Let's Craft and Create Challenge #101 - Anything Goes Male

It's time for a new challenge on Let's Craft and Create. This month's theme is Anything Goes Male. I know many of you find that making masculine cards can be difficult. I struggle with them, too, but this month's sponsor, the Cutting Café, has provided the Design Team with some fabulous patterns for a card and a box that are perfect for giving to the important men in your life.

I decided to create both a card and a box as a set for a Father's Day gift for my husband. First, here's a look at the card I made.

Isn't this a fun idea for a masculine card? I used a shiny, orange metallic paper for the main parts of the car, added some wood patterned paper for the doors, and used silver mirror and black cardstock for the remaining details. It was so easy to print and fussy-cut the various parts. An image of a sample card comes with the file so that you can see how everything fits together. The hardest part was choosing the papers!

Here's a peek at the inside of my card. It was easy to create a slightly smaller mat on which to print my sentiment. I inked the edges to give it a little definition.






Next, I made a coordinating box that looks like a book. It was so easy to create this box! I will use this pattern again and again, I'm sure!

I wanted to incorporate the same colors and some of the same papers from my card. I used the shiny, orange metallic paper for my faux keyhole and behind the diamond trim on my sentiment rectangle. I actually created the keyhole by hand. I cut out and embossed my rectangular shape (Spellbinders die). Then, I punched a hole (using a single hand-held hole punch) and used a craft knife to cut out the area below the hole. Finally, I backed my keyhole with some black paper and distressed it a bit to add a somewhat vintage look.

Can you guess where I used some of that wood-grained cardstock? Take a look at the next photo!

I used the wood grain on the sides of my box to give the suggestion of pages.

On the inside of my box, I made three compartments and filled them with some chocolate deliciousness (hoping my husband will share!).











Here's a final peek at both of my Father's Day creations.

I know you'll want to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created. Their projects are spectacular, and you are sure to be inspired!

Hazel

Karen

Mary

Maryvonne

Eileen

Catherine

Cheryl - That's me!

Ursula

Deborah

Please join us with a creation of your own. There is a fun prize from The Cutting Café up for grabs.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Happy Mother's Day...

While my own mother passed away more than 20 years ago, I do have some important women in my life that I like to acknowledge on Mother's Day. Three of those women are my elderly aunts who are dear people and who have collectively given birth to 18 children!! And I have even more first cousins than that. We were a BIG family.

Even my own immediate family was super-sized - we were a family of eight (six kids, all born within nine years).

Anyway, here are a couple of the Mother's Day cards I have made:

Once again my sister let me play with one of her dies - a Spellbinders Die D-Lites flower die.

Isn't it great? So easy to cut out and layer up. I did ink the ends of the petals a bit, to add a little dimension and help them look more life-like.

I added a black gem flourish above and below the flower and used some Liquid Pearls to create the flower center.

On the inside of my card, I added another gem flourish and the same small punched heart that was on the fishtail banner on the card front.

Here's my second card using the same flower die The only thing different on this one is the black leafy die-cut instead of the gem flourish. This leafy flourish is a Die-namics die. I love it and use it quite a bit.

Once again I added some Liquid Pearls to the flower center. This time, though, before it dried, I sprinkled on some black glitter. It's sparkly and pretty IRL.

On the inside of this card, I simply added a matted strip of the DSP across the top. Do you think I should add a portion of that leafy flourish, too?

I've got a couple more Mother's Day cards to share with you, but I'll put those in another post

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Sparkly, shiny Christmas ornament...

When my sister came to visit a few weeks ago, she brought along a few of her dies for me to play with. One of them was this ornament die from Marianne Creatables.  Since purple is my favorite color, I just had to make some cuts with it from purple glitter paper.



This is the card I made with it. I backed the die with some shiny silver embossed cardstock and then used the "Precious Hearts" die by Memory Box to cut a bow and the "string." I added a sparkly silver enamel dot to the center of the bow.

My sentiment is a wooden stamp from the $1.50 bin at Michael's, and I used a Martha Stewart Pine Needles Edge Punch on my sentiment mat which helped create the illusion that the ornament is hanging on a tree.

I also used the MS Pine Needles punch on the inside mat. This inside sentiment stamp is by Penny Black.

I am entering this card into this week's Winter Wonderland blog challenge: Twinkle, twinkle (all things sparkly and bright).














