Masking Unleashed - AECP Level 2

 Hello world!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  Today, I am sharing the project that I made for my final Level 2 course in the Altenew Educator Certification Program - Masking Unleashed. 

I'm not going to lie... this class was challenging for me.  I am not a fan of masking, as it is so much work.  That being said, this course was FULL of techniques for masking, some that I was completely unfamiliar with.  I may have been living under a rock, but I didn't know that masking fluid was a thing.  Needless to say, I had to order some to try it out! 

For my project, I used traditional masking - with a stamped image on copy paper that I fussy cut.  (This is the part of masking that I dislike, as I am terrible at fussy cutting.)  The good news is that for masking, you don't have to be great at it.  

To begin, I stamped the images I planned to use on plain white copy paper and cut them out, INSIDE the stamped lines, but just barely.  This will ensure that when you stamp another image over the masked image, you will not be left with a line because the mask is slightly raised. I then stamped the outline of the image that I wanted in the foreground, followed by the subsequent layers.  I adhered my mask using removable adhesive and stamped the leaves and then moved on to my second image.  I repeated this process one last time to add my third flower and leaves.  

Once I was happy with my flowers, I masked them off and blended my background using Distress Oxide Ink.  I was not overly careful with my ink blending, as I wanted to create the appearance of some texture and it softened the intensity of the flowers.  Once I was happy with the background, I added some water splatters.  I love how the Distress Oxide Ink reacts to water.  It is pretty magical to watch!  I then added some purple metallic splatters.  

To create a layer behind my card panel, I ink blended the edges of a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of card stock with the same purple I used in the irises.  I trimmed down the card panel to 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" and adhered it to the purple panel.  I then attached the panel to my card base. 

To complete my card, I embossed my sentiment on a black strip of card stock and adhered it, followed by some Dew Drop embellishments. 

I don't know about you, but I love everything about this card!  I had to force myself to stop stamping the irises.  This may be my new favorite stamp set.  This was definitely a labor of love, but well worth it.  

Products Used:

• Recollections 110# Card Stock:  White, Black
• Neenah Crest 80# Card Stock:  Solar White 
• Altenew Build A Flower:  Bearded Iris Stamp Set 
• Altenew Sentiment Strips Stamp Set 
• Altenew Crisp Dye Ink:  Iceberg, Eastern Sky, Hydrangea, Ultraviolet. Frayed Leaf, Forest Glade, Evergreen
• Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink:  Antique Linen
• Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Altenew Metallic Watercolor Pan Set:  Amethyst
• Altenew Embossing Powder:  Antique Rose Gold 
• Mini Ink Blending Tool
• Copy Paper
• Tombow Removable Adhesive 

As always, thanks for dropping in!  Please be sure to leave me a comment to let me know what you think!  Happy stamping!