Adding a Touch of Color for a Male Birthday Card

Hi Everyone!  This week I have been been thinking a lot about cards for Males (probably because hubby's birthday is next week), so over on the Altered Pages Blog today I am sharing another one along with a technique for adding a touch of color to your black and white photos or collage images.

The star of this technique is my  Niji Waterbrush Pen from Yatsumoto and their Pearlescent Water Colors which are available from Altered Pages, along with the wonderful lighthouse collage sheet I took this image from.

I do hope you will pop over to the Altered Pages Blog and take a look.  While there be sure to check out some of the other blog posts as the rest of the DT have been sharing great ways of using your Waterbrushes this month too.

A Manly Stamped Collage Card (Video Post)

Today I am sharing quick stamped collage card for a Male Birthday.  It was created using a selection of the new Altered Pages Art Stamps.  They all came together wonderfully to create my background, and the main image called Thin and Thick is also available from Altered Pages.  I brought it a few weeks back with creating male cards in mind.  My Sentiment is from one of my Unity Sentiment Kits.

  

For added interest I have simply layered under my collage a strip of scrap paper and simply by changing the position of the paper strip you can easily achieve a different variation of this card. (See photo below).

You can see how I made this card by watching the video:- 

Thanks for stopping by!

Cards in Envy - A Manly Challenge

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day here in Australia, so the latest challenge which starts today over at Cards in Envy had perfect timing.  The Theme is A Manly Challenge.

Back in June when I visited Melbourne to catch up with some of my online crafty friends we visited some of the local scrapbooking stores and one of the many items I purchased was this ever so cute Tool Charms Die from Die Namics.   This challenge gave me an excuse to use it.

All the men in my life love their tools, my dad started his working life as an apprentice carpenter and has a passion for wood work, whilst my husband likes to tinker and did a lot of the renovations to our old house himself.  So it was actually their tool shed I took some inspiration from for my card today.

I used the de-bossed side of my Swiss Dots embossing folder to resemble a peg board and incorporated two types of tape I found at the hardware store to create my card.  The mesh tape is for joining plaster sheets and for my actual tools I have used an Adhesive Aluminium Tape that is used for roofing.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Be sure to check out my Birthday Blog Candy Giveaway if you haven't already and for more fabulous manly inspiration check out the rest of the Design Teams Cards over at Cards In Envy.

Warm Birthday Wishes with the Hot Flame Collection

This is my second post today.

For my Cards in Envy Challenge Card please scroll down to my previous post.

I have been on a bit of a male inspired creative streak of late creating cards for men, and thanks to the wonderful Hot Flame Collection at the Robin's Nest this streak has continued for at least one more card.

This collection is being featured all month by the Design Team and with a number of papers incorporating flames as well as coordinating stickers featuring motorbikes it was pretty easy to come up with a male oriented card.

I simply added a digi motorcycle image (free digi over at Bird's Cards) which I colored with my watercolor pencils a stamped Birthday Sentiment (Unity Stamps) and lastly some Obsidian Diamond Dew Drops to finish.

For more great projects featuring this range from the Robin's Nest be sure to pop over to the Chattering Robin's Blog throughout May.

Cards In Envy Sketch #4

Hi Everyone, this will be the first of two posts today!  It's that time again for another sketch challenge over at Cards in Envy!

For this one I have turned it on its side and gone with another CAS Card this time with a male birthday in mind, whilst trying to use some un-inked stamps.

The stamps are from one of my Unity KOTM.  The papers are from the Bo Bunny Enchanted 6 x 6 Collection.

I am going to use this wonderful sketch again, as I found the rest of the design team had so many wonderful ideas for this one, so be sure to see them for yourself here.

Having a Rough Trot!

I often find it so hard to make Get Well/Thinking of You cards for men, however upon seeing this Collage Image (Vintage Horses Digital Collage Sheet) from Altered Pages this sentiment and card came together in a snap.

I have used complimentary papers from the Glitz Vintage Blue Paper Collection which is also available at Altered Pages.  The edges are distressed with a little Mustard Seed and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks and my distressing tool.

