Rocket Age Card collection

As promised, here are some quick tutorials for the cards I made using the left overs from my page in my last post. Being a scrapbooker first and foremost, I often find it hard to scale my papercrafting down to a card-sized piece of work. Hopefully, these six cards will help you see it doesn't have to be complicated. Keeping things simple is the key, and these cards are each made in just five steps!

In addition to all the supplies I listed yesterday, I also used a sheet of the Bo Bunny Double Dot Journal paper in Buttercup, and a sheet of Jenny Bowlin Playdate Sunny Day paper.

I tend to make my cards in "ordinary sizes," (that being A6 or square) for two reasons; one they are easy to whip up out of card stock scraps and A5 card, and secondly the envelopes for these sizes are easy to get hold of. The Shop stocks a fantastic array of envelopes in many different sizes, including the very popular Kraft finish, so whether you are already a budding card maker or just beginning to dabble, be sure to check out the stock here.

I think everyone gives a little groan when they need to make a male card.....we're all so used to reaching for pretty scallops, butterflies, flowers, ribbon and lace so it can be hard to make something  without throwing in a spot of the regular "girlie" embellies we all love. However, when a fantastic line like Rocket Age comes along, male cards can come together really well!
Here's what I'll show you to make today:

Click on each of the images to get a closer look.

Banner Card

1. Cut a complementary piece of cardstock to size to act as a matt for your design (I chose an orangey-red colour).
2. Layer strips of Black Hole, Incoming Transmission and All Systems Go to create the background. I used a scalloped scissors to create a decorative edge along the bottom of the All Systems Go.
3. Create three flag shapes from the All Systems Go paper by cutting rectangles and snipping triangles shapes from the ends of each.
4. Punch three number 16's from the Jenny Bowlin paper and add them to the flags (you could choose any other suitable number from the paper, or of course make your own), then string them together using some of the bakers twine. Add to the card using 3D foam, and tie the ends of the string into bows.
5. Add greetings from the Word Stickers sheet.

Reach For the Stars
This would make a great male Good Luck or Congratulations card.

Sometimes, an idea which worked well on a scrapbook page can be translated to a card, like I did here. I layered up the same patterns as I used for a background on my Geek layout, copied the embellishment cluster (minus the spaceboy head, as that would have been to crowded for a card), reused the mask I created to mist on some stars and hey presto! A hand written greeting, some rhinestones and a tab sticker from the Word Stickers sheet and a quick card was complete!

Giant Leap

1. Layer vertical pieces of both sides of All Systems Go next to each other on a cardstock matt.
2. Use the star border sticker from the Word Stickers sheet to cover the paper join.
3. Place the "expedition no." sticker from the sheet vertically in the right hand corner, and add the recipients age to it (I used some Thickers from a past kit - cards are great way of using all those numbers you always have left over on an alpha sheet up!)
4. Take the circular journalling sticker from the sheet and add it in the left hand corner.
5. Cut the Neil Armstrong quote sticker up and rearrange parts on your journalling spot to read "that's one giant leap for" then add a "U" to the end from your alphas. Finish with a robot hand cut from the Captains Log paper.

Birthday Captain

1. Using the Buttercup journalling paper as a matt, add a piece of Incoming Transmission as your back ground.
2. Add the "Blast Off" border sticker from the Word Sticker sheet vertically to the right hand side of your card, use a stamp to highlight the recipients age. I used a marker stamp from this set.
3. Use a circle punch to punch three circles from different papers, add them to your card before doodling some rings and stars on them.
4. Hand cut some spaceboys from the Captains Log paper and add some Glossy accents across the helmet to give it a glassy appearance. When dry, add them to the card.
5. Add a tab sticker to the top of the card (adding a hand written or stamped greeting) and the captain sticker to the bottom.

Incoming Transmission

1.  Cut a piece of Incoming Transmission as your background, and layer a selection of adverts from the Black Hole paper along the bottom.
2. Add a strip of punched stars along the top of the adverts using a complimentary coloured card.
3. Hand cut three robots from the Captains Log paper, and stick them along the top of the advert strip. I stuck the left-most robot flat to the card, the second one using one layer of 3d foam, and the third using two layers of foam to give the effect of depth and them marching forward. 
4. Create the flag using a small piece of the rear of the Incoming Transmission paper folded around a cocktail stick, and add a hand cut laser gun from the Captains Log paper to it. Stick in place using 3d foam.
5. Matt the "Incoming Transmission" sticker from the Word Sticker sheet onto a bit of the Buttercup journal paper and use 3d foam to stick it to the bottom right of the card. Complete the card by adding some doodling to the punched stars, and a border all the way around created from dots and dashes to give a Morse code effect.