I made some cards like this in more traditional colors, too, and here are a few pics of those:





Finally, I ran out of the red and purple sparkly die-cuts, so I used one of my own ornament dies (Lifestyle Crafts, I believe) to cut another ornament for a couple more cards like this:

Even though I made 10 of these ornament cards, I am still a bit behind on my self-imposed Christmas card schedule. I really need to get busy and make some more!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Thanks a melon...

Recently, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the winners of Taunya Butler's (Daisies Girl) many birthday giveaways during the 12 days leading up to her birthday on April 12. The little package that I received was chockfull of delicious Doodlebug products. I decided to use some of them to make a quick thank you card for Taunya.

One of the products Taunya included was the fruity Washi tape that you see at the top of my card. It was my inspiration!

I cut the word "melon" and my watermelon image from the Preserves cartridge. I added the "bite" out of my watermelon by using a small scalloped circle die. Some Diamond Glaze on the seeds made them look like real seeds!

Here's a picture of the roll of Doodlebug Washi tape and some pretty buttons that were also part of my prize package.

The buttons are in shades of orange - not quite the color I wanted for my card. But - no problem! I just colored one of them with a red alcohol marker and it became the perfect shade!

See what I mean?  The perfect color! A little green thread tied in a tiny bow was the finishing touch.

To decorate the inside of my card, I simply added a strip of that cute Washi tape. It was just the right touch of color and fun.

I'm entering this card into the Double-Click Skittles Challenge #20: Thank You or Teacher.  Taunya is a big inspiration over on the Double-Click Skittles blog, too. Check it out!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Masculine thank you card...

Just a quick post from me today. I needed a masculine thank you card and just happened to have some of this map paper in my stash. I thought it would be perfect for a guy.  My daughter had also given me some sheets of burlap - what's more masculine than that? I cut a banner shape and used my sewing machine to stitch it across the top to help keep it in place.

The encircled letters were some stickers from my stash. I added some Diamond Glaze to each one to make them a bit more substantial.

I created a couple of corners out of kraft cardstock and inked them with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink before adhering them to my two right-hand corners. If you look closely, you'll see that I also inked the edges of my burlap banner.

I left the inside blank so that I could write a personal note.

That's it for me today. See? Short and sweet!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

How've you bean?

I just got the Latte Love stamp set by Fiskars and set about making a card.

In fact, it was so much fun and so easy that I made two!

The coffee cup was stamped on a separate piece of cardstock and fussy cut before I added some paper-piecing for the colored sections, The whole thing was then popped up on some foam tape.

The beans were also stamped on a scrap of cardstock, colored and then fussy-cut. One of them is popped up with foam tape.

After stamping the steam with some brown ink (I stamped off first), I added some sheen to it with a glitter pen. I know this doesn't show well in the picture, but it looks great IRL.

The background paper that I used is from Jillibean Soup. Love this pattern with its warm colors and homespun look. The rectangle for my image was cut with a Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles die.

I thought the lime green twine fit nicely with the warm, homespun look and feel of the card.

The inside of my card was decorated with a piece of the yellow cardstock that is also on the cup and one of the hearts from the background paper. Easy Peasy!

Here's a peek at both cards. There are some more cute stamps in the Latte Love set, and I can't wait to try making a few more cards with them.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Tone on tone butterfly thankyou...

I know I've shared a card with you before using the Butterfly Heart die by Memory Box, but it's just so darn pretty that I've decided to share another.

 

For this card, I used the die with some lavender paper. Once the butterfly shape had been cut (all the butterflies remain attached at the top and bottom points of their bodies), I slipped a piece of scratch paper under each wing and inked it lightly with some purple ink. I also stamped the thank you beneath the heart. Once that was done I matted the lavender piece with some white cardstock and attached the whole thing to my dark purple card base.

 

I used a Viva Décor pen to add a little pearl to the center of each butterfly.

 

For the inside of my card, I used a butterfly border embossing folder which still left plenty of room for me to write a personal note.

 

I want to thank those of you who sent me get well wishes when I mentioned that I had experienced an awful bout of food poisoning. I want you to know that I am back to feeling 100% again. It is so nice to no longer have sore stomach muscles and to also have my appetite back (although it would be good for me to have kept THAT at bay for a while!).

 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl