AECP Level 2
In the Mood for Color

In this AECP course, Stephanie Klauck taught about colors and moods and how to best portray one’s mood with color and sentiment. She taught six lessons (each focusing on a different color/mood and technique) plus a bonus lesson. The bonus lesson put most of those colors on the same card, using yet another technique! In every lesson I learned from her! Again, I was inspired to do more than one card.

Lesson 1

In this first lesson we learned about the color blue, and using it to create cards that are calming and tranquil. The techniques she used were emboss resist and ink blending.

Baby Blue Elephant Card

Today I chose to use only one color ink: Tide Blue. I stamped the details of the baby elephant from Baby Zoo. I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set. Next I lightly ink blended a second panel of card stock and smooshed the stamp pad on the front of the card base and then edged it.

Next, I clear heat embossed the entire baby elephant. After that I used the Milky Way stencil to again clear heat emboss both the main panel and the ink-blended panel. I used double sided adhesive strips to adhere the main panel to the lightly-ink-blended panel. Next, I applied foam tape to the back and added it to the base.

Finally I found some star-shaped sequins/confetti and used Multi Media Matte to apply them to the spray of stars coming from the baby’s trunk. My very last step was to top the confetti stars with a touch of Nuvo Glitter Drops, another “trick” I learned from Stephanie!

Lesson 2

On our second day, we focused on red with the theme of our cards being love, passion and energy. Her chosen technique was stamp layering. I love how she stamped a small leaf repeatedly down some card stock, trimmed it and adhered it along one side of the trimmed panel. She also applied a thin strip of black card stock and a second one of silver glitter card stock. I thought this brilliantly tied the focal image and the trim together! It’s just a one-layer card, but it really has a wow factor. How could I resist also making this card?!!!

Red Roses Card

First I tried making this with a different stamp set but simply didn’t love my results, so I copied Stephanie, using Antique Roses stamp layering set. And only making a few small changes.

I stamped probably twenty flowers with different color combinations before deciding which three flowers to use. The set with the darker three colors of Red Sunset (and clear heat embossed to get that really dark detail) was my favorite. Next I die cut several more flowers and leaves and stacked these to make more dimension. I also took up the entire panel with my focal image. Like Stephanie, I used the Label Love Sentiment Stamp Set, but I used the French version and covered it with clear heat embossing to compliment the heat embossing on the roses.

As another nod to Stephanie, I again used sequins and Nuvo Drops.

Lesson 3

 On our third day we focused on the color green and creating soothing, natural themed cards. Stephanie used the Floral Shadow stamp set, Distress Inks, a paintbrush and some water. She stamped with distress Inks onto water color paper, then “painted” these with a wet brush, yielding a watercolor like design. Again, another new-to-me technique. How could I not resist?!!

Green Leaves Using Distress Inks

I used the Leaf Canopy set to stamp my images, using Rustic Wilderness, Cracked Pistacio, Mowed Lawn, and Lucky Clover Distress Inks. This is a fun technique. I also added thorns to these stems, as I knew which sentiment I’d like to add…and was provided an excuse to order the Sentiment and Quotes stamp set!

Green Leaves Using Distress Oxide Inks

I enjoyed this technique so much I decided to experiment with Distress Oxide Inks. I chose to use Lucky Clover, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles. As I was trying to create a soothing, natural-themed card, I chose my sentiment from the Seasonal Blooms set because it refers to the seasons. Although I was tempted to cover the Hunter Green Crisp Dye Ink with clear heat embossing, I resisted. It wouldn’t seem right with the soothing, natural theme. However, I did edge the panel with Hunter Green to add a subtle pop of color.

I applied this with double-sided adhesive strips to Gina K Design’s Jelly Bean Green Cardstock. Finally I thought it was too unfinished so I drew on some splatter with Marvy LePlume II markers: Peacock Green; Emerald; and Jungle Green. I love that these markers have both a brush tip and a very fine tip, so I was able to add what appears to be a fine spray.

Using Distress Oxide inks was just as fun, but I prefer the end result of the Distress Inks.

Which card do you prefer and why? Please comment below.

Lesson 4

This card is dedicated to the people of Ukraine. I hope it gives them optimism, cheer and hope for tomorrow.

Day four’s focus was the color yellow, “to create cards full of energy, optimism, and cheer.” Stephanie used colored pencils on the Peony Bouquet’s larger image and leaves.

I tried coloring the really frilly flower in the Exotic Tulips but found it difficult to discern exactly what parts belong to which petal. This is absolutely stunning when stamped, but I couldn’t do it justice with colored pencils.

Yellow Poppy on Blue Background Card

I switched gears and purchased and used the Oriental Poppy Outline Stamp Set. I colored the flower, stem and leaves using Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils. This image I really enjoyed coloring!

I made a few different backgrounds and chose the wax resist, ink blended technique. I ran the wax paper thru the coordinating embossing folder, and ironed this onto the cardstock. The effect wasn’t what I was hoping for, but I still really liked it.

Here’s How You Can Learn From My Mistake!

I tried stamping and heat embossing a white second poppy on this panel, but when I added glitter to the heat embossed image and reheat it to melt the glitter into the heat embossing, the glitter particles were too large and it looked terrible. Next time use finer glitter AND try it out on another piece of cardstock! I thought I’d ruined my background. Maybe I could trim it. Nice save!

