Nautical Birthday Card

We're still basking in the sunshine here on the West Coast, and while it's been a tad hotter than is comfortable, no one, and I mean no one, is complaining.  It finally feels like summer has arrived. 

Today I want to share a masculine birthday card that began as an"idea forming", while I was making my Nautical Get Well card earlier in the week. 

How does one get an "idea forming"?  Well, to begin with, I was really inspired by the Maritime Designer Series Paper I was working with and wanted to make something else with it. The designs are beautiful.  

About the same time, I saw a card post featuring the Paper Pals Arts Colour Challenge PPA211 and I really liked the bold statement it made.  Although it was too late to participate in the challenge, I never let that hold me back, after all it's the idea that counts.

Finally, an idea started to come together in my mind, around combining the colour challenge, the Maritime DSP and a "wow easel card" design I'd made some time ago.  Once I could visualize how it would all come together I thought this will make a great card.  And guess what?  It did!

So let's begin with the Colour Challenge:

The bold combination of Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White really got my wheels turning.  

Since the piece of Maritime Designer Series paper I was working with was a mixture of Night of Navy and Whisper White, I was already two thirds of the way towards making my card.  All I had to do was add the Daffodil Delight into the mix and that was definitely a no-brainer.

Here's My Card:

If this isn't Nautical, then I don't know what is!  Here's the front view of my card.  It's a little difficult to see the side panels and folds of the easel, but you will in the next picture. 

I think this is such a manly card but imagine making it for a guy who loves the ocean or sailing. Even better!  For me, I love the colour match-up and the simple lines of the card. In this side view you get a better idea of how the side folds work. Here are a few more pictures showing some of the detail. 

Here's a view of the inside of the card.  Again plain and simple.  And what a bonus, there's lots of room to write on.

I used my Stampin' Up! Trimmer to cut and score this card.  The card base is Daffodil Delight and measures 4 1/4 x 11.  The card base can't be folded until all the score lines and cuts have been made.  Once that's done then the card will basically fold in on itself - so be patient.

I know the stamp set Perfect Punches is long retired, but I'll never get enough of this "happy birthday" sentiment.  I enjoy using it because it goes with almost all my masculine card themes.  It's kind of bold and "manly" script and it's got those non-feminine (in my mind) swirls going on.

Don't you love this ship's wheel?  Looks complicated to make right?  Actually its very simple to make.  Using the Word Window punch cut out eight spokes. Switch to a Crop-a-dile or whatever eyelet setting tool(s) you have to add the eyelet to the end of the spoke. Once you've got them all made, you simply arrange the spokes evenly around the circle. I found it easier to get them evenly spaced using the "clock method" and my grid paper first.  The clock method is simply lining up in this order:  12:00 o'clock, 6:00 o'clock then at 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o"clock.  Then fill in the gaps at 1:00, 5:00, 7:00 and 11:00.  I used glue dots to adhere them to the back of the Night of Navy circle.  Although you can't see it I covered up all the spokes on the back with another circle. 

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  The Open Sea, Perfect Punches (retired)
Ink:  Night of Navy
Card Stock:  Night of Navy, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight
Designer Paper:  Maritime DSP 
Accessories:  Circle Framelits, Large Oval Punch, Word Window Punch, Silver Elastic cord, 8 silver medium sized eyelets, Crop-a-dile, Trimmer, Dimensionals, Adhesive.

 I hope you enjoyed my card and will leave me a comment.  

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens