So, I am beginning my AECP Level 2 with an awesome class called ‘With A Twist’ taught by the amazing Therese. I really enjoyed this class; it was packed full of inspiration & ideas on how to look at your supplies/techniques in a different way.

I decided to use my Mega Bloom stencil with some Nuvo Crackle Mousse to create a card which flips the colours for a new twist on this favourite stencil.

I chose some deep red card stock to substitute for the reds I often choose to colour my floral images and I added the stencil, using masking tape to secure it to my paper from behind then adding more tape to anchor the paper & stencil to my work surface. Then I chose the Wrought Iron Crackle Mousse to create my flower; I wanted to see what the effect would be when I swapped these round.

The paper that I chose is quite sturdy and good quality, but I was quite worried about how rolled up the paper became once the mousse was dry! This was the first time I had used this medium & I made a couple of backgrounds at the same time, so I was convinced that the mousse was just going to flake off when I unrolled it! I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the crackled mousse stays onto the paper very well and I didn’t lose any from either of my designs.

To ensure that the panel remains flat I glued it onto 3 layers of some scrap card; this is sturdy enough to hold the panel in place and has the additional benefit of lifting the panel up adding dimension without needing foam adhesive.

I chose a sentiment from the Bamboo Rose stamp set and embossed it onto some vellum. I chose white so that it would stand out against the deep red & black; I didn’t want to add any metallic accents to this design, choosing to keep it matte. In order to pull the white into the design as a whole, I added some gouache splatters.

I framed my sentiment with black pearlised paper and trimmed the vellum down to meet it; this has the dual purpose of drawing the eye into the sentiment and also gives me a substantial area to add liquid adhesive that will be hidden. Due to the texture that this crackle mousse gives you do need to use liquid glue, and place something on top whilst it dries, to make sure that you get a strong attachment.

I added a black border with a ruler and fine liner, before attaching the panel onto a card blank. I added Nuvo’s matte variation, Antique, drops in both black & white which further ties the white sentiment into the design.