Chickadee thanks

Another lovely thank you card to add to the stash!  I wanted to make sure to have one that would be ok for a man or woman, and this chickadee image from Marks Finest Papers is one of my all time favourites for unisex cards.

Playing along with another challenge at Marks Finest Papers, this one is the Sketch with a Twist -- the twist being to add buttons.  

Earthy forest

Now that I have the faux layer technique going, I wanted to play with it a bit more.  Here is a more "all purpose" card that I think would work for a man or woman.

I used the masking and sponging technique per the tutorial at Gina K Stamp TV.  I also used the technique of creating an impression with die cuts and embossing mat to create extra borders.

Once again, I think this paper, Neenah 110lb, was a bit too flimsy for this technique.  I'm thinking I may cut off the front and then layer it on a brown base, but then I have to find the "perfect" brown to coordinate, so we'll see.  For now it is going in my completed card bin.

The image is Gina K.  The sponging was first done with a layer of Tim Holtz Distress ink skattered straw, but it came out really streaky from the sponging, so then I put a layer of brown craft ink overtop, focused to be darker on the edges, and it smoothed it out nicely.  The black trees are stamped using Tim Holtz Distress Ink Black Soot.  The embossed borders are the A2 Spellbinders Card Creator dies.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Tammy's Scrapin Corner - Fall colours

DYSU - Warm Colours

GinaK Stamp TV - Faux layers

Simon Says Stamps: World Card Making Day

Dutch dare challenge - Fall is in the air

Golf guy birthday

Here's another golf card, this one birthday themed.  The image is a Mo Manning one, and I've used a cuttlebug embossing folder in the background instead of adding a birthday tag.  It's pretty plain, but the plan is for it to be a card my hubby will give to a guy friend, so I had to avoid any thing "fru-fru"....sigh....

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

By the Cute and Girly - boys/men

Celebrate the Occasion - Sports
Simon Says Stamps - Anything Goes
Charisma Cards - For the guys
Cards und More - Sports

Golf season at an end

September is at an end and for some of us (fair-weather golfers) that means golf season is also at an end.  Today I have a card to share with you featuring a cute golf image, that I think is perfect for a "man" card.

You'll notice there is a spot for a sentiment (within the brown tag on the left) but one isn't there yet.  I figured I would be able to either use "Happy Retirement" or "Happy Birthday" so thought I'd wait until I see what's needed to stick it on.

The colouring is with Copics as usual.  I dug out my long forgotten pastels for this, and used them for sponging along the edges.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Celebrate the Occasion - Sports
Simon Says Stamps - Anything Goes
Charisma Cards - For the guys
Cards und More - Sports
Creative Belli - Sports

Window views

A few months ago I received a lovely gift of the Grand Madison Window die, but between one thing and another, had not spent much time using it yet.  This past week I decided to start creating with it, and so here are a couple of my first cards using it.  It is easy to use and so fun, I am sure there will be lots more to follow in the next few weeks :-)

The sky is sponged in using chalk ink, and the rest is coloured with Copics.

Both cards are made using the same image, just different parts of the image.  The main image is a stamp called Mountain Meadow from Heartfelt Creations.

I am entering these cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Emboss it

CHF- Animals

I was inspired last week seeing a card made using this image, so decided to dust it off and make a card with it myself.

The bulk of the colouring is using the Copic Airbrush system, the sentiment stamped in black Versafine, and then a tiny bit of colouring done for the boat and man using Stampin Up marker (since the Versafine would have smeared with the Copics.  The image is popped up with Dimensionals, though it's hard to see in the picture.

I made this card for the CHF challenge this week to feature animals.

Masculine card

I have another masculine card to share with you this week, also made at my hubby's request.

This one features a stag/male deer image from Heartfelt Creations.

Products used:

Watchful Whitetail Product ID: 976E

Open Falling Leaves PreCut Set Product ID: HCPC 3334

Falling Leaves Die Product ID: HCD 707

Labels 2 Product ID: 376183

Instructions:

Card size is standard 5 1/2 by 4 1/4.

Use letterpress technique to emboss background sheet.  Adhere to card base which is 5 1/2 by 3 1/2.  Stamp image of Stag on white card stock and cut out with die cut.  Colour (Copics used here) and adhere to the base sticking up over the top.  I used the Copic airgun to add dark brown along the edges of the image though sponges could be used.  Stamp leaves on green card stock using green ink, and cut out with coordinating die cut.  Adhere to edge of card as shown in photo using pop up dots.

Summer lighthouse

My hubby always complains about how many girly cards I made so I made up a bunch of masculine cards recently, and this one here is my favorite.  It features a beautiful image from Heartfelt Creations.

Products used:

Lighthouse Shore Product ID: 542G

Instructions:

Card is standard 4 1/4 by 5 1/2.  All colouring is done with Copics.

Stamp image on white card stock using black ink.  Colour image and add ink to edges for depth.  Cut blue background card stock, emboss and sand.  Layer using other card stock as shown in photo, adding ribbon beneath main image.

Masculine birthday cards

It's always so much easier for me to make cards for girls - you pull out some flowers or cute little girls or other cute things and add some primas and glitter and ribbon and Presto!  you have a great card.  Not so simple for men!
That's what card swaps are good for....things that you find hard :-)  So I signed up for a card swap and came up with one idea that I made a bunch of:

The stamp used is a Gina K one called Tree Silhouettes.  I loved this set from the first time I saw a card with it in a gallery at SCS--when I look out my kitchen window I see trees like this and they are just so beautiful, and this artist rendering of the tree is really good.   I sponged the centre area with sahara sand ink (having masked the circle) and then keeping the mask on stamped the trees with mellow moss. The background is mellow moss paper embossed with my Cuttlebug and the mat is sahara sand.  To liven it up and keep it masculine I used black ribbon and brads.

So what do you think, will the men who receive these cards like them?

Dino Birthday

Having dinner with a friend recently, I mentioned how stumped I was on what theme to use Dinosaur images for.  She (who is NOT a card maker) looked at me like I was missing something pretty obvious, and said they'd be great for milestone birthdays.  In fact, I then realized, I probably should have made one for her since she just had one of those milestones {big grin and wink if she is reading}.

It just so happened I needed another birthday card this week for a male family member, and I decided to do some teasing with this idea.  Searching online for just the right sentiment resulted in some great results.



It's main image is an Ildi Co. Dino digi stamp called Dino's Rex.  They have about 6 different dinosaur images to choose from, and I had a hard time picking.  I coloured with my copics as usual.  Not a lot of bling, after all this is a "man" card.

What do you think?  Any other ideas to share with me of sentiments you would use with this image?