Atlenew Educator Certification Program: Easy Die Cutting Techniques

I’ve actually now taken two classes through Altenew Academy in die cutting techniques.  I took their Die-Namic Die Cutting Techniques first and then took the Easy Die Cutting Techniques class as part of the AECP program that I’m doing.

I made 3 cards to share with you today.  I gave up on the first card because I added a detail that I didn’t like, so I started over.

These are all made from Altenew’s Wings of Hope stamp and die set.  This is one of their new February Release sets and it is a stunner.  I have so many ideas for how I plan to use this.  For today, I was created cards that involved easy die cutting techniques.

I love that you can get dies with almost every set of stamps you purchase from Altenew.  It ends all the fussy cutting and the older my hands get, the less I enjoy the fussy cutting.  I love coordinating die sets.  The few times that I’ve told myself that I don’t really need that die set, I always end up ordering it later.  Usually you save a bit if you buy the stamp and die set as a bundle, so it does make sense to buy them both at once.  I know I always regret not doing that.

My first card is my favorite of the 3 today:

Did I not tell you that this set is a stunner?

The images have no detail and they will lend themselves beautifully to backgrounds.  This is also a perfect set for sympathy, get well, and support cards.  The sentiments are fantastic.

 

The sentiments would make perfect sentiments for the inside of the card, but I loved them so much that I wanted them on the outside of my cards today.

The inks are all from the February release.  These are the Green Meadows set and the Tea Party set.  I actually blended some of the lightest green in the set, Minty Mint, to make a quick background to anchor my die cuts.

I added details only to the top floral image and I added a metallic element with some gold foil die cuts.

My final touches included the black and white striped paper on the side and some iridescent sequins which I place in a triangle pattern diagonally across the main image.  That tip was shared by one of the instructors and I have to say that I found that to be a really useful tip.

She also said that you can just drop your sequins onto the card and see where they land…beauty often comes from chaos.  She is very wise.  She said many wise things.  I will be quoting her more as I share more techniques with you.

My second card has only a little die cutting.  I used an inlaid die cutting technique to add some metallic touches to the card.  I wanted to make these leaves feel like they were falling.

Have you ever read that book, “The Fall of Freddie the Leaf”?  It is written by Leo Buscaglia and it is a wonderfully heartwarming story about the circle of life.  A dear friend and mentor shared it with me and my children when they were small and our little dog passed away.  That is what I was trying to do with the gold leaves…

That quote by Washington Irving is powerful.

I added a few “boutique” details with my Copic Multiliner.  I tried to keep it simple and I love these colors layered onto the black card base.

You can see a close up view of the inlaid leaves.  I die cut them out of the white and out of gold foil.  I save the white leaves for another project and glued the gold ones in place in the negative space.  Notice the embossing detail that you get with this die set.  Isn’t that a beautiful touch?  What attention to detail by the person designing that die set.

The simplicity of the images in the stamp set and the fabulous quotes and sentiments are just wonderful.

My last share is the card that I abandoned, but felt compelled to complete.  I don’t know why!

When I look at it in the picture, I realize that the stamp set is so amazing that this card is not terrible.

I abandoned it when I added the dots.  It’s a stamp in the set.  I should have used a more subtle color and put them on first before the images so that they were tucked under more.  I also think that I might have liked it better as I was making it if I had shortened the gold die cut pieces a bit.  They feel like wings and I think that if I had just snipped off a bit and tucked them in more, I would have liked this better.

Thank you for stopping by today!

I hope that you enjoyed the cards that I shared and got to relax as you browsed my blog.

I hope that you are able to find time to craft today!  Remember to embrace the imperfections!

By the way…at one point in the middle of my creative session, my craft desk looked like this:

I cleaned it before typing this.  I love sitting down to a clean table when I get home from work each day!