Holiday Cards Inspired by the Altenew AECP All about Layering Class

This holiday season I created a number of layered cards Inspired by the AECP All About Layering Classes.

I used a variety of techniques and design elements to create height and dimension including mixed media on the same cards and stenciled backgrounds. You will notice that many of my cards include traditional stamping inks, alcohol inks, heat embossing powders, water colors and the Altenew shimmer sprays.

Partly through the making of my cards I discovered the benefits of using the shimmer sprays with my airbrush and Altenew stencils and shimmer sprays to create smooth and shimmery backgrounds. The benefit of the airbrush is that I did not have to tack down my stencil with spray adhesive or tape. You will notice that I did use the traditional ink blending techniques for some backgrounds, as noted in the first photo in the collage below.

Let's take a step back for a minute. Before discussing the creation of the cards I would like first to talk about the stamping system I used for many of these cards. For some time now, I have been using the misti stamp system but as I found I continuously ended up with smears on my cards I searched for a new system. This led me to the discovery of the We R Memory Keepers multiple layered stamping system. This is unique in that the covers are removable and may act as individual stamping blocks. This also users to set up their layers prior to inking decreasing on risk of smudges that occur when changing the stamp layers as well as making it easier tocreate multiple copies of a flower or other element. That being said, you can create these cards without these tools. In a future blog or video, I will show you how I created simple DIY devices similar to a misti for a workshop I led. Please see the gallery below for pictures of the We R Memory Keepers in use during the making of several of these cards.

As mentioned above, for many of my holiday cards, I began with a stenciled background. The stamps chosen for the cards had much to do with the background colors and ultimate shades in the background itself. From there, I began working on the layering of the main stamps. Below you can see images of the season greetings wreath, poinsettias and bells as I complete these layers. I used the complimentary die cuts for the images mentioned above. In addition, I enhanced various elements with heat embossing and/or shimmer sprays. Many times I layered the background on good or silver paper to compliment the shimmer in the stenciled areas.

For all of these cards, I make every attempt to draw the viewers eye towards the sentiment. Usually this accomplished by framing the sentiment, highlighting it with embossing powders and/or raising it up with popup adhesive tape or foam.