Grad Card Set for the girls

                   Grad Cards for the Girls!

For my Altenew Educator Certification Program Level 1 final project, I chose to make a set of graduation cards using my local high school colors. Get your coffee and a comfy seat, this will be a detailed post! 

Requirements for the card set project: 

Make two sets of 4-6 cards for a chosen theme (graduation), for both masculine and feminine recipients, using at least 3 components learned in the level 1 classes. Cards should vary in design but maintain the theme. Create packaging for each set and include the use of a recycled element in the packaging or a card design. 

As I pondered this project, the idea of graduation came to mind. I am usually more of an encouragement card creator, but graduation is timely and would take me out of my comfort zone. I chose to use our local high school colors (burgundy, black, gray/silver) to tie the cards together. I think giving a card specifically designed to represent the graduates high school or future college is a unique touch. 

I tried to sketch out card design ideas, but that's not how I work. I am inspired by the products and techniques. The card design evolves as I am working. Yes, my desk is a mess until I am finished!

Basic supplies used for my card projects: 

Gina K Intri-Cut Die cutting machine, Scrapbook.com self healing Magic Mat, Tim Holtz Tonic Studios guillotine paper trimmer, My Sweet Petunia Misti stamp positioner, reverse tweezers, Gina K pick up tool, Scrapook.com titanium coated scissors, Altenew Crisp Dye and Fresh Dye Inks, Versafine Clair Nocturne pigment ink, Foam Tape (Hobby Lobby), Altenew Glue Taperunner, 2 inch width double sided tape, T square tool, Altenew 9x12 in. sticky mat, Altenew large ink brushes, Gina K ink brushes, Spellbinders detail ink brush set, Altenew A2 card bases, various cardstocks (not all able to be identified), small water spray bottle with adjustable nozzle, plastic palette knife set. 

Card #1: Huge Congrats Cubes

Altnew's Cube Cover Die inspired my first card design. This die is so versatile. It can be used to make a card more masculine with the geometric design. It can also be used for a more subtly feminine card depending on other embellishments. I had a specific grad in mind when creating this card. She's fierce, athletic, and not overly feminine. 

Supplies: Altenew Cube Cover Die, Altenew Zero Waste Field of Flowers die, Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 Die Set, Altenew Moon Rock Crisp Dye Ink, cardstock (white, burgundy, gray), silver metallic paper, very fine tip black pen (0.1 size)

Steps to make this card:

1. Ink blend a white A2 size cardstock background panel, starting at the bottom and working up. Apply ink darker at the bottom and fade lighter. The large ink blending brush works great for this technique. You can cover a lot of area without ink marks smaller brushes might leave. I inked with one color, Moon Rock, from the Warm Gray collection of Altenew Crisp Dye Inks. 

2. Spritz water onto the inked panel, wait a few seconds, then lay a paper towel over the top to blot the water off without smearing the ink. This creates an interesting look with different sizes of water spots, so don't be concerned with trying to spray a uniform amount of water drops. Set the panel aside to dry. This inking technique was from the Easy Ink Blending class. 

 

                                      

3. Time for some die cutting: Cut out a burgundy piece of cardstock with the Cube Cover Die on your die cutting machine. Poke out the cube pieces and discard or save for another project.  

4. Die cut floral pieces using Field of Flowers Zero Waste die on your die cut machine. I cut three colors (black, white, and burgundy) to have available for my card projects. This zero waste die creates a lot of small flowers and foliage that comes in handy when you need one more something to finish a card. The gray foliage was a leftover die cut I had previously cut for another project using Spellbinders Sealed Wildflowers dies. 

5. Sentiment: Die cut the sentiment "huge congrats" from Timeless Sentiments 2 Die Set using silver metallic paper (The Paper Studio is what I had on hand) as well as the sentiment background using white cardstock. Glue the "huge congrats" to the white background using liquid glue. The silver metallic paper was suggested as a way to add shine in the Let It Shine class. I wanted to keep this card less feminine by using less sparkle than you might typically see. Not all girls like bling!

