Woodware - No Paper, No Problem

This week at Woodware the team has been challenged by Jill Tuck of The Stamp Man to make a card from scratch - using no pre patterned paper. Anytime I visited The Stamp Man in Skipton I was alway so impressed with Jill's work. She always made the most fantastic background papers from spritzing inks and mica powders and scrunching up paper etc. 
I am afraid my offering doesn't quite live up to that. But I do a lot of background techniques anyway with Distress or other dye inks. 

I have used several browns, rust and orages for this masculine card. I wanted it to have a more summery feel than my usual dark and grungy backgrounds. Splattering the blended backgrounds with a little water always gives a nice distressed feel. 
My main image is this fab Stampendous steamer which I stamped in black onto another piece of white card with the same blended colours. 

For a bit of texture I added a border of Aged Gold and Aged Black frantage powder. Whilst hot I sank a few cog and gear stamps for added interest. They don't really show up well in the photo but look quite good in the fleash, as it were!!

 
 The sentiment is another Stampendous stamp that I stamped twice and cut out as two tags. I also found these screw brads which I thought perfect to finish off. 
Be sure to check up on what the other girls have come up with this week at Woodware. 
I am off on my travels again on Friday. This time to Ireland to see my Dad and my sister and her family. So if I manage to make next week's project I hope to schedule it to appear while I am away!! Oh the pressure ......!!
Siobhan x