WWC309 - Dawn's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

 For Dawn's Masculine challenge I decided to revisit the adorable Gnomes in Fran's Stampendous stamp set.  They really adapt well to almost every occasion.

I decided to keep this card clean and simple.  For my base I used the Heavy Whisper White and then allowed a large frame around the actual image, with a Cajun Craze matte around the stamped and watercoloured image.

My little Gnome is sitting in the grass with a present which could be for a birthday, valentine's or even an anniversary.  The sentiment certainly works for any of those occasions.  It's what  gets stamped or written inside which will decide.  I love the way the Derwent watercolour pencils add so much bright colour, don't you?  They're so easy to use with a little bit of water and brush or an Aqua Painter, which is my favourite. 

 In this slanted view  you can see the shine on the silver-coloured bow.   I added a few black dots for interest.  This was an easy card to make but I love the results.

Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, February 22nd, 2021.

I'm also entering my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #139 - Anything Goes

Always Fun Challenges #201 - Anything Goes

Cardz 4 Guyz #264  - Clean and Simple

WWC276 - Marsha's Challenge: Anything Goes With a Masculine Twist

I bought this Gina Marie stamp set last year and am finally getting around to using it.  The images are simple and the sentiments are fun, especially if you happen to have someone in your life that is forever curious about all things science.

I used the Basic Gray as my base cardstock and added a matte of Whisper White which I first embossed using a retired embossing folder.

I stamped each of the three images on Whisper White using black Versafine ink and then cut them out with my stitched square die.  I mounted the stitched squares on a strip of Basic Black and then cut around the squares, allowing a nice, skinny matte to show.  Then I coloured them using my Stampin' Markers, keeping to simple colours.

For the sentiments, I heat embossed two separate ones on Basic Black cardstock using White embossing powder.  After using an old punch to cut the sentiments out, I added them to the card propped up on foam dimensionals.

I love the way the card turned out and hope you do, too.  Have fun checking out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and I hope you'll link your creation before the deadline on Monday, June 22nd.

I've also entered my card in the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #122 - Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown #459 -  Special Guy

Crafty Cardmakers #259 - Masculine

Crafty Creations June Challenge #410 - Anything Goes

WWC248 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I had a whole bunch of half-thought out ideas of masculine cards I could create but somehow nothing really caught my interest.  Then I came across a stamp set which I picked up quite a while ago and put aside.  It's funny!  It's cute!  To my mind it was the perfect choice for this week's challenge.  I hope you like it, too.

The set comes as one stamp with this trio of laughing animals and, of course, a nice selection of sentiments from which to choose.  There is something about these three that tickles my "funny bone".  I had fun colouring them with my Stampin' Blends, too.  For the background, I just "scribbled" around the animals using the Light So Saffron.  The ground is coloured using the Light Gray Granite.  The zebra is coloured with the Basic Black and Light Flirty Flamingo.  The giraffe also has some Light Flirty Flamingo and then the body is Light Crumb Cake covered over with Light Pumpkin Pie.  Finally, the elephant is coloured using the Smoky Slate with touches of Flirty Flamingo.

I used a base of So Saffron, a matte of Gray Granite and then stamped on Whisper White.  It's a light-hearted card.  I love it and hope you do, too.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Arty Divas Challenge #9 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge #402 - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #107 - Anything Goes

WWC239 - Helen's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I had so many ideas for this masculine challenge!  Finally I decided to use that wonderful "A Good Man" stamp set for my card.  With some masking and several other stamp sets, I created a scene that I'm sure would work for a birthday or some other celebration.

I combined the "A Good Man" set with the "Waterfront" set as well as the retired "Carols of Christmas" set.  I used a lot of inks for my watercolouring.  The background combines the Balmy Blue, Smoky Slate, Pear Pizzaz, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake and Gray Granite inks.  The trees are stamped using Mossy Meadow while the deer is Black.  For the people I've used primarily Stampin' Markers in Cajun Craze, Balmy Blue, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, Poppy Parade and the retired Blush Blossom.

My base is the Heavy Whisper White while the matte is Gray Granite.  I love how this turned out, don't you?

