My AECP Journey – Final Reflection

My journey through the Altenew Educator Certification Program has been a truly transformative experience that spanned over 2 years.

I began this program with a strong passion for cardmaking, but this journey helped me refine my skills, expand my creativity, and develop a deeper understanding of design principles. Each level introduced new techniques and perspectives, allowing me to grow steadily as an artist and educator.

A significant part of this journey was made possible through the unwavering support of my husband, who gifted me Level 1 and Level 2 of the program. Throughout the process, he continuously encouraged me, provided constructive feedback on my designs, and motivated me to push beyond my creative comfort zone. He also ensured that I had all the necessary equipment for my workshop and assisted in creating the workshop poster and step-by-step guide PDF.

The preparation for my final workshop was both extensive and rewarding. I developed multiple card designs, refining each through careful evaluation and iterative improvement. During this process, my husband provided valuable support by critically reviewing my work, offering thoughtful creative input, and encouraging me to further elevate the quality of my designs. Once the final designs were selected, I structured the workshop to ensure clarity, coherence, and an engaging learning experience for the participants.

In navigating this journey, I am especially grateful for the guidance and unwavering support of Erum, the AECP coordinator, whose kindness, patience, and encouragement truly made a difference throughout the process. Her thoughtful direction, constant motivation, and willingness to help were instrumental in helping me stay focused, overcome challenges, and move forward with confidence. She created such a supportive and inspiring environment, and I am deeply thankful for all the time and effort she invested in helping educators grow and succeed.

To build confidence, I conducted practice sessions with Aditi and Bridget. Their feedback was invaluable in helping me improve my delivery and feel more prepared for the actual session.

The two-device setup was not an issue for me; rather, the main challenge was building confidence in myself and learning how to effectively manage a class, something Aditi really helped me with. We began our session with a quick demo where I created a simple card as if I were teaching in a live workshop. Aditi was very encouraging and appreciated the way I explained each step, while also offering valuable tips on how to conduct my AECP workshop more effectively.Since I had quite a large number of participants (23), mainly because I enthusiastically shared my invitation in the fan group, Aditi also guided me on how to confidently handle a bigger audience and keep everyone engaged throughout the session.

A week after Aditi Session, I had my AECP Practice session with Bridget, where she offered me a platform to practice and lots of AECP participants was here to support me. This session really helped me to gain more confidence as it was my first time teaching infront of everyone. Bridget herself could not attend the session, Then Traci was here to help me throughout, A really big thanks to both Bridget and Traci for making time for me, as well as for the participants.

Following this, I organized the workshop by sending out emails to participants and was pleased to have 23 participants join. To facilitate communication and provide ongoing support, I created a Facebook group where participants could interact, ask questions, and share their progress.

The 2hrs workshop was held on 9 May 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT.

Out of the 23 registrations, only 12 participants were able to attend the workshop. A few of those who could not make it kindly emailed me in advance to let me know, which I really appreciated.

During the workshop, I taught the following card designs:

 

 

Card 1: Textured Floral Background Card
This design featured a dimensional floral background created using shimmer relief paste. A stencil was used with masking techniques to selectively apply the paste over the floral areas, resulting in a layered, textured background with subtle shimmer and depth.

  

Card 2: Vellum Pocket Floral Card

This card incorporated a vellum pocket element. A floral outline was heat embossed onto the vellum to create a delicate, translucent pocket. When the card is removed from pocket, the floral design is revealed in a clean, no-line coloring style, creating a soft and elegant visual effect.

  

It was incredibly rewarding to see participants interpret the designs in their own unique ways. Their creativity and enthusiasm made the experience truly fulfilling.

Throughout the process of planning and conducting this workshop, I encountered several challenges that became valuable learning experiences. Although each situation required quick problem-solving and adjustments, they helped me improve my planning, organization, communication, and technical skills.

• Incorrect supply list submission: I accidentally omitted the main element and coordinating add-on die from the supply list shared with Erum for the participant discount. As a result, some participants had to fussy cut their masks. To align with the preparation of the participants, I have also stamped and fussy cut my mask. In the future, I will cross-check all links multiple times and use AI tools to verify that every required product is included.
• Technical difficulties during practice session: During the Bridget practice session, my mobile device froze while running Zoom as an overhead camera because of high Memory usage. To solve this issue within 1 week, I switched to using tools like DroidCam and OBS Studio, which provided a clearer image and a more stable setup.
• Alignment issue during the live workshop: A mistake in instruction of aligning the vellum for Card 2 caused participants’ stenciled images to misalign with the stamped outlines. Together, we brainstormed solutions during the workshop, and afterward, I recorded a follow-up video showing how to fix the issue and shared it in the Facebook group.

Below are the beautiful cards created by the participants during the workshop.

Carrie Sheridan:

 

 

Janet Pinho-Goldman:

 

 

Marcia Macsisak

 

Traci Starkweather:

 

  

Inderjeet Kaur:

 

 

 

Angelique Vuur: 

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Kim Gottlieb: 

Kim has an extra card too made with scraps from card 1 and 2. It turned out soo pretty Kim!

  

 

Betty Roberts:

 

Karin Grimm:

  

Lila Karasiuk:

Finally, I sincerely thank all the participants from practice session and workshop itself for their enthusiasm, engagement, and creativity and support, which made the workshop experience truly meaningful and rewarding. 

And of course, I cannot forget the reason this program exists, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Altenew for creating and supporting such an inspiring program. Through this journey, I have not only grown as a crafter and educator, but I have also gained confidence, discovered new techniques, and connected with an amazing creative community from around the world. The program has encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone, explore new ideas, and share my passion for crafting with others. I am truly thankful for the opportunity, guidance, and inspiration that Altenew continues to provide to crafters and educators alike.

It has been a journey of perseverance, learning, and personal growth, and I am proud to have reached this milestone.

✧ ✦ ✧