Wheely good fun

I'm setting today's challenge at Daring Cardmakers— we’re having wheely good fun this week, featuring anything with wheels on our projects.

I’m still separated from my craft supplies so this is something I made earlier in the year. I hadn’t used my Copics in ages so I pulled out some shades of red and grey and went bright on this old CHF stamp (had to be car-themed to tie in with the gift of a driving experience!). Personalised registration plate is lettered with a fineliner and I did a little bit of masking so the car is coming out of the frame. 

Stamps:
Chevy Camaro Front View (CHF, no longer with us)
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci’s Reliquary, no longer with us)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (various blues)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Time Tunnel Stencil (Visible Image)
Copic markers
Fineliner

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

It's my turn to set our challenge at Daring Cardmakers and we’re raising our glasses to our shared hobby this week. Cocktail, mocktail, beer or orange juice — show us what you’re drinking!

My hubby is somewhat of a wine buff so this is the card I made for his birthday.   It’s one layer, no frills which is pretty much how all the men I make cards for like their cards!

Stamps:
Wine Corks (Spellbinder)
Ink Splats (Visible Image)
Celebrate (Letter It range by Ranger)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso, Cranberry)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Charcoal pencil
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

M is for...

Rizwana is setting today's challenge at Daring Cardmakers and we’re focusing on the letter M.

I have Meerkats coloured with Markers on a Masculine card. I picked up these Katzelkraft stamps on eBay a while back (most of them unused), who can resist a cheeky meerkat?!

The recipient plays for a football team who have a red and black strip so I made appropriate “scarf stripes” with markers along the base of the card. The dancing meerkat has a chalk halo because it was a quick and easy way to add some colour there.

Stamps:
Surikats (Katzelkraft)
Celebrate (Letter It line by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's hear it for the boys!

Shabneez is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see some ideas for masculine cards.

I’ve gone for a teen boy card. He’s a guitar player (got his Grade 7 a few months back) and likes a bit of classic rock. It’s a one layer card, achieved with masking and reverse masking so the guitar could be stamped as a design on the shirt with ink blending and stencilling for the background. 

Stamps:
Nothing to Wear and Rock Out (Visible Image)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (various blues)
Hero Arts Shadow ink (Charcoal)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Corner Chomper
Play Guitar Stencil (Visible Image)

Thanks for stopping by!

Spell it out

Nat is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week — she'd like to see us use alphabet dies or stamps to spell out a sentiment.

I made this to congratulate my nephew on his GCSE results, using an old alphabet stamp set in a font style that contrasted nicely with the big numbers. The little fill-in numbers tie in with his mathematical interests.  

I masked the strip for the sentiment with a piece of low tack tape, stamped numbers to reflect the grades he achieved, added some background stamping and brushed on a bit of ink before removing the tape and stamping the sentiment. I added just a tiny bit of shading to the lettering with a Copic and defined the edge of the strip with a doodled line.

Stamps:
Journal Letters (Hero Arts)
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci's Reliquary, no longer with us)
Numbers (Katzelkraft)

Paper:

Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Fineliner
Copic marker

Fun and Games

It’s my turn to set the challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and I'd like to challenge you to a game — indoor games, outdoor games, whatever sort of game you like!

I chose chess and used another of the Katzelkraft bargains I scored a while ago. I picked this set because hubby and eldest grandson sometimes play chess when they get together — the tables have turned and grandad’s experience doesn’t always mean he wins these days! 

This needed to go airmail so my preferred one-layer aesthetic was perfect, a bit of masking to place the pieces on the board and protect them from the inks (smooshed on with acetate), a doodled border and a few glossy dots keep it all light and flat. 

Stamps:
King’s Gambit (Katzelkraft)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Shadow Ink by Hero Arts (Charcoal and Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress and Oxide ink by Ranger (various blues, I lost track)

Other:
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Anthracite)
Fineliner

Thanks for stopping by. 

Make it masculine

Dawn is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she’d like to see some more masculine makes.

The Tim Holtz lumber folder makes a good base for a masculine card, I think. I cut an extra “plank” to extend it for the proportions of the card. As there’s a join between each plank in any case, it’s not too difficult to make it look fairly seamless.

I rubbed a Neocolour water soluble crayon over the embossing (keeping it on the folder so it has support underneath is a good idea) and then smudged with a damp finger. 

Simple white die cut foliage tied with a tomato paste dot and a scripty sentiment finish it off. 