My sentiment is stamped using a Studio G Alphabet Set from Hampton Art and the button and paper cord are from my stash.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Dutch Dare Card Challenges - #215 Sports
Moving along with the Times - One for the Guys
Southern Girls Challenges - #68 You Can Say that Again

31 Day Card Challenge Day 16 - 18

Hi everyone!  Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you have been leaving for me, they are such wonderful encouragement and very much appreciated.  I am back today with the latest three days worth of cards for the 31 Day Card Challenge.  I am pleased to say I have made it past the half way point and on the down hill run......however I do believe the challenges are getting somewhat harder.....lol.

This weeks saw us begin some Fancy Fold Challenges and upon uploading my photos to do my blog post I see that I was in some what of a monochromatic mood.

Day 16 - Create a Side Step Card.

I had a small collage of Santa (from Altered Pages) left on my desk so this was my starting point for this one and seeing Mary Kate's (hosting the 31 Day Card Challenge) card using glitter the other day I thought I would give her technique with the Double Sided Tape a try.

All the papers were bits in my scrap box and the Sentiment is from one of my favorite SU Sets - Many Merry Messages.  Of course it wouldn't be complete without a few Dew Drops (Christmas Collection) from the Robin's Nest.

Day 17 - Create a Gate Fold Card

For this one, I had a scrap of Concord Crush Polka Dot Paper left over from a project I made early in the week, so being it was my favorite color I couldn't resist using it.  

The stamps both image and sentiment are from the Ippity by Unity Set called Thankful for You.  

Day 18 - Create an Easel Card

This is one of my favorite fancy folds, I decided to go with a Masculine Theme for this one.  Using the Stampin' Up! Set Totally Tools.

More Paper Scraps (SU Choc Chip DSP)  were used for this one, and I have colored in the image with my Tria Markers.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Poodles Parlour - Tag It Challenge

Hi Everyone!  Hope you are having a great Friday!  I have and to top it off I have just enjoyed some fresh prawns and a nice glass of wine for dinner.  I think I mentioned in an earlier post that September is a month full of birthdays, so be prepared for a lot of birthday themed posts in the coming days starting with today's.

This fortnight's challenge at the Poodles Parlour is called Tag It.  Which is pretty straight forward we want to see a tag in your creation.  It can be a card with a tag or simply a tag on its own which is what I have done.

Image:  Birthday Boy - The Digi Garden, Sentiment:  Unity Stamp Company

Card Stock/Paper:  Manilla Tag coloured with Tria Markers, Distress Honeycomb Paper from The Robin's Nest.  

Choc Chip Cardstock from Stampin' Up!

Other: Martha Stewart Ribbon Loop Border Punch, 1 1/2 Inch Circle Punch, Dew Drop from the Robin's Nest,

Brown Satin Ribbon,  Tria Markers, Early Expresso and Red Riding Hood Ink.

My tag was designed with a boy's birthday in mind and uses the adorable image called Birthday Boy from the Digi Garden who are our sponsors this week.

So Tag Your It!  It's your turn to create, and I do hope you will play along with our challenge.  You know the drill.  Head over to the Poodles Parlour Blog for more wonderful inspiration from the team and all that.

I hope you have a great weekend!

The Robin's Nest Design Team Announced!

Hi Everyone!

I have some exciting and BIG news to share with you all today and that is I made the Team!  You may remember that a few weeks back I shared a project which was part of my application for the Robin's Nest Design Team.  


Well it's official! I am on the Team and I am so excited.........it means lots of wonderful products as found in their online store will soon been arriving on my doorstep so that I can play and create and share my ideas using them with you. And every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the Month projects that I create using their products will be featured on their blog Chattering Robin's.  If you haven't checked this blog out I urge you to do so as there is always loads of wonderful inspiration to be found and they have a monthly challenge with great prizes up for grabs too!



The other wonderful part of being on the team is that I am joined by a group of very lovely and very talented ladies who I will no doubt learn a thing or two from throughout the creative journey we are all about to embark on together.

Robin's Nest Products  Black and White Clock Paper, Time Flies Rub Ons and Dew Drops

Other:  Cardstock, Acetate, Justrite Stamps, Photo Corner and Circle Punch from my Stash

Because I love having photos with my blog posts I threw together a quick 6 x 6 layout.  It uses some of the wonderful papers, rub-on's and my all time favorite Bling - Dew Drops all of which you will find in the Robin's Nest Store.

