Hello creative friends! Today I’m sharing a card that I made after participating in Altenew Academy’s Beautiful Details online course. First let me just say that I am fully aware that my “details” don’t quite fit the “beautiful” description! Ha ha. The point is that I tried, and practiced, and came up with something that I’m not entirely unhappy with, using a technique that was VERY challenging for me! I will also say that as creators, we are often our own worst critic. The instructor for this class, Arika Rahtu, is extremely talented! She did a wonderful job with this class, encouraging participants to try the techniques she shared, and also to practice, practice, practice! She talked about when she started as a beginner, and how she had to practice a lot to get to the point where she is now.

I didn’t have any of the stamp sets that she used in the course, so I used the Altenew Vintage Roses set, because there were some individual leaf layer stamps I thogught I could use. In the first lesson, Arika uses second and third generation stamping to get different shades of the same color to create the base of her flowers. I tried this several times, and just could not get anything I was happy with. Adding the “details” made it even worse, in my opinion. But, I was inspired to try my version of her technique, and also use the diagonal theme.

I ended up making these “flowers” by stamping one of the leaf layers twice. I stamped “just breathe” from the Bad Days Happen Stamp Set in the center of a piece of Neenah Classic Crest 110lb. Solar White cardstock. I used a leaf spray from the Vintage Roses stamp set first as the base of the flower, then added the two “petals”. I used a fine tip black marker to add some details (outlines) to the petals, and a white gelly roller pen to add some interest to the green flower base.

I cut a thin rectangle frame using some nested rectangle dies out of a coordinating cardstock, and added this as a border. I also added a few sequins.

For me, I would call this a “clean and simple” card, compared to the style I usually make. This class definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone. To anyone who enjoys adding drawn in details, this would be the class for you! It is a very inspiring instructor, and a very inspiring class for those of you with more artistic talent! Thank you for stopping by my blog. I appreciate you!

Altenew products used:
Altenew Vintage Roses Stamp Set
Altenew Bad Days Happen Stamp Set
Altenew Fresh Dye Ink Cubes – Crimson, Eucalyptus