Faux real.

The Faux Technique challenge at Gingersnap Creations has really caught my interest. Their Design Team is providing lots of inspiration, with lots more promised before the March 18 deadline...I may have to enter again!

For this card, I tried the Faux Linen and Faux Metal techniques. I'm not sure either looks like faux anything, but I'm happy with the result! I also added some Faux Stitching with my awl and a copper Sakura gel pen.

For the Faux Linen piece, I used the beautiful FREEBIE digi paper that Funky Hand is providing for their Get Funky! February Challenge. Since the theme is Flying High, I also used stamps from Funky Hand's Our Betty series.

It was such a difficult decision to only color Betty's balloons...but I really liked the look, and my Design Consultant (husband) agreed!

The Stampendous Impressions Challenge February theme is Texture, which I created mostly with heat-embossing. The image is stamped on vellum and heat-embossed in copper. I mixed the "Faux Metal" technique with Stampendous' "Frantage" technique for the sentiment.

The rosette is actually the first one I ever made, last week when I bought the Tim Holtz die. I cut it on scrap -- the cover of a package for Recollections Gold Metallic cardstock. I stamped it in watermark ink before starting the embossing process (for the Frantage technique, you heat the paper from underneath).

I even made some tissue tape for the right-hand-side element (I thought I was making Faux Tissue Tape, but I think I just made tissue tape!). I stamped a Stampendous! border in Copper onto tissue paper (which came between pieces of acetate), cut it down to half an inch with my papercutter, and adhered it onto a piece of vellum tape. Easy-peasy! No, really!

Inspiration/Challenges:

Deconstructed Sketch #39 (right)

Get Funky! February Challenge: Flying High + Funky Hand paper or extra

Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge #139: Use a Faux Technique

Stampendous Impressions February Challenge: Add Some Texture

Tutorials from Splitcoaststampers: Faux Linen and Faux Metal

Card Cupids February Drive: CPS Days 9 and 14 + Motivational Rock

Using the the sketches from Days 9 and 14 of the CPS 5th Anniversary Celebration, I made birthday cards for Card Cupid's February Drive:

CPS Day 9, Sketch #5

I cut down this Thomas the Cat pre-colored diecut from Lili of the Valley to match the rest of the shapes. I combines the balloons & sentiment from a Bentley Bear stamp set, and found a perfect matching cake in a set from Our Betty.

CPS Day 14, Sketch #45

I was really inspired by the Cropped Digi Image theme at Digi Makeover Challenges: it worked really well with Gab in the Groove from Just Some Lines. I stamped the white silk ribbon with a Great Impressions stamp in three colors of dye inks (pink, Fire Brick, and brown); this was inspired by the recent tutorial at the SP & Company Stamps blog. Thanks!

Update: The card I made for the Cropped Digi Image Challenge at Digi Makeover won the random prize! Thank you!

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This month's challenge at Card Cupids is to "create a motivational card for a child", so I grabbed this cute DJ digi from KennyK Downloads, a sentiment from Create with TLC, & a fun Guitar Hero stamp set from StudioG (I think) and made this bright number (without any help from CPS!):

I'm thinking that I will add a "Happy Birthday" sentiment and send it in as part of their Birthday card drive.

Thanks to all for the inspiration! (All my cards for the CPS Celebration are archived here.)