Supplies:
Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folder (Lumber)
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Wildflower dies
Poppystamps die (Happy Birthday Poe Script)
Neocolour crayons
Bristol board
Kraft card
Brown fineliner
Tomato past tube

All loved up

As Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, Dawn has set us a challenge with the theme of "all loved up" at Daring Cardmakers this week. 

I’ve gone for hearts and made a fairly masculine card. I’ve also tied in with a couple of other challenges — Lost Coast Designs where the theme is love and hearts along with stamping and Die Cut Divas who would like to see some gold along with using your die cutter. 

I was lucky enough to have my name come out of the LCD challenge hat recently and chose the fabulous Perspective Floor stamp as part of my prize. Of course, being me the first thing I did was something other than use it as a floor! I’ve stamped in a vertical orientation, turned and matched up the pattern (there’s actually a stamp in the LCD catalogue that would do the job for you — it’s called Fourth Dimension — but I’m never one for making things easy for myself, am I?!).

I haven’t used these primitive hearts for ages so it was nice to revisit those. The design sort of evolved a bit, I messed up what I originally planned for the smaller heart and then remembered the Die Cut Divas challenge and covered it all up with gold leafing! I used a two way glue pen and deliberately tried to introduce some texture. It's very shiny and reflective and difficult to photograph!

Stamps:
Perspective Floor  (Lost Coast Designs)
Everyday Petites (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Barn Door, Fired Brick)

Other:
Mega Flake by Indigo Blu (Chariot of Fire)
Zig two way glue pen
Primitive Hearts Bigz die (Sizzix)
Stitched rectangles dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Fineliner

 

Life's a beach

Miri is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week — Life's a beach. Sea, sand, flip flops, surf boards, palm trees or a bucket and spade — what do you associate with the beach?

I made a masculine card with one of my all-time favourite stamp sets, some card that made me think of sand and a die cut net. 

The shells have the tiniest touch of sparkle, courtesy of Spica glitter pen.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)
Father’s Day Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Kraft selection pack

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Spica glitter pens (gold and turquoise)
Stitched rectangle dies
Netting die cut
Gel glue

Thanks for stopping by!

Pearls of widsom

It's my turn to set the challenge at Daring Cardmakers and as one of June’s birth stones is pearl I thought we’d take our inspiration from all things pearly.

I started with a piece of pearlescent cardstock in a pale silvery grey, embossed and sprayed it with some ink and then polished some of that off the high spots of the embossing. 

I decided I wanted to stamp a sentiment round the curve of the shell which was a bit fiddly but made possible with the MISTI. I couldn’t get it quite as dark as I wanted though so I ended up going over it (very carefully) with a very fine marker.

I gave the whole thing a bit extra pearliness by adding some dots in different sizes along the bottom with a pearl pen and finished by drawing a wonky frame round the square with a metallic pencil. 

I’m guest designing with Let’s Squash It for the month of June and took inspiration from the challenge there too — hop over to see what it is! The sample I made in advance is here.

Supplies:
Shell Beauty embossing folder (Spellbinder)
Pearlescent silver and black cardstock
Adirondack dye ink spray (Stream)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Sentiment stamp from Seaside set (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Viva Decor pearl pen (Ice White)
Fineline marker
Metallic pencil (Lyra)

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Make it Manly

It’s time for a new challenge at Let’s Squash It and I’m delighted to be joining Gail and Jo as guest designer for this one. You can use any embossing folder you like as long as your card is manly! All the details are here.

My hubby is a bit of a wine buff so when I saw this stamp and die set at a bargain price a few months ago I knew I had to get it! Several other family members and friends will likely be seeing it too. There’s a die as well but I actually cut the row of corks out by hand as I wanted to make it shorter by cutting one off the end - it's an easy shape to cut. The word is die cut from tomato paste tube and has come out very shiny on the photo! 

The embossing folder seemed appropriate as I thought the circles might be a bit reminiscent of cork ends and the optical illusion of them bulging in the centre might be an indication of a glass too many!

I find keeping a limited, neutral colour palette is always useful when you’re trying to make a more masculine card.

Stamps:
Wine corks (Spellbinder, stamp and die set)

Paper:
Bristol board and smooth black

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
3D Circles embossing folder (cArt-US)
Stitched rectangles dies, A6 size (Paper Rose)

Thanks for stopping by - we'd love to see you over at Let's Squash It with some manly makes!

Think of a number

Over at Daring Cardmakers this week, Kathy is asking us to think of a number - it could be a big number for a birthday or anniversary, a background of numbers, even a number shaped card.

