I am so excited to say that I’ve been accepted onto Altenew’s Educator Certification Programme and today I have my first blog post as part of my learning journey.
The first classes I took on this journey are All About Layering 1 & 2 and I came away with so much more confidence when tackling those gorgeous multi-layered stamps.
Today I want to talk about the ‘fear’ I’ve had in the past when it comes to these multi layered images. I am my own worst enemy sometimes when it comes to being happy with what I’ve made; I saw the beautiful, intricate images Altenew comes out with and I was in all honesty intimidated by them.
Because of my chronic health conditions I often have difficulty with fine motor skills so I didn’t think the amazing results you see of the finished image would be something that I could achieve; in truth I had no confidence in my ability. Also as a crafter who is differently abled I can’t stand up to look directly down onto these stamps in order to see whether they are positioned correctly.
After watching ‘All About Layering 1’ I realised that there are absolutely no rules when it comes to these stamps! That realisation was so freeing, and so I got myself a few layering sets to have a play with.
I decided that I would start with the Painted Butterflies set; this has several different Butterflies with several layers each.
I made a ‘practice’ sheet and I decided that rather than using my trusted Misti, I would use a good old school acrylic block. I told myself it didn’t matter if they lined up properly and to just enjoy the process.
These are my recommendations when it comes to diving into the wonderful world of Layering:
- Start with one of the simpler sets and explore that first before diving straight into one of the more intricate sets, such as the build-a-flower sets.
- You can use as many, or as few of they layers as you want. Experiment with this to get a feel for how the finished result varies depending on which layers you do/don’t use.
- For a super easy process purposely offset the image and it’s outline. This works better on some sets than others. This is exactly what I did using the Painted Butterflies set; I decided that I wanted to get that sort of look, which took off so much pressure in terms of my self criticism.
- Relax, enjoy the process and remember that we craft because it’s what we love, so there really are no rules you have to follow.
I actually ended up with 2 simple & elegant cards out of this experimentation with Painted Butterflies; I love the look of the outline being offset from the coloured layers.
My next experiment was using the Vintage Flowers set. I decided to skip the colouring layers completely on these little blossoms.
Instead I stamped the outline with Distress Oxide Antique Linen and then used a brush with a tiny bit of water to just tease that colour down into the petal, to soften the edges and give the blossoms a cream look.
Then I just used Walnut Stain D.O. to add the tiny little centre to each blossom. I love the way they turned out!! Again I stamped them using an acrylic block because I knew that would be much quicker and easier than setting up the positions in my Misti.
I hope that I managed to answer a few of your questions about entering the world of Altenew’s stunning layering stamp sets, if you give them a go please do tag me @handmadebytasha13 and don’t forget to add #altenew for the chance to be featured on their social media channels.
I’d love to know what you think about the cards I made for this post, which is your favourite?
Hey Crafty People!
Please be aware:
As part of my Design Team and Guest Design work I do often receive free products to use, but I only ever recommend products that I genuinely love.
Also, I know how incredibly lucky I am to have these opportunities, but you don’t always NEED the newest products or the ‘full set’.
So please don’t feel that you need everything.
I like to show a variety of brands and products; this way there will be something for everybody to enjoy.
— SUPPLIES —
— My Basic Supplies That I Use On Every Project —
 MINI MISTI Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | SBP | Trinity |
 MISTI – Original Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | SBP |
 Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Neenah 80lb Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | Craftstash UK |
 Neenah 110lb Shop at: Alt |
 Gemini Jr Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK |
 Tim Holtz Trimmer 8.5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Trinity |
 Tim Holtz Scissors 7inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Tim Holtz Mini Snips 5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Tidy Tray Shop at: Trinity |
 Pick Up Stick Shop at: Trinity |
 Reverse Action Tweezers Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP |
 We R Trim & Scoreboard Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Pressure Tool Shop at: Trinity |
 Mini Trimmer Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 9.5 inch Shears Shop at: Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Bone Folder Shop at: Alt |
 Self Healing Mat Shop at: Alt | SBC |
*Affiliate links are used, where available; this means that I may get a small commission if you purchase using one of these links, at no extra cost at all to yourself. A huge thank you goes to anyone who does purchase using my links, it is so highly appreciated.
- Altenew
- Painted Butterflies
- Vintage Flowers
- Neenah Classic Crest – Solar White
- Hero Arts Shadow Inks
- Pool
- Cornflower
- Navy
- Chalkboard
- Distress Oxide Inks
- Antique Linen
- Walnut Stain
- Dovecraft Acrylic blocks (various sizes)
- Tombow Mono glue
- Hobbycraft double sided sticky tape
- Craft UK white & kraft C6 card blanks & envelopes
Thank you so much ??
First of all, congratulations on your first post for AECP! WOOT! And my oh my what a brilliant post it is! Your post is so well written and what are you saying? Fear of layering stamps? You absolutely made two prettiest cards ever! I love them!! So so good.
Thank you for entering your gorgeous work to the AECP assignment gallery. Well done!!
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you like my cards, and my post too! ?
I’m so happy to be accepted onto AECP!! T.