Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #137 - Penny's Masculine "Anything Goes"

Today is the second of two rainy days in BC.  Good for the fires but depressing for the soul unless you have something to do.............like spending time in your craft room.  Nothing could be better!

It's time for this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I get to be the hostess!  What fun!  

Before I get on with the challenge details I'd like to welcome our newest temporary guest artist Charlotte Ehrukainen from Finland. Charlotte's contributed many, many times as a participant in our challenges as "Lady Joyful", and has often Rocked the Watercooler with her terrific designs. So, welcome Charlotte it's going to be great having you on board!

This week is one of those love it or hate it challenges because it's about crafting a Masculine card. Don't groan..... I get it.  With the over abundance of floral and cutesie stamps that are geared to our feminine side, it's sometimes hard to come up with a design for the guys in our life.  Well don't despair, our WCW Design Team artists have come up with some  delightful samples that I'm sure will inspire you.

Here's My Card:

 

Here's what the inside looks like.  When you open the card the secret hinge allows this display to pop out.  There's plenty of room on the red bottom panel for writing a birthday message.

This is a Twist and Pop birthday card I made for a friend's cousin who was celebrating his 70th birthday. To create a card that was perfect for him, I needed to get into detective mode to find out whatever details I could about his life so the card would be a very personal experience for him.

On questioning, my friend said her cousin was a well traveled man who loved cars.  He's taken to the open road in his little red and white Corvette and on his Harley driving through California and Arizona on many trips.  He's also traveled Route 66 and been a big NASCAR fan.  So, road trips in the southern states have played a big part in his life.  

From this information, I tried to create a card that mirrored her cousin's life experiences and would signify not only what a great journey he's had but those he will continue to have.

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Stylized Birthday, Guy Greetings, One Wild Ride, Badges and Banners, Happy Birthday Gorgeous, Gorgeous Grunge and Route 66 (Carta Bella non SU)
Card Stock: Basic Black, Real Red, Crumb Cake and River Rock (R) and Route 66 DSP Carta Bella
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Real Red, Crumb Cake and River Rock
Accessories: Big Shot, Paper Trimmer, Detail Scissors, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Post-It Notes for masks, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Tom Bow Glue, Sticky Strip, Envelope Maker, Misti.

The Envelope:  
This card making adventure begins with the Real Red envelope which I made with my Envelope Maker. It's a handy tool to have when making a Twist and Pop card because they can be bulkier than an A2 card and need some room.

The lighting in this photo doesn't make it look like Real Red but trust me it is.  I've stamped the Badge from Badges and Banners  in Momento Black ink on Crumb Cake.  It was cut out with the Best Badge Punch.  The Banner with Dan's name in it was punched out with the Duet Banner Punch, and the little houses are from the retired Sleigh Ride Edgelits.  The strip of DSP is from the Carta Bella Route 66 DSP.

This envelope started with a 9" x 9" piece of textured card stock.  This card stock isn't as dense as regular card stock, so it's easier to work with when making envelopes.  The only pitfall to using it is it's rough and uneven texture which makes it difficult to stamp on. To remedy this  I used my Misti to stamp the Stylized Happy Birthday sentiment multiple times to get a good image without fear of blurring it. 

Details:
I'm not providing instructions on how to make a Twist and Pop card in this post, but you can check out this link to one of my previous posts that provides a detailed tutorial. 

The Belly Band:
This Belly Band is unique because it's made from an Acetate Window Sheet rather than card stock.  The Acetate measured 3 1/2" x 10".  By mounting the die cut on the Acetate, it still allowed the map on the top of the card to show through. 

I mounted the Happy Birthday die cut sentiment which was cut from Real Red and Basic Black card stock to the center front of the Belly Band.  The two die cuts were glued together with Tom Bow glue.  They were offset slightly to get an illusion of a shadow and depth to the letters.  Mini glue dots secured the lettering to the Acetate Sheet.

To finish the Belly Band, I carried on the desert theme from the front of the card on Crumb Cake card stock and stamped the bike from One Wild Ride.  

I stamped a second image of the bike on a Post It Note and masked the original image before stamping the cactus and the "pit stop" images.  These stamps were from the Route 66 stamp set. The edges of this layer were sponged with Basic Black ink and I used the large splatter stamp from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to add dots of Real Red, River Rock and Basic Black ink randomly across the images. 

 The Card Front:

I found some great DSP with a matching stamp set called Route 66 that was perfect for my card.  The top section of the card was a 3 7/8 x 5 1/8" piece of the DSP that features a map of California. 

I stamped the Corvette on a piece of River Rock card stock, and fussy cut out the car.  The desert scene from the Route 66 stamp set was stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  The sentiment "To a Classic" from the Guy Greetings stamp set was perfect for the Banner which was cut out with the Bunch of Banner Thinlet dies.  The edges were sponged with black ink.  

