Masculine cards

I have been playing with inks again. Blending various colours of inks to create colourful skies  for the silhouette stamping. The die for the lighthouse is in the set that coordinate with the sailing home stamp set. 

Normally you would stamp the lighthouse and die cut the image with the matching die. But I needed the negative of the lighthouse die for a video tutorial, which meant the positive was waste. After some thought I decided to use it as a silhouette on my blended backgrounds.

But then  I decided there wasn't enough foreground on the die cut for what I had in mind.

 I didn't want my scene made up of lots of pieces.

So here's what I did.

I placed the die on black card leaving lots of space at the bottom of the die.

I placed the cutting mat over the die, leaving the base of the lighthouse uncovered and ran it through the bigshot.

This method cuts out most of the lighthouse but not all. Which means you can go in with a pair of scissors and cut the rocky landscape in a way that's pleasing to you.

To create the impression of the rocks, I blended patches of white craft ink into the card stock. and then blended a little black craft ink into the white until I had something that resembled  misty rocks.

masculine card

If you have never tried the wax resist technique, I suggest you give it a go.  

You can make some  stunning background papers with this technique. All you need is 

wax paper, 

smooth white card stock,

an hot iron, no steam

 an ornate embossing folder or two

   a die cutting machine of some sort.

Ink pads,

 sponge or blending brushes.

 I cut a piece of  Reynolds wax paper down to the size of the New stampin' up seashells embossing folder  placed the wax paper in the folder and ran it through my Bigshot. 

Now the embossing folder I used is one of those 3D multi layer folders,

 I think the basic embossing folders are better for this technique.

I sandwiched the wax paper between two piece of white card and placed the sandwich in a piece of folded copy paper and then ironed the sandwich for about a minute or so to transfer the wax to the card stock.   It's a good idea to iron the sandwich on a piece of heavy duty card. I used the back of an A3 sketch pad. Make sure every part of the card gets the heat treatment. The last thing you want is missing patches.

Once the wax has cooled you can apply ink with a blending brush or sponge. You will see the image emerge as you apply the ink.

 

By the Tide

This card  turned out a little darker than I wanted . I think I was expecting the inks to lighten up a little when it dried, but it didn't, So I am a little disappointed with the final result.

To create this card  I cut a 3 1/2 inch  square of whisper white car stock.
 I took two wide post it notes and stuck them  across the top and bottom of the card, leaving a gap of  about 2 inches between the post it notes.








I use the lines on my cutting mat when adhering the the post it notes to ensure they are straight, thus ensuring my art work will be straight.



See the photo below for the three colours I chose for this card.

 I started by applying Marina Mist ink with a sponge dauber.  I always start  sponging on the post it note to remove the excess ink before I start working on the card stock. It doesn't need to be even coverage, In fact patchy is better.           Repeat with the Coastal Cabana  leaving some patches of  the M.M showing through.




Finally I sponged some Night of Navy around the edges and overlapping the other colours slightly.

 I began stamping over the sponged background using Night of Navy ink.
The stamp set I used is called  "By the Tide," It's a retired set now.



Once I had filled the area with stamped images,  I removed  the Post it notes.

I stamped the sentiment and rounded off the corners with a corner punch. After adding some twine round the top layer, I mounted the piece on to  a piece of  Night of Navy card stock.










For the second layer I stamped around the edged of the card stock then sponged over the edges i the same colours.  Obviously  I didn't need to stamp and sponge the middle of the card stock  as it will be covered by the top layer.
Then mounted onto a white  5x5 base card.

I added a metal fish charm
before sticking all the layers together and mounting onto the base card.














To go with this card I made an envelope with the Envelope punch board. I  decorated the back flap of the envelope to co ordinate the two.

Another version of this card is the Father's day card below.  This time I have not used a second layer of background paper  and I only used Night of Navy ink.

Robert Addams Motorbike Die

Last Sunday Ange and I trotted off to Farnborough  to the Make It Show.
Going on a Sunday has it's advantages and disadvantages.  One disadvantage being the stall holders  tend to sell out of certain products.

But the advantages are, .. if they ain't got it you can't buy it, so you save money.

The main advantage being is that it is much quieter so you don't have to fight for a space to watch demos  or fight to get to the stalls, it's much more relaxed and some of the stall holder will give you a little discount on the last day.

Robert Addams had a stand there selling his massive range of dies. I didn't realise he had so many dies in his range. I knew he did a few wordy dies  and the motorbike, mini and campervan dies  (all of which are on my wish list). 

But I had no idea his range was so vast. I fell in love with the puppies, the kittens, the fisherman, the clock face the coggs and so many more.

 I was very good and only bought the motorbike die as I wanted to see how I got on with this type of die. 
Robert did tell me that the Motorbike die is fiddly but well worth the effort.

Well, my first attempt at assembling all the pieces had me in a bit of a tizzy which later turned into pure rage the more frustrated I got. 
I am sure the air turned blue as the  foul language flowed from my mouth. Thank goodness I was the only person home  that afternoon.

I got to the point where I was so despondent I was going to put all the bits in an envelope with a card   and send them to my brother with a message saying " here's the kit,  make your own bloody birthday  card." 
As a biker at least he would have the advantage of knowing where all the bits  should go.


I have to say that my frustration and anger was all due to my lack of patience and not watching the Video Tutorial on assembling  this motorbike first.
Having watched the video.....

My second attempted went like a dream.... and I now have a couple of tips to share with you.


1.  Watch the video tutorial before you even start working with this die.

2. Some of the pieces are very tiny  so be very careful to collect all 
the pieces and put them in a pot as soon as you cut them.

3. Watch video again after you have cut out all those tiny pieces.

4.If possible.. Watch video as you assemble the bike.

5. Use a black card with a sheen on it for the frame and wheels. 
It reflects the light giving a more realistic look and the debossed detail stands out more.

4. Ink the edges of the card used for the tank and mud guards. Use a slightly darker shade of ink in the same colour as the card you choose. It will add depth and give a more curved impression to the tank and mud flaps.

5 . Take your time this is not one to be rushed.

Now I have Just enough time to to stick down the mud flap and  then I must get this in the post for my Brothers Birthday. I do hope he appreciates all the effort that went into making this card.  In fact I may just send him a set of all the pieces  to make up just  for fun.

I'll post Robert's  video here too.

Greg's Birthday Card

Yesterday was our son's birthday and I was stuck for ideas for a card for him. .  My mojo  has definitely been hiding from me this last week or so. 
Time to get some inspiration from the internet.

After some time trawling certain facebook sites I came a cross a  very similar card to this created by Paula Knall which  took my fancy. 
So I went into case mode and recreated her card,  but with a couple of differences.
 I added the word son were  Paula's had a number and the sentiment is different as I don't have the stamp she used. I think this works.
The stamp set  used for the ink splatters and lines are from the Stampin' Up set Gorgeous Grunge and the chevron stripes were created with the chevron punch also from Stampin' Up.
 Fortunately  for me this card was very quick to make as I only had and hour  to do the card, create an insert for it and cook dinner, before rushing round to deliver the card.