Please forgive the quality of the photo I used, but its a very old one which was deteriorating.  But the colors went perfectly.  I have actually used a piece of acetate with a rub on to create an overlay for the photo to protect it a bit more.

If you want to see who else also made the Team be sure to head over to the Chattering Robin's Blog for the official announcement.

My Heart Pieces Challenge #3 Summer Loving & Relaxation

Hi Everyone!  I hope you have had a wonderful week.  I definitely have, even with a touch of bad luck thrown in.  I have had lots of good news this week, I found out I won a couple of crafty prizes and my week will be topped off by me attending a She Art Class at 'Time To Create' tomorrow and catching up with all my crafty friends who I haven't seen for what seems like ages.  Its been about 2.5 months since I last caught up with the ladies with everything happening here following the passing of Rod's Dad.  We are actually going with Rod's Mum to place his ashes in the Wall at the lawn cemetery today, so it will be a bit of a hard time for us all today.

This fortnight over at My Heart Pieces Challenge Blog we are celebrating all things Summer and what it is you love to do to relax during Summer.

For my family, Summer means leisurely Sundays enjoying a barbecue or cooked breakfast, reading the paper with a coffee in hand all whilst outdoors enjoying all that nature has to offer.  So when I saw this Busy Dad Image I new this would be perfect to best represent all that we love about Summer as well as being suitable for a Father's Day Card which is being celebrated in some Countries this month.

I have teamed the image up with some Echo Park Papers, added in some grass and sky and the cute clouds which I stamped using a Unity KOTM Stamp.  I am mixed about how I feel about the end result with this card.   I guess its a little different for me, but I also feel it's not quite balanced.  The jury is out! 

Anyway if you want to join in the Summer Fun of this Challenge head over to My Heart Pieces for all the details and some more wonderful inspiration for the DT.

Magical Monday - One for the Boys

A big warm hello and thank you to all my wonderful blogging friends for all the lovely comments you have left for me these past few weeks!  I really appreciate them and I also love visiting your blogs and seeing what you have all been up to.  Sadly that's about all that is bright and warm here today.  Its another wet and cold day here!  The rain has eased a little but has been replaced by a strong and very cold wind.

Its a great day to be rugged up indoors, creating with a hot chocolate and the radio on.  So that is what I have planned for this morning, however I do have to brave it and go out a bit later.

For our Magical Monday's Challenge this fortnight Nina has a wonderful freebie for you to use if you want to play along with our Male Inspired Challenge which was chosen by Ildiko this week.  Its the same image all the DT have used for their cards today.

It's called 'Mustache Cupcake' and you can download it by following the links from the TIMITA Challenge Blog.

Red, White and Black seem to be my go to colors this past week, perhaps because I have been creating male themed cards but then again I love this color combo.  For my card today I have used some of the Bo Bunny 6 x 6 Enchanted Collection Papers.  I have paper pieced my cupcake as well as using another paper from this collection for my background.  I added some red ribbon and backed my sentiment with a pop of red to match the glossy cherry on top of the cupcake which I have colored with my Red Tria Marker and coated with Glossy Accents.  I also used a couple of funky brads to match my background for the center of the bow.

I know you are just going to love all the other wonderful mustache cupcake creations from the DT this week, as much as I do, so be sure to pop over the TIMITA blog and see them for yourself.  Whilst there you can  get all the challenge details too!  I do hope you will play along and I can't wait to see what you create! 

Platypus Creek Digitals Challenge #8 - For the Boys!

Did you enjoy the wonderful color inspiration of our Challenge last week?  This week at Platypus Creek Digitals we want to see your creations - For the Boys.

For my card I have used the wonderful Digi Set called 'Out of this World'.

I have arranged the Moon, Star and Planet images in Photo Shop and printed on gloss card, added a couple of lines with my Black Pen, colored the Moon, Star and Planet with my Tria Markers added some glitter and then used a crayon resist and sponging technique with blue and green ink to create my out of space skyline.   The sentiment and little green alien I printed separately and layered onto the finished card.  I thought this would make a fabulously fun Birthday Card for a Boy.

