Top Three for Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #650.

Thanks to the designers at Atlantic Hearts for choosing my card to be among the top three winners for sketch challenge #650 for my masculine birthday card.  There were so many awesome cards from designers, participants and Birgit and Elisa A. the other two Top Three Winners this week.  Nicely done ladies! 

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Masculine Birthday - AHSC #650

Here's this week's sketch from Atlantic Hearts Challenge #650  I really like the diamond focal so decided to do the same for my card.  I don't know about you but October is such a busy month.  Almost every day there another' birthday and most of them this month are male friends and family.  This clean and simple sketch presented me with another opportunity to get a masculine card in my stash.  

Here's My Card:

Supplies and Instructions:

Stamps and Dies:

• Happy Hour #126642
• Brewed for You Stamps #159087
• Brewed Dies #159092 
• Stitched Squares Dies 

Cardstock and DSP:

• Whisper White 
• 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for card base 
• 3" x 3" scrap for Whisper White Diamond and 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" for inside circle 
• 5" x 3 3/4" for inside matte 
• scraps for glasses and mugs 
• Basic Black 
• Cut 5 3/8" x 4 1/8" for front matte 
  
• Tartan Foil Designer Series Paper #162332 
• Cut two pieces 5 1/4" x 4" for front and inside mattes. 

Inks and Blends:

• Pebbled Path 
• Merry Merlot
• Crushed Curry 

Accessories:  

• Dimensionals 
• Nuvo Clear drops to add shine to wine and beer mug. 

Well, there you have it.  Nothing like a clean and simple design to make the focal point stand out.  Thanks for dropping by and checking out my card this week.  Make sure you stop by the Atlantic Hearts blog as well, the designers really outdid themselves this week.   

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Men and Their Love of Cars - Masculine Birthday Cards

 Freshly Made Sketches #707 

Here Are My Cards: 

Recently we had lunch with some old friends who just happen to be car buffs. They're into the speedway and going to the show and shines during the summer months.  I'd forgotten just how much these guys are into cars of all vintages and how enthusiastic they get when the conversation turns to cars, which it inevitably does.  So with that in mind, I made three birthday cards featuring some of my old car stamps and this wonderful sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  

  

Supplies and Instructions: 

Stamps and Dies:

• Geared Up Garage Stamps #148590
• Garage Gears Dies
• The Route 66 Stamp Set by Carta Bella 52830

Cardstock and DSP: 

Whisper White

• Cut three card
• Card base in Whisper White cardstock measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 4 1/4".Scrap pieces for sentiment layers 
• Whisper White matte for inside card 5" x 3 3/4"
• Real Red for card mattes inside and out 5 1/4" x 4".  Scraps for circles or rectangle mats for focal point 

Inks and Blends:

• Memento Tuxedo Black 
• Real Red 
• Daffodil Delight Light and Dark, Smokey Slate, for car details. 

Accessories:  

• Dimensionals 

Thanks so much for dropping by and looking at my interpretation of this weeks FMS challenge.  What fun!  See you again soon! 

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Atlantic Hearts #649 - Top Three!

 Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge - Top Three #649 

I just checked out last week's sketch challenge top three over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and I'm thrilled to say my "Feeling A Little Beachy" card was selected.  How awesome is that!  A big thanks to the design team.  Make sure you check out Patti Dolan from P.S. Papercrafts and Stefani from Stamp with Stefani the other two Top 3 Winners, their designs are awesome!  

Have a great week and make sure you come back to check out my next AHSC Card #670! 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006 

Fall For Toile Paper Pumpkin Kit and FMS#706

 Once again it's time for a Freshly Made Sketch challenge.  Here's #706

Here's My Card:

This sketch was perfect for making an alternative card with the Fall For Toile September 2025 Paper Pumpkin kit.  I made a "thinking of you" card and featured a deer on the focal. 

Supplies:

Stamps and Dies:

• Autumn Abundance August 2024 Paper Pumpkin sentiments
• Nature's Beauty #150528 (R)
• Stitched Circles Dies  (R)

Cardstock and DSP: 

• Whisper White 
• Card Base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" 
• Inside Matte 3 3/4" x 5" 
• 3" x 3" for stitched circle matte
• Pecan Pie
• Cut two 4" x 5 1/4" mattes for front and inside card
• 3 1/4 x 3 1/4" piece for stitched circle matte
• Cut two 3/8" x 2 3/8" strips for ends of DSP matte

• DSP:
• 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" piece of white/pecan pie cardstock from Fall For Toile Paper Pumpkin September 2025 kit
• 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" piece of cardstock with deer and trees in pecan pie 

Inks and Blends:

• Pecan Pie 
• Paper Pumpkin 
• Timid Tiger and Peach Pie blends for leaves 

Accessories: 

• Mini Corrugated Embossing Folder 
• Basics Cross Hatched Embossing Folder 
• Dimensionals 
• Gold Self-Adhesive Sequins 

Fall for Toile Alternatives: 

Here are some additional cards that I've made with the Fall for Toile September 2025 Paper Pumpkin kit. 

The last card was featured in this sketch challenge. 

Thanks for dropping by and checking out my sketch challenge entry. I hope you'll leave a comment or come back again.

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin Up! Demo since 2006

Feeling a Little Beachy - Masculine Birthday Card #AHSC649

 Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #649

What a lovely little scene. I liked the beach theme and decided to use it for a male friend's birthday.  He's heading off to Mexico shortly so this card will be perfect to send him off with happy wishes.  

I love creating layered scenes, and my retired Oceanfront and Paradise Palms provided the perfect stamps for my design.  Enjoy! 

