'Blue' - Masculine Card # 4

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog.
A special warm welcome to my new followers, so pleased you decided to join me on this creative journey.

So, as promised, here is the last of this group of masculine cards, and this one is quite 'grungy'.
This was actually the first card I made of this particular group of cards and the inspiration for it came from the September Challenge Mood Board over at Our Creative Corner.  I had intended to enter this card in the Challenge but, once it was finished I wasn't sure it actually met the criteria and, by the time I had made up my mind to enter anyway (today), I was too late.  The Challenge has closed.  Ah well, better luck next time.

This was the Mood Board ...

... and my inspiration came from the picture in the bottom left hand corner.  Loooove the textures!  If you enjoy Challenges, why not take a look at Our Creative Corner.  They have some wonderful Challenges and also great inspiration from the Design Team.

The papers are a mix of Prima's 'Craftsman' and 'Engraver' papers and I also used a sheet from Kaisercraft's 'Garage Days'.  I love tearing my papers to size, but this time I did cut them and then distressed them with a Prima distressing tool.  The plastic mesh you can see below is more of that gutter guard I told you about in a previous post.
The tiny clock and the circular paper clip is available from Meg's Garden.  Check out the Website.  Meg has the most fabulous papers and embellies for sale.

Slathered some Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint on different layers for texture and, of course, also swiped gesso in random spots for the same reason.

Love that little metal light globe below but cannot remember where I got it from and have no idea what brand it is ...

... the same as with the metal cog.  I have tried to tidy up my supplies a bit and I keep finding these awesome little treasures but no information as to where they were purchased or what brand they are.  

A shot of the layers ... just because ... !

The inside was lined with more of the same papers and I made a pocket and tag as well.

The back of the tag was left blank so I could write my message.

This card was made for my youngest son's birthday and I am pleased to report that he loved it!!!  But then, I guess, he wouldn't dare say otherwise!!  LOL!!

(Next time I decide to enter a Challenge I will have to make sure I check the closing date.  LOL!!)

Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope wherever you are that your weather is as gorgeous as ours.  We are experiencing the most delightful spring days at the moment and I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Now that I've said that of course, we'll probably get rain.  LOL!!

Do take care and enjoy the rest of your day.
God bless.

Masculine Card #3

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog space, so pleased you dropped by.

I'm back to share masculine card number three with you today.  This card was made using Prima's Cartographer papers, the same as the previous card although the design is quite different.

Lots of clocks on this one ... well, four clocks anyway.

This one was made quite quickly, for me anyway.  I usually procrastinate quite a lot so my cards could take days before they're finished, but we received a last minute invitation to a friend's family birthday lunch, so I only had a day to make it.   No procrastination this time.  Had to make up my mind quickly as to what I was going to do and just had to get down and do it.

The papers were trimmed down to size and distressed.  I added some of that plaster board joining tape into the layers.  Popped one of my circular paper clips on one edge and added a 2Crafty mini film strip chippie which was coloured with Black Soot Distress Ink and then clear heat embossed.  

  

The large metal clock is a Prima Vintage Trinket and the other smaller clocks and the Tim Holtz Word Band are all available from Meg's Garden.

Had to add some crackle paint of course ('cos I love it) and, once everything was dry, I swiped the card randomly with some gesso.

Decorated the inside in the usual way and, this time, I thought I would show you how I do the sentiment as well.  I just print it out on my computer, write a little message and cut it to whatever shape I like.  Then it just gets glued to the side.  Very simple and easy.

So, this was masculine card number three.  A little more grunged up compared to my previous two cards and, soon, I will show you my fave out of the group.

Thank you so much for taking the time to  visit and I hope I have inspired you a little.
Take care and God Bless.

Masculine Card - #2

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  I hope you are having a lovely day.

I'm back again to share another masculine card with you.  We had quite a few male birthdays to celebrate in the last few weeks so, of course, I had quite a few male cards that I had to make.  Will be showing a couple more in the next few days but for now, here is today's card.

The papers are from Prima's Cartographer 6 x 6 paper pad.  Love these papers they are in my fave colours and have great designs as well, especially for male items but could certainly also be used for feminine cards or projects.

