Floral Wreath
Altenew Academy Homework - Alcohol Markers
Good day, fellow crafters. Today I want to present a project I created as homework for a fabulous course through Altenew Academy taught by Kelly Taylor (@kellytaylorcards). The class was devoted to tips and tricks of coloring with alcohol markers. I love learning new techniques and expanding my horizons; this class was no exception as I learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing it. I hope you enjoy.
To create this card I first began with the foreground element. The featured image was created using the Blooms of Friendship stamp set and is exclusive to this course at Altenew Academy. I used white cardstock and my Misti stamping tool, to align and stamp my image. I generally re-ink and re-stamp my images several times to get a crisp image which I did here.
I next removed the cardstock from my Misti and secured it to my work surface so I could begin the coloring process. For this class project, I used markers from the Woodland Garden and Firewood Garden marker set which can be pre-ordered by following my link. These markers were a joy to work with and Kelly made all of the instructions and tips on how to use them easy and understandable. I highly recommend both the markers and the class if you want to up your alcohol marker game. Once I had the image completed I set it aside to dry.
Once the markers had dried, I turned to the included die set and my Gemini die-cutting machine to cut the wreath out. The florals and leaves were fussy cut because I dislike having borders around my images unless it can’t be helped. I then set them aside.
The next step in the process was to create the background panel. Using the color wheel I decided to use this complementary shade of purple to better highlight my focal image. I first trimmed the purple cardstock to its final size using a Hero Arts rectangle die and then lightly misted the back with water. This adds enough moisture to the paper fibers that they bend without tearing. I placed the cardstock in the Altenew Crystal Wall embossing folder, featured right, and ran it through my Gemini a couple of times to ensure a crisp transfer. I then set it aside to dry.
I then choose a black cardstock as a mat to add some visual framing to my card. I used a slightly larger rectangle die to cut it to size. If you have followed me for a while you know what comes next, getting the sentiment from the center of the mat.
I strive to be a zero-waste studio so using the centers of cardstock that would otherwise be hidden makes a lot of sense to me. I took the newly cut mat and placed it into my Misti. Then I positioned my sentiment, which is from the Blooms of Friendship set, and inked it with VersaMark watermark ink. I stamped the sentiment, re-inked, and stamped again to ensure a crisp transfer. I then applied copper embossing powder and heat-set it. Then the sentiment was cut out using the corresponding die.
The last step was assembly. I first used Bearly Arts liquid glue to adhere the background panel to the black mat, then I adhered that composite to a white card base. Next, the wreath’s position was double-checked before I adhered it with more liquid glue to ensure a clean fit. The floral elements were then adhered on top of the wreath with more liquid glue. Lastly, I positioned and then adhered the sentiment in the center. For extra visual appeal, I used some flat-back pearls that were part of the class supplies. With that, I called the card complete.
Note: To support the creation of more content like this, I've included affiliate links for some of the featured supplies. Utilizing these links won't incur any additional costs for you, but it does provide a small benefit to me, allowing me to continue sharing my work with you.
