A Birthday Card Inspired by AECP Level 2 Beyond Basic Backgrounds

carogeo2
May 28
2 min read

Hello Crafty Friends!

I’m thrilled to be back on my AECP journey after completing Level 1 with the final challenge—what an inspiring experience that was! Now it’s back to class, and I’m kicking off Level 2 with the Beyond Basic Backgrounds course. This class got me thinking differently about background design, and I couldn’t wait to get inky.

In the first lesson, the instructor introduced a technique that involves using the same die repeatedly to create an eye-catching background. She paired that with an ombré ink-blended panel and added some stamping through the die-cut openings for extra interest. This idea sparked the creation of a bold and playful Happy Birthday card using Altenew’s Bold Numerals Die Set and the Caps Bold Alphabet Die Set.

To build the card, I die-cut several numbers from a panel, creating windows of varying sizes and shapes. I then stamped "Birthday" just below the die-cut 4 and popped the panel up with Instant Dimension Foam Tape for some lovely depth. The card base underneath had already been inked using a gel plate in a pastel color combo from this month’s Altenew Inspiration Challenge https://blog.altenew.com/may-2025-inspiration-challenge/ —a happy mix of yellow, blue, and pink. Participating in these challenges is always a treat (and don’t forget—there are Altenew gift cards to be won!).

To complete the sentiment, I die-cut the letter H from pink, light blue, and light yellow cardstock. On the pink H, I stamped “HAPPY” vertically for a quirky touch, then stacked the three die-cuts slightly offset, with the pink one on top for a dimensional, shadowed look. A sparkly pale blue strip from the Fairy Dust Glitter Cardstock Set and a few reflective sequins added just the right amount of shimmer to finish everything off.