With a Twist || AECP

Every once in a while, a card emerges from my craft room that makes me say, THIS is me. THIS is my style. It's silly, really, since I am in charge in my own crafty space. Why should I ever make a card that's not my style? Indeed, that is the question. 

Such ponderings...

Today was one of those good crafty days. I've just completed Therese Calvird's Altenew Academy class called With a Twist, and I'm excited to share three of my homework cards that are just my style! 

Lesson 1: Stamps With a Twist

The general idea in this first lesson is to use stamps in a way other than their intended use. For example, when using layering stamps, you might not use all the layers to build a complete image. This can give your design a modern or abstract feel. Plus, it just gives you more ways to use your products! 

In a perfect world, I would have used layering florals with an outline image, but in the real world, I do not even own such a thing. So, I improvised with Altenew's It's For You stamp set, which is a 3-layer stamp that does not have a coordinating outline image. (Sadly, it seems this stamp may be discontinued.)

For my card, I repeatedly stamped only the detail layer, using Taylored Expressions Watermelon ink on Watermelon card stock. To twist up this stamp to fit my design vision, I masked off the phone cord that connects the receiver to the base. 

It you were born after 1980, go ahead and Google receiver. I can wait.

TIP: Be sure to let some stamped images hang off the panel to create the illusion that the pattern continues beyond the page. 

Using the coordinating die, I traced the phone outline with a silver Uniball Signo pen. This adds definition to the shape with the bonus of being shiny. This required just a bit of alteration since I had not stamped the phone cord. 

To finish the card, I die cut hello, friend from the Altenew Versatile Greetings die set. The shadow is cut from Watermelon card stock, and the detail layer is cut from Spellbinders Brushed Silver card stock.

English teacher TIP: Don't forget the comma to separate the greeting and the noun of direct address. You're welcome. 

For a bit of bling, I added a sprinkling of Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix, which has got to be my most favorite embellishment of all time. 

Lesson 2: Make it Unexpected

By this point in the course, I'm beginning to see a pattern. Rule breakage is the name of the game, and this lesson is all about breaking the color rules. 

Now, the irony of this is not lost on me. My last Altenew Academy class was all about choosing the right color to communicate your message. And now, here I am, being told to dump the color theory Kool-Aid and go rogue. I can do that. 

When I think of wrong colors, I think of Andy Warhol art, and that's exactly what I had in mind with this card. The 1960s style phone would be the perfect image for a Pop Art design. 

For my telephone, I stamped all three layers in shades of Gina K orange inks: Peach Bellini, Sweet Mango, and Tangerine Twist. Then, I masked off the telephone shape and ink blended the background with Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink. I love how the edge is shadowed in darker teal to create depth! 

The sentiment needed to be bold and simple, so I chose the hello sentiment from the Versatile Greetings product suite and hot foiled it in Spellbinders Opaque Black foil onto white card stock. Seriously, matte foil, where have you been all my life? 

TIP: When hot foiling with smaller plates, Press N Seal is an excellent alternative to tape. 

To assemble this card, I trimmed down my Andy Warhol-esque art into a 4.25" square and mounted it onto an A2 card base. Then, I added a thin strip of black card stock and, finally, added my black foiled sentiment. 

I so wanted to add bling to this card, but I didn't think Drella would approve. 

Lesson 5: Modern with Vintage

Juxtaposition is where it's at. By this time, I was committed to the It's For You telephone, so I was glad it fit right into the theme for this lesson! And even though this card was, by far, the easiest and quickest to create, it might just be my favorite.

For the vintage part of my design, I stamped all three layers of the telephone using shades of gray ink: Simon Says Stamp Fog, Gina K Soft Stone, and Gina K Stormy Sky. I also stamped the most solid image onto Gina K Masking Magic and fussy cut it out.

For the modern component, I chose the Altenew Splatter Stencil. I first masked off the telephone with Masking Magic and then I positioned the stencil to have a diagonal splash of splatters across the page. With taping off and selective inking, I was able to ink up only parts of the stencil. For the stencil splatters, I used Gina K Key Lime ink.

After heat setting the ink, I stamped the ring, ring! sentiment from the It's For You set in Gina K Stormy Sky ink, so it would match the telephone perfectly. 

So simple, yet so wonderful! 

And that's it...

I've talked about this before, but it bears repeating. In card making, we are taught to do things right:  coordinate colors, line up stamps, trios, thirds, balance...and the list goes on and on. And yet here is an entire class about doing the wrong -- or at least the unexpected -- thing. And you might notice something here. We're fine. We broke the rules, and we're fine. We're fine. The cards are fine. Everything's fine. 

So, there's your takeaway for today. Go break the rules. It's fine. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Tammy