Faux Metal Belt Buckle

I submitted this card for a challenge that called for using a buckle or another piece of hardware. I turned down the idea of using hodgepodge since I figured that will be widely used and made a custom "belt buckle" with the faux metal technique. I have been wanting to try this for a while now. If you are not familiar with faux metal, see directions below. The image I selected (from Bronc Buster stamp set) was a bit hard to work with since it is so large and detailed. When pressed, part of the embossing powder would already start to harden and not take a good impression. It took a few tries to get a half decent image. To tie the silver focal point into the rest of the card I used brushed silver cardstock and embossed small images along the bottom.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part. The challenge was part of Virtual Stamping Night on SCS (I was only able to submit a card to one of the wonderful challenges, soccer is in full swing and our weekend was way too busy for me to get any more stamping done) and my card was selected as one of 5 best submissions - I am an honoree !! I am so tickled, I would not have known but someone mentioned it as a comment in my gallery. I made the card with hubby in mind since I usually shower him with more frilly feminine cards (which is more my style), but I don't think it hit the spot so I will be making him another card for Father's Day with LOTS of pretty flowers, ha !!! Hubby is hard to impress these days.

Faux Metal directions:

Take a piece of scrap cardstock (slightly larger than the image you plan to use) and rub it with versamark to cover the entire piece. Sprinkle with embossing powder of your choice (silver, gold or copper work best for the metal look) and emboss with a heat gun. Rub again with versamark and repeat the process until you have three layers of embossing and the surface is smooth and shiny. After the last heating, have your stamp ready to press onto the cardstock while the powder is still melted and soft. Press down evenly to make a crisp impression. Let sit for a minute and then cut out with scissors or use as is.