6. Time to assemble: Use liquid glue (Art Glitter designer clear adhesive) to cover the back of the cube cover diecut piece and adhere to the gray inked panel. Lay pieces of floral elements (white and gray) on the card and place the sentiment over it before gluing it down. Notice where the floral stems lie under the sentiment. 

7. Use foam tape to adhere the sentiment "huge congrats" to the burgundy panel, leaving space where the floral stems will be. Using a T square tool will aide in correct placement of your sentiment. The foam tape pops your sentiment up, giving dimension to the card. *See tip below about use of liquid glue as well. 

8. Use a fine black pigment ink pen (0.1Uni pin fine line) to write NHS or high school initials and the graduation year on the leaves of the white floral stem. 

9. Using liquid glue, place the two gray foliage pieces on the card, threading the stems under the sentiment and allowing the stems to stick out the below. Some leaves at the top can be left loose so they will appear more natural rather than being glued flat. Adhere the white flower stem on top to allow it to be the focal point of the floral stem arrangement. 

10. Your card front is ready to adhere to an A2 size card. I use double sized 2 inch wide tape and add some liquid glue to allow for adjustment of the panel before it is stuck down. 

Tips:

• Not every female prefers a blinged out feminine card. You can add a small floral element for a feminine touch without using a large flower. 
• A cover die can be used to cover a ink blended background, even a less than perfect inked background! I rarely throw out my mistake pieces. I have a need to find a way to use them, as well as my scraps from past projects.  
• Zero Waste Dies are a good investment. These dies cut out many pieces that I collect and have on hand for future projects. 
• Liquid glue is helpful when you need some wiggle room when adhering pieces. Tape style adhesive sticks well...but once it is stuck, it's stuck! Apply a little liquid glue on top of the foam tape, tape runner, or double sided tape so you have the ability to move the piece slightly before committing to the placement. 

Card 2: Huge Congrats Garden Rose 

Supplies: Altenew Cube Cover Die, Altenew Garden Rose Craft-a-Flower Die Set, Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 die set, Altenew Grapevine Fresh Dye Ink, Altenew Silver Shimmer Relief Paste, cardstock (white, black, dark gray), metallic silver paper

Steps to make this card:

1. Cut white A2 size cardstock with the Cube Cover Die. Poke out cube pieces. 

2. Place cube die panel on sticky mat. Apply a thin layer of Altnew Silver Shimmer Relief Paste over the panel. Scrape with the palette knife tool. I left some areas with a super thin coat and some areas with more paste for a grungy type of look. Set aside to dry. Clean tools immediately. This technique was inspired by Celebration: Stencil Techniques (using paste through a stencil) and Easy Die Cutting Techniques (making a stencil using a die cut).

 

3. Ink blend a white cardstock panel using a large blending brush and Altenew fresh dye ink in Grapevine from the Red Cosmos set. Create a gradient of color from top to bottom of the panel, with darker at the bottom and fading lighter. Spritz lightly with water and dab with a paper towel to create water splotches as shown in the Easy Ink Blending class on Altenew Academy. Set aside to dry or dry with a heat tool. 

4. Using the Altenew Garden Rose Craft a Flower dies, die cut three leaves from dark gray cardstock. Cut the flower center from silver metallic paper and the large floral pieces from the Grapevine inked cardstock piece. When arranging the dies for the rose, consider which pieces you'd like to have darker or lighter since your blended panel has a dark to light gradient. I cut the larger piece #1 from the darkest shaded area. 

5. Assemble the rose using liquid glue by aligning the keyhole in the center of each piece. Begin with number 1, then 2 on top, and 3. Use the layering guide in the Altenew packaging. Adhere the center silver piece with foam tape to add dimension. 

6. Die cut two "huge congrats" sentiments from Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 die set with black cardstock. Using fine tip scissors, cut the words apart. To add more dimension, glue two layers of the sentiment words on top of eachother producing a thicker sentiment. 