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #102 - Anything Goes

Cute N Crafty Challenge #31 - Family

Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #122 - For the Men in your life

WWC230 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I've been waiting for another Masculine Challenge!  This week Kath is our host and I'm so happy to be using the Country Road stamp set which I just bought.  Yes, it came out with last year's catalogue, but I'm finally convinced that I need it to round out my more masculine stamps.  I kept all my colours very neutral to give the card a more vintage look.

All the images are from the Country Road set except for the background panel which has been stamped with one of my favourite background stamps, the Crackle Paint set.  The faint, tiny "bubbles" behind the weather vane and twigs are from the Artisan Textures set.

I began with a base of Gray Granite cardstock, followed by a layer of Basic Black and then another layer of Gray Granite, this time stamped with the Crackle Paint image using Gray Granite ink.  Then I added a smaller rectangle of Basic Black, another of Basic Gray and then the Whisper White onto which I heat embossed the weather vane in Black embossing powder, followed by stamping the twigs in Gray Granite ink.  Finally I stamped the "bubbles" in once-off-stamped Gray Granite.

I stamped the star in Gray Granite ink onto a piece of the retired Galvanized Metal Foil and then fussy cut that out.  I stamped the wagon wheel onto a piece of Whisper White using Gray Granite ink and then fussy cut that out.  Assembly was easy and then, finally, I stamped the "Happy Birthday" onto a piece of Whisper White with black Memento ink, cut it out using my stitched rectangle die and cut a matte of Basic Black to put behind it.

I love the way it turned out, don't you?

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Get Creative Challenge #82 - Anything Goes with optional twist Monochromatic

Use Your Stuff Challenge #367 - Masculine

Sisterhood of Crafters - Birthday

WWC221 - Tristan's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I love masculine challenges!  And this one came at the perfect time for me to create a card for my awesome son-in-law.  Could the timing be better?  And I'm sure the images are just what he's day-dreaming about, too.

I love this terrific new stamp set in our new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.  Finally, "A Good Man" offers some awesome images of men at leisure.  This image lends itself perfectly to that beach and palm trees, doesn't it (palm trees not part of this set).  I did some masking to get that beach watercoloured in place and then, once that was done, coloured in my images using my Stampin' Blends.  As expected, Adam loved it.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz:  Challenge #219 - Man Cave

Crafting from the Heart Challenge #243 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #341 - Anything Goes

The Male Room Challenge #111 - Anything Goes

WWC217 - Michelle's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

How serendipitous it is that this week's challenge is for a masculine card and I need one for my brother-in-law's birthday!  Finally, I get to use that gorgeous Let It Ride stamp set.

My brother-in-law loves horses and the great outdoors.  What better way to use some of the images from this set than to create a watercolour background and then carefully do my stamping?  I used a combination of Soft Suede and Crumb Cake inks for the mountains.  Then I added some Balmy Blue for the water and, finally, some Mossy Meadow for the grass.  Once that had dried, I stamped the trees using Mossy Meadow and then stamped the image again just to the side of the first stamping without re-inking.  The darker and lighter trees add depth to the background.

I stamped the horses using Basic Grey ink.  To colour them in, for the one on the far left, I used a combination of Crumb Cake and Sahara Sand and for the one on the right, I used Grey Granite.  To finish up, I sponged the edges using a combination of Soft Suede and Crumb Cake.

My base is Early Espresso followed by a layer of that lovely and sadly retiring Wood Textures Designer Series Paper.  I love how the colours work together for this card, don't you?

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've entered my card into the following challenges:

Stinkin' Inkers Challenge Blog:  Lovely As A Tree

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - Inclue an Animal

Dare 2 B Artzy April Challenge - Animals

Crafty Creations Challenges #388 - Anything Goes

WWC209 - Marsha's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

What fun!  This week's challenge, hosted by Marsha Reed, is our Masculine challenge.  Better still, it's an "anything goes" challenge.  And there is one bundle in particular from the Stampin' Up! Occasions catalogue, which is perfect for this challenge.  Wait till you see what I did with the Classic Garage Suite.

I took the colour inspiration from the gorgeous Classic Garage Designer Series paper.  That led to a base of Basic Black, a layer of Tranquil Tide and a layer of Crushed Curry, all colours in that wonderful designer paper which is the next layer.  Don't those tire tracks in all those colours look amazing?

