Thanks Mate

The February challenge at A Place to Start is now open.

It is to make a masculine card or project.

Most of you will know by now that we have had a horror few months

here in Australia with 'unprecedented' bush fires.

In fact, they are still occurring.

While there are professional fire fighters in the cities, the country areas across this nation are 

serviced by small, remote and  mostly under-resourced VOLUNTEER groups.

Many of these men and women have been fighting fires for over three months now.

They have lost wages and precious family time.

To date, we have lost nine lives among this group of fire fighters this time, 

three of them being Canadian/American professional pilots helping out

in a helicopter crash just last week.

They are Hero's all.

I know that many, many women are part of these teams; however, mostly they are men so I made this card as a masculine card but the sentiment applies to all members of the Rural Fire Brigades and the people helping them.

I used a stamp set I purchased from Paper Rose for the boots  'Work Boots' and the sentiment 'thanks'

The Seriously comes from another stamp set by IO Dude

The background is created with Ranger Dylusions paints - I made it a few months ago for another 

project and this is the left over piece. 

I chose it because it looks like a fire in the background.

I added the diecut of gum leaves by Uniquely Creative, cut from a scrap of green card, to represent the unburned Eucalyptus saved by the Firies.

The boots were stamped with Ranger Archieval black ink and coloured with my Copics.

The image was mounted onto black card and then onto a white folded card.

I ruled a thin black line around the border and added some small bits to that. 

Your masculine card or project does not have to be as somber as this one.

You have a month to enter this challenge at 

A Place to Start