7. Adhere the dry Cube Die panel to an A2 size white cardstock panel using liquid glue. 

8. Place the rose toward the bottom half of the panel, leaving room for the word "congrats" at the bottom. Glue each leaf under the rose, using 3 leaves for a more eye appealing design. 

9. Use liquid glue to adhere the word congrats at the bottom, overlapping the leaf and rose petal slightly. Adhere the word "huge" at the top of the rose, tucking the h and g under the rose petals to cover where the words were cut apart. 

Tips:

• I printed out the layering guide on the Altenew website for the Garden Rose set. It was helpful with the final small pieces on the left side of the flower center that don't have a keyhole cut out.
• Shimmer Paste is like using beautiful butter! The texture is so smooth. Vary the application for a more grungy look. You can use it to add some shine as suggested in the Let It Shine class. 
• Let go of your need for perfection. The cube cover die is difficult to cover with shimmer paste in a uniform layer. Embrace the grunge look and still maintain a feminine edge with the floral piece. 

Card 3: Huge Congrats Linen Garden Rose

Supplies for this card: 

Altenew Organic Linien 3D embossing folder, Altenew Garden Rose Craft-a-Flower Die Set, Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 die set, Gina K Stormy Sky ink, Altenew Artist Alcohol Marker in Grapevine, silver sequins in various sizes, cardstock (white, black, burgundy, dark gray), black fine tip (0.1 size) pigment pen

Steps to make this card: 

1. Using Organic Linen 3D embossing folder, emboss a white piece of A2 size cardstock. 

2. Using a large blending brush, very lightly ink the embossed panel with Stormy Sky gray ink. Ink slightly darker at the lower left side, fading to white at the upper right side. 

3. Ink the edges of the panel by placing the ink cube directly on the side edge of the paper and pulling the paper along the pad 

4. Die cut a Garden Rose from burgundy cardstock, a center piece from silver metallic paper, and three leaves using dark gray cardstock. 

5. Die cut "huge congrats" from the Timeless Sentiments 2 set, using white cardstock for the words and black for the background. Glue these together with liquid glue and set aside to dry. 

6. Before assembling the rose petals, use Altenew Grapevine Artist Marker from the Red Cosmos set to create lines from the center of the petal outward. Use the brush tip with a flicking motion, with more pressure at the center. 

7. Use liquid glue to assembly the flower petals, aligning the keyhole shapes. Glue the center of the rose down flat as well. 

7. Add some dark gray ink, Stormy Sky, to the lines in the leaves using a detail brush. 

8. Adhere the rose to the white linen panel, slightly off center to the left side. Glue down the leaves under the rose petals, tucking two close together on the right side. 

9. Apply foam tape to the back of the sentiment piece, and adhere it at the bottom left, overlapping the bottom of the rose. Use a bit of liquid glue over foam tape to allow for wiggle room when placing it down. Use a T square to check or aide in proper placement of sentiment. 

8. On a spare scrap of white cardstock, write the word "graduate" using a 0.1 fine tip black pigment ink pen. Cut using a paper trimmer and cut the end into a banner shape. Ink the edges using gray ink. 

9. Adhere the "graduate" flag under the rose petals, tipping it up at an angle. 

10. Finish the card off with some shine by adhering a variety of sizes of sliver sequins to the card in groups of three in a triangular shape.

Tips:

• You can add a little shine by adding sequins to your card. Arrange the sequins in odd numbers in a triangular shape as suggested in Let It Shine. Use a variety of sequin sizes to maintain balance. 
• When placing a sentiment down, it is sometimes difficult to determine if it is straight. Use a T square kind of like using a level when you are hanging an picture. The top of the T is aligned with the side of the card. The trunk of the T lies across the card, giving you a level piece to align your sentiment. 
• Tuck an element behind something and let it stick out to add interest, as I did with the 
  "graduate" banner. (Let it Shine class technique)

Card 4: Butterfly GRAD

Supplies: Altenew Zero Waste Field of Flowers die, Altenew Silver Shimmer Relief Paste, Altenew Fine Alphabet die set, Altenew Dream Big stamp & die set, Altenew Warm Gray Crisp Dye Ink set, Ruby Red & Grapevine Fresh Dye Inks from Altenew Red Cosmos ink set.

