I made my card today for a 2 challenges on of which is a new to me challenge. I've often remarked that sometimes guy cards can be hard to make and someone pointed out the Cardz 4 Guyz challenge and I'm just now finding the time to join in. I was also inspired by the Festive Friday challenge for Gardening Week. I used Green, Die Cuts, and twine and I don't know if trees are technically plants or not so that one is iffy.
The challenge this time at Cardz 4 Guyz is to make your own background for your guy card. At first I thought I would get super inky and do some sort of background using reinkers or try a new technique or something like that. Then I remembered that I just got the new set of decorative masks from Stampin' Up!; Plenty of Patterns. And new stuff is always the winner in this situation! In this pack there is a cool stencil that is tree trunks so I thought that might be a good start for a card especially paired up with the Beauty of Friendship bundle.
It's definitely not a labor intensive background but I think it adds a nice detail regardless. Adding texture and depth is always nice on a guy card since you probably won't be adding a lot of bling or ribbon for embellishments. For this one I used Cinnamon Cider ink on a Cinnamon Cider card base. I applied the ink with a blending brush.
Next I used the new Inspired Thoughts stamp set for the sentiment in Bumblebee ink and cut it with the Stitched Rectangle dies.
I didn't end up using any of the Beauty of Friendship stamps but the dies worked really well on their own. The trunk is Early Espresso and after cutting it I embossed it with the new Bark embossing folder. The larger top of the tree is Old Oliver and the top 'leafy' piece is cut from a piece of Beauty of the Earth DSP and adhered with dimensionals.
The final details are the 2 Cajun Craze birds and a bit of twine to accent the tree trunk.
Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?
Stamps: Inspired Thoughts
Ink: Bumble Bee, Cinnamon Cider
Paper: Cinnamon Cider, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Beauty of the Earth DSP, Cajun Craze
Accessories: Plenty of Patterns Decorative Masks, Beautiful Trees dies, Bark embossing folder, Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals, twine
I agree those subtle trees as a background adds great detail and is perfect for our "create your own background" challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz!! Thanks for playing along with us!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic card for both challenges! Love how the die cut DSP makes such a perfect tree top. Thanks for joining in us at Cardz 4 Guys and Festive Friday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect card for combining challenges, Amanda! I love the tone-on-tone trees. Such a perfect, subtle detail! Thank you for sharing at Festive Friday!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great man card. I love the way you created the background. The birds and that bit of twine are the perfect finishing touches. Thanks so much for playing with us at Festive Friday.
ReplyDeleteAwesome card and love the background and the hint of trees. Great card and so glad you shared over at Cardz 4 Guyz.
ReplyDeleteI would say trees are the biggest of plants! Lovely detail in your card. Thank you for joining us at Festive Friday for our Gardening Challenge.
ReplyDelete