The Inside Panels: 

The top panel dsp has a map of Arizona and the motorcycle is from the One Wild Ride stamp set.  I've also used the Route 66 stamp set again to recreate the desert image.

The first two panels in the center of the pop up feature the Best Badge and Banners and Badges stamp set and the new Every Day Label Punch. the Happy Birthday and confetti are from the Happy Birthday Gorgeous stamp set.

The third panel has an old Chevy from the Route 66 stamp set and the sentiment "Hope Today is One Wild Ride!" is from One Wild Ride. The Real Red numbers were cut out with the Large Numbers Framelit dies.

Well that's the end of this journey, and I hope you enjoyed it.  It's such a challenge making a card that tells a story and I think I've succeeded in capturing some of Dan's journey.  My friend said he really liked the card, so that's all that counts.  If you liked it too I hope you'll leave me a comment. 

Don't forget to check out the rest of the WWC Design Team if you haven't already done so.  Just click on the Designer's name above their cards to check out their individual blog posts. 

Also, if you want to participate in this challenge, and I sure hope you do, it's easy to play along.  All you need to do is make a Masculine card and link your blog post to the Linsky before 5pm Mountain time on Monday September 25th.  Please don't enter your card in more than 7 other challenges or you won't be eligible to win our "Rocked the Watercooler" or "Honourable Mentions" badges, and that would be sad.  Until next time....

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday #128 - Heidi's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Heidi is hosting this week's Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and it's one of our most popular themes - Masculine Anything Goes.  The Design Team has gone all out to provide you with some terrific examples of Masculine cards and I expect we'll have some great entries for this one.  

I hope you'll join us by linking up your creation with the InLinkz at the bottom of the challenge. 

Here's the Rules:

1. This must be a new project---no back-linking to a previous post.
2. You must link your project back to our challenge (details at top of page).
3. You must link directly to your post, not simply your general blog.
4. Please link to no more than 8 challenges, including ours.
5. Have fun! 

Just click here to go to the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and use the link-up for WWC128 to share your project. The Linky closes on Monday, July 24th at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time and winners will be posted on Tuesday, June 25th at 5:00 p.m. MDT.
Here's My Card: 
In case you haven't noticed, I like to challenge myself by trying out different fancy folds.  

This week's card was inspired by a Dutch Fold Christmas card created by the incredible Dawn Griffiths.  After watching her video on Youtube I was inspired to run to my craft room and pull together this masculine version of her card.  Hope you like it.

Supplies:Stamp Sets:  One Wild Ride, Cool Treats, Gorgeous Grunge, and  Badges & Banners.
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Delightful Dijon and Urban District DSP
Inks:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Delightful Dijon, Basic Gray, Smokey Slate
Accessories:  Paper Trimmer, Tom Bow Glue, Best Badge Punch, Urban Underground Embellishments.

Details:
Once I decided on my stamp sets, card stock and ink colours this card took me from start to finish about 15 minutes to assemble.  It was really straight forward.  Here's how I cut and assembled the pieces:

1.  Card Base:  Cut a 7 1/8" x 8" piece of Delightful Dijon card stock and score on the 8" side at 2" and at 6".  Turn and score from the top on the 7 1/8" side at 2 3/8" to the first score line and then from the bottom on that side to the first score line.  Turn to the next side and score at 2/38 all the way from top to bottom.  Okay now the hard part is out of the way. 

2. From Very Vanilla Card Stock cut the following pieces and then do all your stamping and adhere to Basic Gray pieces:

• Outside stamped panel - cut 1 piece 3" x 3 3/4"
• Inside stamped panel - cut 1 piece 3 1/2" x 4"
• Inside dutch doors - cut 2 pieces 1 1/2" x 1 7/8"

3.  From Basic Gray Card Stock cut the following pieces:

• Front and inside flap panel - cut 2 pieces 2 1/8" x 3 3/4" 
• Front panel - cut 1 piece 3 1/4" x 4.  When adhering this piece to the front flap only add tear n' tape or glue to the left side.
• Outside Dutch Doors - cut 2 pieces 1 3/4" x 2 1/8" 
• Inside Dutch Doors - cut 2 pieces 1 3/4" x 2 1/8" 
• Inside panel that attaches to card base - cut 1 piece 3 3/4" x 4 1/2".

 4.  From Designer Series Paper cut the following pieces:

• For front and inside flap panel cut 2 pieces of DSP 1 7/8" x 3 1/2" and adhere to basic gray pieces.
• For outside Dutch Doors cut 2 pieces of DSP 1 1/2" x 1 7/8" and adhere to the basic gray panels.   