All the papers were torn to size and, once again, I slathered some Clear Rock Candy Crackle paint in random places.  Pushed the little metal clock into the crackle while it was still wet which, actually, worked quite well and saved me having to glue it down afterwards.

The plastic mesh below is actually a  piece cut from a roll of gutter guard.  I quite like the chunky look of it on a masculine card, I think it works very well.  Created some droplets with Black Soot Distress Ink and white acrylic paint  

Have again used one of Tim Holtz's Word Bands ... these are fantastic for creating a different type of greeting on cards instead of just the usual 'Happy Birthday'.  I love them!!

I also love those circular paper clips, again, something a little different instead of the norm.  I pushed it onto the paper while the crackle was still wet and really like the effect.

The metal clock, the word band and the circular paper clip are all available from Meg's Garden.

The inside was partially lined with more strips from the same collection.  I usually print out a sentiment, cut a tag shape around it and just glue it down on the side of the lining.

I actually have four masculine cards to share with you.  The first was posted a few days ago, this is the second one and I have two more to show you.  I will post those over the next few days.

I hope I have given you a little inspiration,  A lot of people have said they find masculine cards difficult to do but sometimes they really are easier than feminine ones.  I love that you can get down and get dirty with masculine cards, and by that I mean, you can scrunch up the papers, slather a bit of paint around and really make them grungy and they will look fabulous.  Although these last two cards have been fairly clean ones the next two I have to show are a bit more on the grungy side.

Thank you so much for visiting and a very special thank you to those of you who regularly leave me a little message.  I really, really appreciate  that you take the time and I really love to hear what you think of my little creations.  Thank you so much!!  Mwah!! xx

Take care and God Bless.

Clean & Simple????

Hello everyone and a very warm welcome to my blog.  I do hope you are having a wonderful day!!

Just a quick share today.   I created a card for my nephew's birthday and, as not everyone likes the 'grungy and messy' look, I made this one fairly clean and simple.  (Sort of...)

The papers are from Kaisercraft's Garage Days.  Cut them to the size I needed and then I did a little stamping with KC's Arty stamp and also just distressed them a little.  I also splashed a little paint around and then had to do a little tearing and a bit of doodling too.  Just could not leave it totally clean ... didn't look right at all.  

Used a die cut and then created a little tag for the sentiment.  Tied it up with some twine and added a couple of cogs.

The bicycle is from Imaginarium and I coloured it with Black Soot Distress Ink and then clear embossed it.

This is the inside ...

... and here it is standing up.

It did start out clean and simple, honest it did, but I just couldn't leave it alone.  It didn't look right and, although I didn't do a lot to it, I simply had to mess it up a bit.  Just 'cos.

Quick share as I said.

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

My 2Crafty September Reveal #3 - 'A Gent's Tag'

Hello everyone and a very warm welcome to my blog.  Hope you are having a really enjoyable day!

I'm back to share the last of my 2Crafty projects for September.  

This piece is a Masculine Tag.

2Crafty products used
Barbed Wire Border
Compass
Mini Fob Watch
Mini Rulers
Gears
A blank from the Tiny Edwin Corners

The papers used are from Prima's Engraver Collection.  The small piece of the Mini Rulers was brushed with some watered down gesso and, when it was dry, I swiped it with Tea Stain Distress Ink.  Coloured the Compass with Distress Inks as well and then covered it with Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  Except for the ring around the edge which was left raw, the Fob Watch was coloured with gold Versa Color and then covered in Glossy Accents.  I love that the details of the watch still stand out really well even after colouring it.  Awesome!!

Randomly swiped the gears with Midnight Black Versa Magic and then with Lapislazuli Versa Color.  I also used some Kaisercraft Red Gum and then Silver Versa Color so that they appear old and rustic.  The Barbed Wire Border was also coloured with the Midnight Black Versa Magic and then randomly swiped with a little silver and gold.

Originally I was just going to tie the word band at the bottom of the Tag but, it looked a little bare and needed something underneath to fill the space.  As I was looking through my chipboard pieces I discovered the blank from the Tiny Henry Frames which I had used on a previous project.  I simply cut away one of the centers and inked the edges.  Trimmed a piece of scrap paper to fit and then just tied the word band over the top.  It fills the space up nicely!!

Once everything was assembled and dry, I randomly swiped around the finished Tag with some watered down gesso.

