CADB Super Bowl Blog Hop: Masculine Card, a Tutorial, & a Free Digi!

Whew, what a mouthful!

This weekend is SUPER regardless of whether you'll be watching the big game. In honor of this very Man-Oriented weekend, we designers at Card A Day Blog decided to do a Blog Hop with a Masculine Theme. Come on, we all need as much inspiration as possible for creating non-girly cards, right? Oh, and of course there are giveaways, so be sure to visit all the blogs (list at the end of this post)!  

Now, put your lace, ribbon, and flowery papers away! I'm going to give you a tutorial on how to make this very masculine (and very cool) metal gear panel I used on my brother's birthday card, but first let's talk about the card...

A Couple Details:

• My brother is a painter by trade, so I loved this 7 Gypsies "News Flash" card (I know, the guy's hanging a poster, but he's got a brush in his hand, so it made me think painter). The vintage feeling, male image, and neutral colors keep us well within the manly realm.

• When in doubt for masculine images to use, reference Tim Holtz!  While he can branch out into feminine, the king of distress keeps things pretty manly-to-gender-neutral.  This large TH clock image was stamped onto vellum with StazOn Jet Black.  The vellum started out white, but I colored the BACK side with distress stain to make it work with the other elements.
• The clock button was also distressed to make its original bright finish more brassy and antique.  On this element, I used Alcohol Inks to adjust the color.

Okay, on to the star of this card...the embossed and distressed metal panel...

Metal Panel Tutorial:

Note:  The process to create this metal panel contains many techniques by Tim Holtz.  I give credit where credit is due, however I have not seen a project where he combines them in this way.

• Start with a strip of aluminum duct tape from the heating and cooling department of your local home improvement store.  Adhere this to Ranger glossy cardstock and emboss with Tim Holt'z Retro Circles texture fade.  Tim himself recommends using glossy cardstock as a base when embossing metal tape and he's right...it really makes the embossing crisp.

• Pounce on Alcohol Inks and Blending Solution to "tarnish" the metal.  I used Ginger, Mushroom, Caramel, and Copper Mixative colors.

• Pounce entire strip with VersaMark ink pad, then apply clear embossing powder.  Hold the strip by the edges over a trash bin and flick the back hard with your finger.  This removes the excess embossing powder. I gave mine several good flicks because I wanted a random, bumpy texture.  Tim Holtz calls this the "Orange Peel" technique and it's a good description for the texture you'll get. 

• Melt embossing powder with heat tool.  Make sure embossing is completely cool before continuing to the next step.

• Pounce on brown acrylic paint, followed by black acrylic paint until desired coverage and color is achieved.  I used Americana Burnt Umber and Lamp Black.  Allow to dry completely before continuing to the next step.

 

• Using a damp paper towel or baby wipe, rub the high areas lightly to remove some of the paint.  Continue until the desired effect is achieved.

• Spray metal strip with Krylon Crystal Clear to lock paint in place and give it a beautiful shine.  Truly, don't skip this step, it makes overall effect and color so rich!

That's the tute!  Hope you get a chance to play with this combination of techniques, it sure was fun!!

Now, don't miss out on the other blogs in the hop.  Many are giving away prizes on their individual blogs PLUS there's a big prize on the Card A Day Blog.  Check out all the details below.

Oh, that reminds me, this weekend only, I've got another free Valentine digi for you.  I'm calling this one "Love Nest".  Get it while the gettin's good, because on Monday, it's GONE!  Happy Hopping!

**EDITED**

This digital stamp is now available for purchase. To order, go to the side bar, enter the stamp name shown below and click 'buy now' to pay via Pay Pal.

Cost: $2.00

Stamp Name: Love Nest

I will email you the file within 24 hours of receiving payment.

It's BLOG HOP TIME!
The designers at Card a Day Blog are joining together to do a blog hop this weekend! The theme is Masculine cards! Let's not let the guys have all the fun on Super Bowl Sunday....let's get a little of our own fun in!
To join in....visit all the participating designers by visiting their sites, some are having prize give aways...so make sure you pop in! Make sure you comment on all the blogs too, because at the end of the weekend, they are going to send a list of all who commented on their blog, and we are going to do a grand prize drawing of all comments on each blog!
So JOIN IN TODAY....comment on the main blog page, and visit the other hop pages and comment there too!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Ranger Glossy cardstock
Pattern Paper: Cosmo Cricket ‘Circa 1934’; vellum
Stamps: Stampin’ Up! ‘It’s Your Birthday’; Tim Holtz ‘Life’s Possibilities’
Inks: VersaMark; Alcohol Ink ‘Ginger’, ‘Mushroom’, ‘Caramel’, ‘Copper Mixative’, ‘Blending Solution’; Americana acrylic paint ‘Lamp Black’, ‘Burnt Umber’; StazOn ‘Jet Black’; Distress Ink ‘Old Paper’; Distress Stain ‘Brushed Corduroy’
Embellishments: Aluminum tape; Tim Holtz texture fade ‘Retro Circles’; Zing embossing powder ‘Clear’; 7 Gypsies journaling card; JHB clock button
Tools: Sizzix Texture Boutique; Krylon ‘Crystal Clear’; heat tool; foam ink blending tool; deckle scissors; vellum tape; Wondertape; tweezers; TH paper distresser; Zot glue dots