      Stamping:

For the front panel I stamped the Motorcycle from One Wild Ride on the card stock in Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  I stamped another Motorcycle on a post it note, fussy cut it out and then placed it over top of the first Motorcycle as a mask.  

I stamped the "Life's a Journey" image in black ink over top of the mask because I only wanted the upper portion to show behind the bike.  Before putting this stamp away I stamped it on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla card stock and cut it out with the Best Badge punch.  This was adhered to the inside of the front panel  overhang. 

I stamped "Happiest Birthday" from the Cool Treats stamp set in the center of the inside Very Vanilla Panel.  I stamped "You're" and "Cool" from the same set on the upper Dutch Door.  I also stamped the "Route 66" image from One Wild Ride on a scrap of Very Vanilla and then fussy cut it out and attached it to the side of "Cool".  

I stamped the "No. 1" from Best Badges in Delightful Dijon on the Very Vanilla Dutch Door piece. 

I stamped the large spotted stamp from Gorgeous Grunge after stamping off twice in Smokey Slate and again in Delightful Dijon on the Motorcycle, You're Cool and No. 1 panels.

I added three screw embellishments from the retired Urban Underground Embellishments on an angle to the front panel.
And that's how I made this card. What do you think? If you like it please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear how you liked this version of the Dutch Fold.

Don't forget to check out the WWC128 post to see the designs from the rest of our Watercooler Wednesday artists.  They've put together some awesome inspiration for this Masculine Challenge.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot

Watercooler Wednesday #119 - Judy's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

 

Welcome to the Watercooler Wednesday challenge.  This week's WWC119 Masculine "Anything Goes" challenge is being hosted by the very talented Judy Markowitz who recently joined our DT.  

Here's My Card:
Today's card uses a mixture of stamps and die cut images and would be appropriate for a milestone birthday. I am including it in my "Month of May Eastern Palace Suite Samples as Project #6. 

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: One Wild Ride,Guy Greetings and Balloon Adventures 
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black
Card Stock:  Basic Black, Basic Gray and Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot, Acrylic Blocks, Paper Trimmer, Eastern Medallions Thinlet Dies, Shaped Circles and Circles Dies, Best Badge Punch, Eastern Gold Vinyl Stickers, Hexagons Dynamic Impressions Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Tom Bow Glue 

How It's Made:
1. Card Base:  Cut an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" base from Whisper White card stock.  Score at 4 1/4".  Randomly stamp the "texture" image from One Wild Ride in Momento Tuxedo Black ink around the edge of the front of the card base. 

2.  1st Layer:  Cut a 4" x 5 1/4" Basic Black panel.  Before adhering it to the card base punch out a badge and a 2 1/2" circle and set aside. 

3.  2nd Layer:  Cut a 3 3/4" x 5" panel from Basic Gray card stock. Dry Emboss  this panel with the Hexagons Dynamic Impressions Embossing Folder. 
Using the large circle medallion from Eastern Medallions cut out a medallion from the left side of the card.  Attach the outer petal ring from the Eastern Gold Vinyl Sticker around the edge of the medallion. Randomly stamp the "textured" stamp image from the One Wild Ride set in the top right and bottom left corner of this panel.

4.  3rd Layer:  Cut a small and medium Stitched Shapes circle from Whisper White Card stock.  Stamp the image of the old car from Guy Greetings on both circles.  The image on the smaller one will overlap the circles edge at the back of the car, that's okay, because this circle will be glued to the larger one and the cars will be lined up so you see a full image.  Stamp off with the textured stamp from One Wild Ridge across the front of the layers.  Layer the Vanilla circles to the Basic Black one with Dimensionals and then adhere this to the enter of the medallion.   

5. Stamp two badges from the One Wild Ride set onto Whisper White card stock.  Cut off the white edge around one of the badges to remove the white space.  Glue this badge to the one that was cut out from the 1st card layer.  Cut out the "Journey" banner and adhere it to the center of the badge with Dimensionals.  

 6.  Inside the Card:  Cut a 5 1/4 x 4" panel from Whisper White card stock.  Stamp the "Here's to Another Year Full of Adventure" from the Balloon Adventure stamp set towards the top of this panel. 

I added a 3/4" x 4" strip of Basic Gray card stock and a strip of 1/4" x 4" Basic Black to the bottom of the card.  It kind of looks like a road.  I stamped the "Route 66" image on Whisper White with black ink and then fussy cut it out and mounted it with Dimensionals on the "road".

That's all there is to making today's masculine birthday card and I hope you found it inspiring.  I really liked the way the images from the three stamp sets paired so well and I'm totally in love with those Eastern Gold Vinyl stickers.  Who knew they could be so much fun!  

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens Stampin' Spot