Altenew August Challenge

I am enjoying the Altenew Monthly Challenges because they are helping me grow as an artist. I also really enjoy seeing other ways people have taken the same inspiration photo and colors and turned them into art. As artists, we all get stuck in a rut or are afraid what we are making just wont turn out well. My mindset with these challenges is just to have fun and to try new ways of making a card. So here is what I wanted to do when I first saw the inspiration colors and image from Altenew. 

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/growth-mindset-quotes/

Setting the scene...

I had been focusing on using florals with the Altenew Challenges and wanted to do something else. I purchased the Altenew Vintage Tea Cup Set because it's different and I love tea and tea cups and thought the set could make some great cards. I've struggled with using the set..and so I decided to push myself to use it for this challenge.

The tea cup is stamped and embossed on Tim Holtz watercolor paper.

On a piece of Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper, I stamped the tea cup in Versa Mark Ink and used Wow gold embossing powder to heat emboss the image. I then cut out a mask from Inkadinkado Masking Paper and placed it over the tea cup. Then I stamped the saucer and heat embossed that using the same embossing powder. I selected the small Rose and Leaves images from the set to stamp a floral image onto the front of the cup and the saucer. To stamp the leaves and flowers, I colored the images with my Tombow Dual Brush Pens in 703 and 800 for the flowers and 126 and 158 for the leaves to get a variation of color. I then stamped them again using Versa Mark Ink and heat embossed with Hero Arts Clear Embossing Powder. Embossing the flowers gives them a raised dimension and protection from the water coloring I was about to do.

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Watercoloring with Tombow Markers

I decided to watercolor the image with my Tombow Dual Brush Pens. I really like the versatility of these markers because I can letter, stamp, color an image and watercolor with them. The markers blend well and I use my Tombow Color Chart to help me choose the right colors. I typically pick two or three colors: a light, medium and dark, for each image I'm coloring. I also use a Kuretake small water brush to simplify the water coloring process. When I'm water coloring, I squiggle some marker color onto a stamp block and then pick up the color with my water brush. I start with the darkest color and then pull that color through the image, adding color as I go. I used Reflex Blue (493) Turquoise (443), Sea Blue (373) and Glacier Blue (491) for the tea cup and saucer. For the white parts, I used cool grays: N95 and N65 on the saucer and inside the cup. I also watercolored Distress Ink tea dye inside the cup.

Tea cup is watercolored and the grays actually enhance the white on the inside of the cup.

To smooth the watercolor blending, I added Perfect Pearls to give some shine to the tea cup.

Completing the card

To complete the card, I stamped the steam image with Distress Ink Tea Dye and used clear embossing powder to give it shine. The tea cup looked like it was floating in mid-air so I decided to use the oval from Hero Arts Floral Boarder Fancy Die to emboss a frame around the tea cup. I then created a mask out of post-its to cover the tea cup and saucer and masked off the outside of the oval. I lightly sponged on Distress Inks in Weathered Wood and Hickory Smoke trying to be darker around the edges of the oval and being careful not too go high past the saucer. I then colored the tea cup and saucer with Versa Marker and dabbed on Perfect Pearls just to give the watercoloring a little shine.

Embossing an oval around the teacup grounds the image. I cut a mask and added some color below the image to decrease the look of the teacup floating in mid-air.

Tea cup with embossed oval, watercoloring and perfect pearls.

The sentiment I chose was "a cup of Thanks" from the same Altenew set. I cut a banner out of Neenah Solar White 80lb using the Cricut Labels and Such Die set which cuts and embosses the labels. I then used the negative space and my MISTI to stamp the sentiment in Versa Mark ink. After heat embossing the sentiment in Wow Gold Embossing Powder, I inked the outside of the label with Distress Ink Peacock Feathers to match the tea cup and have it stand out on the card. To add dimension, I used the same label die to cut a piece of fun  foam and adhered it to my paper label and attached it to the card. For some extra interest, I used painters tape to mask off a straight line, added Versa Mark ink and Wow embossing powder, heat set it for an accent line that matches the card. The card is finished off with some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Caribbean Blue.

Thank you for joining me today. I have included links to the supplies I used to make this card. I use affiliate links whenever possible which provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for your support. I'd love to hear your comments on when you've struggled with an idea or stamp set and how you broke through that struggle. Have a great day and happy crafting!

Labels & Such 10-piece Cut & Emboss Die Set
from: Cricut