Strut your stuff boy - it's your Birthday!

The current challenge over at Seize the Birthday is to make a card for a male following their current sketch. As I almost lost the will to live following the same sketch for a girlie card, I'd thought about skipping this one. However, that's what challenges are all about - pushing the boundaries innit?

This is the sketch, which I bravely turned on its side - brave 'cos I've only done a handful of sketch based cards:)

By a stroke of luck, whilst tidying up a few things here, I found a ready stamped image which I'd been sent by a lovely bloggy friend and away I went!

I used:

- A5 white card stock

- pre-stamped and already die cut image, which I coloured with Pro Markers. I don't know who the image is by and can't say who sent it (for fear of the copyright police) - but I know, and they know, who they are - thank you!

- main backing card is plain burgundy, topped with striped paper from MME's 'Sunshine' paper pad

- the 'banner' was made using paper from the 'Sunshine' pad again, this time picking a matching plain reverse and embossing it using a brilliant folder that another friend, Mary H, sent me a while back - it's by Darice and is called 'Argyle', perfect for both male and female cards as well as great for snipping the ends into points by following the embossed pattern

- the scalloped border was also tucked in by my anonymous friend with the 'rooster' image so I just coloured it using a 'Burgundy' Pro Marker

- then finally a plain strip of turquoise card from the snippets folder to match the plumage on Mr Rooster's tail - well, in truth I coloured the plumage to match the snippet of card I'd found :)

Slowly am beginning to really find sketches such fun to play with - wahoo!

Di
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A splash of Spring

Wahoo, the sun shone for all of a couple of hours yesterday - and, with Spring, in mind I made this:

It's for the current challenge over at Seize the Birthday, a feminine card this week following this sketch:

One of the trickiest sketches I've ever followed 'cos sketches are new to me, but it was fun working out the elements and colours :)

I used:

- A5 white card stock

- backing paper from a pack called 'Emma's Garden' by Jennifer Ellory, which came free with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine

- pink card from the snippets folder for the scallop (used my Woodware scallop blade again) and for the scalloped Nesties circle behind the pale green Craftwork Cards sentiment

- blue card for the plain scalloped oval and strip of card across the card (belly band as Elizabeth calls it)

- lemony-yellow card for the scalloped oval and the banner strip, which was embossed using Cuttlebug's 'Birds and Swirls' folder

- the green leaf sprig was enclosed with some other complimentary ready cut dies with a recent order from Dies to Die For - such a sweet touch by Tracy

- the flower was stamped onto the pink card using a stamp from SU's 'Secret Garden' set and 'Melon Mambo' ink pad and die cut with the matching SU die - then just gently curled and popped on with a sticky pad

Remember, the Snippets Playground closes at noon today - and re-opens at midnight UK time.

Di
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Gilding flakes and an apology

Apology first - to those who were, ahem, misinformed about Poliflora and the shortage affecting sticky products on my post of yesterday - which was of course April Fools Day. I washed my mouth out with soap then went and stood on the naughty step for a couple of minutes hours. But, thank you for taking it in good part :) And here's how justice comes back and bites you - the Crafters Companion sticky tape runner I was using whilst making today's card only went and broke on me - wasting half the contents. That'll larn me!

OK, gilding flakes - I've had a couple of pots of these for absolutely ages, over 18 months now. Frankly, I opened one pot when I got them, took a quick peek and before I could close the pot they were jumping everywhere - so that idea got put on the back burner.

But, I've been watching a Barbara Gray DVD and yesterday felt compelled to have a try. I'd forgotten that Elizabeth used this technique way back in 2011 - plus by coincidence Maggie used gilding flakes the other day. There was a great tip from Maggie as well - rub a little bit of talcum powder into your hands before working with the flakes! And the very first thing to do is to empty the pot into a much larger container before even starting to play I found :)

This is the result of my first attempt - even though the photo makes it look a bit like a barrel :)

I used:

- 5" x 7" white card stock

- image was stamped using black StaZon ink onto a piece of double sided adhesive sheet. I think, by its very nature, stamping onto sticky sheet doesn't give as crisp an outline as card - but, hey, I was playing, OK? The stamp is a Hobby Art stamp, called 'Tree Scene'

- then, the stamped image was covered with a piece of acetate - over the already exposed sticky

- the backing was peeled off the self adhesive sheet on the reverse side of the image, and then the fun really began

- I covered all that sticky sheet behind the image with 'Variegated Red' gilding flakes,  by Crafty Notions (in truth they're gorgeous shades of gold and copper) and rubbed 'em in first wiv me finger and then with an Indigo Blue scoochy sponge

- next, the flakes were covered with more sticky sheet and stuck onto card then trimmed to size and sliced into three before being mounted onto black card (and that's the point at which my glue runner jumped up and bit me in the b*m for being a bad girl earlier in the day)

- the sentiment is from SU's now discontinued stamp set called 'Sincere Salutations', stamped with Memento 'Tuxedo Black'

And wahoo - I'm just in time for this week's male card 'Seize the Birthday' challenge, following this sketch:

Hope you all had a lovely Easter break, and also that I'm forgiven.

Di
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More micro beads

On a roll here playing with micro beads - I made this card for two challenges:

Sheesh - micro beads are a pig difficult to photograph using flash 'cos it was dark and overcast here. The image isn't clear when the light bounces back, and then there's a milkiness to the beads close up although in real life they look perfectly clear.

I used:

- 5" x 7" white card stock

- stamped large flower from SU's 'Everything Eleanor' set, stamped onto a SU snippet in 'Melon Mambo, covered with Woodware Ultra High Bond adhesive sheet and then hand trimmed before being dunked in micro beads

- the flourish was stamped using the large flourish from SU's 'Everything Eleanor' set, in SU 'Old Olive'. As I didn't need the whole flourish I masked some of it off before inking and then removed the scrap of Post It before stamping

- I looked at 'Melon Mambo' card to back the panel of white card with the image on and realised that, even with clear micro beads, the shade of the flower looked deeper after its 'treatment'. Good ole SU to the rescue, a snippet of 'Rose Red' card did the trick :)

- the flower was stuck over the flourish and then the whole strip of card was attached using thin sticky pads

- sentiment is also SU, from their now retired 'Sincere Salutations' set - stamped using SU's 'Old Olive'

The two challenges I'd like to enter this into are:

Seize The Birthday - a feminine card using this sketch:

I was really tickled when the Kenny K card I made the other week was picked for 'Birthday Honours' - thank you ladies!

And, unheard of for me, a second entry into this week's 'Less is More' challenge, which is to use beads - I did so use beads too, tons of the little perishers!

Di

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