All About Layering 2 - AECP Level 1

Today, I am sharing my project for the All About Layering 2 course for Altenew Academy’s Altenew Educator Certification Program.  As with All About Layering 1, I really loved this course, as I have a lot of layering stamps and I am really trying to master the use of them.  Nicole continues to share some really helpful tips and tricks for using the layering stamps, along with some amazing inspiration.  For this project, I took my inspiration from the beautiful layers used in Debby’s card in Lesson 3.  

I find myself dreaming of spring on a daily basis, so I wanted to make a card using a color palette that reflected that. For my project, I used the beautiful Build-A-Flower: Cora Louise Peony stamps and dies along with the Golden Sunset and Green Fields color families. This set has quickly become one of my all-time favorites, as it is truly suitable for any occasion. 

I started by stamping the outline image in Snapdragob Crisp Dye Ink. I decided against using black for the outline image, as I wanted a soft, dreamy look.  I stamped the solid image in Sunny, the detail image in Chamomile, and the center image in Marigold.  I actually stamped several flowers at one time, as I wasn’t sure how I was going to use them, but I did know that I wanted to layer them on my card front somehow. 

Next, I stamped the outline of the leaves in Evergreen Crisp Dye Ink, followed by the solid image in Frayed Leaf, and the detailed image in Forest Glade. Again, I stamped multiples of the leaves since I didn’t know how many I would need.  I then die-cut the images using the coordinating dies and set them aside. 

On a piece of 4.25” x 5.5” Neenah White 80 # card stock, I added Sunny ink to the lower portion using my ink-blending tool.  Again, I wanted a soft look, so I tried to use a light hand, and added ink gradually.  I know that I could have used colored card-stock to achieve a similar effect, but I really feel like the ink blending adds more depth.  

I took another 4.25” x 5.5” panel of white card stock and used a beautiful border die to die-cut the lower portion of the panel.  I then added my die-cut flowers and leaves (I did not adhere them yet) until I was happy with the placement.   I then snapped a photo so that I could refer back to it when I was ready to adhere the flowers.  I added a very light layer of Sunny ink using my ink-blending tool to add a bit of depth to the main card panel.  I adhered the die-cut panel to my ink-blended panel, and then I adhered the leaves and flowers using Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue.  

I adhered some gold card stock to a Foam Adhesive Sheet and die-cut it using the “Thanks” sentiment from the Signature Words Die Set.  I cut a panel of vellum down to 1” x 4.25” and I adhered my sentiment  to the vellum.  I applied a very light layer of glue to the vellum where it would be covered by the sentiment and adhered it to my card panel. Lastly, I added some Gold Gilded Gems to add a bit more dimension.  I placed the two largest dots where they would also help hold the vellum in place.  Once finished, I adhered my card panel to my 4.25” x 11” card base.

I cannot even tell you how happy I am with this card.  The photos really don’t do it justice!

Key Learnings;

• Practice makes perfect!  Each time I use the layering stamps, I get faster and better at lining up the images
• When ink-blending, a light hand is key.  You can add more ink, but you can’t remove it.  

Products used in this card:

• Recollections 110# Card Stock - White
• Neenah 80# Card Stock - White
• Recollections Gold Shimmer Card Stock
• Vellum
• Altenew Build-A-Flower: Cora Louise Peony stamps and dies
• Altenew Signature Words Die Set
• Stampin’ Up Quite Curvy Dies
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Sunny, Chamomile, Snapdragon, Marigold, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glade, Evergreen
• Tim Holts Mini Ink-Blending Tool
• Stampin’ Up Foam Adhesive Sheets
• Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue
• Stampin’ Up Gilded Gems

As always, thank you for stopping by.  I hope you found something to spark your creativity!  Please feel free to leave a comment!