Paper and Fiber Arts: Potted Plants Card Set - Challenge 1 Altenew Part One

Scroll for the Potted Plants :)

Masculine Card Set

Hello! The Altenew challenge consists of two card sets but because of the length of the posts, I am separating the AECP Level One Final Challenge into two parts. This part of the assignment is to complete a set of 'masculine' cards and packaging for the set. The colors used in the set are more traditionally used for masculine cards. However, this set of cards is suitable for gifting to anyone. Please be aware that there are many photos because, in addition to showing each of the eight cards, there are some process photos. Here is the Potted Plants Card Set:

Eight Thematically Based Cards

Though there are similar characteristics, each card is different from the others. For specific tasks, it was easiest to work with a mass production goal. For example, to make clean-up easier I heat embossed all of the pieces at the same time. This included doing the leafy part, pictured below as a tag on the gift bag.

Ink Techniques

Working with inks and paper and watching them transform into something different always brings me joy! Using the AECP courses as a guide to choosing paper crafting techniques to showcase, I selected some fun and easy ones to implement. As already mentioned, heat embossing was used for many of the cards. Another Wow! technique is to apply ink directly to paper. Sliding the ink pad onto the paper in straight lines can create a woodgrain effect. The picture below shows Almond Butter ink applied to a light-colored kraft cardstock (on the left) and the original paper on the right-hand side.

Woodgrain Effect with Direct-to-Paper Inking

Ink Pad Types

The direct-to-paper technique pictured above uses dye ink. It is fast-drying and not as messy as stickier inks. Why use messier inks? Using pigment ink will oftentimes result in more intense colors. And some colors, such as metallics, are not available as dye inks. Watermark inks and pigment inks are usually the recommended ink types for heat embossing. The heat-embossed plant/tag was stamped with a combination of dye ink and Versamark, then embossed with clear powder. This was used as the base for an ink resist technique. Rather than get out another ink, I used leftover blue ink on the blending brush to fill in the background.

Gold Pigment Ink Applied to Paper Edges

More Ink-to-Paper Techniques

Pigment ink is slower to dry. It does not need to be embossed, but a heat tool will speed up the process. I used the gold ink pad to bring some extra depth to the edge of the paper by running the ink pad around each of the sides. Because the overall effect is grungy, it is very forgiving and you do not need to worry about a crisp application. It is ok to mix inks. The picture below shows the same pigment-edged paper after dye ink was applied with an ink blending tool. Notice that ink wasn't deliberately applied in the middle as that part will be covered with patterned paper.

Ink blending along the perimeter of the page

Continuing in an assembly-line manner, everything was stamped and embossed or colored and then die-cut as needed. My process is to sort out backgrounds first and then assemble cards based on the elements being used. It helps me to have a big picture so I sometimes will lay out everything to see what components might be missing. The photo below shows this step.

Stamping and Coloring

All of the pots were colored with either woodless colored pencils or alcohol markers. I used either an alcohol blender marker or a paper stump dipped in alcohol to blend the media on the pots. It is easiest for me to color and then die-cut the images. Die cuts allow the various components to be raised above the background or card base. It adds another wonderful layer of dimension and depth to the card. Additional postage may be required for mailing, though.

Most of the cards have the potted plants raised off the base with foam tape. The plants are inserted into a small slit on many of the pots. This was achieved using a handheld craft knife.

Plants inserted into a slit cut into the pot

Plants are not always green. And in card making, any color can be used!

Using different sentiments, whether stamped or die cut, allows for many options in card sending.

The cards don't have to all have plants to still be a part of the set. Using enough of the other components ties this clean and simple card together with the rest of the set. The very first card at the top of the post is also a CAS card made for the set.

Clean and Simple Card

Recycling A Shopping Bag

Packaging a gift does not need to be fancy. When I was unpacking from a family trip last week, I found this polka-dot bag from a souvenir purchase. Even though the colors are different, it seemed like a great tie-in to the dots on the cards. Brown paper packaging with twine wrapping is one of my favorites for gift-giving. The use of a recycled bag complements the card set. After punching two small holes in it, the embossed tag worked well as a way to hold the twine in place.