I have finished ten more classes in the AECP and am now posting my final project for Level II!
I’ve learned from every class. Three techniques from these classes will be highlighted in this final project: Layering, Color, and Die Cutting.
LAYERING is at the heart of Altenew stamping and die cutting. An early release, Altenew’s beautiful Vintage Roses, immediately caught my attention . Never had I seen such realistic layered stamping. Vintage Roses was my first Altenew purchase. Since then I’ve purchased bushels of Altenew’s flowers and joined the monthly Buildl-a-Flower program. Along the way I’ve developed some tips and tricks to make layering easier. They will be shared in the tutorial below.
COLOR Working with Color is the joy of stamping, painting and die cutting. Some are fortunate to have a “good eye” for color. They have a natural talent for bringing color combinations together. Others need a little assistance. The color wheel is a remarkable tool for color selection. That will be explored in the tutorial below.
DIE CUTTING There has been a revolution in die cutting and it’s still getting better! There is something so satisfying about producing a crisp-edge die cut. Die cuts that coordinate perfectly with stamps give a professional, dimensional element to projects. Lining up dies to stamps takes some practice and a few tricks. I will share what I’ve learned in the tutorial below.
The final project is to be four masculine cards and an altered or upcycled project. The Perfectly Polish Creativity Kit has been calling to me. It’s unique to the Altenew line. It also gives a great opportunity to really play with color. Because it is symmetrical and geometrical it could work well for masculine designs. Hint: those images are giving me visions of stitching and colorful DMC floss.
Wycinanki is a Polish paper art. There are two types. One is from the Kurpie region. A single sheet of paper is cut into intricate designs. It resembles the snowflakes we create by folding a piece of paper and cutting an image.
My projects will focus on the second form of Wycinank. It is from the Lowicz region. It features colorful designs built from layering intricate cut-outs.
An internet search brought up hundreds of photos of Wycinanki. The photo below was the Pinterest inspiration for my first card.
And here’s the result.
I made selecting colors for this card easy by choosing my favorites. Best defined as analogous they are next to each other on the color wheel.
There are a lot of little die cuts on this card. The Misti is my secret weapon for stamping multiples of the same image. I cut (31) 2″ squares. Once the stamp was placed, it would stamp in the same exact place on each 2″ square.
To line up the layers I first check the back of the Altenew tri-fold card included with the stamp set. It shows exactly where the images will line up with each other. I put on my glasses, turned on my desk light and place the clear stamp over the previously stamped layer. I stand up and look straight down. The edges of the clear stamp should be perfectly in line with the stamped image. Close the Misti door so it picks up the stamp and that image is ready to stamp multiple times.
One of the frustrations of working with small stamps and dies is keeping track of them! Returning the stamps directly to the acetate sheet it came from is the best way to not misplace a stamp. When I’m doing multiples of the same image I keep the tiny stamps on the inside of my Misti door. Look closely and you will see the set of clear scalloped flowers from this set at the top of the door.
Now those 31 images need to be die cut. The process is similar to lining up the stamps. Glasses in place, lights on and stand up. Look straight down and make sure the edge of the die is right next to the edge of the stamped image. If cut correctly, the white edge should be the same all the way around the image.
I had a magnetic bowl of orphan dies that needed to be reunited with their families. Then I discovered how not to lose dies. Home Depot has magnetic vent covers. Each package has three
8 x 15″ magnetic sheets that can be used inside the Altenew packaging to store dies. As I die cut, I return the dies to this sheet and they are never (almost never) lost.
This little Sidekick allows me to stay at my table and quickly cut as many tiny dies as I want.
( Altenew has a much prettier one.)
If I don’t have cardstock to match the ink color of the other images, I just put ink to paper and swipe that color on cardstock. Voila!! Dies in the perfect color.
iCraft purple tape or washi tape is necessary to hold those tiny dies in place before they goes through the machine.
A 61/4″ circle template helped me place the die pieces in nearly perfect symmetry. It was a little tricky because the center piece was not perfectly symmetrical.
I would have preferred a 6″ circle as a 6″ square envelope can be made with the Punch Board.
However, at 6″ all of the pieces did not fit on the background.
To create a circle card that opened easily, a crease was made at the top of the inside to allow for a card that would nicely open and close.
