Nautical Man-Card for A La Card Monkey

I'm a guest designed over at A La Card Monkey again this week!  The challenge is to create a Man-Card using the sketch provided:

It seems I've had to do a lot of Manly cards over the last couple of weeks and it has been a reminder that I am sadly lacking in my masculine stamp selection!  I can't wait for the new catty to come out so I can get shopping!!  In the meantime, I've used my fav set from the Summer Mini:  The Open Sea, along with the Nautical Expedition DSP.  See what you think:

Card for Monkey58 using The Open Sea set and sentiment from Define Your Life set.

 I went a little hog-wild distressing this one!  I wanted it to look worn and weathered...I think I succeeded!  I also discovered a new technique I'm calling "Faux Wax Seal".  I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this, but I was pretty pleased with the result!  To get the look, start by pre-inking your stamp with Versamark...this is an important step!  Setting the stamp aside,  pour a small pile of embossing powder on your cardstock in the location you want your seal.   Spread out the powder so that it is even and then heat it FROM THE UNDERSIDE with your heat tool until the powder melts into a pool.  It will start to bubble, so stop when this happens.  Then immediately stamp your image into the pool of melted powder, holding it there for a few seconds to allow the pool to harden.  Gently peel your stamp away and voila...instant "wax" seal!  A couple of tips for this technique...make sure your pile of embossing powder is even and not too thick.  You want as uniform a depth as possible.  If you use too much powder, the pool will be too deep and you'll get a messy image.  It took me  a couple of tries on some scrap paper to get the amount of powder right.  Just play and experiment until you get something you're happy with.  It's worth the effort...I really like the look!