Today also sees the Release of the New Image - Grid Iron Oliver and Tracey also has a freebie for you.

Also speaking of New Releases there are some great new releases planned at Platypus Creek this month, so be sure to join us for them.  They are the Butterfly Release on the 6th of June and the Wonderland Release on 28th & 29th of June.

I do hope you can play along with us this week.  The rest of the team have some wonderful creations to share with you all today so be sure to pop over to the Platypus Creek Digitals Blog and check them out.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges

Here Comes the Boys - #48 Anything Goes

Quirky Craft Challenges - #12 Up Up & Away (or the Sky's the Limit)

Di's Digi Challenge - Male Inspired Cards

Dad - A Manly Card Challenge

I've been on a bit of a mission of sorts this week and have been making lots of cards.  After yesterdays post which I said would be my last one until I am back from Brisbane on Friday, I found another Unity Challenge Blog - All Things Unity so Idecided to join in the fun for their latest challenge, ATU33 - Get Manly so I just had to share my card with you all.


The challenge is to create a male card for your Dad, Hubby, or other male in your life using your Unity or Ippity Stamps.

Last week I got the Ippity Set - Authentic Man so I put another fabulous stamp (the row of ties) from this set to use to create this card along with the gingham ribbon border and simple sentiment DAD from the Unity April Kit of the Month. I love the clean look and bright colours of this one.

Father's Dad is coming up in the States soon, so there are a couple of male/father's day oriented challenges I have also entered this card for: - Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturday and Stamptacular Sunday, who's challenges I have played along with a few times now, as well as making this my second entry into the Cards for Men Blue and Black Challenge.

Thanks for looking.

When I grow up, I want to be a Cowboy or just like my Dad!

Its Party Time again.........this week I have a cute father's day card and sweet image from Too Cute Stamps to share with you.  The sentiment outside reads 'When I grow up I want to be a Cowboy' and on the inside reads 'or Just Like My Dad - Happy Fathers Day'.

Our Challenge for all you party goers this week is to Make a Father's Day Card and link it to Mr Linky under PTT #20 on the Party Time Tuesdays Challenge Blog.

Digi:  2 Cute Rubber Stamps, Cardstock/Paper:  Stampin' Up! and Basic Grey

Other:  SU Markers, Red Star Brad and Twine.

Again this week we have some wonderful prizes from our fabulous sponsors.

Your choice of 2 rubber or 2 digital stamps

from

and

a set of 6 Copic Ciao Markers (Secondary Tones)

from

Don't forget to be eligible to win you must be a follower of the Party Time Tuesdays Site.  Good Luck and I can't wait to see your father's day creations.

An Authentic Man Card

I don't own that many images suitable for Men, but just recently I came across an Ippity Set - Authentic Man on Ebay which had some wonderful male images and sentiments so I just had to have it.  A big thanks to Alex Hughes the one and only Ippity Endorsed Chick in Australia who made a wonderful first impression with her prompt delivery of my new stamps and the additional touches she added to her packaging.

Stamps: Ippity by Unity Stamp Company - Authentic Man Set

All other items used - Stampin' Up!

Anyway as soon as I had them in my hot little hands........yesterday afternoon to be exact I had to break them out and create something with them.  So I decided to check in on the Cards for Men Challenge Blog.......and play along with their current challenge - Challenge #12 Blue and Black .

I have also been checking out some other wonderful challenge blogs and will be back to share some more creations for some of these later.

 

What a Super Gate Fold Card! PTT Challenge #15

Our fabulous sponsor once again this week over at Party Time Tuesdays is Kenny K and the Design Team Members had a chance to play with some of their totally cool super hero images to create some fun male oriented gate fold cards.

This is my card.

The inside sentiment (a little blurry in photo) reads

Super Cool and Totally Rad, Thanks for Being a No. 1 Dad,

Happy Fathers Day.

Don't you just love the Totally Rad Sentiment from Verve Stamps and the Stars and Stripe Ribbon, both of these items along with a load of other great crafting products I received as part of my TUIC Blog Group Secret Owl Swap from the lovely Molly, (Molly's Creations) and I have to say I have had so much fun playing with them all.  Other items used for this card include of course the wonderful super hero digital image from Kenny K and a star embossing strip/folder from Cuttlebug.  All cardstock and ink (Stampin' Write Markers) are from Stampin' Up!

