Today I have three cards to share as part of my Altenew Educator Certification Program. This is my final card-making assignment for level 3. After this, I have to run a card-making workshop to pass and become a Certified Educator. Wish me luck!
Here are my three cards, with more info on how I created them below:
The cards were made for my assignment based on Color Blending with Artist Markers by Kelly Latevola. This masterclass had six lessons, each with a different perspective on how to blend with your artist markers, including colour glazing (a technique that I believe Kelly created), rainbow blending (harder than it sounds!!), using your markers to enhance watercolour and more.
I've been using markers for many years now. I started with Copic markers, which I then stopped using, so I gave them to my friend. I kind of regret that now as I've really got back into them, but I have been collecting the Altenew Artist Markers and love them!
They are just like using Copics; only I think better as you have the bullet tip, which was one of the reasons I stopped using mine. I was colouring such tiny images that I was going outside the lines, which drives me crazy! I'm putting in a request Altenew, I need some skin colours, though, haha!
Despite having been using the colours for years, in this class, I learned how to blend more challenging colours, such as colouring in rainbow order.
I also learned about colour glazing, which is where you colour one colour over another to create a 'wash' effect. For this one, you really need to know your colour theory. If you don't, you get a hot mess. Trust me, I know because that happened! I am still learning on this one.
One of the classes was about adding markers over your watercolour. Through that process, I finally learned how to blend a watercolour background to the standard I wanted it to be :) Yay!
I think what I loved about this class was how Kelly chatted through her process. Her instructions were clear and easy to follow, and her class got you thinking of other ways to apply the concepts she was sharing.
So, onto the cards:
Card One - Watercolour with Artist Markers
For this card, I started by stamping the Altenew Bouquet of Love stamp on watercolour cardstock (I used Daler Rowney Cold Pressed) and watercolour black ink. (I had to experiment with this as some of my inks started bleeding. I tried so many that I can't remember which one I used now, sorry. I think it might have been Altenew's Obsidian ink in the end.
Next, I added some water over the areas where I wanted colour and then used different colours (that blended together). I dropped on the colour from the Altenew Artist Watercolour 24 Pan Palette. If they don't blend, then you will ruin the whole piece, so check your colours first.
The result is meant to be messy, so I used my Altenew paintbrush to spread out the colours. These brushes are amazing, by the way. I was really struggling with watercolouring until I got these brushes.
I then dried the panel with my heat gun and chose some coordinating Altenew Artist Marker Pens to add depth to the bouquet. You don't need to add much colour for the card to develop more dimension.
I stamped the sentiment from the set in the top right corner to finish the card using Obsidian black ink and added some black water splat using the Rock Collection pan from the Altenew Artist Watercolour, 24 Pan Palette.
Watercolours used:
Tea Party.
Warm & Cosy.
Fiery Sunset.
Summer Afternoon.
Rock Collection.
Plus white gouache paint.
Artist Markers Used:
Firebrick, Autumn Blaze, Sunkissed.
Vinetropyard Berry, Heart Beat, Coral Bliss, Pink Pearl.
Moon Rock, Evening Gray.
Moss, Olive, Parrot, Maple Yellow.
Top Tip: If you're not sure which colours blend with which, the colour wheel is your friend! That, plus a scrap piece of paper to test colour out.
I'm entering this card into the September 23 Inspiration Challenge with Altenew. This is the inspiration pic:
Card Two - Rainbow Blending
For my second card, I used the Altenew Soft Blossoms stamp set. Before I started this programme, I would only ever buy stamp sets that came with dies as I wouldn't know what to do with them otherwise. (Despite having been stamping for too many years to share!) I could fussy cut them, but that was kinda, well, too fussy for me! On the course, I've learned so many different ways to use them.
I die-cut a white panel from Neenah 110lb cardstock with a stitched rectangle die. Next, I stamped the floral using Memento black ink, and then coloured the flowers, using the following colours:
Artist markers used:
Midnight Violet & Rubellite.
