Masculine Monday #14-2017

Masculine Monday brings this nostalgic card from Kimberly.

The card base is a pre-prepared kraft base with a watercolor die cut (of sorts) stitched on.  I admit this is a bit of a stretch, but the card base is just perfect for the card I had in mind. I colored the background using Colorburst watercolor pigments.  The images and sentiment are from a Ken Oliver stamp.- Kimberly

I used some dies that I had not used before.

I purchased this set of nesting dies because they were on clearance and I thought they could make a cute masculine card, but I had never used them before.  I used all but the very smallest one and cut them on my Cuttlebug on black card stock.  I then kind of mushed them on at a time on my Versmark ink pad covering some more than others.  I applied Perfect Pearls in Perfect Copper which made them look like aged metallic. I embossed a piece of white card stock with an embossing folder from Darice and went over it with black Distress Ink using a sponge applicator.  I put an eyelet in the center of each cog (something I don't use a lot of) and just placed them in a pattern that worked.  I used foam tape to pop up a couple of the top ones.  The sentiment was printed from my computer and cut using another nesting die and cut again in the next size from black for a border.  I love nesting dies for this reason and use them often.  - Denise

Clean and Simple Sunday #14-2017

As we start April we will be focusing on die cuts for the whole month.  Whether you use a manual or electronic die cutter, or even buy them, die cuts can add a lot to a card.

Nesting dies can really add depth to a card as Kimberly shows with her lovely work for our Clean and Simple Sunday.

I created this fun 4”x 4” square cards with My Favorite Things – Wonky Square Die Set.

The image is from a Ken Oliver 6x6 watercolor paper pack. I die cut a selected part of the image using four dies in the set.  I adhered them to a card base, added a sentiment die cut from white card stock and stamped with navy blue ink.  This is a fun way to add texture to a beautifully designed pattern paper.- Kimberly

I went back to my roots and used my Cricut Explore for my die cuts.

The wonderful thing about Tiggers is - they are fun!  I used a cartridge called Pooh and Friends to make both Tigger and the sentiment.  I used vinyl and layered it on a black cardstock to make Tigger.  The sentiment was done in black vinyl which allowed me to transfer and apply it all at once without have to place the individual letters.  I like using vinyl for some of my things since it cuts so nicely all the time and is already sticky.  I took an orange chalk marker around the edge of the blue to make it look a little more like a cartoon. - Denise

Inspiration Saturday #13-2017

For April Fool's Day, we go a little wild for the inspiration.

Sue has the great whimsical tree in her card.

For my card, I was inspired by the tree in the background and the pink, yellow and orange colours visible from behind the tree. I used the CTMH A Tree stamp that has been sitting somewhat neglected. I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I added colour with distress ink markers (worn lipstick, ripe persimmon, spiced marmalade, mustard seed and squeezed lemonade) that have also been somewhat neglected. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches’ Chit Chat stamp set. - Sue

While Sue used the tree, I chose the lion as my focus -

I have had some of my Cricut cartridges for a several years now.  I searched my images for lion and this stylized lion card came up from the cartridge French Manor.  I thought it looked pretty cool and would be great using a special paper.  I hardly ever use glitter paper, so I looked through my stash and came up with a tan that only had a little bit and the gold that is almost has a gilded look to it.  I tried several times to cut letters for the Thank you to put up the side, but the letters were so little that I couldn't get the "A" to cut right even after five times, so I gave up and stamped it with Stazon on a small piece of the gold and put it in the corner.  I backed it with black cardstock.  - Denise

We hope you have rediscovered some old favorites this month.  Tomorrow we start a new month of challenges that use a die cut everyday.