For the Guys – Altenew Educator Certification Programme continues…

My next installment in my search for certification in the Altenew Educator Certification Program is the course “For the Guys“.

Although I had planned the card and drawn a sketch, I really struggled with this card and its execution. I wanted to make a galaxy background and tried 5 different times with my distress inks. It always just ended up with the colours underneath and with the black on top looking pale and just not right. I thought of using galaxy washi tape, but that seemed like a cheat.

Eventually, I landed on using a black-ish scrapbook paper as my base and making a shaker card with vellum. The plan was to have little star confetti I have had from my Mom but not used. I have a few things from my Mom and her crafting days that I have not wanted to use in case they run out or in case I don’t do them justice, but I realise this is silly. I know if she were here she would be pleased to know I used her little stars for a good cause – my card for the education journey – and so I used them all. :).

In the end, after thinking about placement for ages, I stamped my mini-moon stamp set to create the shadow on the moon. I stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Bone Mixed Media Powder to give it a grungy and lumpy look. I think it is perfect.

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I stuck the moon onto the velum, and used the sentiment in the stamp set – I love you to the moon and back – on the bottom of the card. I also stuck a little heart on the sentiment strip that was a negative cut out piece from another die for another card I made recently. I also inked around the edge of the sentiment with some left-over black ink on my blending brush from the failed galaxy backgrounds.

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One of the things the course suggested was to make an interactive card to add some fun. I wanted to do a popup or wiggly moon on the galaxy but was not able to get it right. I thought a shaker card was a good alternative. In the past, I have made very few shaker cards, and they were not very good. I really enjoyed the process of making this one as I planned it properly, and it turned out as I wanted it to.

This course also challenged me to think about my supplies in a different way. Instead of using the usual flowery or sparkly or even girly themes, I had to come up with a way to showcase a stamp or die in a completely different way. Perhaps that is why I struggled with this card so much. It took me ages to come up with an idea for the sketch, and even longer to successfully make it. I love that I have been able to go out of my comfort zone for this course, and look forward to viewing my products differently. It was fun.

I really love the stars under the vellum because they are not too shiny and sparkly (this is for a guy after all), but they are bright enough to show through clearly. I also like the way the moon pops. I used a bit of pumice stone Distress ink for the background colour under the heat embossing.

I think that overall, this card is a success. The only caveat is that perhaps this card may not post well as there is no support in the centre of the card and it may get squashed. However, since I am giving it to my hubby, it won’t matter. <3

Here is my finished card:

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Thank you so much for popping in today to see my card. I hope it made you smile. Have a lovely week, and please pop in again soon.

4 Comments

  1. I love your moon too! The stars look fabulous. I have a couple of galaxy background tutorials on my YouTube channels, so check them out as they might be of some help.
    Thank you for entering your work to the AECP assignment gallery.
    PS: Please leave a bit of space between your project and where your photo ends so that the eyes have an area to rest and adjust. Right now you have cropped the photo to the size of the project which doesn’t help in focusing on the details of the card. You can refer to the photography guidelines for help.

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