Have you ever take a photo into the sun? This is so fun to do at sunset – your subject will appear as a silhouette, just a black outline against the beautiful sky. This idea is also fun to create on a card front.
Welcome to my 10th post for Level 1 of the Altenew Educator Certification Program. I have learned so much working my way through the classes and am thrilled to have shared them with you. This post is about making scenes and I’m not talking about drama here.
This course, Seasonal Scene Building, was taught by Nichol Magouirk and focuses on using stamps and other supplies to create a scene. Think a snapshot that tells a story. Now, I’ll be honest. I left this class until last because it was the one that I just could not relate to. I’m not into cutesy cards, or cards with little animals on them. And those are usually the scenes I see. BUT, much to my surprise, Nichol presented many different scene ideas that had never occurred to me! And those ideas inspired me to create this card.
Featured Products
Altenew Meadow Reflections Stamp & Die Bundle
Altenew Crisp Dye Inks
Altenew Hello & Hugs Die Set
Altenew Sunshine Valley Garden Artist Alcohol Markers Set F
Altenew Permanent Black Crisp Dye Ink
As I mentioned at the beginning, I love silhouettes. It leaves so much to the imagination. So when I saw Nicole create a silhouette scene during one of the lessons, I knew I would focus on that for my card.
A scene card takes some planning. You need to have an idea of the story you want to tell before you can create the scene. I had the idea of creating a sunset scene, so I chose the Altenew Meadow Reflections Stamp & Die Bundle. This set contains several floral/leaf solid stamps, lots of sentiments, four butterfly stamps and coordinating butterfly dies. The plan was to create an ink-blended sunset background, with floral/leaf silhouettes and stamped and colored butterflies around the flowers. I would also use one of the sentiments from the set to stamp on the card, then use a larger die-cut sentiment for greeting.
Calling upon ink blending skills learned in a previous lesson, I created a 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ panel of white 80lb cardstock and began ink blending. I used three colors of Altenew Crisp Dye Inks: Ruby Red, Puffy Heart and Warm Sunshine. Beginning at the bottom right corner, I began applying ink in a diagonal pattern, switching between colors and blending them together.
TIP: Always stamp off a bit of ink before applying to the cardstock. It helps to prevent lines and splotches.
Now for the scene! I stamped the floral/leaf silhouette images onto the panel using my MISTI stamping tool and VersaFine Black Pigment Ink. I played around with the arrangement for a bit before actually stamping. I love my MISTI!!! This tool is truly amazing – it allowed me to double stamp my images to get a true black image.
On another panel of white cardstock, I stamped my butterflies using Altenew Permanent Black Crisp Dye Ink. I used this particular ink because I wanted to color my butterflies with alcohol ink markers. The Altenew Permanent Black Ink is really permanent and won’t smear when using alcohol markers. I chose the Altenew Sunshine Valley Garden Artist Alcohol Markers Set F for my colors. I loved the mix of pink and yellow in the set.
After playing around with the placement of the butterflies, I stamped the words at the top of the card, then adhered the butterflies. After trimming off the overhang of the one butterfly, I cut the panel down to 4×5-1/4″, and layered it over two other panels of yellow and pink cardstock. The stack of colored cardstocks really brought out the gorgeous colors of the ink blending.
Lastly, I die cut the HUGS sentiment from white and black cardstock and placed it at the bottom.
I can’t tell you how much I love this card – I can’t believe I actually created it!! I think that’s the best part of this Educator Program. I have been encouraged to explore different techniques and design ideas that I never thought I could do. My abilities have grown and my creativity has been stretched beyond what I imagined. I can’t wait to tackle the next level.
Thank you for reading, and happy crafting!
LeAnn Fane says
I just love this card! Your blending is beautiful!
divamom1996 says
Thank you so much, Leann!
Stacey Fritz says
Your card turned out beautiful! I love the way your butterflies pop against tge silhouette images.
divamom1996 says
Thanks so much!!!
Caitlin says
Stunning card!
divamom1996 says
Thank you!!
Erum Tasneem says
Exceptional!!