Card Tutorial for Frilly & Funkie - Summer Heat Challenge

Hello Everyone! I am especially excited today because I am doing two things for the very first time. The first is entering a card at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog. The second is a tutorial!  If you have never been over to Frilly and Funkie, I encourage you to check it out. They have some amazing challenges and some very talented designers!

For the Summer Heat Challenge - week 1, they asked for warm colours like red, orange and yellow and the card must also have a summer bloom of some sort. In honour of the two styles that Frilly and Funkie showcase, I decided to try and combine both some frill and some funk in my card. Here are some shots for you to have a look at, and if you have time, stick around and I'll show you how I did it. Hope you enjoy!

Don't forget, if you want to view super-sized photos, just right click on any image and open link in new tab.

It's a little hard to see, but the vine is wound through the fence posts.

And here's how I did it...

My layer is a 5" x 5" piece of card stock. Once it was all painted, I distressed the edges and mounted it on a 5.25" x 5.25" base, which I sprinkled with yellow paint.

Step 1. Using whatever brick stencil you have on hand, apply some texture paste in the upper right and lower left corners and allow to dry. Both my stencil and paste are home-made.

Step 2. Apply a layer of DecoArt Westport Grey paint over the entire surface and allow to dry.

Step 3. For the DecoArt Orange Spice paint, water it down a bit so the coverage is spotty and not solid. Then flick the brush a few times to leave some little droplets of paint here and there. Allow to dry.

Step 4. Using DecoArt Sun Yellow, add some water and put in a mister, give the entire layer a few squirts and allow to dry. A chalk or base spray works better than an ink spray for bright droplets.

Step 5. Using the yellow and white paints, lightly dab over the textured area with a sponge to highlight the bricks.

Step 6. Cut out two different sizes of ovals from whatever die set or punches you have and trim them off down one side. Apply a layer of beige or light brown paint and allow to dry. I have used Spellbinders Petite Ovals Large.

Step 7. Use your favourite stamp and some Ranger Sepia Archival ink to give the cut outs some design. I don't recommend a dye ink for this stage because we are about to get the ink wet and you don't want the design to be murky. Or maybe you do! The stamp I used is from the Prima Jack and Jill collection.

Step 8. Using yellow and white sprays, give the ovals a couple of squirts and allow them to dry. Once they are dry, distress the edges for a more shabby look.

Step 9. I cut my fence out of paper, but a wood flourish or chipboard piece would work just as well. I also made my own clay birdhouse, but a resin birdhouse or die cut birdhouse would also work. Coat your fence piece and your birdhouse with Ranger Picket Fence crackle paint. Allow them to dry. Once they are dry, apply Tim Holtz distress ink Vintage Photo with a sponge applicator so it sinks into the cracks and then wipe off the excess with a baby wipe or damp cloth. (my fence is Impression Obsession Fence Trio)

Step 10. Apply pop dots or foam strips to the back of your fence piece, birdhouse and two oval pieces.

Step 11: Here are all the little bits I used to decorate. The large leaf is from Spellbinders Foliage, the vine is the Marianne Designs Birdhouse and Ivy set, the flowers are handmade using Spellbinders Create-a-Carnation and Joy Crafts Flower 1 and were coloured with Tim Holtz distress inks Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade. The teeny tiny butterflies are from the Martha Stewart pop-up border punch. The white flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

That's it...all the bits are finished, just glue everything on the card face, sponge a bit more white paint here and there for a super shabby feel and voilà, all done! I really hope you enjoyed the tutorial and I would love to see any creations that I may inspire you to do!

Here is the finished card again for you to have a last look at.

Thanks for stopping in! If you have any questions, please let me know.