I still wasn’t sure about this background. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the focal image on other poppies that were embossed on the background? I thought I might ink blend onto this but I really loved the other…so I chose to use the first one, and stamped directly on it a sentiment that invokes “energy, optimism and cheer.”

Lesson 5

 In this lesson, Stephanie used the color pink to let “our caring, sensitive sides come out in our designs. ;)”. She did some stamp layering on this card design and made another one layer card.

Pink Tulips

I followed in suit. I’m an operating room nurse. The wife of one of my all-time favorite surgeons recently passed away so I showed him my caring and sensitive side with this stamp-layered, one-layer card.

I love the images in the Exotic Tulip Stamp Set and used the Cherry Blossom and the Green Valley Crisp Dye Ink Sets for this.

Here’s How You Can Learn from My Mistake!

If I had better planned it out I would have stamped the stem of the front-most flower first. It was only later that I realized my error…One of my art teachers told me that the true sign of an artist is one who can work around mishaps. Okay. I can do this. I stamped the stem over the left tulip with white pigment ink, let it dry, then stamped again with the same ink. After plenty of drying time, I stamped with the chosen green inks, but the result was a little pale…so I added detail with my Marvy LePlume II markers and this helped. There didn’t seem to be as much distinction between flowers as I would like, so I added details to these. Of course I then had to add a little detail to the other stems and leaf.

I chose my sentiment from the Sentiments & Quotes stamp Set, stamped with Obsidian pigment ink and clear heat embossed over it. Next I edged the panel with either Pink Diamond or Pinkalicious.

The next step was to make another panel onto which to adhere the focal panel. I used Firefly ink and the Rustic Linen background stamp to create this panel. I adhered the two together and onto a card base.

What would a card in this course be without clear sequins and glitter drops?!! This is how I finished my card!

Pink Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas yield pink flowers when the soil’s pH is not acidic enough. I decided to also make a card using the Garden Hydrangea stamp set. Nothing says “Pink” like the Cherry Blossom ink set does! I used the Green Fields ink set for the leaves. Again, I added detail to the image with Marvy LePlume II markers. I used Obsidian pigment ink for the sentiment and immediately sprinkled clear embossing powder on it, and heat set it. I repeated this a couple times to get a smoother embossed effect.

Again, as a nod to Stephanie, I added clear sequins AND the silver Stickles glitter glue I’d just received in the mail! I think it gives an entirely different effect from the Nuvo Glitter Drops I had been using for this course!

Lesson 6

The color orange can depict health, happiness and courage. The technique for today is using alcohol markers. Stephanie stamped, masked, and stamped some more, being careful to keep track of what is to be foreground and what is to be midground and background. This is something I wish I’d done with the pink tulips! She then beautifully colored all the images, added the sentiment and, of course, clear sequins and Silver Stickles!

Orange Poppy Card

I used “a combination of Altenew Artist markers and Copic markers to create a beautiful floral scene with a whole lot of happy! ;)” Again I chose the Oriental Poppy Outline Stamp Set and another wax resist ink-blended background. The sentiment is from the Beautiful Quotes Stamp Set and is another Albert Einstein quote, this time about how to live a happy life.

Knowing I’d be coloring with alcohol markers, I first stamped the images with Obsidian pigment ink and gave it plenty of time to dry. This pigment ink does not allow the alcohol ink to bleed the black ink into the image one is coloring.

While that was drying, I ran wax paper thru the coordinating embossing folder, then ironed it onto cardstock, as above with the yellow poppy. I used the Lapis Lazuli ink set to ink blend the panel.

Next I colored the images with Copics and Altenew Artist Markers. Then I used the same orange colors to do an ombre effect for the sentiment and to color another panel onto which I’d later adhere the ink-blended background.

Again, I used the same Obsidian ink to stamp the sentiment and again did clear heat embossing over it.

It took me a while to play around with how to place the flower, stem, leaves and sentiment and I found I liked having the sentiment over the stem, but under the leaves. I also have the stems of the leaves tucked under the stem for the flower, but I popped the leaves over the same stem! The leaves are not fully adhered down.

I added pollen by adhering Prills in the color “Orange Juice.” This is a little darker than the pollen my bees bring home. (Yes, I am a beekeeper 🙂 )

The final step, of course, was to add clear sequins and Nuvo Glitter Drops!

Bonus Lesson

This time Stephanie brought all the colors (minus pink) together on one card, using yet another technique! She applied two different gradients of one color on the stamp to create an ombre effect. As I couldn’t remember ever trying this technique, I chose to also give this a try!

Multi-Colored Birthday Balloons Card

The inks I used were all Altenew Crisp Dye Inks in color groups: Lapis Lazuli; Red Cosmos; Green Valley; Pocket Full of Sunshine; and, finally, Golden Sunset. After stamping each balloon I also stamped the highlight with VersaMark, then sprinkled clear embossing powder and heat set it. I stamped the sentiment from the same set, using the ombre effect again, using Shades of Purple, then clear heat embossed this also.

Once finished with all my stamping I used Altenew’s Enchanted Gold Metallic thread to add strings and a bow to the balloons. The final touch was to add Trinity Stamps Shimmer and Shine Embellishment Mix. I love how these are not only reflective but also grab the surrounding colors, adding an even more festive look for a child’s birthday card. I considered adding streamers, but thought I should stop here. What do you think? Would that be too much? Please comment below!

Do you have a favorite card from this course? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Thank you for your time and for visiting me!