Kinda Bokeh

Flying a bit close to the wind today, just found a little time this morning before work to make my card for the challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. It is a sketch week and here is the sketch, designed by fellow DT member, Lizy and very clean and simple

I've seen a few cards, using a bokeh technique, where you blend your ink on the card and then, using the negative of some punched circles sponge white ink through the holes. I wanted to try it out. I also found these gorgeous colours at The Colour Throwdown and thought I'd give them a whirl

So this is the result. I've used Kinda Eclectic for the tone on tone stamping

I also used a piece of Adventure Bound DP for the grey, and so proving to myself that it can also be used for feminine cards. The layering and vertical stripe were simply made from matching card stock. It took a little longer than I anticipated for this card to come together but as I'm going to also enter a couple of challenges I am not complaining.

Tag on the Gate

I am so busy at work, with the exam season in full swing, I can't even manage to take my day off so making cards is a bit of a challenge. Really wanted to make this one though, it's for the new challenge at The Male Room and it requires a masculine inspired project featuring a tag

Well, I've outdone myself as I've used two! I must admit to being a bit miffed. I bought these tags and when I opened the packet there is only one of each digit, hate it when they do that, of course we need more zeros than any other number and a couple of each one wouldn't be too much to ask for now, would it?

I am using the Adventure Bound DP again and the sentiment is from a peel off page, called Sentiments For Men, it's been quite useful!

I sponged the edges of all of the panels and used a gate fold card base. I put some more of the wooden panel effect DP inside and stamped the cake and candle image from Big Day to go inside.

Here you can se views of the inside and the dimension on the tags, achieved by using foam pads.

I see that The Paper Players have a challenge featuring masculine cards and so I would like to enter my card in the challenge over there. 

Summer Time.....

Good morning and Happy Thursday. June already, it will soon be the longest day and the long school holiday is not that far away now. Feeling good this morning as I post this card for the new challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. Lazy is this month's hostess and she's bang up to date, using some of the new in-colours from Stampin' Up

Fab colours, aren't they? Sadly, I have yet to get any of the new stuff in the new catalogue so I had to improvise, for me this meant primrose petals, Crumb Cake and Pistachio Pudding. You don't have to use Stampin Up colours at all, just shades that are as close as possible.

I got out a stamp set I don't use much, inspired by browsing through the new catalogue, Serene Silhouettes. I stamped the birds on the branch image onto  white card, using my Stampwrite markers. Then I cut an aperture in a piece of Kraft adds tick, which I embossed with a brick wall background embossing folder.

I used foam tape to raise the 'wall' off the card front to give depth to the aperture. Then I stamped the second image and sentiment on more white card. Die cutting this to leave the banner uncut was the trickiest part of the whole card!

I am a bit cross that the 'wall, does not seem perfectly centred on the card base, in real life it is so I guess the shadows on the photo are causing this effect. A small star shaped rhinestone completes the sentiment. So, a summery themed card to celebrate the fact that summer is upon us.... Now, will somebody turn the heating up???

Adventure Bound Birthday

Back up to speed now with my second card this week, this time for the sketch challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. I've had a couple of weeks off, but I have seen the challenges and all the fab CAS cards you all have been making. This week we have a great sketch to play with

I recently bought the DP set Adventure Bound, specifically to make cards for men for my other DT challenge blog, The Male a Room, but I thought it would work well with this sketch. Having had a quick look on the internet I took some inspiration from there and....

This is one whole sheet of the DP, isn't it fab? I added the Happy sentiment cut out using the Hello You thinlet die and instead of a banner I,ve used twine, twisted three times. The Bithday part of the sentiment is from Best Dad Ever and is stamped on vellum which I have torn and secured with a small brad. Layered onto Kraft my card is finished.

Two more views.

The second card, made using the sketch and the same DP set follows the sketch a little more closely. I started by stamping and heat embossing the sentiment from Big Day onto a different piece of DP

I made the banner using the set Happy Congratulations and as the twine was still on the table I added a couple of bits at the end to carry the bunting off the edge slightly. After stamping and punching out the lanterns I added a touch of Dazzling Details to add a shimmer effect on them and used foam pads to add dimension.

Monochromatic Marty

Sorry, I've not been around for two or three weeks due to a family bereavement but I am back now with a card for the new challenge starting today at The Male Room, where we would like to see cards made for guys which include washi tape.

I've not been papercrafting at all since I last blogged and today was the first time I felt like getting something going. I first started with a huge clear out of my cafting stash. Two charity bags and one very large bin liner bag of rubbish later I was ready to make a card.

As you can see I've kept it very monochromatic, using the zebra print washi tape as my starting point. the zebra image is from a set called Zoo Review ( don't use this as often as I should) and the sentiment is from Delightful Dozen.

On these two photos you can see the zebra panel is raised to give a bit of dimension. It's not obvious but the washi tape is shiny and so there is a bit of texture interest too.

I chose Fathers' Day as my sentiment as its only just around the corner and I know some people who will be asking for Fathers' Day cards (my children and my husband!)

If you are wondering about the title of this post Marty is the zebra character in the animated film Madagascar, a family favourite here in the Van Vuren household.

Well, I'm posting this bit a little later in the day, I decided to make another card in the same style, with washi tape.

This time I used the bird from Nature Walk and the thin let dies Hello You. I used the die to create a negative for the sentiment, I lost the infill for the h though, doh! 

I gave the bird a small black pearl for his beady eye

As you can see I made this card a tent fold. It's definitely a card for a guy

Cat Walk

At CAS Colours and Sketches this week we have a colour challenge for you and a new hostess for the month of May, Stef- I know she's very excited to be hosting and you are going to love her colours and sketches over the next four weeks.

These three colours also work well for masculine cards and with Fathes' Day coming up next month I thought I would get ahead of the game. The little cat die is perfect for inlaying and so I worked with the colours and the technique to create this...

Cards for this challenge need to be stamped and so I stamped directly onto the card using a sentiment from Best Dad Ever set

You can see on this photo the texture on the cardstock I used. I used a black layer to pop the panel off the white background.

Santa Tag Card

Another Christmas card from me, for this week's challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and it's based on a sketch, from our hostess for May, Patricia. This one's real good

I've been doing a lot of stamping lately so,Imthought of give some of my DPs an airing. I started with the striped one and matted the red Christmas lights one on top. They come from the same set so they match up pretty good.

I used peel off sentiments to mask the joins, in the shiney green they add a bit of pizazz too

  The banners are replaced by ribbon loops for a bit of interest and I found some ribbon that matched up,so well. Have a look at my ribbon box, below, and you'll see lots of bits and pieces that I've kept thinking they will come in handy one day...and today was the day!

The little Santa is stamped from a set called Tag it and it's the first time of inking for this happy chap. I always find red a difficult colour of ink to match up, there are so many different shades. This was my best effort, not perfect I know.

Finally, I stamped a greeting on the inside. Here's that ribbon box I was talking about. Look familiar? Or perhaps you are one of those super-organised people who can keep things tidy, if you are I'm well jealous of you!

Hope you have time to play along with us this week. Just think of all those Christmas cards you'll have ready if you play every week.