Sunshine Stamper

Earlier this month, I received the exciting news that I had been accepted into the Altenew AECP. I am always looking for ways to improve my crafting skills and want to teach classes, so I am really looking forward to what I will learn in this program.

Program link: https://altenew.com/pages/altenew-educator-certification-program-1

I will say I did google the program and I did not really find any critical/neutrally framed information about it. I know what it is like to fall victim to fangirl syndrome, and totally understand wanting to be very positive about craft companies. I get enthusiastic about products too and really enjoy getting new things to play and create with. I love looking at product previews and imagining what I can make with the shiny new products.

However, I also feel that the lack of more critical/realistic reviews of things hurts the crafting community more than it helps it. For me, I get suspicious of products and companies when you only hear how amazing and wonderful they are and how each month’s release of products is the best ever and everyone needs to buy everything.

I think I am in a unique position where I don’t rely on being on design teams to get free products or affiliate income to fund my hobby, so I am going to continue to be honest and talk about both the pros and the cons. (I am not sure I would stay in the program if I was told to take down content that was not all sunshine and rainbows about the products/program.)

So, here are my first impressions of the program.

First, I had applied a couple months ago, but it was shortly after the previous group had started. I like that they had notice that the current group had started and notice that the next group would start in June. I like transparency like that.

They ask some questions and ask for a sample of your best work. They don’t really say how many people are in each group, and I haven’t seen any notices about group meetings yet. So far, it seems like you do the program pretty much independently and at your own pace. You work through a list of classes and submit your best project from each class to a gallery. Then, to move up a level you send an email and ask for feedback.

There is also a facebook group I joined, but again it seems very self-paced. The self-paced thing is not a negative- crafting is a hobby and if you have a full time job and travel and family its good that your not stressing to hit deadlines or making scheduled meetings. But, it also feels a bit aimless. At this point, it feels like you have to be self-motivated and really pick it up and run with it yourself. I haven’t really asked any questions, but from what I can see, folks are responsive and supportive.

Then, there is the cost. There are groups of classes you need to purchase to complete the program. I don’t mind purchasing classes and for the most part I feel the Altenew classes are typically worth the cost of admission. Here comes the but- But, I have also had some issues with their classes.

I’ve had issues in some of their newer classes (Beautiful Details 2, for example) where some of the class features just don’t work for me. For example, with the beautiful details 2 class, I cannot access the forum and the student gallery does not work for me. I’ve contacted support, they have done some basic troubleshooting, but a month later and it still isn’t fixed. I’ve asked if I am the only one with the problem and if they see posts from other people, but they haven’t answered that question. If I am not the only one with the issues, and the features don’t work, they should probably remove references to the features. If it is an isolated problem, maybe they could tell me which browsers and settings other students use that are successful?

At any rate, the content itself is good in the classes. You really get what you put in for effort though. If you just breeze through you won’t learn as much as you will if you slow down and try to recreate all the projects. I plan on making more blog posts that show how I recreate the different lessons.

While the program itself does not cost anything, the classes are not all free. You have to purchase two bundles, the level 1 bundle is $62 and the level two bundle is $84. I believe you get about 10 classes in each bundle, and they sent a 10% coupon in the welcome email.

Personally, I think its a nominal cost for really, really good content so I had no qualms about purchasing it. For folks on a budget, it might be more of a concern and that’s where i feel kinda meh about the program.

Its not a huge cost for me, but it might be for someone else and it feels a bit bad that someone could be an incredible creative but not be able to do the program due to the cost.

So far, that has really been the biggest negative, but I can see the justification. It costs money to host the content of the courses and the classes are really well produced. I just wish they had like a scholarship program or something for those who can’t afford the cost.

For the classes, they do use Altenew supplies and they do say upfront that for your projects Altenew products should take centerstage and you should be able to tell its an “Altenew Card” by looking at it. Again, I don’t feel bad about this. It’s a program through their company, and it just makes sense. They don’t tell you to go buy the supply list for each class either- you are encouraged to use what you have already, just Altenew products.

Not buying supplies for the classes and using what you have already actually adds another layer of enrichment for me. For me, it means I slow down and look at the projects and the elements that make them work. Then I look at my own stash of supplies and try to find products with similar elements. It really has me looking at my current supplies in a fresh light and learning how different elements make different projects work well. I would love to see another class focused on looking at elements and swapping different products for similar results.

So, this has been a lot of words, and a lot of thoughts. What do I think so far? Its good. Here are the main points:

-Self-led, self-motivated program

-You buy the classes, but I feel they are worth it

-So far, I like it

I am working through the first class and will start posting progress updates!