 Into the Great Unknown

1. Using a piece of dark blue card as a matt, add a piece of the rear of the Captains Log pattern as your base.
2. Add a strip of Incoming Transmission across the card, using a pinking shears to give a decorative edge that's not too feminine.
3. Use a 1" circle punch to create a circle from the Buttercup journal paper, and add the rocket emblem circular sticker from the sheet on top. Add the recipients age on top of this - I used some left over red glittery Thickers, again from a previous kit. Stick your embellishment to the left side of the card.
4. Create ticket shapes using the Captains Log paper. I carefully positioned my paper in my die cutting machine over a ticket die to make sure I cut the "exploration" and "journey" words out, but you could simply use a ticket from your stash as a template and draw around it on the patterned paper then cut it by hand if you don't have the die/machine etc. Tuck these just under your embellishment.
5. Pop the Into the Great Unknown sticker onto a bit of the dotty side of the All Systems Go paper (I cut the rocket part of the sticker off) and add it to the card with 3d foam. Use the bakers twine to give a packaged-up effect, bringing it from all edges of the card and tying it into a bow in the centre.

And there we have it - a collection of six male cards made from the scraps of one layout! I hope this has inspired you to get creative with your scraps, and even to be really adventurous and make some cards for men, which we all find difficult! Reach for the stars people! ;)

Happy crafting, and be sure to pop back soon to see what the lovely talented Claire has to share with you :)
Nat xxx

To infinfity.......and beyond!

It's always hard to sum up your own scrapbooking style, but if pushed I'd have to say I was all about the pattern. Combining patterns and colours is my favourite part of the creative process, and I often use five or six different patterns on one page! I just love me some pattern!

When I saw the fabulous Rocket Age collection from October Afternoon (wouldn't Buzz Lightyear just love it?!), I immediately fell in love with the warm colour tones and retro patterns, and knew it would be a perfect collection to record my other half's technological (i.e. geeky!) occupation and interests! So I quickly snapped up a whole bunch of the papers, as well as some matching embellishments, and set about using them on a single page. Where as lots of people are nervous about using lots of patterned paper on a page, I have the opposite problem and am terrified of plain cardstock! So I thought I'd show you how I combined seven papers to make this page:

Geek

 (give it a little click to see it more closely!)
The products I used are as follows:
October Afternoon Captains Log paper
October Afternoon All Systems Go paper
October Afternoon Black Hole paper
October Afternoon Incoming Transmission paper
October Afternoon Return Voyage paper
October Afternoon Rocket Age Word Stickers
WRMK Out & About Grid Lock paper
Bo Bunny Double Dot Designs Journal Paper in Denim
"Divine Twine" in Orange
Jilly Beans "Sugar Picks" decorative pins in orange & turquoise
Adornit Tiny Cardstock stickers in Whoopsy Red
AC Chit Chat Puffy Thickers in Chestnut

• I began the page by creating my own sheet of background paper by layering strips of the orange side of the Return Voyage paper, rear of the Incoming Transmission and the Grid Lock paper together. I then added a vertical strip of the Captains Log paper from top to bottom.
• I mounted this onto the Bo Bunny Journal paper (if you've not seen these papers yet - check them out here, they are fab and have a great texture and weight). I like to mount my page onto cardstock as it gives the page a nice border, creating a "finished feel" and keeps the focused eye within the page. Before mounting it, I gutted a piece from the centre to use for my journalling. 
• I created my journalling in MS Word using a type writer effect font, and created a list of all the geeky things Mr T is in to. I printed it on to ordinary white copier paper first, then using repositional Herma, I carefully placed the gutted piece of cardstock over the print (holding it up to the window to help me see more clearly) to make sure the writing would be exactly where I wanted it, and stuck it down. I then ran this through the printer again, and peeled the copier paper from the back. I used a note paper effect border punch down one side and then attached it to my page. You can see the journalling printed on the paper here:

• I then added further matts by cutting "adverts" that I felt were fitting to Mr T's personality and interests from the Black Hole paper.
•  I created an embellishment cluster to the left corner of the photo. I made a star by cutting the shape from pizza box cardboard, misting it with brown mist, and then peeling back a little of the top layer to reveal the corrugation underneath. I then inked it and added a little sticker from the OA sticker sheet.
• To finish the cluster I added a little spaceman cut from the Captains Log paper, two of the Sugar Pick pins and a wooden button, through which I tied the twine and created a big bow, tying the ends right around the photo matt.

• I used the alphas to add my title - the white space in the photo leant itself to having wording applied directly to it so used the tiny red alphas for this.
• To decorate the right hand of the page, I cut a robot from the Captains Log paper, added a word sticker, and used a little star punch to create a mask to mist some brown shooting stars on to the page.
• Finally I created this little tag effect at the top of the page using some stars cut from the All Systems Go paper and a sticker from the Words pack.

Of course, using a huge amount of pattern paper on each layout means one thing - tons of left over scraps! I usually put them into a storage box with good intentions of using them for other projects, never to see the light of day again! But with Rocket Age, I immediately knew I would definitely use up my left overs to make a series of cards for men - something I usually struggle to make but these papers gave me loads of inspiration to get cracking!

My "scraps" from this project went really far, and I made six cards! I could have kept going too if time was no object!

Here's the collection I made - check back tomorrow for a picture of each card along with a tutorial for each - the perfect project for the weekend!

Thanks for stopping by today,
Nat xxx