Father's Day is just over a week away!

How scary is that? and how fast is this year going?

In preparation for the school father's day stall I have been making a few father's day cards to donate.

I started my first card with two stampsets:
World's Greatest (a sneak peek here of what will be in the new catalogue on September 1st).

And the Broadsheet Alphabet ... plain and simple on Confetti white cardstock.

 

Happy with that!

Then to step it up, I cut out the world's greatest stamp using my Big shot and Label Framelits.

Then punched out the DAD letters with my postage stamp punch (with a bit of sponging).

After much discussion, expert creative director (daughter)
 decided it needed a picture stamp

so we chose the strong man from "Under the big top" stampset (with a touch of watercolouring).

The next card added bicycles to ride their way over the DAD obstacles.

And somwhere we added in that tyre-track stamp along the top.

It gets more and more complicated, as these things do... or is that creative?

A strong man, balancing on a bicycle, with watercolouring, sponging and markers (direct to rubber).

And finally, a few splatters, random script stamping and you have it

The world's greatest Father's day card -

Until next week, when we create again with quick and hasty,

 DAD's DAY is on Sunday and we forgot to make a card inspirations!

Masculine cards

What makes a good male card?

Its all about the colours you use - contrasty neutrals,  or dark blues, red and white.  

The textures - rough and edgy, not too many layers.

The style of stamping - crisp, detailed, yet distressed and a little bit dirty.

 For this card I chose "The Open Sea" stampset because its new and its in the Summer mini catalogue.

And, it has detailed stamp images of an anchor, world map, compass, ship's log, and a ship. 

 The colours are Black, Vanilla and River Rock (you could use sahara sand).

Giving lots of contrast and and character.

The four squares are punched out with the postage stamp punch.

Rough textures with clean stamping.
Distressing the edges of the world map circle and also the black layer of cardstock.
I have used a splatter stamp (from the French Folliage stampset) for some dirty, seasalt-spray on the black background and used the ship's log stamped in white frost shimmer ink.

 Finally the words: happy day to you are not too over the top or embarrassing!
Basic Black ink on vanilla cardstock punched with the modern label punch.

Here it is in the Red, white and blue version:

The pointer hand is from the Bring on the Cake stampset and spins on a brad attached to the cuff.

Simple Male card

 There are males and there are males, all different but when it comes to cards they are few and far between that look forward to a nice card on their birthday!

Its what's inside that counts - The brief for this one is:

Keep it simple and we did.

 The stampset is called "Happiest Birthday Wishes".

From a stampset of 11 stamps I have only used two.

With two colours and white.

For a man who likes red motorbikes and blue jeans it seemed to suit...

Card Recipe:

Stampset: Happiest birthday wishes

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Poppy Parade, Whisper white.

Ink: Island Indigo, Poppy Parade.

3.5cm Square punch.

French folliage in red

Another quick post today... it is still school holidays and I am loving the freedom of getting up early, not rushing with breakfast and school. We look out on to a view of trees and a few are turning orange with the early Autumn cool days and clear weather. It is a very special time of year.

This stampset "French Folliage" has delightful  leaves that can change with the season and make perfect masculine birthday cards, Father's day or, Thank you cards.

 For variety I have rolled the leaves in Old olive, Pumpkin pie and riding hood red ink with a touch of early espresso. The background patterned paper is the new "Botanical Gazette" and has some butterflies that I have lightly watercoloured and sponged around the edges.

My big shot machine has supplied the textured background using the square lattice embossing folder once again. My motto is if in doubt add an easy tie ribbon and this one makes quite an impact I think.

Collage stamping and a male birthday card

Male birthday?

Designing a card for a male is the antithesis to my usual purple pretty floral cards, so this was always going to be a challenge.

Finding a stampset without a flower is a challenge in my craft room!

So when it came to selecting a stampset and colours - I had to try the collage technique as I truly could not settle on one male stampset and I have done stars and trees many times before.

I have used the Pendant note cards. They are precut and come in Kraft, Kraft and Kraft.

A perfect male colour - call it kahki, call it crumb cake -

It reminds me of the overalls that my dad used to wear in his shed and in the garden.

The ink colours are all pretty much from the same pallette: sahara sand, Soft suede and chocolate chip.

I've gone very heavy on the ink pad "smooshing" - thats a technical term for swiping the ink pad over the cardstock to give a distressed dirty look which is very masculine I think.

Nothing crisp and clean for this style of card.