As I said before, this is the last of my 2Crafty reveals for September.  I hope I have inspired you to get some 2Crafty chippies for yourself.  They have a fabulous range to chose from.
To find a stockist near you ... drop an email to salesat2crafty@optusnet.com.au and to take a look at  the inspirational projects created by the rest of the Team, please visit the 2Crafty Blog HERE

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.

My 2 Crafty September Reveal #2 - A Canvas

Hello everyone and welcome to my Blog!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!!
I'm here to share the second of my 2Crafty September projects!!
This one is a small canvas.  It measures 5" x 7".

2Crafty products used
Heidi's Vines
Leafy Shrub Set 1
Barbed Wire Border

I took a leaf out of Di Garling's book here in that I coloured these chippies black.  I love the dramatic effect of the black against the pale background and it really does make them stand out beautifully.  Thank you for the inspiration Di!

Spread some coarse texture paste through Tim Holtz' Lattice stencil and coloured the background with Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.  Did a bit of stamping with Black Soot Distress Ink and  accented the paste with gold acrylic paint.  The photo doesn't show it very well but the gold really does shimmer nicely in real life.
I had some left over pieces of the Heidi Vine from a previous post HERE and decided to use them in the flower cluster.   I added a little texture paste to the 'bulbs' and coloured them with Distress Ink and then used gold acrylic paint for the accent.  The leaves were sprayed with water and then I gently separated some of the layers.  Shaped and curled the layers while they were still wet and coloured them with Black Soot Distress Ink.  Once they were dry I used the gold acrylic paint to colour the ends of the leaves.

The leaves on the Leafy Shrub Set were shaped and coloured in the same way as the Heidi Vine leaves.  I really love how they turned out.  This is a fairly delicate piece but it was still robust enough that it took the shaping very well.  I really love these chippies they are so easy to work with and they look stunning!!

The Barbed Wire Border comes in a pack of two and they are about 12" long.  I had intended to put a quote in the corner but decided instead to use a small piece of the Barbed Wire Border as an accent.   This was also coloured with Distress Ink and gold acrylic paint.

Here is another closie of the flower cluster and those gorgeous Heidi Vine leaves.  Love how they look when they're separated and curled!

This is only my second attempt at a canvas.  Not sure that I've actually nailed it yet but I think I have improved slightly over my first one.

This was the second of my 2Crafty projects for September, I will be sharing the last one in a few days time.  In the meantime why not pop over to the 2Crafty Blog to see what my Team Mates have created with these wonderful  chippies!!  HERE is the link!  To find a 2Crafty stockist near you ... drop an email to salesat2crafty@optusnet.com.au

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!!
Take care and God Bless.

My 2Crafty September Reveal #1

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!

It is my turn again over at the 2Crafty Blog and I would like to share the first of my September DT projects with you.
This is a card I created using some of their gorgeous chippies.

2Crafty products used

Heidi Vines

Mini Chicken Wire Barbed

The papers used are from Maja and, as you can see, I did a little stamping and stenciling as well as some doodling around the edges.

Lightly sprayed the back of the Heidi Vine with some water so it could be slightly shaped.  It was then coloured with Distress Inks and brushed with gesso.  I also added some texture paste to the 'bulbs' on the ends  and coloured them with Distress Ink and then swiped over the top with gold Versa Color.

The Chicken Wire Barbed comes in a 6" x 6" panel.  I simply cut off some small pieces and painted them with white acrylic paint.  While they were still wet, I sprinkled them with clear glitter and, when dry, tucked them in between the paper layers.  I love the look of torn paper and making some small tears over the chippies helps to show them off.

A closie of the flower cluster and that's a pleated doily peeking out from the rips in the paper.

Decorated the inside with a strip of the same paper which was edge punched with Martha Stewart's Optic Dot  Border Punch.  I also added a few strips of washi tape.

As I said at the start of this post this is the first of my 2Crafty projects for this month.  I have two more to share and I will be posting them over the next few days.  I do hope you will  come back to take a look.

In the meantime, why not pop over to the 2Crafty Blog and see what the rest of the DT Team have created.  You can find it HERE and to find a 2Crafty stockist near you ... drop an email to salesat2crafty@optusnet.com.au

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!!

Take care and God Bless.