Though a bit time consuming, I really enjoyed making this card. I experimented with a lot of different placements and Altenew ink colors. Tropical Forest, Eastern Sky, Lagoon and Ultraviolet made the final cut.
My friend, Connie, manipulated an svg file and cut this 6 1/2″ square envelope for me.
Now I look forward to using more color wheel selections and different designs with Wonderful Wycinanki.
Card #2
The Pinterest Inspiration
Birds are commonly found in Polish paper crafts.
For my second card (5×7) I used the hummingbird from Wishing You. Other dies are from Wonderful Wycinankii. The colors for this card are primary colors. They are ideal for masculine cards.
I went with a kraft background because I thought it was more masculine than a white background.
Stick It or Xyron are great products to use for small die cuts. They both add an adhesive to the back of the die cut. Just pull away the backing and adhere it to your project.
When working with multiple tiny dies and die cuts keep them in a small tray. That keeps tiny pieces from disappearing on your workspace.
Card #3
The Pinterest Inspiration
This was the inspiration for symmetry as I designed card #3. The shapes were similar to Wonderful Wycinanki. The stamps did not lend themselves to a landscape layout, however. Portrait worked much better because of the size of the stamps.
There were many practice card fronts. This one worked! I used the lines to make sure I had mirror images as is typical of the Polish paper crafting.
This card design took a lot of detours from what I had originally planned. White symmetrical images on dark paper was the plan. Red and white? Blue and white? Die Cuts, stamps or water color?
As this was being contemplated I watched a video by Jennifer McGuire about stamping images on dark paper. Then the design started to take form. It turned out more monochromatic than the achromatic two-color white and something that I had originally planned.
The Misti was a life saver for this card as each image was stamped several times. First each element was stamped in pigment white ink. Perfect Pearls were brushed over the ink. That was heat-set. A clean, dry wash cloth was used to wipe away excess Perfect Pearls.
Some elements took one or two more steps. For some, Altenew Emerald ink was stamped over the white-ink and Perfect Pearls. Heat-embossed Platinum embossing powder was used for the centers of some images.
The camera did not pick up the shine of the Perfect Pearls. However it did show the texture and almost 3D effect that is achieved with this process.
This took a lot of experimenting and time. But I’m sequestered because of the Corona Virus and have the luxury of time to play.
I mounted the card front on fun foam. The sentiment, from Altenew’s Thinking of You, is done with the white pigment ink/Perfect Pearls technique. I was especially pleased with how that came out.
Card#4
The fourth card’s colors are complementary hues. These are on opposite sides of the color wheel.
I hinted at some stitching. Here it is!
I first die cut Altenew’s Pegboard Canvas Cover Die from heavy 120 pound Neenah paper. The heavier paper can withstand the tugging and pulling of the floss.
Then I stamped elements of Wonderful Wycinanki in complementary Altenew inks on the pegboard die cut.
Cross stitch is done properly when all stitching is done in the same direction.
I generally go across one line with the first stitch then come back with the overlapping stitch.
This pattern required some partial stitches. They are harder on paper because it requires the needle to penetrate the heavy paper where there is not a hole. A thimble would be a handy tool to save fingers from getting sore.
The card is framed with pieces from Fine Frames Cover Die.
The sentiment is from Altenew’s Heartfelt Sentiments.
Final Project
Wooden Card Box
I have a wood box with a frame on the front. My final project will be designed to fit that frame.
The first step was to plan out my cross stitch pattern on graph paper. I stamped Wonderful Wycinanki and the Hannah Elements border in Altenew Evening Gray which is light enough that I can color over it as you’ll see in the next photo.
I traced “cards” from the Altenew Calligraphy letter dies.
On the right I have listed the colors of DMC Floss I could use. I’ve colored in the graph with x’s of the different colors of blues and purples. This will be my roadmap for stitching.
A Pretty Box for My Cards
The final product is fairly close to the graphed plan. The “s” had to be altered a bit as the design of the die did not transfer well to stitching. The center of the largest flower seemed to demand an ombre rather than the original design
P.S.
I shared these projects with my neighbor who is Polish. She brought out this precious wood box of eggs her uncle had saved when they had to evacuate due to war. The beautiful colors and repeated patterns of Wycinanci are in each item.
