ArtUnwound

The latest class I took for my AECP (Altenew Educator Certification Program) was Clean and Simple Boutique Cards by Jennifer Rzasa. There was some great ideas in there! Simple things that I had never really thought about like using specialty papers to give it just a little extra pop without overwhelming the design.

Here is my first project. The white is watercolour card. I used it because it has a little texture and I think that bit of texture adds to the overall depth of the card. The black is from a package of handmade paper I picked up at a garage sale years ago. I popped up the watercolour paper to make the black sit in a “channel”. The sentiment is from the Elegant Sayings set which was heat embossed with white.

To complete the project, I made a matching envelope liner with the handmade paper.

For my second project, I followed Jennifer’s instructions to create a simple pattern using one stamp, Berry Branch.

I used VersaFine Clair Pinecone to stamp the Berry branch on a piece of off white cardstock and then stroked a simple green watercolour stroke over each stamp. I mounted that on a piece of dark brown cardstock and used a kraft card base. I made the matching envelope from the same dark brown cardstock that I used to mat the card. The sentiment is from the Elegant Sayings set (can you tell I really like that set?)

The class really showed me how simple things like the matching envelope can take a project to the next level. You can also find things around you and use them in a different way to create something unexpected as I did with the Berry Branch. It just hadn’t occurred to me to use it to create a simple pattern.

I think I will do Easy Die Cutting Techniques next, but who knows? With so many great classes to choose from, I might change my mind.