Say Cheese

     The new theme over at The Male Room is photography and cameras, plenty of scope for a masculine card in that one.
     A shaped card seemed the way to go for me, a little trawl through some pinsperation and this is what I chose to make.
    I cut a piece of white card to fold landscape as it makes it look more realistic and it stands up better too. I covered the front with black paper and then cut the shapes for the button and view finder, a corner chomper came in very handy for the finishing touch to the basic shape.
    The flash is a rectangle of silver satin card and the grip at the button end is another small piece of black paper embossed. I die cut the image from a photograph I took last year and then cut two black frames to surround it, I was trying to give the lens a little depth.
    As yet there is no greeting inside, I haven't decided who will receive the card or for what occasion, that will come in time.
    Please pop over to The Male Room for some more inspiration, then come and show us your project.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafting With Dragonflies - Masculine card   (F)

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes / optional magic/fantasy   (Hogwarts Express?)

Hark The Christmas Rose

     I thought a floral Christmas card would ease us gently into the festive projects, it's closer than you think when you have lots to make. I was also inspired by a challenge theme over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, I used to be a regular player a while ago but life has taken a few turns since then.

     This beautiful stamp is by Chocolate Baroque, it's perfect for a seasonal card rather than a Christmas card.
     The image was stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink so that I could use alcohol markers to colour it, the card is medium weight and suitable for use with markers. A combination of three shades in both pink and green were used to fill in the flowers.
     The stamens were coloured a pale yellow but it lacked zing, so I used the 2in1 glue pen and added some gold foil.
     The gold pearlescent card was used for a narrow mat layer and also for the die cut wrap across the bottom. Misty Rose pearlescent card matched the flowers perfectly so that became the main mat layer on a white card blank. The greeting is a tiny peel off as I couldn't find, in all that stash, a stamp small enough to fit the label. It's all stuck flush to the card so it will go standard post should it need to.

Materials list - available from your  local craft shop
Stix2 Anything -    Pearlescent Card - Misty Rose & Gold
                             Shiny Transfer foil gold
                             Double Sided Tape
                             2in1 Glue Pen
                             PVA Glue
                             7x5 Card Blank

Other items -        Chocolate Baroque stamp - Hark The Christmas Rose
                             Memento - Rich Cocoa
                             Alcohol markers
                             Sizzix Dies - Fancy Wrappers
                             White Card suitable for alcohol markers

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Script  (W)

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas   (F)

Christmas At Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas   (M)

The Holly and Ivy Christmas - Anything Christmas   (F)

The Male Room Goes Wild

     We are still in the party spirit at The Male Room after our 5th Birthday, the new theme is 'Wild and Free', you have two weeks to make a masculine project following this theme if you'd like to come and join us.

     I was given this Woodware stamp by a good friend, it was just perfect for this theme, thanks Jenny.
     I stamped the image three times on white card using Memento Rich Cocoa because I wanted to decoupage my lion. Having three images to choose from meant I could use the best one for the base layer and the others for the head and face.
     I only coloured the areas I would need to cut out, but I did colour all of those areas so no white would be seen underneath when the card was tilted.

     The image is coloured with alcohol markers, that's why I used Memento ink. Once cut out I went around the edges with the lightest marker to cover any white card that may be showing.
     The head and face are layered on foam pads to lift them, but it will still pass as standard post.
     It looked better on Kraft card than on a white card blank but it needed a shot of colour, so I used the second darkest marker on a piece of white card to make a mat layer. With the addition of the 'Go Wild' sentiment the card was complete.
     Please come and join us at The Male Room with your wild masculine creations, we'd love to see them.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Dream Valley - Animals   (F)

Cute N Crafty - Animals   (F)

The Library - Jungle Book  (F)  (may not qualify as no lions in Jungle Book)

Patterned Paper In The House Of Cards

   The new challenge at the House Of Cards is to use patterned paper and/or the colours on the swatch. I found this paper in my stash and thought it would ft the bill nicely.

     I die cut some flowers from the double sided patterned paper, oddly thinking they would only cut the folded petals and not the complete flower....wrong, definitely having a silly moment with that one.
     This actually turned out to be a good thing, it meant I could colour the outer petals before returning them to the paper, that way they would stand out a little.
     The patterned paper layer was stuck over a blue mount layer after I cut out the flowers, then each coloured flower was stuck back in its place but only around the edges, the inner petals were all curled upward.

     Once dry each flower had a nobly gem stuck in the middle to add texture and interest. This paper panel was then stuck on to a white card blank.
     The sentiment was stamped on white card and die cut, then coloured cream to match the background on the paper whilst still in the die, this gives a little white border. A scalloped oval in the same blue card was what was needed to go under this sentiment, it's stuck flush to the card so it could be posted if necessary but may be better hand delivered.
     The House Of Cards challenge runs all month so pop over and join us with your cards, we'd love to see them.

Use patterned paper and/or the colours

Feelin' Good About Journalling

     This is my first venture into the world of journaling, so I've chosen to use it as my DT project for Altered Eclectics. I have always been a little worried about starting something in a nice new book, what do I do if I don't like it? The answer is make a loose leaf journal, that way I only keep the pages I'm happy with.
      I had a Bind-It-All machine as a gift and decided this was a perfect opportunity to use it. I have cut all my pages using various types of card and punched the holes ready for binding. I thought if I had the holes done at the beginning it would help me keep any important decoration away from that area.

     To ease myself into this journey I chose a theme for my art journal, one of my favourite songs.
     This page is cream, coloured around the edge with Distress Ink Old Paper, then I used a crackle stamp and the same ink to add pattern.
     I printed a copy of the music, tore the edges and folded it up a little,then coloured it with Old Paper, adding some stains through a stencil. Once dry I stuck it to the aged page.

     I found some images of Nina Simone on line and printed one out in sepia tones, this I fussy cut and stuck over the music score.
     Using an alphabet stamp set I added 'Nina' to the bottom corner and embossed it with Wow Perissa, which has a lovely metalic mix of bronze, gold and silver.
     Two of the corners are stamped with a tatty corner design and covered with bronze mica powder, a quick blast of hairspray over this keeps it in place and stops it rubbing off. To finish the aged look I went around the outside edges with an edge scuffer, leaving the binding edge smooth.
     It's quite a simple page but for my first one I am pleased with how it turned out, I dare say I shall become more adventurous as I progress through the song. The covers are cut from mountboard which will lend themselves perfectly to some mixed media, but I plan to complete the song before starting on them.
     Altered Eclectics is a challenge for anything altered or mixed media, just no cards or ATC's, so please come and join us with whatever you're working on.

Happy Birthday To The Male Room

     The Male Room is five years old now, we're celebrating by having a Birthday theme to our challenge this time.
     This card is quite simple and very flat, ideal for posting. I used a piece of music score as my background, ageing it with Old Paper Distress Ink and adding splodges through a stencil.
     Using my stamp press I added the image and saying with black ink, silhouettes are great in a stamp press because you just keep stamping until it's dark enough.
     The sentiment was die cut in black and in gold, I stuck the black on first and then put the gold over it, the music panel was then mounted on a cream card.
     Please pop over to The Male Room and join us in celebrating by entering your masculine birthday projects.