The musings and offerings of a burgeoning greetings master

Monday, January 26, 2015

Mr Cardmaker is Making the Most of Hibernation Weather

I don't know about you, but wintertime means indoors and hibernation as much as possible.
Max the Beagle keeps that from being true at my house, being privy to TWO two-mile walks a day. You definitely learn what 11 degrees Fahrenheit  feels like when you have an active dog. Oh, AND he gets up early, so no sleeping in, either. Good thing I love that good, good dog.

Outside or in, I have always been a HUGE house nerd. I love architecture and interiors, classical and modern. Give me a house, I'll tell you how I want to improve it, paint it, Christmas it up, whatever.
It made TOTAL sense to get my hands on Papertrey Ink's Boards & Beams stamps and dies. They came with my big box of Christmas goodies.

I was actually sort of slow to play with them--I don't know if it was a "sacred cow" syndrome or what. But, I did bust them out, diecut, stamped, and water colored a farmhouse and two town houses .  And then, they sat. And sat. Finally, after lots of staring at them, I came up with some cards.

I made this--
I think the painting turned out rather well on this guy, if I say so myself. LOVE my Distress Inks!

I borrowed a small stamp from a favorite Stamendous set to do that little grass/sidewalk-looking strip.
I love the chunky font of the hello die from Lawn Fawn. I did three layers, and did the top one from cardstock that was clear embossed. Hard to see the shine here, but it looks pretty good.
The house is also three diecuts, layered together, and the tree is on foam adhesive.

When I first stamped the fence and trees on the yellow card stock, I had to laugh at myself, because it looked like I stamped on a post-it!  My scallop punch gave it a more upscale look.

I thought it was done at this point, but I can't leave well enough alone, and I thought the card base was too plain.  I decided to add some stitch lines around the card with a white gel pen.

It looks like this now--



Better? Not better? I just don't know.  I need either a more steady hand or a better pen, I think, but it IS a handmade card, after all, so I don't worry about such things.

Then I made this--


I actually did a mix of stamps here. The background cityscape is from Jillibean Soup, called You Move Me, and the sentiment is from Stampendous. Everything else is from PTI Boards & Beams.

Another view--

Layers of the house diecut, glued together, pops the houses off the card front.
I think those tiny trees are so cute...

So, I am off and running with this set, and I'm happy with my start. More to come, I'm sure!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
All Best-
Richard

10 comments:

  1. Love how you did these cards. I just joined your blog too. I had seen you occasionally at StampTV as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Richard,
    I am linked to Darnell and she was presenting you as one of her new followers therefore I came to visit you.
    It's nice to see cards from a male for a change, most card makers are woman. Like your cards, really great makes.
    I'm a blogger from the flemish speaking part of Belgium, so forgive me for my poor english.
    Have a nice day, greetings from Veerle.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a fun set! Your homes all look warm and inviting, just like your real home! Great choice of colors, and delightful layouts! Mr. CardMaker is back in town! Happy hibernation :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Absolutely wonderful! Of course the farm house is my favorite because all I've wanted in life is a farm full of animals. Add to that the fact that yellow, green, and white is my favorite color combination and I'm hooked! Those are the best I've seen from that set. Did you too get taken to look at model homes every weekend when you were a kid? I did : ) Thanks for sharing sweetpea, just love them!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your interior design background is put to great use in your new home series. Patti J is spot-on .... and a real home to match. Why do I hear Burt Bacharach?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, great job!
    Love the houses & painting & stitching & distressing!
    They're both really good!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your house cards...especially the first one...love all that green!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love the houses and you now have me rethinking that set! Love the Potted plants too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love these sophisticated cards! I think your hibernation is a good idea :) We can do no harm indoors, right? Hugs to you!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments mean so much. Thanks for taking the time!