Among the designs in the paper stack, there is a page all in black and white, featuring classic cars.  I fussy cut the one featured for this card and used Dimensionals to attach it to a strip of prepared Crushed Curry cardstock.  How did I prepare it?  First I stamped it with the "oil spill" image from the Geared Up Garage stamp set using Gray Granite ink.  Then I sprayed it liberally with water and scrunched it tightly into a sort of ball, squeezing the cardstock tightly.  After a few moments, I straightened it and put it under some weight to dry.  I love the rumpled, worn finish, don't you?

While that was drying, I cut a bunch of gears out of the Galvanized Metallic paper which is, unfortunately retired.  I love the dull metallic look to that paper, don't you?  I glued the gears randomly and then attached the strip of "beat up" Crushed Curry, matted by a piece of Basic Black.  I saved one gear to attach to the top right corner.   Then I heat embossed my sentiment using Black Embossing Powder on a scrap of Vellum.  Once that was cold, I glued that just under the gear.

For the inside of the card I merely added a piece of Whisper White and then stamped the tire tracks from the One Wild Ride set using Smoky Slate ink and added the sentiment which is also from the same stamp set.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've also entered this creation in the following challenges:

The Cutie Pie Challenge #132 - One for the boys 

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Things With Wheels

The Corrosive Challenge Blog #2 February - Anything Goes

WWC204 - Gail's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Both my husband and my son-in-law are avid fly-fishermen and so the brand new Best Catch bundle in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue was on my very first order.

I used a special "X" fold for this card because it added dimension and spotlights the action.  I thought the wonderful Floral Romance Specialty Designer paper would be perfect for the card and so I took all my greens from the paper.  The hardest thing about the card, I will admit, was the fussy-cutting I chose to do along the left side of the card.  I wanted those leaves hanging over the opening and love the effect, don't you?

For the base of my card I used the Mossy Meadow cardstock.  I love the way it compliments the other colours and also gives a real "out-in-the-woods" feel to the card.  For the narrow panel I made a background using my re-inkers and some of my Brushos.  It looked like moving water--perfect for the die-cut fisherman.

For my fish I wound up using two layers.  The top layer is vellum onto which I've heat embossed the trout using silver embossing powder.  Then I used my Stampin' Blends to colour both the front and back of the vellum.  I found that intensified the colour, which I was hoping it would.  The second layer isn't stamped at all, but is merely a piece of Whisper White which I've also die-cut with the same die.  It really helps the colours to "pop".

The reeds and grasses are included among the dies in this bundle but don't have a stamp to go with it.  I found it was easy to colour the grasses and reeds using my Stampin' Markers.  The cattails have an extra glow thanks to my Wink of Stella.

Finishing off, I stamped the sentiment on Whisper White, cut it out with my 1" punch and then mounted it on a square of Mossy Meadow, cut with the smallest of my Stitched Squares.

The above pattern should help should you wish to try this fancy fold pattern.

And let's not forget that the talented Sandie Munro is our Guest Designer this week as well.  Check out her work and the wonderful creations by the Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I've also entered this creation in the following challenges:

Crafty Creations Challenges #382 - Anything Goes

The Male Room #102 - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too #145 - Anything Goes

WWC197 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

With Christmas getting closer and closer, I decided that I'd make a Christmas themed masculine card for our challenge this week.  Of course the fact that I found this awesome stamp with the two horses wearing Santa caps made it an easy decision.

Isn't that a lovely image?  The stamp is from Impression Obsession with the image by Melissa Gordon.  After using my watercolour pencils on the images, I used an oval die to cut it out.  I wanted to give the card a real masculine flair and so mounted the oval on a piece of the wonderful Wood Textures Designer Series Paper.  With a base of the Heavy Whisper White, I chose Real Red as a matte to bring out the colour of those Santa hats.

I tried stamping a sentiment on a banner but it just didn't look right and decided to cut out the "Noel" from the retired Christmas Stockings Thinlits dies using some of the Red Glimmer paper.  Cutting them apart allowed me to use them vertically and I think it works beautifully, don't you?