You can check out the rest of the Design Teams Creations and all the details of this weeks GATE FOLD Card Challenge by visiting the Party Time Tuesdays Blog. 

I do hope you will join in the fun this week.  Don't forget if you are chosen as this week's winner there is a fabulous prize from our Sponsor Kenny K.

Totally Tool - Totally Male

Thursday was my FIL's 70th Birthday, so I had the challenge once again of making another Male Card.  Luckily for me I had just purchased the Totally Tool Stamp Set from Stampin' Up!   My FIL like my own father loves to woodwork so owns quite a number of tools, so it was the perfect choice.

This set has five great stamp images of tools with some very cute sentiments under each image.  For example the wrench sentiment reads 'thanks for helping me out of a tight spot', however for my card I just used the images.

I also decided to reach once again for my woodgrain embossing folder as tools and wood go so well together.  I embossed my piece of  Whisper White card and cut it into three, one big piece and two smaller pieces.  The smaller pieces I covered in colour using my distress inks, whilst the middle section I kept mainly white.  I than stamped, coloured in and cut out each of the tool images, and did a double layer of the saw and added this along with my 70 Birthday Wishes sentiment to the front.

Are you like me and when you are challenged by what you are making you are still unsure about the final product?  Well I was, however my husband and most importantly my FIL loved it.

A Birthday Card with no Stamping

Sunday is my father's 75th Birthday, he was once described to me to be like Berger Paints (they keep on keeping on) and despite 10 years ago suffering from a Stroke he is in good health apart from a few of the usual ailments we all except to have when we are old.  Unlike my mother his memory is as sharp as ever, and one of the things I love most is hearing him reminisce about days of old.

I have always found making a card for those closest to us a hard task and today was no exception.  I have very limited male oriented stamps and often struggle for ideas for masculine cards.

A few months back I purchased a wood grain embossing folder and was yet to use it, so my initial inspiration was to use this given my father loves woodworking.  Further thoughts were to include the number 75 on the front of the card but then I faulted.

What else do I put on this Birthday card?  I didn't have any stamps/images jumping out at me, so I decided to turn the wood grain into a tree trunk and added die cut leaves.   For the sentiment on the front I didn't really want to say the obvious, you know - Happy 75th Birthday, so using my computer I typed the phrase, Reasons to Celebrate for the outside so the front read '75 Reasons to Celebrate' and than on the inside, came up with the verse - 'But at your age we'll forgive you if you can't remember them all.  Happy Birthday.'

This will give Dad a bit of a laugh because when dealing with the early onset of Alzheimer's with my mother, seeing the lighter side of life and a sense of humour is invaluable.

So there it was, a masculine Birthday Card with no stamping.

Happy Birthday Dad, there probably is 75 reasons to celebrate but I only need to think of one; I Love You!

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day!  Today we having my mother and father in law for lunch to celebrate Fathers Day!  We were planning a BBQ as the weather has well and truly warmed up since arrival of Spring, however today it doesn't know what it wants to do, one minute the sun is shining and then the clouds come across and it becomes dark and dreary, so we may well have to cook on the BBQ but eat inside. 

My mother and father live in Brisbane which is about three hours away, so unfortunately we will not be spending the day with them aswell, however in a couple of weeks Rod and I will be on holidays so we plan to visit them and spend my father's 75th Birthday with him.

I wanted to share with you today this cute Waistcoat Card I cased, which I have made heaps of recently.  This was a design so kindly shared by Lynn Couper who is from New Zealand, you can download the template/tutorial by visiting Lynn's Blog.  I have turned this one into a Father's Day Card for my father in law.

I hope you all enjoy Father's Day and get to share it with someone close to you.

And the Winner Is!

Also today I wanted to congratulate Jenn on winning my TUC - Something Blue, card challenge with her entry.  It was a such a hard choice for anyone voting as we had five great entries, all so very different.

Thank you everyone who entered the challenge and to everyone who voted, it was much appreciated.