Steps to create this card:

1. Using the Zero Waste Field of Flowers stencil set, begin with stencil #1 over an A2 size white cardstock panel on your sticky mat. Using small detail brushes and referencing the layering guide in the packaging, ink foliage in shades of Morning Frost, Evening Gray, and Moon Rock Altenew Crisp Dye Ink. Remove and clean stencil.

2. Layer stencil #2 on top of inked panel, and ink floral petals using Ruby Red and Grapevine Fresh Dye Ink. Ink blend darker on the edges of the round flowers and darker at the bottom of the tulip shaped flower. 

3. Skip stencil #3 for now. Place stencil #4 in place and ink stems with black dye ink. This will provide a good contrast and tie the black stems into the black on the butterfly. 

                                   

4. Place stencil #3 in place (flower centers and random dots), and add some shine! Apply silver Shimmer Relief Paste over this stencil with a palette knife. Scrap off excess, but be sure every dot has been filled. This will create not only shine, but also some dimension as the relief paste dots are raised off of the panel. Set aside to dry. Inspired by Let It Shine class. 

5. Creating the butterfly/Dream Big layered butterfly stamp set: place a small piece of white cardstock in a stamp placement tool (Misty) and lay the larger inside wing piece on the cardstock, allowing space around it for the black outline layer and the butterfly body. Stamp with Ruby Red Fresh Dye Ink. Place the second layer of the butterfly wing (smaller design) on the previously stamped image. Align the inside edges on top of each other. Stamp with Grapevine Fresh Dye Ink. Align the butterfly body & detailed wing frame stamp on the colored images, aligning the body with the edges of the wings. Stamp using black pigment ink for a dark, crisp image. Cut the butterfly image out using the coordinating die and low tack tape to secure the die. The All About Layering 4 class gives lots of tip for aligning layering stamps. *HINT- make an extra butterfly to use on the next card.

6. Cut the letters for GRAD using Altenew Fine Alphabet Die set and burgundy cardstock. Cut 4 of each letter. Adhere several layers (3-4) of each letter on top of each other to create some height.  

7. Write the words "two thousand twenty-five" in script using a 0.1 tip black pigment pen on white cardstock. Cut the strip out pennant style on the ends and ink the sides of the white strip using Grapevine ink. Ink the edges of the stenciled panel as well once the shimmer paste is completely dry. 

8. Use a T square to align and glue the "two thousand twenty-five" strip about 1/3  of the way from the bottom of the panel. Place the letters for GRAD across the center of the floral stenciled panel, using the already aligned pennant for easy placement. Using a mat with a grid under your card will also allow you to center the letters properly. Adhere with liquid glue. 

9. Attach the butterfly using foam tape to add dimension. Place the butterfly as if it is landing on the D. 

Tips:

• The Field of Flowers  stencil is slightly larger than the cardstock panel and will stick to the Altenew Sticky mat without any extra tape needed. Just press down on the sides of the stencil that extend beyond the cardstock panel. 
• Aligning layering stamps can be a little tricky. Make several of the first layer and so you will have some to use if your first one isn't aligned as well as you like. 

• After all that careful aligning of the layered stamps, don't take the chance of ruining your butterfly with an misaligned die! Using low tack tape, such as Altenew's purple satin masking tape, will hold your die in place while die cutting and remove easily from the image without tearing your paper.
• Stacking die cut letters to create height helps the word GRAD stand out more on the busy background. 
• An easy way to ensure you have your letters centered is to count the number of letters in the word. Divide by 2.  For GRAD, 4/2=2. The center is the space between the 2 letters on each side. Align from center outward. Example using a longer word: CELEBRATE has 9 letters. 9/2=4.5. Round to 5. The center is the 5th letter "B" with 4 letters on each side. Place the B down in the center and work out from there. 