I hope you'll check out the awesome creations by the other Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.

I've also entered this creation in the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #20 - Anything Goes with a Critter

Cardz 4 Guys Challenge #208 - Christmas Critters

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #41 - Anything Christmas Goes

WWC192 - Marsha's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's Marsha's turn to host the Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge this week.  What fun!  Masculine cards always add to the challenge, making me think outside my usual comfortable "box".  Of course I have enough men in my family to make having a stash of masculine cards a real bonus. 

There are so many products which I love in this card.  That wonderful background, for example, is a piece of the new and gorgeous Galvanized Metallic Paper introduced in the Holiday Catalogue.  I've used the new Tin Tile Dynamic Textured Impressions embossing folder on it and, wow!  Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?  I aged it a bit by sponging some Grey Granite ink over it and the pattern only got better.

The other product which I used for the first time is the All the Good Things stamp set.  Don't you love those Koi?  I fell in love with the movement they seem to have but haven't had a chance to use them until now.  I love the sentiments in the set, too, but must confess that the beautiful words were attached to the large Koi, going in the wrong direction for my vision.  So I carefully cut apart the Koi and the words and can now use them separately whenever I wish.

I hope you'll check out the awesome creations by our other Watercooler Artists at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.

I've also entered this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Creations Challenge #376 - Anything Goes

Ellibelle's Creative Moments/Crafty Wednesday  

Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge #300 - Photo Inspiration  (The colours inspired me)

WWC188 - Helen's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I just got an awesome die set in the mail and am so happy to use it for my masculine creation this week.  It's from Holland and is called Lighthouse Border by Jeanine's Art.  I thought it was a wonderful complement to the High Tide stamp set.

I began with Watercolour Paper and some Prussian Blue Brusho.  I concentrated most of the Brusho along the lower portion of the paper and worked it upwards with water and a broad brush.  I think the natural Brusho look really creates a stormy sea look, don't you?  While that was drying, I cut the foreground scene from some Basic Black cardstock as well as two birds from the set.  No, not the ones sitting in the foreground.  They're part of the die.  The two flying birds to the left of the scene are die-cut.

Once my Watercolour Paper was dry, I stamped the lighthouse from the High Tide set as well as the flight of birds from the same set.  I made sure there would be lots of room in the centre where I heat embossed the sentiment from the same set using my white embossing powder.

Assembly was easy.  I simply glued the die-cuts to the Watercolour Paper.  Then I mounted the scene to a base of Heavy Whisper White.  I love the results, don't you?

You'll notice that we have our awesome Guest Designer, Sheri Lee, with us this week.  Expect to see her wonderful cards for the next three weeks while Charlotte Ehrukainen is away on health leave.

I hope you'll be joining us by linking up your awesome creations before Monday, September 24th at 5 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.  To see the wonderful creations by our Watercooler Artists, check out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.

I've also linked my card up to the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guys #203 - All At Sea

Crafting By Designs - You're The Man

WWC183 - Gail's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I've been waiting for this.  It's a Masculine "Anything Goes" challenge this week, hosted by Gail Allen.  Why have I been waiting for it?  I've been dying to use an Art Impressions stamp set which I bought a few weeks back.  The name of the set is "Reel Great Guys", which should give you a hint.  Yes, it's all about fishing.  What else would I get for the man in my life?

I love this set!  It's funny but the images are so well drawn.  Look at that little Dachshund, for example, so self-satisfied, floating around in his inflatable.  And the fisherman, decked out in his special fishing vest and hat, having fun casting his line.  Those images are awesome, aren't they?  I coloured them using my Stampin' Blends and love the results.  I decided to cut each image separately, using two different styles of stitched dies.  The little Dachshund is peaceful with that single line of stitches around his oval.  The fisherman, however, is cut with a square "wonky" double-stitched die which reflects all that "wonky" casting he's doing.

I decided to mount the images on the wonderful Wood Textures Designer Series paper.  It just supports that masculine theme so well, doesn't it?  And behind that is a layer of Early Espresso.  I mounted both background pieces a-kilter for fun, using a retired Natural White base.

And for the inside, what could be better than a greeting with a smiling fish?

