Masculine Monday - Using Nature's Nest

Good morning! Welcome to Masculine Monday - my weekly dose of inspiration for male cards!

I made today's card after we realised that when my youngest son had written his birthday thank you cards, he'd left one out. His birthday was over a month ago, but that's no excuse!

I used a speciality card stock for this card. It's called Confetti White and is a heavy card stock with little flecks in it. I love the feel of it and it works very well for sponged designs - the flecks add quite a lot of movement to the sky area on this card. It costs £8.25 for 40 sheets and also comes in Confetti Cream.

Just look at this cute tortoise from Nature's Nest! He is the perfect choice when making a late card. I stamped him in  Early Espresso ink and added Soft Suede touches with a blender pen. Next time, I'll clear-emboss him before using the blender pen as this card stock is quite absorbent and the Early Espresso has run. It's fine but not the look I was going for!

These Basic Phrases sentiments are so useful and are just what they say on the tin - basic, clean, simple, no frills. Ever since I became familiar with my stamp-a-majig they have been a regular feature on my cards because you can pretty well use them to say anything!

Here's how to make this card:

• Take an A5 piece of Confetti White card stock. Score and fold it in half to make a card base.
• Use a scrap piece of paper to mask off the top of the card front and sponge Soft Suede ink on the bottom strip. Sponge in a sky using Marina Mist ink.
• Stamp the tortoise using Early Espresso ink. Add colour with a blender pen and Soft Suede ink.
• Use a stamp-a-majig to position a sentiment and stamp in Cherry Cobbler ink.
• Add grasses with Old Olive ink, stamping several times without re-inking to get some depth. Aim to create a frame around the the tortoise and the sentiment.

Supplies

Stamps: Nature's Nest, Autumn Days, Basic Phrases

Ink: Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler

Card stock: Confetti White

After a false start, during which I gently pointed out that a thank you note is usually a little bit more than  'Dear so-and-so, Thank you for the present, From me', you'll be pleased to know we managed to get the card into a postbox!

Hope you had a great weekend. We spent a lovely Saturday visiting car showrooms with an excited pair of boys! One of the things I love about my children is that their enthusiasm turns all my chores into fun!

See you tomorrow for some Springtime Vintage loveliness!