Aloha and welcome to HulaGirlCards.com.
Altenew’s Education Certification Program is a wonderful opportunity for card makers to cultivate their talents by building upon skills, techniques, and innovations pursuant to the world of card making. After I applied and was accepted, Erum, the program coordinator, suggested I take one of the courses before the official start date and create a card. The class I chose is called All About Layering 1.
This card features Altenew’s Playful Plumeria stamp, dye, and mask bundle in soothing tones of blue from their Deep Blue Seas Crisp Dye Ink collection. The base layering plumeria blossoms were stamped and masked to create the overlapped look of a flourishing tree in the peak of its season. Using the stamp positioner’s magnet to hold the stencil masks in place secured them sufficiently that bleed through from subsequent stamping was never an issue. A jewel picker tool proved invaluable for aid in lifting the masks so they could be cleaned with a dry towel a safe distance away from the card front.
Though any acetate packaging would have worked, it was particularly helpful to position the remaining stamp layers on a sheet of laminated plastic, which was larger than the dimensions of the card front for added protection from ink smears. This allowed for ease in holding the stamp in place on top of the preceding flower layer so it could be picked up by the positioner and had the added benefit of flexibility in auditioning stamp placement. During the learning curve of using this stamp set, alignment sometimes required practice. The image stamped on the laminated plastic could then be moved about until the proper position became evident. The sheet, once cleaned, could be pressed into service again for holding the stamp after properly realigning it and for testing the new position.
Finishing touches for this card include a dimensional, fussy cut plumeria blossom adhered to foam dots and the “thankful for you” sentiment from Altenew’s Best Sentiments stamp set. This sentiment was backed with an extra layer of cardstock so that it stood out from the card front, but also fit neatly under the dimensional plumeria. The sentiment’s edges were slid along the Milk Chocolate ink pad, creating a seamless look where white edges might otherwise have interrupted the flow of the overlapping plumeria flowers. Milk Chocolate was also used for the plumeria tree’s branches along with the Dark Chocolate Artist Marker for added shading.
Mahalo!
Hula Girl Cards 