I hope you'll be joining us by linking up your awesome creations before Monday, August 20th at 5 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.  To see the wonderful creations by our Watercooler Artists, check out our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.

I've entered my card in the following challenges:

Craftaholics R Us Challenge #33 - Anything Goes
The Crafty Addicts Challenge #51 - Boys and Men
A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge #74 - Anything Goes

WWC179 - Heidi's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's my turn to host the Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge this week.  What fun!  Masculine cards always add to the challenge, making me think outside my usual comfortable "box".  Of course I have enough men in my family to make having a stash of masculine cards a real bonus. 

I bought the Rooted In Nature Bundle right after the OnStage which Stampin' Up! hosted in Red Deer, Alberta.  Sadly this is the first time I will have used it.  And quite honestly, it's not purely a masculine styled bundle.  This set can be used for all sorts of occasions and creations.  Having used it now, and having loved all the images and framelits that make up my card, I am at a loss as to my long wait in  creating with it.  You can be assured I won't be waiting long to use it again.

Since this is a masculine challenge, I thought that using the carried-over Wood Textures Designer Series paper would be a great start.  In fact I pulled all my paper and ink colours from this designer paper.  My base is the new Gray Granite, then comes the designer paper, and then layers of Early Espresso and more Gray Granite.  That final layer of Gray Granite really shows off the great embossing possible with several pieces of the Nature's Roots Framelits dies.  I used all three of the embossing dies for this textured background. 

I also stamped the tree onto a piece of the Gray Granite using the Mossy Meadow ink, stamped off once.  Then I used the matching framelit to cut it out and mounted it onto the embossed piece using Dimensionals.  If you look carefully, you'll see that I actually stamped the tree several times and then added more dimension by cutting out three sections of foliage and mounting them over the stamped image.

I love how the copper ribbon allows itself to be pulled wider and formed.  That's what I've done here and then I've glued the undulating form onto the paper using Tombo white glue.  That embossed leaf is cut from Champagne Foil and then I've run my Smoky Slate marker over it to dull the shine and add more interest to the embossing.

I hope you'll check out the awesome creations by our other Watercooler Artists at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.

I've also entered my card into the Sunday Stamps SSC183 - Cottage Colours

WWC175 - Marsha's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

I love our Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge.  It gives me the opportunity to build up a stash of cards to which I can turn when the many men in our family have another birthday or a special event.  This week Marsha is our host for this challenge.

Just a reminder about our Design Team call which will end with this challenge, on June 25th.  I hope to see your card linked up with a DT so that we can consider you for our team.

For this week's challenge, I decided to use the new Sitting Pretty bundle.  Isn't that bulldog adorable?  I love him and the way you can either colour him from "scratch" or use the provided second stamp to colour him.  I decided to use a combination of Soft Suede and Crumb Cake because I have several bulldog friends with those colours.

I wanted an interesting background and so used the embossing framelit in the bundle to create that slate floor upon which he's sitting so pretty.  After doing the embossing, I lightly sponged over the slate with some Smoky Slate ink.  For the brick wall behind him, I used the brick stencil from the Pattern Party Decorative Masks and some of my white Embossing Paste (with a couple of drops of Sahara Sand ink stirred in).

Since this is a birthday card, I embossed the front of my Basic Gray base cardstock using the Polka Dot Basics ef.  The next layer is the beautiful new In-Color, Lovely Lipstick.  I used the Balloon Bouquet punch for my balloons, cutting the large one from a piece of Pineapple Punch and the smaller one from a piece of Lovely Lipstick.  The little heart is cut from Red Foil.

I loved creating the little birthday banner using the Duet Banner punch and the coordinating Thoughtful Banners stamp set.  My inks are, again, the Pineapple Punch and Lovely Lipstick.

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creation by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.  I look forward to seeing your creation linked up, too.

I'm also entering my card into the Stinkin' Inkers Challenge - The Guys Have It.

And also in the Try It On Tuesday Challenge - For the Boys.

WWC170 - Penny's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge and today Penny is our host.  I love the masculine "anything goes" challenges since I always wind up needing a lot of masculine cards, what with my husband, brother-in-law, son-in-law, grandsons, nephews and friends.  Our masculine challenge is my opportunity to add to my "stash".