Card Recipe:
Pendant notes (15cards and envelopes) for $17.50
Stampsets: Tres chic background (expiring), Frames with a flourish (expiring),
Artistic Etchings (sneak peek), Happy birthday is from Party this way (sneak peek).
Cardstock: whisper white.
Ink: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, chocolate chip.
Tools and accessories: Eyelet border punch, Soft suede polka dot ribbon (expiring), button bouquet, embroidery cotton, mini glue dots, dimensional foam adhesive.
Like this card?    Let me know what you think by leaving me a few words.
Just click your mouse on POST A COMMENT under this post - Enjoy!!!

Male card - Happy Birthday Star

I thought I'd show you the card we made at my weekend workshop last Saturday:

Its a male card or more aptly a "Boy card" !!!!

What that means is that there are no flowers on it, no frilly swirly bits and it has blue and green cardstock and some corrogated and crimped elements, its a bit distressed looking and has nothing that boys wouldn't like.

We used two stampsets and a bunch of handy tools:

Starring You stampset $24.95 (page 141 Idea book and catalogue)

Nursery Necessities for the alphabet star $56.95 (page 61)

Star punch $30.95 (p.153)

Circle punch $30.95

The colours are:

Taken with Teal, Only Orange, Green Galore and whisper white.

We used Not Quite Navy ink for stamping the background stars and Happy Birthday sentiment.

The crimpy green galore strip was made using the crimper tool, (page 155) and inked to give it that distressed corrogated iron look.

But did the boys like it?

Definitely a male card, or perhaps retirement card...

Here is another male card with the sense of time stampset... I just love the wood blocks and rubber stamping - it is all about a sense of time ... and occasion.

Here I am again, with the same stampset as yesterday, still embossing but on one layer of chocolate chip cardstock, no sponging - I was going for the clean and elegant.
Here is a close up of the clock with silver embossing.

Dont you just love that embossed look? This card is definitely a masculine card.

What says masculine? The Metalic silver embossing, black and kraft coloured patterned paper, with sahara sand, close to cocoa and chocolate chip cardstock. The ribbon is wide double stitched grosgrain with two small silver brads around the sentiment.

The sentiment reads:
"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth" - I need that kind of wealth.

I was rich with it once, but it tends to elude me ... the last time I remember having that sense of time going slowly and pleasantly, it was quarter to three on a Tuesday afternoon, and I had to leave my half drunk glass of champagne, my waiting cup of coffee and cake and race to pick up my daughter from school...

I have only used the two stamps of the four in this set. Keeping it simple with the patterned monochromatic DSP from the Urban garden paper pack on a close to cocoa background.

Male card - sense of time

This set is just so versatile: male cards, vintage looks, embossing and scrapbooking pages are just waiting to be created all inspired by this one set of stamps and I haven't even used the words and quote on this card. I have embossed the clock face on whisper white cardstock using versamark and clear embossing powder. Stamped the cogs over the top in close to cocoa and sponged with creamy caramel ink. The pumpkin pie coloured layer has been run through the crimper (for that corrugated iron look). I resisted sponging it, but perhaps I should have? The next layer is chocolate chip with white embossing of the cogs stamp and a jumbo pewter eyelet with two ribbons knotted in the corner.Materials:
Stampsets: sense of time, A little birthday cheer.
Cardstock: whisper white, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip, close to cocoa.
Ink: versamark, white craft, creamy caramel, close to cocoa, pumpkin pie.
Tools and accessories: embossing powder clear and white, crimper, pewter jumbo eyelet, crop-a-dile, kraft tafetta ribbon, chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon.

Circle Circus

This is my latest male card - It is blue and green and has medallions and circles:
There's crimping and a build a brad...

I 'd give it to a bloke - would you?

Male card anyone?

I have a whole lot of cards that I made in the week leading up to convention. I was preparing for a workshop that didn't go ahead. Postponed I like to say. This one is a male card ... many people find male cards a challenge ... I just figure anything that is not pink and doesn't have flowers on it will work. But we all need inspiration.

Just a matter of finding a stamp set that fits the bill. I like trees, animals, boats and tool sets, nature sets like the grass image from inspired by nature would work ... or just use word stamps with patterns and texture, edge tearing, crumpling, corrugation (crimping), eyelets and rough textured stamping in your favourite boy colours: pacific point, kiwi kiss, or caramel, cocoa and chocolate.

Did I mention at conference there was a whole session on techniques and ideas for male cards and masculine scrapbook layouts ? We could do a class together or workshop it with a few friends ...

Materials:
Stampsets: lovely as a tree, En francais, Wonderful favourites (word stamp). Ink: Pacific point baja breeze, kiwi kiss. Cardstock (same) with confetti white. Ribbon: Kiwi kiss and vanilla satin. Distressing tool for the edges of the baja breeze cardstock. Techniques: rock and rolling, collage background.