"You Inspire Me" card using Label Love and Build-a-Flower Gardenia

Hi there, and welcome to my brand-new blog!

I'm so excited to be posting my first project for the Altenew Educator Certification Program!  

I chose to start with All About Layering 1, a ten-part (free!) class taught by Nicole Picadura.  Nicole's tutorials are easy to follow and she has some great suggestions for lining up tricky layered stamps.  As I practiced her techniques, I discovered that focusing on a couple of 'nooks and crannies' in the stamp, as Kathy Racoosin might call them, helped me to line up the layers.  These are the inner angles of the V-shapes in the stamp, and they were different for each layer, so I was careful to frequently refer to the colour guide on the back of the stamp set.  

My project for this class features the Build-a-Flower Gardenia and Label Love stamp sets from Altenew.  (PS: Those aren't affiliate links.  I just shared them for your convenience).

Here are the steps I took to create this card:

First, I stamped the flower outline twice, rotating the stamp so it wouldn't look repetitive and overhanging the edge of the panel.  I also stamped the outline on a separate piece of cardstock for the focal flower.

Next, I added the layers of aqua and teal.  I was very careful to study each layer stamp because I wanted to make sure I lined up those layers perfectly.

Since this class focuses on fundamental skills, I decided I should stamp by hand.  With an acrylic block.  Without my MISTI.  So, the next thing I learned is that my hands shake when I'm concentrating.

Thus, the next step was to start again. 😂

It took a couple of tries, but I'm glad I decided to complete the card without my stamp-positioning tool.  It forced me to study the stamp in more detail than I might have otherwise.  Sometimes I find that a back-to-basics approach like this helps me to get out of my 'autopilot' habits, allowing me to learn more in the process.

Once I had the four layers stamped, I started on the leaves.  Here, I didn't have the right green, so I experimented with various teals until I found a shade that would combine with the underlying muted lime ink to create the right shade of green.  In the process, I found that stamping the veins first allowed me to line things up more effectively since there was no outer line to follow.

After die-cutting the flower, I cut apart the leaves and arranged them in a visual triangle, then adhered the layers to the stamped panel, adding a couple of layers of scrap cardstock under the stamped images for a bit of dimension.  I then splattered on some metallic watercolour paint before stamping the sentiment and popping it up for added dimension.  I used the same lime-and-teal combo to match the shade of green on the leaves.

I then adhered some fun-foam to the panel before adding it to the front of a heavy white card base.  The finishing touch was adding some gems from Studio Katia's Mermaid mix.

And that's it! I learned so much from this course and process, and I'm pleased with how this card turned out...though next time, I'll probably use my MISTI. 😂

Happy crafting!

💕Teri