A Masculine Birthday Card Set

Popping in to say a quick hello and hoping that January hasn't been too cold or snowy for you this year.  Of course, here in Phoenix we don't have those sorts of complications, so I'll send some sunshine your way.

The card today is a very simple one - made for the gift exchange at Christmas and not shared because of lazy forgetfulness.  These photos were taken back when the Christmas tree filled the front room and all the good light was gone.  Still, one layer cards are always an inspiration.

The tree is stamped in green ink using Darkroom Doors Tree stamp, although any evergreen would do.  The sentiment is from SSS's Handwritten Sentiments stamp set in black Archival Ink.  I simply wiped off the left hand edge of the sentiment to make it fit and simplify the design.

All in all, a nice set for which I think the recipients will find a good use.  How's your crafting in the new year?  Inspired or tired?  I'm enjoying the less hectic pace of crafting - thus how I found these unedited gems.  Trying to stay inspired and engaged in my hobby includes some downtime as well.  Soon we'll be planning a milestone celebration in our family and then a graduation so there is much to craft about.  See you again soon.

A Masculine Happy Birthday

Of course we always need to make those masculine cards.  Trouble is to get it right so that you aren't that weird, card making lady who sprinkles glitter on all the cards.  Watercoloring makes the job easier.  For this card I used one of the stamps from my Darkroom Door Trees.  I stamped the image in Vintage Photo Distress Inks and then sprinkled some red and orange Brushos onto the leaves.  Using a brush I added water to the Brushos and they covered the Distress ink completely.  I used my Distress marker (the fine tip) to bring back some of the branch definition that could still be seen.  Then it was the sky - watercolored with my Prima Oil Pastels.  Brandy bought me a set as a birthday present.  It was the best present in the whole world!  There are two different colors of blue in the sky which adds a lot of depth.  I scribbled the oil pastel onto a piece of palette paper and wet the media with water to bring it to the watercolor paper project.  For the ground, I drew on the watercolor paper directly with the brown oil pastel crayon and then filled in with three different colors of green oil pastel crayons.  I then used the brush with water to wet and create the watercolor look.

I finished the kraft cardstock card with some brown cardstock (ever do manly don't you think?) and a piece of rough fiber (manly?  too girly?  it is soft- maybe too much?).  All together I really like how this turned out.  If you haven't jumped into the watercoloring, I encourage you to try.  It isn't all the tough and the results are fantastic.  Have a wonderful rest of your day and thanks for stopping by.

A Fall Scene

Oops, quick before I loose my fall season all together I thought I'd share this handmade watercolor scene with you.  I just want to first say that I wouldn't have dreamed 3 years ago that I'd be attempting let alone making this kind of card.  I didn't consider myself that talented.  Granted, the tools have improved a bit and I've purchased a few of them, but the other thing I'd say is that my own vision of me shut down a possibility that was always there.  I'm going to encourage you to put off those crafty limitations you've set for yourself and give a new and challenging technique a try.  I did and look how it turned out.

This card front was made with a combination of watercolor media.  I started the image by stamping with my Darkroom Door Trees stamp using Tea Dye Distress Ink.  The burst of color in the tree leaves was made by sprinkling Brusho Scarlet, Yellow and Orange watercolor crystals on the watercolor paper.  I covered the tree limbs a bit with a paper towel and spritzed the Brushos with a spray bottle to burst their color.  It was at this point I believed this image could become a card front.  I used my Inktense Pencils to create the extension from the tree base and shape the hills.  A little water on the waterbrush blended this shape and made that ink permanent.  Then I sprinkled Leaf Green and Dark Brown Brusho watercolor crystals, covering the rest of the image with a paper towel and spritzed the Brushos to burst the brown and green color at the bottom.  I used a bit of Prima Oil Pastels to fill in the color on the grass and the blue of the sky, dropping small water droplets full of color int he spaces between the Brushos which were now dry.

For the inside of the card I used the technique used in this video to stamp Happy Birthday in green, red, orange and yellow Prima Oil Pastels.  I then flicked color off the end of the crayon with a water brush to create these tiny burst of color on the inside of the card.  I'm super pleased with how this card turned out.  I might give it a try again.

I am linking to Jennifer McGuire's Sharing Handmade Kindness challenge.

Manly Birthday Cards (Kinda?)

It seems like I've been nothing but busy.  You can see how this plays out in my card making.  Sometimes I get a little lazy.  Still, sometimes lazy can really pay off and I think these two cards are a good example.  I had a couple of male coworkers that I wanted to recognize their birthday but didn't want to spend a ton of time making the cards.  So, I turned to Pinterest and these cards were inspired.
The sentiment was stamped in black Archival Ink using my Penny Black Sweet Wishes stamp set.  The inside was a simple Happy Birthday from the same stamp set in black Archival Ink.  The watercolor wash was made using my Peeled Paint and Mowed Lawn Distress Stains.  The soft applicator top allowed me to simply wash the color directly on the page.  I did let it dry very well before stamping with black Archival Ink using my Darkroom Door Trees stamp.

Pretty effective man card.  They both thought it was a lovely sentiment- short and sweet and required nothing in return.

Thanks for checking in with me today.  I'm hoping your July is ending with rest and relaxation.  My daughter is back at school and so it feels like the fall is here, though the temperature is still high!

Hey, I decided to link this card up with City Crafter Challenge Blog Week 272: Create a Masculine Birthday Card and Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge Simon Says Anything Goes.  Come join the fun or be inspired.

A Happy Birthday Card

Popping in for a quick post on a very simple birthday card I made my dad.  This card is one of those quick, man cards- no fru fru on this card at all.  Here's the details:

• I used my Darkroom Door Trees stamp and a mask to get the trees to overlap.  This was a bit tricky as the thin mask still left a white ridge- I mistakenly stamped the foreground image first.  I used Peeled Paint and Walnut Ink Distress Ink for the foreground tree.  The background tree was Shabby Shutters and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Out came the water pen and I blended very small amounts of all three colors.  Take a close look- the perspective is a little wonky as the foreground tree "looks" to be farther away ("higher" on the card) and the background tree is more blurry- created with the water pen.
• After stamping the trees, I used the water pen to color in some grass with both Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress ink using Faded Jeans Distress Ink for the sky.  
• After letting the card dry I realized why you use watercolor paper- my plain white cardstock was warped.  I had the iron out for some housework so I simply placed the card face down on a towl and ironed the card- boom! one flat card at your service!  
• Finally, I stamped the sentiment in brown Archival Ink  and away we go....

My dad doesn't really want to be in the spotlight so he's happy to shrug happily and thank me for the gift card to golf.  Still, I think he secretly is pleased when I spend a little time on his stuff.  Too much a man to say much about it though. :)

A Man Card- Happy Birthday to My Son

Just a quick post to share this simple card I made for my son, Timothy.  Seventeen years ago today, I excitedly celebrated the arrival of my first child.  We didn't know that Tim was a boy until that day and I can say that I was extremely pleased to have this quiet, sensitive and intelligent child join our family.  Tim is a responsible oldest child and as a friend of mine said when he was born- "Sons always love their mamas".  She was right and I am grateful, though I can tell you all that seems like yesterday and I don't nearly feel the span of years in between.

The card was made using my Darkroom Door Trees stamps.  The fine detail on these cling stamps is simply amazing.  I chose to use my Walnut Stain, Barn Door, Scattered Straw and Peeled Paint Distress stains to stamp the images on watercolor paper.  I masked the images off using a cut out stamped image on a scrap of paper.