Clean & Simple Boutique Cards | Altenew Educator Certification Program

The Altenew Clean & Simple Boutique Cards class is all about creating cards that are simple yet stunning. Modern cardmaking is relatively new to me and when I kept seeing C&S or CAS on card posts on social media, I didn’t know what it meant. Because CAS cards are simple or have few elements, there is an added bonus of being able to create them in very little time. Normally, cardmaking is lengthy process for me, so it was fun to create cards that come together quickly. This will be a go-to style especially for those times when I need a card on short notice.

The great thing about my CAS card is how quickly it came together. I chose the Mega You die as the focal point and I just had to use the simply beautiful Painted Butterflies stamp set on this card.

I’m a big fan of adding dimension to cards by layering up die cuts, and this Mega You die was easy and quick to build up because of its size. The first cut was made using paper from Altenew Fushia Soiree paper pack and the additional four layers were cut from white card stock and all were glued together.

Once I had the components for my card…the butterflies and sentiments, I felt it needed just a little something more. In the spirit of keeping it simple, I thought ink splatters would be just right. I made some very loose masks for the butterflies and Amaze Me sentiment before adding the ink splatters using Rubellite dye ink. I set aside the Mega You die cut, then smooshed my ink pad onto a glass surface and picked up the ink with a very wet paintbrush which I tapped over the panel to create the droplets. After letting the ink dry a bit, I glued the Mega You die cut in place. The completed panel was then adhered to an A2 card base.

I will confess, this is not the first version of this card. Initially, I chose to use Jet Black ink for the splatters and wasn’t happy with the results. In addition, I had not made a mask for the Amaze Me part of the sentiment and the ink splatters ended up looking messy. The Rubellite ink is a better companion to the Fucshia Soiree paper. My lesson learned here is to make sure to cover all the elements on the card that should be protected before splattering ink. I also found creating more space between the card elements and the ink splatters by making larger masks had a more pleasing look.

This class has me excited to keep experimenting and creating more simple and clean cards.

Card Supplies
Stamps: Altenew Painted Butterflies and Mega Greetings 2
Dies: Altenew Mega You
Inks: Altenew Crisp Ink Rubellite – Versafine Onyx Black pigment ink
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White, Altenew 6×6 Fucshia Soiree paper pack