Fade Away Masking

Yesterday it was overcast with a low of 58 degrees in our typically sunny SoCal, so today I’m in need of something bright and cheery. This card was inspired by the Altenew Academy class, Masking Unleashed, instructed by Svitlana Shayevich. 

Poppies are the California state flower, and Gretel, my oldest daughter’s, favorite flower. So, the United We Flourish Poppy Fields stamp set, which is a collaboration between Ellen Hutson & Altenew was a must have purchase.

I started off this card by aligning Altenew Bold Alphabet Die letters to spell So Cal & prepared my mask. This card measures 3.5 inches wide x 9 inches tall. I drew 3 guidelines on my masking paper to align the dies (see video).

I aligned the dies to the left guideline and trimmed the masking paper 1/8 inch from the first guideline. This will allow the letters to fade into the background.

Once the mask was in place, I ink blended the letters making the right edge darker and fading it out to the background on the left. I intentionally kept ink blending light on the left side and reserved white space to simulate clouds. 

I stamped and die cut 3 flowers. The lighter flower used Blush, Crimson, & Velvet and the darker flowers used Coral Berry, Crimson, and Grapevine. I stamped stems with Forest Glades, popped them up on foam tape, added Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Pen and sequins, and called it done. 

Supplies

I hope this card inspires you to do some masking on your next card. This card was created for submission to the Level 2 Altenew Educator Program. Breathe · Ink · Inspire