Fathers Day Center Step and directions

I'm honored to have been asked to Guest Design for Sweet 'N Sassy this month, and this card was made with the brand new release, Shining Light. It's a great set with lots of inspirational verses as well as practical sentiments like these two I have used. With Father's Day right around the corner, it's perfect!

I used the center step card design for this one. I love this design and find it so fun and easy! I have seen variations of this design all over blog land, but I decided to try drawing the pattern for you if you'd like to try it.

It's very straight forward! Simply start with a piece of card stock that's 5.5 x 8.5" if you want an A2 card when folded. You could certainly adjust these dimensions easily if you wished. I used a craft blade to cut the inside cuts, and my score buddy to make the score lines. If you make one please link me and let me see what you did!!! Have fun!

The base is Gina K Tan Leather card stock, the designer paper is K&Co Blue Awning. The image is stamped on Gina K Pure Ivory with Memento Ink and colored with Copics. I used my air brush to do the sky, layering on several different colors for depth, but a super quick technique. If I didn't have the air brush, I would use chalks and sponge them on around my cloud template by Rosy's Road Show. The key to using ANY template is to keep moving it so the angles of the clouds are not all the same. I often use the template for my first layer, then remove it and color over the white areas with a light color such as W01 or B0000. This gives the illusion of the puffy clouds without having them be stark white, and it allows you to have a more natural feathering of the clouds rather than the real defined scallops. If you are doing a whimsical card, the scallops are fun, but if you are doing a more realistic scene, it's nice to use the layering technique I described.

I cut the oval with a Spellbinders Classic Oval Large, and the frame with the Lacey Oval, both of which can be cut at the same time using the Grand Calibur! I then simply laced some twine through the frame and added a ship's wheel charm. I stamped two sentiments from the set directly on the dp.

I am entering this in the following challenges:
Cards For Men - must be masculine - for Someone Special, Crazy Challenge -- Anything Goes, Design Dollies - Creative Folds, Make it Monday - Anything goes, Pollycraft - Boyz to Men (macsuline), Simon Says Stamp and Show... - Anything Goes, Squigglefly - - Shaped cards, Stamps R Us - Masculine, Aly's Sunday Challenge - Shaped Cards, Catered Crop - choose recipe: I chose brown ink, Copics and die cuts, Creative Cowgirls - - Anything Goes, Emerald Faeries - Anything Goes, One Stitch At A Time - Fancy Folds, Scrappy Frogs - Anything goes, Allsorts - Use at least 3 Different Stamps (2 sentiments and 1 image), Catch The Bug - Anything Goes, Card Makin' Mamas - For a loved one.

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from you and so appreciate your sweet comments!