Hydrangea & Sapphire.
Firebrick & Velvet.
Fresh Lemon & Autumn Blaze.
Parrot & Fresh Lemon.
Rubellite & Vineyard Berry.
Some colours blended better than others. When colours weren't blending fully, I followed Kelly's advice and kept blending. Eventually, the colours blended properly.
I wanted the colours to be the star of the show, so other than adding some white detail with a gel pen, I kept the rest of the card very simple. I stamped a sentiment using the 'happy birthday' stamp from the Soft Blossoms set, which I die cut from the Featured Sentiments Die Set.
If you've followed me for a while, you'll be sick of me using this set. But what can I say? Sorry/not sorry lol. I contemplated adding some black splatters but decided against it. Instead, I added two black pearls to the centre of the flowers.
To complete the card, I die cut a blue rectangular panel using a stitched die that I attached to a white card base and then added the colour panel on top of this.
Top Tip: If you're unsure if a card will work with splatters, a technique you can try is to create some splatters on a piece of acetate and then lay the acetate over your card to see if you like it. You can also photograph your card with and without the acetate over the top to decide which one you prefer.
I also do this with sentiments. It's a great way to check before committing to a final design.
Card Three - Colour Glazing
This is a great technique to extend your markers. If you don't have a particular colour you can create it using this method. You start by colouring your image in your base colour, and then you add another colour over the top of it to create a glaze.
If you're not sure on colour theory, you really will need to practice this, because not all colours will work, you have to use analogous colours for this to be effective(colours next to each other on the colour wheel). If you choose other colours, you will end up with a muddy outcome - you will more than likely get a dirty brown or other muddy colour as a result.
As I'm still learning Color Theory, I tested everything on a scrap stamped flower before committing to a final colour palette.
I wanted to create a mini notebook and matching card, so I stamped, coloured and die-cut two flowers, using the Altenew Pristine Peonies flower stamp set
I keep mini notebooks in stock as they make great little gifts for people. They're a quick thing to make and a lovely idea to brighten someone's day.
I decided to use a black and white polkadot mini notebook to which I attached one coloured and die-cut Pristine Peonies flower. I used the other die-cut flower on the card. I'll share the process in a moment with you.
I stamped the floral onto Neenah 110lb cardstock. I decided to use a purply-pink as my base and then glaze my flower with blue. I know that pink and blue will create a lilac so this was the effect I was going for. Pink and purple are colours next to each other on the colour wheel. I knew that I was using a purply pink, so it should work with the blue, and it did.
If you look at a colour wheel, you'll find that pink is next to purple on one side and red on the other, so either of those would've been good options for glazing.
I coloured all flowers in the pinky purple first, and then added the colour glaze using a pale blue to create the lilac 'wash' on just one of the flowers. Next I went in with some prismacolour pencils to add some more depth. I can't seem to leave my images now without adding prismacolours, I just love the depth it creates for a little bit more time and effort. NB. I added a tiny touch of blue to the purply-pink flowers to tie the flowers together.
To create the mini notebook, I simply die cut the floral and attached it to the notebook, cutting off any excess around the edges.
To create the card, I added a strip of polka-dot paper to the left edge, before adding the die-cut flower. I was lucky as I had the perfect piece of matching patterned paper for the card.
I stamped the sentiment, 'sending happy thoughts' in black ink, from the same set. Then I stamped the sentiment again, masking off the word 'sending' with a piece of post-it, so that I just got the words, 'happy thoughts'. I die cut both using a banner die.
I added a strip of glitter cardstock to both sentiments and attached them to the sentiment before adding to the card base to finish.
Top Tip: You can also use plain or kraft notebooks, and then add patterned paper to the front to create your base for any stamps you want to use.
I hope you've enjoyed following along my series of card assignments. We've got visitors staying with us now, so the next week will be very busy, but I'll be back again soon with a bookmark-making video that was requested by my friend's little girl, so stay tuned for some cuteness!
Supplies Used:
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