Dandelion Seeds Card Co.

This is a safe space, so let's be honest here.  After completing my first AECP course in die cutting, I needed to choose a second course. I perused the titles and was intrigued by this course in "boutique cards" because I had no idea what that meant.  According to Merriam-Webster: bou-tique ( n ) - a small shop dealing in fashionable clothing or accessories Well, yes, but what do boutique cards look like?  In the Altenew world, boutique means simple, striking, polished, and professional. Yep. That's my look! Count me in! In this course, I was inspired to use basic stamping techniques, watercolor, metallic finishes, texture, and more! And while this may sound like you're creating cards with lots of fussing and futzing, you're not! For this course, I completed six clean and simple cards with matching envelopes; here, I'm sharing my favorite two. Technique: Faux Letterpress / Embossing  I have had this Altenew Flowers and Leaves 3D embossing folder in my st...

I am so excited to have been accepted to the Altenew Educator Certification Program! There are ten courses in Level 1, and they can be completed in any order. Me? I was instantly drawn to Easy Die Cutting Techniques because it's taught by one of my favorite crafters -- Yana Smakula. I could listen to that girl all day long! This course has six lessons, and each lesson focuses on a different way to use dies.  The name -- EASY die cutting -- is exactly what you'd expect, easy. Nothing novel, nothing groundbreaking. And yet each technique packs a big punch! I made six cards for this class, but here, I'm sharing my favorite two.  Technique: Stenciling with Dies This card was inspired by the fun graphic style of the Altenew  Mega Hello die. I love the bold statement it makes, front and center on a card.  I used the die to cut a "stencil" from leftover Wall Pops vinyl -- the ones my daughter used on her bedroom walls almost 15 years ago! (Orange. Red. And Hot Pink. W...

Eek! It's my first blog post. Ever. And I am so glad you're here!  Today I am sharing the card I made for my niece's June wedding.  I'm usually not a fan of the look you get from foiling the negative (leftover) pieces from other projects, but here's the truth about this card: I had already pieced together a white on white background using the  Tim Holtz/Sizzix Simple Plaid die . I'd laid it to the side because I wasn't sure how to use it yet. I also had many, many foiled leftovers from making cards with the PinkFresh Studio Simplest Gestures hot foil plate.  On a whim, I foiled one of the leftovers. And then I stood back and thought  Well, I'll never use that. I tossed it into the Someday Card Parts Pile, and it happened to land on top of the white plaid background.  <insert dramatic heavenly choir music> Even laying haphazardly in the Someday pile, it was stunning.  At this point, the card came together pretty quickly. I cut the SSS Clustered L...