I opted to combine with the current challenge at Lost Coast Designs which is sending us to the Man Cave and made a one layer masculine card - suitable for one of those pesky in-betweeners!

I stamped and masked the T-shirt and then stamped numbers randomly to make a background. A sentiment and star on the shirt and a tiny bit of Copic colouring, some ink brused around the edges of the card and call it done. I don't know about you but I find most of the men (and boys) I send cards to tend to like them plain!

Stamps:
Nothing to Wear (Visible Image)
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci's Reliquary, no longer with us)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Speckled Egg)

Other:
Copic markers
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Got your number

The current challenge at Let’s Squash It wants us to use an embossing folder featuring numbers or letters and then sand the embossed surface. 

I went back to an offcut of the heavyweight disposable aluminium platter I used for the last challenge, embossed a square of it in the part of the folder that has numbers (and the Roman numerals on the clock face, too) then painted it with gesso.  Once it was dry, I added drops of alcohol ink in various greens and blues and spread them into all the nooks and crannies. More drying time and then bring out the sanding block to expose the silver metal of the high spots. 

I did a bit of stamping on the card base, messed up the sentiment and so added a separate strip to cover the booboo. Finished with some Enamel Accents dots and I have a masculine birthday card to add to the stash.

Stamps:
Numbers border (Kaisercraft)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Aluminium platter
Patchwork embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Gesso
Alcohol inks
Black Enamel Accents by Ranger
Black fineliner
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by!

Fearless and powerful

I’d been meaning to play along with the current challenge at Lost Coast Designs which is asking us to feature a human face. A couple of projects got started but ended up in the circular file. Then Gail, who facilitated me getting him as part of my recent prize when my name came out of the hat on a Lost Coast challenge, suggested using Frankie. It was an idea I’d already considered but got no further with, but something about her suggestion made this idea emerge and refuse to go away. 

I guess some might argue that Frankenstein’s monster is not human (I’m sure Mary Shelley would approve of the philosophical debate arising from that) but I think it’s easily countered in this case by arguing that it’s Boris Karloff playing Frankenstein’s monster in any case. Of course the English Literature graduate in me balks slightly at the fact the stamp is called “Frankenstein” but others might use the word “pedant”!

Let’s Squash It is currently asking us to emboss something other than paper or card and I decided to combine challenges by putting Frankie on a backdrop made from a thick aluminium tray (the sort you might get to serve food at a big party - remember those? Your local pound shop probably has the trays if you’re in the UK). I dabbed a thin coat of black acrylic paint on there and wiped back over the high spots to bring out the design. As the novel has unease at industrialisation as an underlying theme, I thought this folder would be appropriate. 

The quote is actually from the novel, done with a Dymo label maker. 

ETA - I've corrected an earlier "oops"  where I stuck the words down in the wrong order, changing the meaning entirely. Why don't you see these things until you're looking at a photo of the finished project?! Apologies to Shelley and to the monster (and to you if you saw an image with an incorrect quote!). I'm afraid that means there's now sun glare off one corner but I'm happier to live with that!

Stamps:
Frankenstein (Carmen’s Veranda)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko  (Graphite Black)

Other:
Aluminium tray
Uber embossing folder (Couture Creations)
Black acrylic paint
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Pinflair glue gel
Dymo label maker

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Ten green bottles

Ruth is setting the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see bottles - any sort, any quantity!

I decided to go not only for 10 green bottles but the wall as well! The bottles (eight of them) are all in a row on one stamp but I decided it would be fun to have them a bit more random so I cut them out individually.

The current challenge at Let's Squash It wants us to emboss something other than paper or card to include on our cards so my wall is made of the metal from a tomato paste tube, I painted it with gesso and then wiped back to leave white "mortar" and slightly glamorous bricks! Gel glue is pretty much essential here as the 3D embossing folder leaves such a deeply textured impression you need something that will stick securely despite all the cragginess.

Stamps:
Hot Picks 1109 (Paper Artsy)
Letter It range Birthday (Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pitch Black)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Tomato paste tube
Brickwork 3D embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Gesso
Copic markers
Pinflair glue gel
Black fineliner

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Vellum

Dawn has set the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week. She says she finds vellum tricky to work with so she'd like to see some ideas.

My instinct with vellum is to go for soft and pretty so I decided to challenge myself a bit extra and see if I could do something more masculine. I ended up using it as an overlay to tone down a busy background to make more of a feature of a sentiment. 