Here's My Card:

Stamps and Dies:

• Paradise Palms #157716 (R)
• Oceanfront #157862 (R)
• Mountain Majesties - Paper Pumpkin May 2025 (Seagulls) 
• Cheers and Sip (Sentiment Let's Celebrate) 
• Deckled Rectangle Dies (R) 

Cardstock and DSP:

• Whisper White cardbase 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 scored at 4 1/4" 
• Stamped layer 3 1/2" x 4 7/8"
• Inside layer 5" x 3 34" 
• Mango Melody Layers 
• 4 7/8" x 5 1/8" 
• inside layer 4" x 5 1/4"
• Coastal Cabana 3 5/8 x 5"  - Deckled Rectangles cut from this layer 
  

Inks and Blends:

• Pecan Pie
• Memento Tuxedo Black
• Coastal Cabana
• Summer Splash (R)
• Mango Melody (R) 
• Garden Green, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Markers for Palm Tree

Accessories: 

• Dimensionals 
• Adhesive backed Sequins Coastal Cabana

Well I hope you enjoyed today's masculine birthday card and will leave me some kind words or come back another day.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006 

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 

Welcome October News

Welcome to October 2025 

Today's a very special day in our household as it's my husband's 77th birthday and a masculine card was in order.  It just so happens that this card got a special mention in the AHSC#648 Top Three:

Big shout out to the design team for choosing my card as one of the Top Three for this card:

It's also the start of a new Stampin' Up! month and there's lots going on.  Be sure to check out these promotions: 

Congrats also to to Pam Dolan and Nancy Soetaert for their great cards and joining me in the Top Three Picks.  You can check them out here  AHSC #648.   Awesome!  Details on how I made this card can be found here. 

Stampin' Up! News for October: 

Last Chance Products were refreshed today.  You can check them out by clicking here

October 1st to 31st Join Now Offers:

 

If you place big orders for Stampin' Up! Products have you ever considered becoming your own best customer? If so, now's the time to take advantage of the best join offer this year! 

From October 1–31, if you sign up as a demo you can choose between two amazing join offers. You can choose either $165 worth of products for just $48 or go for $252 worth of products for just $135. As an added bonus, you also score FREE shipping on your Kit, FREE business supplies, and a FREE Paper Pumpkin kit!

World Card Making Day - October 4th, 2025 

Click here to see how you can participate for FREE 

12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar: 

Click here to for more information.  Limited Time offer while supplies last! 

Happy Stamping! 

Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot 

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin Up! Demo since 2006   

Christmas Parade of Cards Part Three

Hi and welcome to my blog.  Today I want to share a really super easy and delightful fancy fold called the Double Z Accordion Card.  I came across this fun fancy fold by Karen Titus on Youtube.  After watching the video I immediately went to my craft room, got out my dsp and cardstock and started making this style of card.  I was hooked.  

In this photo you can see how the long portion of the accordion cardstock strip is attached to the left and right hand side of the card.  I've added a simple layered stitched circle made with coordinating designer paper and basic white cardstock for the focal. Remember it doesn't matter what shape your focal is, it can be a square, a circle, a rectangle or other shape as long as it fits the design of the card.

  

In this photo you can see how the accordion fold bends and the six small dsp squares are layered onto the cardstock. The six squares could be a matchup of designer papers and cardstock, they could could be embossed, or an alternate color.  Once again, there's no right or wrong way and no limit to the combinations you can come up with. 

Here I've used coordinating designer paper for a mat on the back side of the card.  Although I would anticipate writing my greeting on this side of the card, and there's sufficient room to write a message, I could also turn the card and write my greeting on  the white space panels on the right.  In fact, I've stamped my logo on this portion of the card and you'll see that in other samples, as there was no where else for it to go. 

In this view you can see that I've staggered the patterns on the small squares.  

Here's How You Make This Card:

Card Base:

• Cut a 7 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of basic white cardstock for the card base and score it at 1 1/2" and 3".
• Burnish the fold lines - mountain on the 1 1/2" and valley on the 3". 

Cardstock Strips: 

• Choose a coordinating color of cardstock that works with whatever patterned paper you are working with and your card base.  
• Cut three 7 1/4 x 1 1/2" and score these at 1 1/2" and 3" for Z fold.

DSP Strips and Squares:

• Cut three 4" x 1 1/4" strips of designer paper.  Adhere these to the three cardstock strips 
• Cut six 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" squares of designer paper.

Assembly:

• Lay the card base flat with Z fold on left side.
• Attach cardstock strips with the Z fold on the right.  Start with the first strip at the top of the card and put adhesive on the left side first leaving a small margin at the top and side, then  do the same on the right side.  Adhere the next strip at the bottom edge of the card doing the same thing, and repeat for the last strip by adhering it in the middle of the card base.  
• Adhere the DSP squares on the right side.  

To finish the card create a focal point to go on the front of the card. 

So how does this relate to my Christmas Parade of Cards? 

    

The first card in this group started with scraps from the Christmas Tags and More Specialty Designer 6x6 Paper.  I simply added some gold foil, a piece of Basic White that was embossed with a retired snow embossing folder and gold snowflake.  

Card #1:

The following cards were made using Stampin' Ups! North Pole Delivery Designer Paper.  What better way to use up some of the scraps I was accumulating.  

Card #2: 

Card #3: 

Card #4: 

Well, that's it for this parade of Christmas cards.  I hope you enjoyed it and that you'll try out this fancy fold.  I think once you try it you'll be like me "hooked".  It really is a very special and fun card to make.  In closing here are a few additional samples 

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop