Card for a Male

Coming up with something different for a card to send my brother each year always requires some thought - just what to make which isn't football or drinking??  I'd not realised quite how far we are into July until today so this one had to be made quite quickly and I've resorted to some papers with graphics and some stamped and die cut feathers, simply adding some raffia.  I used a text background, followed by two die cut circles, one in kraft card and one in a different text paper.  The feathers were stamped and die cut and a simple greeting added.  Just about time to show it on here before I dash off to the postbox.

Graphics papers - Prima Marketing
Feathers - Stamp set with matching dies, Four Feathers from Stampin' Up
Greeting - Tim Holtz, Sizzix

Pixie Snippets Challenge #330

It is another bright and sunny Sunday morning here and time to visit the Playground for another challenge.  It does sound churlish to complain about the heat but I would actually prefer slightly cooler temperatures - when I get hot sitting still I'm afraid it's too much for me but maybe Parsnip will have the paddling pool out!!

I was lucky enough recently to win the  Snippets prize so that's what I've used in the main for my card this week together with some 'sequins' die cut using a prize won quite a while ago.  Every fortnight the lovely Di makes a card using the current prize for our inspiration and of course to show us what we could own if our name comes up in the Random Number draw.  This time there is a super get well card featuring a poorly pooch using just one of the themed stamps in the set and of course we all need to wish someone well now and then don't we.  Why don't you raid your snippets and visit the playground with a picture of what you make to be in with a chance.

Anyway for my card I found a fairly large snippet of text patterned paper and chose suitable colours of Distress ink to sponge onto one of the resist cards which were part of my win - details below.  I then found a snippet of black card to cut out a phrase from the other part of the prize which was a set of word dies - again details below.  I cut a square from the inked card, added the words which I actually cut twice and layered up for strength and a bit of dimension, before popping it onto the background at a jaunty angle.  Finally I die cut some 'sequins' from a scrap of gold card and scattered them randomly.

Resist Square - Everyday Tintables from Concord & 9th
Words - Fabulous Phrases also Concord & 9th
Sequins - dies from Die-namics
Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge and Aged Mahogany

Trees - or Are They????

Before putting away my parchment 'stuff' I decided to make a card using yet another of the  Groovi Club plates.  This one is a feather design but as you see they can also double up as trees.  I've  incorporated some picot cutting into this one and the design is layered up onto some decorative backing paper.  Again I've made a frame to help with mounting the parchment and added a simple sentiment stamped on a strip of card. The colouring was done using watercolour pens.

Now I really must do what I intended this morning - tidying away all the parchment bits and pieces...until the next time anyway.

Image - Groovi Design Club Feather plate and landscape/sun and moon plate
Frame - Sue Wilson Noble Pierced frames dies
Sentiment - freebie stamp on punched banner (SU punch)

Groovi New Home

I decided to use the latest Groovi Club plate to make a new home card but with a bit of a difference in that the parchment panel was popped behind a 'brick' layer which of course solves the problem of how to attach parchment to a card.  Glue is a bit of a no-no for parchment and I don't always want to use brads.

The design was traced to fit a certain size circle  with some hills added using another plate, then coloured using pencils.  The brick wall effect was done using an embossing folder after I'd cut out the circle from the piece of kraft card.  I also cut a frame using the same die set.  Once assembled I thought it needed a little something extra so as well as a sentiment I also added a little picket fence, a lucky black cat and a dog.  They do seem to be facing each other out but hopefully they are friends!!

House Design - Groovi Club Plate for June, hills from a basic landscape plate
Brick Panel - Embossing folder from Crafter's Companion
Colouring - Polychromos pencils
Sentiment - downloaded and resized (Netty's Cards)
Dog - X'cut mini die Docraft
Cat - dies from Impression Obsession
Picket Fence - Sizzix die

Rudolph Days for June

Each month there is a challenge to produce Christmas cards from 25th to the end of the month - find details HERE.  There are some great inspiration cards from the design team and considering the Shopping channels seem to be well into Christmas I decided to make a quick card using a stamp which I won a few months ago.  The image was stamped using Versafine and coloured with Distress ink markers scribbled onto a tile and picked up with a wet brush.  Oval dies were used to cut out the image and the card was finished with some leaves and a Bow and Star diecut all of which were in one of the 'pots' on my desk where I keep such things until they come in handy.  I'm afraid I can't remember where the bow and star came from and a quick look amongst my dies didn't unearth the die.  The background paper came from my stack of odd pieces of paper and the sentiment was a download.  A couple of gems were added for mistletoe berries.

Image - House Mouse stamp
Ovals - Tonic nesting ovals dies
Leaves - die from a set given with magazine last Christmas
Bow and Star - die unknown as it was from my oddments cut a long time ago.
Sentiment - download from Netty's Cards

Pixie Snippets Challenge #329

Sunday morning again which means another visit to the Playground with a Snippets card and this time the lovely Di has made a bright and colourful floral card showcasing the items which will be the prize this time for a lucky someone and of course using lots of her snippets along the way.  My card this time started with a large snippet of card which had been coloured using Pixie Powders and it so happened I had a die cut frame left over from another project.  Various snippets were used to cut out some swirls, a bird, a branch and some blossom.  I then raided my pot of 'waste' which has lots of tiny scraps from either die cutting or punching - there I found some matching tiny flowers for the centres of the blossom on the branch.  Never throw anything away, that's me!!!  Using the Misti I stamped the sentiment onto the background.  The Pixie Powders give a lovely sheen to the background which doesn't really show here.

 
Bird - from Birds and Blooms framlits die set Stampin' Up
Swirls - from Swirly Scribbles die set Stampin' Up
Frame - Sue Wilson Noble Pierced squares die set
Sentiment - Free clear stamp from magazine gift
Blossom - punched using Stampin' Up punch
Flower Centres - waste from a floral border punch

Meeting Friends

On Monday I was meeting some old school friends in town for coffee and of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity to pop into the large newsagents nearby just to glance at the crafty magazines.  As you've probably guessed by now I was tempted by one of the magazines on offer which had an embossing folder, some stamps and matching dies as their free gift.  I'm sure many of you will remember what came to be known as 'that embossing folder' which proved to be so popular about two years ago (I think) that there was even a Facebook group formed in its honour!  Well the folder I got this time was one from the same family which is great because I've so enjoyed using the original one over the years and it is nice to have a different one.  The dies and stamps are mainly floral too - very useful - and there is also a curvy die which matches the curve dividing the patterns on the folder.

I cut a piece of watercolour card to size and embossed before brushing two colours of ink lightly to define the different patterns.  The curvy strip was die cut and one of the sentiments stamped using the Misti for positioning.  I then stamped and die cut some flowers and flourishes, colouring the flowers with the same colours of ink.  The flower centres were some tiny punched flowers  finished with a pearl drop.  The magazine came with lots of really interesting ideas for using the embossing folder, dies and stamps and I will certainly be trying some of them as well as ideas of my own.

Embossing Folder - free with magazine, Apple Blossom (Craft Stash)
Stamps and dies - free with magazine, Apple Blossom (Craft Stash)
Flower centres - small flower punch Stampin' Up
Ink - Distress ink Wild Honey, Tumbled Glass