenah card stock was used for the stamping

YOUTUBE LINK: 

https://youtu.be/xKGQQn9NHPQ