I couldn't actually find my vellum so I used a sheet of heavyweight tracing paper - this is some that has draughstman's markings on it so I kept that part as a sort of base line for my piece.

The age old question of how to attach vellum is solved here by wrapping it round the panel and sticking to the back . I also added a few dots of glue and then used black enamel dots to hide those spots.

The background has been in my scraps box for years - it was part of a masterboard for resist techniques but I stand little chance of remembering what was on it - spray inks, acrylic paint, white embossing powder and gesso at a guess! 

Stamps:
Numbers border (Kaisercraft)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Essential Message (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board
Black
Mixed media piece from scraps box
Heavyweight tracing paper

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukieko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Anthracite)

Thanks for stopping by!

Say it loud

Nat has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today and she’d like to see words take centre stage - oversized, mixed fonts, negative die cuts, just choose a way to make the words the focal point of your design. 

I opted for a subtle image in the background with a bold word on top for a card with a masculine feel. I added some grounding with a regular pencil, a few pearl dots and some white highlights on the lettering just to accentuate it a bit more.  

Stamps:
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Champagne Celebration (Crafters Companion)

Paper:
Bristol board

Strathmore toned grey

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Black fineliner
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by!

Share the love

It's Dawn's turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see some love. It could be a Valentine or it could be a card just to say you care - things are difficult for so many of us at the moment that spreading a little love would be a good idea.

I've gone for clean and simple with a slightly masculine vibe using just the card base and some masking and then mounting the word LOVE with a bit of gel glue for a tiny bit of dimension. The drop shadow is just a bit of Copic marker shading.

My colour scheme and stamp choice were inspired by the current Retro Rubber challenge (I've had the Hero Arts set since 2014, the CHF one even longer).

Day of the Month Card Club has a Valentine theme for the current challenge so I’m linking up there, too.

Stamps:
Untitled Hearts (Hero Arts, retired I believe)
Key Expressions (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Hero Arts Shadow Ink (Soft Granite, Charcoal)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Love Letter)

Other:
Copic markers (Cool Grey 1, 3 and 5)
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Hope you are keeping safe and well, thanks for dropping by. 

Power of three

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. As it’s the anniversary of the birth of Alexandre Dumas, I thought we might celebrate The Three Musketeers by featuring threes on our projects this week.

I opted for three circles and three dots of Enamel Accents on a masculine birthday card. I got some toned grey paper for Christmas having seen some lovely pencil colouring done on it and I’m ashamed to say I’ve only just had a first play with it! I’ve opted for more of a simple sketch book look, too.

Embossing adds some textural interest for a limited colour palette. I inked the folder so there’s a bit extra shading going on, too. I still had the pearlescent watercolours out on my desk from last week's card so I spattered some gold on the panel before sticking down the elements.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All (both Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Toned grey (Strathmore)
Bristol board 

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Smokey Gray)

Other:
Coloured pencils (white and two greys)
Charcoal pencil
Circles dies by Spellbinder
Fine frames circle die by Altenew
Stitched rectangles A6 dies by Paper Rose Studio
Shell Beauty M-Bossabilities by Spellbinder
Metallic gold pen
Metallic gold paint
Enamel Accents by Ranger

Thanks for stopping by, please do continue to take care as we ease out of lockdown and, if you’re in England, don’t forget your mask from today if you’re heading out to the shops!

February elements

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - it's the first Friday of the month so we're going "Elemental". Just choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture to kickstart your project. Colour palette counts as one choice so if you go with colours, choose at least two other elements as well.

For inspiration this month, I photographed a few things from my craft room and used a chunky sweater as a background for some extra texture - picture at the end of this post if you didn't arrive here from DCM!

I chose three circles, denim texture, pearlescence, lines reminiscent of the rib knit and the turquoise/blues/greys from the colour palette and made a CAS, masculine kind of card. The "washi tape" strip is made with a stamp that is probably intended to be twill but has always made me think of denim when it's stamped in blue.

Stamps:
Pic Nic Patterns (Waltingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Fine Lines Backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Happy Samp & Cut (Hero Arts - for the die cut "Happy" as well)

Paper:
Bristol board
Silver pearlescent
Silver glitter

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Broken China)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Denim, Sronewashed)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Circle Nestabilites by Spellbinder 
Corner Chomper

Here's our inspiration pic for February:

The team made some lovely things and very varied - why not hop on over for a look! Thanks for stopping by!