AECP: Easy Ink Blending Techniques

Hi there crafty friends!

Today I am sharing two cards that I made after completing the Easy Ink Blending Techniques AECP course. I have REALLY been feeling  rainbow color schemes as of late so the two cards that I’ll be sharing today will both use a rainbow theme.

Card One:

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I did a really great job with this one, lol. It’s hands down my favorite card out of all the cards I’ve made over the past few months. I may be a bit selfish and hold on to this one for a bit and not give it away… at least until next spring… or summer lol.

Instructions

1. Start off by stamping the floral image onto a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 sheet of paper. I used my Misti since the stamp is so large.
2. Once you select your desired colors, get an idea of how wide you want to ink blend each color. (TIP: It maybe helpful to draw light lines using a pencil where where you will want to stop/start inking each color.)
3. Using the stencils that go along with the stamped image, ink blend using your desired colors. For my card I used 6 base colors. (TIP: If you are using yellow, ink that color first. This is when your stencil is the cleanest and your yellow will not get mixed in with all the other more prominent colors). Once you get to stencil 5, the stencil that creates the shading effect, either ink these colors with a heavier hand or used a darker version of that particular ink. Once you are complete, with stenciling. Clean off stencil 5 and dry it off really good. Once dry, use that stencil to apply some translucent glitter. For my card I used Tsukineko gold sheer shimmer spray.
4. Now time to work on your background. (TIP: If you have textured wood grain paper or a wood grain embossing folder, you can use that and skip these next steps.) Using some wooden plank dies from my stash, I first dry embossed the paper. I achieved this by running the dies and paper though my die cutting machine while using a silicone mat. I did this so that I could achieve the maximum texture of the grain. I then cut the embossed planks out by hand.
5. Cut a sheet of 5 1/2 by 5 1/2 paper. Also, create your 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 card based (using a 5 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper) and set it aside. 
6. Adhere your wooden planks using an adhesive of your choice to your 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 sheet of paper. I placed my planks down in a diagonal pattern.
7. Cut off any access that may be hanging over the sheet.
8. Die cut your desired sentiments from some glitter or shimmer card stock. If you don’t have glitter card stock, thats okay! You can create your own using shimmer spray or a glitter paste. If you don’t have that, then use some colored cards stock instead. (TIP: Add double sided adhesive to the back of your glitter paper before die cutting. This will make your life easier later on, trust me!)
9. Die cut glitter paper using the matching die that came with the stamp set. I only die cut the top half since of the floral image since that all I planed to show. 
10. While you have that die out, cut out the inked floral image that you completed in step 3.
11. Next, add your glitter shadow to the back of the floral image.
12. Map out how you want to arrange your floral image and sentiments on the card. Once you have that figured out, adhere them to your card with the adhesive of your choice. I used foam tape on the back of the floral image because I wanted it to stand out a bit more. 
13. If desired, cut off any parts of the floral image that hangs off the a card. 
14. Congrats on completing your card!!

Materials used:

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Altenew Gracious peonies stamp, stencil, and die bundle: https://shrsl.com/3vmug
Altenew inks: https://shrsl.com/3vmum
Altenew blending brushes: https://shrsl.com/3vmut
3m foam tape
Honey Bee Stamps Barn Wood Plank dies
Simon Says Stamp Beautiful die
Altenew glitter paper: https://shrsl.com/3vmux

Card Two:

This card cased one Altenew’s design team members, Mindy Eggen. Her inspiration was actually the reason why I purchased this stamp and stencil bundle. 

Instructions:

1. Start off by stamping the floral image on a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 sheet of paper. I used my Misti since the stamp is so large.
2. Once you select your desired colors, get an idea of how wide you want to ink blend each color. (TIP: It maybe helpful to draw light lines using a pencil where where you will want to stop inking each color.)
3. Using the stencils that go along with the stamped image, ink blend using your desired colors. For my card I used 6 base colors. (TIP: If you are using yellow, ink that color first. This is when your stencil is the cleanest and your yellow will not get mixed in with all the other more prominent colors.)
4. Once you’ve completed the stenciling, color in the centers of the flowers using markers. I used the Hawaiian Shores markers for this. The fine tip end was perfect for these smaller sections.
5. Next cut your image down to 4 x 5 1/4. I used one of the the Mix and Match Frames die because I wanted a bit more interest. 
6. Create your 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card base.
7. Adhere your card panel to your card base using your preferred adhesive.
8. Next, figure out what sentiments that you would like use use on your card. Cut those out and then determine how you want to arrange them. Once you have the figured out, adhere them to your card.
9. Congrats on your finished card!

Materials used:

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Altenew Captivating Blooms stamp and stencil bundle: https://shrsl.com/3vmve
Altenew Mix and Match Frame die set: https://shrsl.com/3vmrg
Altenew Hawaiian Shores marker set: https://shrsl.com/3vmv9
Altenew inks: https://shrsl.com/3vmum

Thanks for stopping by! If you were inspired by todays post I would live to see what you create! Reach out to me in the comments below or on Instagram.

Have a great day!

:-) Dom

P.s. want a little more ink blending ROYGBIV inspiration?? Check out this card!