Thank you so much for joining me as I continue my journey through the Altenew Educator program. The Altenew Academy course Seasonal Scene Building provides a great many ideas as well as tips/tricks. And… it makes it look super easy! Perhaps it is, but I can make everything difficult if I set my mind to it – haha! I encourage you to check it out because it might be the perfect thing for you.
I have 2 cards to share – the first was pretty easy and came together rather quickly. The second I honestly stumbled through but I really like the final product. I think either card could be sent to anyone.
First up – a birthday card! They’re always fun and I always need some on hand. The scene I planned is a background filled with colorful balloons!
The supplies I used include:
· Distress Ink – Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry
· Distress Oxide Spray – Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry, Mermaid Lagoon
Top begin, I stamped some balloons from the Altenew Birthday Greetings stamp set on Gina K Masking Magic and cut them out. Next, I started stamping varying colors of balloons on a white cardstock panel. The colors I used are listed above. I made sure to periodically use the balloon masks to add layers of color to add dimension to the balloons (the masks allow the color that you’re covering to be the full color and be in front of whatever color you are adding).
After I finished with the balloons, I used a wet paint brush to lightly add some water to the balloons encouraging a slight blending/mixing of the colors. For more texture I added some splatters across the stamped panel using Altenew Ink Spray in Pure White and the Distress Oxide Sprays listed above. To do this, I removed the lid and lightly tapped the spray tube.
To add some additional interest and dimension, I used 2 nested rectangle dies to cut the center panel out, keeping that and the frame. I added a scrap of blue cardstock from my stash to the back of the frame and then glued craft foam to the back of the center panel and adhered it within the framed area.
For the sentiment, I stamped another balloon and the Happy Birthday sentiment from the Wonderful Wycinaki stamp set in Twisted Citron and heat embossed both with clear embossing powder. To finish it off, I fussy cut out the balloon and sentiment, added dimensional tape to the back and adhered it to the panel which was glued to the top of an A2 card base.
For my second card, I used a variety of outdoor components to create a peaceful setting. It took me a bit of time to get there, but I did eventually.
Tip: When building scenes, it’s very helpful to really think about your plan and perhaps write down the steps so you don’t have to backtrack later.
Supplies used for this card:
· Catherine Pooler Ink – Deck the Halls, Catching Rays
· Distress Oxide Ink – Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Frayed Burlap
· Versafine Clair ink – Morning Mist
This card was a total work in progress and had many changes along the way. My plan was to use the birch tree stamp and the pine stamp to create a sort of woodland space – which I did. However, you’ll understand how it changed.
To begin, I created some masks for the birch tree trunks by stamping them on Gina K Masking Magic and cutting them out. I knew that I wanted the trees to appear to be in varying places on a ground of some sort.
Then, using some roughly torn scrap paper, I began to build the “ground” I used the Distress Oxide inks in Frayed Burlap and Gathered Twigs for this, moving the paper along and just lightly blending. Then, using that torn paper as a mask, I added the birch tree trunks from the Altenew Birch Impressionism Stamp set on the left side of the panel. I inked the varying layers of the stamps using Distress Oxide inks in Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Frayed Burlap. I’m sorry that I didn’t take a “work in progress” picture to explain the torn paper part of this.
To add to the scene, I began to add a host of pine trees using the Altenew Plentiful Pine Stamp & Die set and Catherine Pooler ink in Deck the Halls. To add some trees in between the birch trunks, I placed the trunk mask I created at the beginning over the trunks. Since I wanted those trees to be much smaller, I only inked up the top portion of the smallest tree. I also did the same thing for several of the other trees in the background. I only used the Deck the Halls ink here but had a mixture of first, second, and third generation stamping to create a variety of color and distance. Once I’d completed this portion, I really liked the overall composition – but realized I hadn’t thought about the sky (which should’ve been one of the first steps like the ground) and I felt like there was a huge void even if there was sky there. So… here is where the big “change” happens.
I needed to figure out a way to get the sky in there and needed a mask to protect what I’d already done. I pulled out some tracing paper and outlined the border of the existing stamped work and cut that out. I traced around the tracing paper cutout on a piece of Gina K Masking Magic to create the cover.
After aligning the mask over the existing stamped work, I decided that I wanted to add some mountains, so I pulled out the Altenew Mountain Scene stencil. Using Versafine Clair ink in Morning Mist and Altenew Obsidian Black I colored in the mountains with a small ink blender. I then added some snow by spritzing some of the Altenew Pure White ink spray on my craft sheet and dabbing it around with a paint brush. Finally, I masked off the mountains and lightly blended in the sky with Altenew Ocean Waves ink and added a bit of Catherine Pooler Catching Rays for a bit of sun.
Once I’d done all of this, I decided the pine trees were a bit washed out and out of perspective so I added some more green to them and also came back in to the “ground” with some green and added in a bit of shading around some of the trees.
Scene building is a process for me and, as such, quite time consuming – so I don’t do it very often for cards. I do love to do it in a variety of other paper mediums though. Watch for later work where I hope to share more of that!
The following are links to the tools I used for these projects.
Please note that some contain affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission when you click and purchase - at no additional cost to you! This helps to support my blog. Thank you!!