A Bit of Crafty Genius: Man Up! Challenge and some gloating!

Hello All!

We are just entering February and I have only had a very small amount of crafting time this year so far. My family and I are heading on a 3 week holiday in a few weeks to visit my family in the wonderful Cancun, Mexico where my dad is manager at a lovely 'get away from it all' type of resort. Unfortunately this also means that you wont be hearing from me until I get back but FORTUNATELY, it also means you wont be hearing from me until I get back!! Ha ha. It means a lot of family time for me. Basically we are going to visit a lot of family and friends so that my kids and husband can meet them all for the first time. We are all very excited about it. Check it if you want to have a look!

Mahekal Beach Resort

Right, back to the crafty goodness. If you are a serious crafter/buyer/hoarder then you probably know that there are some major awesome sales at the beginning of the year. I did not plan very well for this but believe me, I will be much more prepared next year! Sizzix had their mega sale going on and wowwie!! The savings were spectacular! It did take a while to receive my items but its expected when you have such good deals. I received a big box of goodies (not all mine) but I couldn't wait to get started.

I had 2 birthdays to celebrate last month which both happened to be for men in my family. I am only showing this card because I love it, but I basically copied a gorgeous card from Pinterest as I was in a rush. You can check out that card here. The colours were perfect and caught my eye instantly. While I didn't have a clock quite like the one in the picture, I did have this wooden clock piece which I coated with metallic distress stains and stampendous frantage embossing powder. I also covered the back with vellum just so it wouldn't get lost with all the texture in the background. I would probably have done a lot more if I had had the time but I was up quite late trying to finish it in time.

On to the main event.... The love of my life (and I say that without a hint of sarcasm ;) ) has a birthday coming up. Unfortunately for him its right before everyone gets paid on one of the longest, moneyless months ever. We are rarely able to do anything and this year he had a need for his birthday gift several weeks before so now he has nothing to open. I attempted to get a sitter for our three kids but unfortunately I was only able to get someone for one, so the kid free plan was out. So even though we had agreed to celebrate our birthdays when we were in Mexico, I still wanted to make him a card. With the Man Up! Challenge over at A little Bit Crafty, it was perfect timing!

Men's cards are hard. You know why? Its not because its easier to create girly things. No. Its because men are difficult. My husband in particular doesn't actually appreciate receiving a card on his birthday so its mostly an excuse for me to craft. Taking advantage of my Sizzix goodies I created this card:

The sentiment fits him perfectly, as he can be.... well, lets just say he fits in well with the kids! Not that I'm complaining. I love him this way!

Supplies used:

Tim Holtz Distress inks in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo

Tim Holtz Vintage Camera Die

Tim Holtz Styled Labels Die

Tim Holtz Alterations Stripes embossing folder

Tim Holtz Film strip ribbon

Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Card stock

Fiskars Quotes Clear stamp set - Make a Wish

Various Brads

Silver wire tape

We R Memory Keepers crop-o-dile

Big Shot

Tim Holtz sanding block

First, I used antique linen distress ink on white card stock. I ran it through my Big shot machine with the stripes embossing folder and then distressed again with Vintage Photo. Cut down to size and mounted on a 5x7 inch card base.

I then used my crop-o-dile hole punch to punch holes and attach some gold brads to the corners.

I cut out my label, and 2 cameras out of white card stock, black Kraft-core card and black card covered with metallic tape. I cut a rectangle of plain computer paper and covered it generously with adhesive which I then used to attach all the pieces to the camera.

I distressed my label with Vintage photo distress ink, stamped my Fiskars sentiment and drew an outline in black pen to tie it all together. I attached 2 bronze brads to the label and adhered it to the card with foam adhesive.

I then stapled my film strip to the card and attached the camera with foam adhesive.

*Not in the picture* - I stamped 'Happy Birthday' from the same fiskars set in the bottom right hand corner of the inside of the card and wrote a little note from me and the kids.

I do hope you like it, and be sure to check out the challenge over at 'A Little Bit Crafty'. There are some amazing prizes up for grabs that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on myself! Also don't forget to check out the sponsors!