Polychromatic - AECP Level 2

 Good morning!  I don't know about you, but I am so happy that we are nearly to Friday!  I am trying to catch up on my blogging from my incredibly productive weekend. 

Today, I am sharing with you two cards that I created for my next AECP course - Polychromatic.  I seriously loved everything about this class!  It was all about color and I learned SO much! 

In the first lesson, we created a colorful background, using the warm tones in one corner of the card, cool tones opposite, and the drawing them together using the colors that fall in the middle of the road.  For my card, I used the reds, oranges and yellows on the left, and blues and purples on the right.  I actually had an OOPS! moment, when I picked up the wrong ink pad and stamped the first layer of my flower in an orange tone again, but I picked up the correct ink and stamped it a second time, and decided I was OK with having two flowers of nearly the same color together.  I used the green leaves to fill in the white space and pull the warm and cool shades together. 

Once I was happy with my background, I die-cut the large sentiment from the panel, being very careful to not lose the inside bits, as I would need them again.  I die-cut the sentiment three more times out of white card stock and adhered all 4 of them together, with the stamped layer on top.  I then attached my card panel to the card base.  Once I had this done, I began to construct the front of my card.  I struggled a bit with getting the inner pieces of the letters in place, as when I built up my sentiment, the layers were not lined up precisely so the inner bits did not go in easily.  To remedy this, I turned my sentiment over, placed the bits in, added glue (only to the center pieces) and laid my sentiment die-cut in place, using my tweezers to press the center pieces down to the card base.  Once I had them all in place, I added glue to my sentiment and adhered it. 

I heat embossed a sentiment strip and attached it with foam tape and added some clear sequins to give the card a bit of sparkle and shine. 

I was so excited to see this technique in this class, as I had bought these dies just for this purpose and had not had a chance to try it yet!  I know this is a technique that I will use again and again, as it is relatively simple, but produces a stunning result! 

For my second card, I used the third lesson - Faux Handwatercoloring Technique.  Again, something I have seen, but not tried, and what fun it was!  

I started with a sheet of watercolor paper and a layering floral stamp set.  I pulled out my watercolor markers and using the solid layer of the flowers, I colored it with the lightest marker.  I then spritzed it with water a few times to get it nice and wet, and stamped it on the watercolor paper.  I then used the same process with the leaves, allowing my first flower layer to dry just a bit.  Using the detailed layer of my flowers, I inked them up with the darker marker, spritzed with water and stamped it over the light layer and repeated the process for my leaves.  Once they were dry, I die-cut them with the coordinating dies and set them aside.  

To create my panel, I wanted a soft background with just a hint of color, so I pulled out my new Altenew Blending Tool, and I have to tell you that this was a game changer for me!  It covers a lot more space quickly, and gives a beautiful, soft blend.  I used the lightest blue from the Tranquility color family to lay down my color and then added a touch of the next darkest shade.  I added some black ink splatters using my liquid watercolors and set it aside to dry.  Once it was completely dry, I heat embossed my sentiment on to the panel.  I had another OOPS! moment when I smudged the embossing powder when trying to clean up stray bits of powder.  I took my heat tool to it anyhow and let it work its magic, and then I used my Versamark Pen to draw in the missing area, added more powder and heated it up.  I adhered my panel to the card base and went to work gluing my flowers in place.  I decided not to trim the leaves that were hanging over the edge, and will just use a larger envelope to send it.  To complete my card, I added some gold sequins to tie in the gold sentiment.  

This process was a bit of a challenge for me, as I am a color inside of the lines kind of girl, and there are no lines. I do love the soft, flowing look of hand watercolored images, though and I am so happy with how this turned out!  

Products Used:

Both cards:

• Recollections 110 # Card Stock:  White, Black (first card)
• Versamark Watermark Ink Pad

Card 1:

• Altenew Watercolor Wonders Stamp Set
• Altenew Enchanted Rose Stamp Set
• Altenew Mega Hello Die
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Sunray, Chamomile, Snapdragon, Marigold, Limeade, Lime, Fresh Leaf, Wisteria, Hydrangea, Ultraviolet, Iceberg, Eastern Sky, Ultramarine, Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Ruby Red
• Wow! Embossing Powder:  Opaque Bright White
• Simon Says Stamp Clear Sequins

Card 2:

• Arches 300gsm/140# Watercolor Paper
• Altenew Peony Bouquet Stamps and Dies
• Altenew Fancy Greetings Stamp Set
• Altenew Watercolor Brush Markers:  Citrus Burst, Watm Sunshine, Autumn Blaze, Limeade, Moss
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Misty Morning, Cloudy Sky
• Stampin' Up Embossing Powder:  Gold
• Altenew Ink Blending Tool
• PinkFresh Liquid Watercolor:  Black
• Simon Says Stamp Gold Sequins

A s always, thanks for popping in!  I hope you found something to inspire you and get some crafty time in today!  Happy stamping!