Inspired Masculine Card

Last week's SCS Inspiration Challenge inspired me to do another masculine Christmas card for Merry Monday.

Audrie on SCS sent us to the Art of Journalling Pinterest site for inspiration. I chose this image:

It seemed perfect for a masculine Christmas card.  Here's what I made:

I started by stamping the sentiment and heat embossing in white on watercolour paper. Then I stamped the trees in black pigment ink (both first and second generation) and heat embossed in clear. Lastly I took my versamarker and made the moon and the dots for stars and heat embossed them with black embossing powder.

I then flooded the whole piece with water and dropped in various shades of brown watercolour paint, keeping it dark around the sentiment and light around the moon.

It ended up quite warped so I stuck it down to self-adhesive fun foam - a great way to flatten out watercolour panels. I bordered with black cs.




Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies:

Stamps - SU Lovely as a Tree, SU Bright and Beautiful sentiment

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black

Paper - watercolour paper, black and white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, versmarker, embossing powder (white, clear, and black), fun foam

Masculine Christmas for Merry Monday

This week's Merry Monday challenge is to create a masculine card, something I always struggle with.

I have a male friend who is an architect and I thought of the Tim Holtz Christmas tree stamp that is done like an architectural drawing.

I created the background first. I spritzed a large piece of mixed media cs and swiped various Distress stains across it, blending them a bit where the touched. I cut a background piece from the part with lots of blue for sky and added falling snow with embossing paste and a stencil. Then I stamped the Tim Holtz Christmas tree on it. I stamped it again and die cut the tree part and layered it over the one stamped on the background.

The star and ornaments were stamped, coloured, and die cut separately and added over the stamped image.

It's bordered in black and mounted on a cream card base.  Here's hoping he'll like it!


I think this card I made the other day for one of the Christmas card challenges on SCS ("relaxation - a cozy cabin, a fireplace, etc.") would work as a masculine card too:

It's stamped on watercolour paper, painted with Peerless watercolours, bordered in black, and mounted on fun foam. I added glitter wherever there was snow. I'm hoping the man I send it too won't mind a bit of sparkle!  The sentiment is on the inside - I couldn't figure out a good spot for it on the front of the card.

Hoping to see some ideas for masculine Christmas cards from the rest of you!

Supplies:

Stamps - Tim Holtz (tree card), Old Island Stamp Co. (cabin card)

Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black

Paper - mixed media, black, and cream cs (tree card); black and white cs, watercolour paper (cabin card)

Size - A2

Accessories - various Distress stains, Tim Holtz dies, Dreamweaver embossing paste, Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow stencil (tree card);  Peerless watercolours, Quickie glue pen, glitter, fun foam (cabin card)

Holly Resist

The December CAS Watercolour challenge is up and running.

I'm still in Christmas card mode so went with a favourite holly stamp.  Here's the card:

I stamped both the holly image and the small random dots from the SU Itty Bitty Background set in white, and then in my haste, I grabbed the clear embossing powder.  Having done emboss resist in the past, I've learned that white embossing powder gives a more distinct image, but I quite like the subtlety of this.  I might try exactly the same image and colours and do a comparison.

I flooded the whole panel with water and dropped a pale green over the whole thing, then went back in with pale blue and a mauve-blue just on the background to give variation.  I then took a fine pointed paintbrush and added dark green to all the holly leaves.

I mounted it on fun foam, framed with a pierced frame die, added red Stickles to the berries, and a small sentiment.

I'm also entering this in the Less is More "Emboss Resist" challenge.

Please come over and join us at CAS Watercolour with your creations using a resist technique with watercolour.  You have until December 24th to enter.  Please remember to keep to the Clean and Simple guidelines.  Loll and Bonnie have tightened them up a bit, and one of the new requirements is that the cards must include white "or open" space (no pattern).  I'm looking forward to seeing what you create!

Supplies:

Stamps - Great Impressions holly, Penny Black sentiment

Ink - ColorBox Frost White, Ranger Archival Library Green

Paper - white cs, watercolour paper

Size - A2

Accessories - clear embossing powder, Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, MFT pierced frame die, red Stickles, fun foam

Sponged Star for CAS Mix Up

It's time for a new CAS Mix Up challenge and this time it's sponging.  To meet the parameters of the challenge, your card needs to be Clean and Simple, and it must include stamping, sponging, and at least one other choice from the list on the CAS Mix Up blog.

Here's my card:

To do my sponging, I created a stencil using my new Simon Says Stamp "Mosaic Star" die cut.  I sponged using three different gold inks to get a bit of colour variation.

I stamped the sentiment with one of the gold inks I'd used - the Delicata Golden Glitz, a fabulous gold that doesn't need to be heat embossed.

I bordered with shimmery gold cs, popped the panel up on fun foam, and added a few star-shaped gemstones.

You have until December 24th to join in and add your card to CAS Mix Up.  We have slightly changed the parameters of the challenge and are now requiring the card to have "white space" in order to qualify for the CAS part of the challenge, so please be sure to read the post before creating your card.

Looking forward to seeing your creations!

Supplies:

Stamps - Great Impressions sentiment

Ink - Delicata Golden Glitz, Brilliance Galaxy Gold, Brilliance Pearlescent Beige

Paper - white cs, gold shimmer cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Simon Says Stamp Mosaic Star die, gold star gems, fun foam