Saturday 19 November 2022

25

 Hi and welcome!  As I mentioned earlier in the week, I have had this week off work and as well as catching up with a few friends, I spent a bit of time stamping and it was wonderful!  Today is Saturday and Monday I'm back to work so I wanted to play along in a last few challenges before then.

This card evolved over the course of a few hours and as I was part-way through making it, I thought it would make a perfect birthday card for my late son, Matthew, who would be 25 next month.  I was firstly inspired by the latest Tic Tac Toe challenge and my eye was drawn to the word "Rust" and I immediately decided I wanted to try and re-create the rust patina on old cars.  Matthew loved cars and I know he'll love this card, even though there isn't a car on it.


To create the background, I went back to an old video of mine where I showed a technique I'd learned about 15 years ago, now.  Here's a link if you want to see how I made the background and here's how the background looked once it was finished.  I started with a panel of black cardstock and added Distress Paints in the following order (the video will make more sense of what I'm about to write):  Antiqued Bronze, Twisted Citron (spritzed), Antiqued Bronze, Broken China (spritzed), Cracked Pistachio (spritzed), Antiqued Bronze (sparingly).


From there, I had to decide how to use the panel and I came up with the idea of adding leaves down the left hand side, the number 25 to represent how old he would be and an inlaid metallic frame.  The leaves were die-cut from distress inked panels that were in my stash so I don't know the colours.  Once I'd cut them, I added some Foundry Wax in both Mined and Gilded to the edges and heat set it.  



Two of the leaves were die-cut from a failed hot-foiled panel where I'd tried to use the solid hot foil plate after foiling a whole lot of sentiments.  It was a failure but I kept the panel because I could use the back.  However, I decided to use the front and I love how it came out.  There's a photo of what's left of the panel and a close-up of the leaves I cut from that panel.  I even left the letters in.




Thanks so much for visiting.  I have to say I absolutely love this card, and not only because of what and who it represents.  I'm a CAS card-maker so to dabble in these different products is unusual for me.

I'm also linking this card to the Many of Something challenge at Seize the Birthday (my second entry), the Four Seasons Fall challenge, Tic Tac Toe Challenge (Rust/Free/Any Shape Die) and the Happy Little Stampers Birthday and Dies Challenges.







Products used:

Stamps:  Bitty Birthday Wishes (MFT)
Ink:  Versamark, various Distress and Distress Oxide inks
Cardstock:  White, Black, Rose Gold Matte Foil
Dies:  Nesting Rectangle Frames (Waffle Flower), By the Numbers (PTI), Leaves Die (Impression Obsession), Fall Foliage (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  Distress Paint (Antiqued Bronze, Twisted Citron, Broken China, Cracked Pistachio), Foundry Wax (Mined, Gilded), Gilded Embossing Powder (Brutus Monroe)

Cheers
Karren

Edited to Add:  This card got a shout out at Seize the Birthday and Tic-Tac-Toe

8 comments:

marilyn said...

Absolutely stunning card! And even more impressive as you usually don't make these types of cards... Clearly made with love and a few tears I'm sure.

Bobby said...

Patina/Rust is my jam, Karren, and I love love love this background. I watched the video. Now I just need to get some Distress Paint. Thanks for the inspiration.

Ashwini Rao said...

I'm in awe!! What a spectacular card!! I'm stunned by the look of the 'rust' and how well them muted metallics on the leaves complement the background so well. I am not sure whether the leaves are the focal or the background is! I'm sure, as you've already said, your son would have definitely loved it! I'm clicking on that 'how-to' link as soon as I'm done commenting! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at the Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge and do join us again soon!

Linda said...

Karren, what a beautiful card with the patina look and that it is a tribute to your late son. Thanks for joining us at Seize the Birthday.

lostinpaper said...

This is amazing Karren!

Joanne James - The Crafty Owl said...

Karren this card is amazing - that background panel is beautiful! Sometimes it takes a little vacation time to 'dabble' outside of our usual comfort zone, but this is a great example of how fruitful that can be. A wonderful tribute to your son too - holding you in my thoughts. Thanks for sharing with us over at TicTacToe Challenge this week!

Karen Letchworth said...

What a cool card with so many great elements. Thanks so much for sharing it with us at The Four Seasons. We appreciate your willingness to share your art with us and we look forward to having you stop by again soon.
Blessings,
Karen L, DT
The Four Seasons

The Dream Pages said...

Love all going on in your card.. love the rustic feel n look you achieved..
Thank you so much joing us at HLS die cut challenge..
Swapna