Showing posts with label trendy trees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trendy trees. Show all posts

Sunday, October 30, 2011

A twist on an old favourite

I've made another male birthday card and again this is a twist on my favourite design. I've created several male cards with the patterned paper you see on this card. All are slightly different from each other but have the same basic design.

Here's the recipe -

Materials:
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Printed acetate by My Memories, Rough and Tough: Awesome by Kaiser.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue, Stazon Black.
Stamps: Trendy Trees by Stampin' Up, Sophie's Sentiments by Lawn Fawn, Roughin' It by Bo Bunny.
Other: Honeydew bakers twine by The Twinery, Martha Stewart circle cutter, sponge, mini glue dots, Fiskars corner punch, stamp-a-ma-jig.

Tips and Tricks:
1. After cutting the circle, I used the scrap card with the circle hole in it as a mask to sponge the grass under the trees. I used a Pear Pizzazz marker to add texture to the grass. I trimmed off the bottom of the circle so it hides nicely behind the twine.
2. I sponged around the circle with Bashful Blue ink to show some sky. I sponged heavier at the top than the sides.
3. Getting a clear, precise image on the acetate took a few tries but luckily I remembered a trick. If you make a mistake on acetate with Stazon, just use Stazon cleaner to wipe off the ink and try again. It worked and didn't damage my acetate.
4. The acetate is secured with mini glue dots.
5. I used a stamp-a-ma-jig for the trees and got their placement right the first time. I stamped the leaves first rather than the trunks as the leaves are the bulkiest part of the tree, therefore they need the correct spacing.

Stuff Ups:
1. Stamping on the acetate took me about 8 tries to get right.
2. I still haven't mastered that circle cutter so the circle is a bit rough around the edge.
3. The Bo Bunny stamps just don't hold Stampin' Up ink nicely. It tends to pool on the surface. Lawn Fawn stamps do hold the ink nicely.

Pleasant Surprises:
1. I like the way the acetate looks on the card, particularly because it is patterned so in some parts you can see through it to the patterned paper underneath and in other parts you can't because it's opaque.

2. The honeydew bakers twine matched the patterned paper perfectly. You may not be able to see the pale green in the paper but it's an awesome, coincidental match.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Attempt at Blokiness.

I've made and given away a few of these cards which are rather simple to make. When I made these I didn't have any stamp sets that were particularly masculine so trees were the closest I had. I love the woodgrain texture and think this makes the card.

Rating: Decent

Materials
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss and Very Vanilla.
Inks: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip.
Stamps: Trendy Trees.
Other: Dimensionals, Big Shot machine, oval punch.
Non Stampin' Up: Wendy Irving Collections: Expressions Clear Cling Stamps -  'Occasions', gold brads, organza ribbon from Stamp It Australia, universal embossing folder in 'woodgrain' by Craft Concepts.

Tips and Tricks:
1. I didn't use a stampa-ma-jig to align the tree trunk and leaves but I would in future to save time and wasted cardstock.
2. The 'bow-less' ribbon breaks up the brown and adds a nice dimension without being girly.

Stuff Ups:
The brown cardstock under the tree is too small. I would like more clearance above the punched oval.
The main brown cardstock is also too small as the proportions are wrong (too short).
Actually, the more I look at it, most of the cardstock is out of proportion. I sent the good cards out so this must be made of the dodgy left overs.