AECP Program – Starting the Journey

Finished Project Card (Click for Larger Image)

AECP is a new journey for me, but first — what exactly is AECP.  Well, it’s called the Altenew Educator Certification Program, and it’s basically teaching me to be a teacher, for the subject of cardmaking and papercrafting.  (Two crafts near and dear to my heart.)  So here’s my first class post (complete with project photo), a little about how I made it, and the supplies I ended up using.

AECP Program Class 1 – All About Layering 1

So this class teaches how to use layering stamp sets.  I will confess, while I am used to stamping, I am pretty much a newbie when it comes to using layered stamp sets.  In fact, I wasn’t exactly sure what they were (although I did drool a bit at the results of some of the cards created with them).

A layered stamp set is basically a co-ordinated set of stamps that layer upon one another to create a final image. Now each layer doesn’t look like much except maybe a few blobs, but when they are placed on top of each other with different colors — oh my!

For my card design for class 1, I chose the Altenew stamp set called the Craft Your Life Project Kit – Garden Rose for the flowers and leaves.  (The sentiment “hello” was from the set In the Woodland.)

I’ll list the rest of the supplies further down, but here’s a look at what a layered stamp set does.  Note:  You can use acrylic blocks for layered stamp sets, but I use a stamping platform because I usually create multiple flowers/leaves/etc. so I can have extras on hand for other projects.

Step 1:  Base Layer

Base Layer (Layer 1)

This one is the easiest of the bunch because you don’t need to line anything up.  🙂  

In the example photo, I started with the middle color from the three shades I chose for my flower.

Since I like to create multiples, I turn my paper after each stamp so that I have between two and four images by the end of my layering session.

Step 2:  First Matching Layer

Step 2 – First Matching Layer

Here’s where you start lining up your second layer with your first layer, so as to create some dimension.  Layering stamp sets from Altenew have a “cheat sheet” that shows you where to match up different sections of the stamp — very helpful.

For this layer, I chose the lightest color of my three chosen shades.

Step 3:  Final Layer

Step 3 – Final Layer

The stamps tend to  get smaller with each layer, so it’s a tiny bit trickier to line them up, but the results are sooooo worth it!  And by the way, don’t worry if the first time (or in my case, first few times) you have your layers a little off.  A lot of times if you have only a tiny shift, it’s not even noticeable at the end – especially if you die cut or fussy cut.

Or you can be like me and sometimes stamp the layer upside down (oops!).  In that case, I generally just turn my cardstock over and try again.

For the layer 3 example, I selected the darkest shade of my ink colors.

Step 4:  The Leaves

The leaves are a single layer, and I stamped each in a slightly different ink, and then colored them (using ink blending) with slightly different shades of green.

Step 5:  Die Cut or Fussy Cut

My layering set had a total of three layers to create the rose.  Some stamp sets have as few as two layers, while others can have as many as five or six or even seven.

I like to die cut my flowers, so I can move them around on my card until I get the layout I want.  I also usually die cut my leaves and/or supporting images.  For this particular card I did both — the background flowers are fussy cut while the foreground rose and leaves are die cut

A lot of times I go ahead and stamp my sentiment directly on my card panel, but for this card I stamped the sentiment “hello” onto a scrap piece of cardstock and cut the scrap into a rectangle.

Putting it All Together

Putting it all together can be the most challenging part sometimes!  I usually have a layout in mind when I start creating the components, and that usually ends up changing as I move images around on my card panel.  I cut my card panel to be 5 inches by 3.75 inches, so that I have a quarter inch border around all sides when I attach it to the card base.

When I had the arrangement I liked, I attached the leaves and the two background flowers to the card panel with glue.  For the foreground flower, I attached it with foam tape, to give it additional dimension.  I also added the sentiment using foam tape.

Then I attached the card panel to the card base, which is A2 size (5.5 inches x 4.25 inches).  I decided it needed a little something extra, so I added some satin white sequins in different places.

Voila — a completed card!  I hope you’ve enjoyed this card, and that it sparks some ideas for you in your own cardmaking!

Supplies

I used the following supplies when making this card:

• Stamps:
  • Altenew Craft Your Life Project Kit – Garden Rose (main stamp set)
  • Altenew In the Woodland – “Hello” sentiment stamp
• Inks: 
  • Altenew mini-cube inks in Wisteria, Hydrangea and Ultraviolet for the roses, and Limestone, Forest Glades and Firefly for the leaves.
  • Embossing Ink – Versamark
• Embossing Powder – Ranger Super Fine Gold
• Cardstock:
  • 67 pound white for stamping. 
  • 80 lb Moonrock (Altenew) for card panel
  • 80 lb lavender for base card.
• Satin White sequins

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.  See you again soon!