Card 5: Dream Big Butterfly

Supplies: Altenew Playful Leaves 3D embossing folder and stencil set, Altenew Zero Waste Field of Flowers die, Altenew Dream Big stamp & die set, Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 Die Set, Altenew Silver Shimmer Relief Paste, Ruby Red & Grapevine Fresh Dye Inks from Altenew Red Cosmos ink set, Gina K Stormy Sky ink, Versafine Clair Nocturne Black Pigment Ink, silver sequins

Steps to create this card:

 1. Cut a black A2 cardstock panel and emboss using the Playful Leaves 3D embossing folder. 

 2. Place the Playful Leaves stencil over the embossed panel with the same design. Using a palette knife, apply Silver Shimmer Relief Paste over the stencil, being sure the paste gets into the center folds of the leaves. Scrape excess off, leaving a thin layer on the raised parts of the leaves. Remove stencil and clean tools. Lay panel aside to dry. 

3. Using a piece of white cardstock and the "dream big" sentiment stamp, begin stamping in the center. Work outward toward the edges of the paper with each stamped sentiment. Begin the next line of stamped sentiment by staggering the sentiment so it does not exactly align under the sentiment above it.  Align the next line of sentiment above the first, but staggered. So you are working from the center out, and center up and down. You are basically making patterned paper with "dream big". 

4. Cut the patterned paper you made approximately an inch smaller on each side than an A2 piece (3 1/4 x 4 1/2 in). Ink the edges of this paper in Grapevine Fresh Dye Ink using the direct to paper inking technique from Irresistible Inking Techniques. 

5. Die cut the sentiment "huge congrats" from silver metallic paper and burgundy background paper. Cut an extra of the silver sentiment to stack, adding some height to this thin layer. 

6. Stamp and die cut the butterfly (see step #5 of the previous card). Spray with shimmer spray to add some sparkle and dry with heat tool. 

7. Working on a completely dry relief paste Playful Leaves panel, adhere "dream big" stamped paper in center. Use liquid glue, which adheres better to the varying levels of an embossed panel. 

8. Temporarily place "huge congrats" on the dream big panel, aligning the left side near the edge of the stamped paper and allowing the "s" to extend beyond the panel for added interest. Locate a black floral piece leftover from the Zero Waste Field of Flowers used for card #1, and glue this piece in place so it will peek out from under the sentiment. Then adhere the sentiment using foam tape. 

9. Adhere the butterfly using foam tape, positioning it to sit on the flowers with wings extended beyond the white panel.

10. Finish it off with a variety of sizes of silver sequins. Adhere to centers of flowers and in bottom left corner of white panel with liquid glue. One of the sequin centers in the flower is tucked behind the butterfly as suggested in Let It Shine. The arrangement of sequins is a diagonal pattern, sweeping up from the bottom left to top right. Let one sequin sit on the edge of the white panel for added
interest. 

Tips:

• The Gina K Intri-Cut machine allows you to 3D emboss by turning a dial on the side of the machine. You can also further adjust the pressure with the tension dial. No more figuring out what kind of sandwhich to make! 
• If you struggle with placement of embellishments, the class Let It Shine has lots of tips, such as diagonal placement. 

Creating your own Packaging:

My card packaging was created from a shower curtain liner package I recycled. I adjusted the size to fit my cards by pulling the top flap up and scoring a new bottom, then cutting off the top edge that was too long. I adjusted the size of the band that fits across the cards and cut a point to slip between two slots cut in the other side of the band. 

                                                     

I then covered the back and part of front with black cardstock, adhered with double sided tae. I stamped a pink piece of cardstock with Altenew Pinstripe background stamp in Grapevine Fresh Dye Ink. Where those pieces meet, I added a strip of burgundy cardstock for a more finished look.  I added the letters for GRAD cut from burgundy cardstock using the Fine Alphabet Dies. After assembling a Garden Rose the same as on one of the cards, I adhered it to the top front. Finally, I cut a hole at the top and threaded sliver ribbon through to secure the flaps together. This makes an unique package to give the cards to the recipient in.