I'll admit it was hard to decide what to do for this card.  I had so many different ideas, using current sets, retired sets and even the new ones which I had a chance to pre-order from the new catalogue.  Finally I decided on one of the new ones, the Enjoy Life stamp set, which has some awesome images and sentiments.  Since I had decided not to use the retiring Truly Taylored set, I turned to the gorgeous designer paper in that suite, the True Gentleman Designer Series paper.  I love that wonderful mix of colours and, to compliment the pattern I chose, used coordinating papers and ink.  My base  is Crumb Cake followed by a layer of Tranquil Tide and then the patterned paper.  Then I cut out a piece of the retiring Chocolate Chip using my Stitched Squares framelits and a piece of the Very Vanilla using my retired Squares framelits.

Since the darkest colour in the patterned paper is the Night of Navy, I decided to stamp my image and sentiment onto the Very Vanilla piece using that ink.  The image is so strong and the sentiment is just perfect and so I added nothing else.  Sometimes less is definitely more.

I love the way this card turned out.  I'm looking forward to using it for either a birthday card or "hello" card sometime soon.

I hope you'll check out the awesome cards created by our Guest Designer, Stephanie Lanzalotto and the other Watercooler Artists over at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge blog.  Better still, link up your own for us to enjoy.

I'm also entering this card in the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #194 - Men's Hobbies (bicycling)

WWC166 - Kath's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

This week's challenge, hosted by Kath Ricks, is one of my favourites because of all the men in my life.  It's our Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge.

For my card this week I decided to use a brand new set which will be in the new Annual Catalogue, launching June 1st.  It's called Animal Outing and comes with a set of framelits (yay!).  I decided to use the adorable kangaroo which is giving a ride to a good friend of his, the little koala bear.  For some reason I couldn't get the thought out of my head to combine this set with the One Wild Ride set, so I went with it.  I think the sentiment is perfect, don't you?

My base is the Heavy Whisper White followed by a layer of the retiring Dapper Denim cardstock and then a layer of the retiring Myths & Magic Specialty Designer Series paper.  I love the colours in that paper and decided to use them throughout my card.

I hope you'll check out the cards created by the other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  I look forward to seeing what you've created and linked up this week.

I'm also entering my card in the Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #192 - Travel or Transport (because this is clearly both travel and transport).

WWC162 - Charlotte's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

It's Charlotte's week to host our challenge!  Woo Hoo!  And it's a Masculine "Anything Goes" challenge, too!  I'm stoked.  I have lots of men of many ages in my life and it's great to get a few cards made and put aside so that I don't have to frantically rush when an Occasion comes around.

The first thing that popped into my head was that I wanted to use the Memory Box Virtuoso Music die which I had bought years ago.  The next thing that popped into my head was that I wanted to mix the Woodgrain stamp with the Country Livin' set.  So I got to work.

I had a scrap of Heavy Whisper White and used that for stamping the guitar image.  I set that aside to dry thoroughly for colouring.  Then I took another piece of Heavy Whisper White, an 8 1/2" x 11" piece, and folded it to make it my base.  I tore the centre from a piece of copy paper and, through the ragged shape that remained, stamped the woodgrain using the retired Tip Top Taupe ink.  Then I thoroughly distressed the three edges of the front of the card before sponging the same ink around the perimeter.

Once all that had dried, I took the truck image from the Country Livin' set and stamped it onto the woodgrain using Smoky Slate ink.  Then I took the boots from that set and proceeded to stamp portions of that image on three corners.  I liked the "ghost" look of the boots but knew I needed more for the truck and so used my AquaPainter and the Soft Suede, Peekaboo Peach, and Crumb Cake inks to add some colour but still let the woodgrain show through.

You can see I sponged a bit of the Peekaboo Peach around the perimeter, too and also used it to warm up the guitar.  The music is die-cut using Soft Suede and the same colour is used for the sentiment.  The "Happy Birthday" is from the new Picture Perfect Birthday set while I pieced together the "Country Boy" using the handy "Labeler Alphabet".

I hope you'll check out the awesome cards by our Watercooler Artists over at the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I'm also entering this card for the Time Out Challenges #105 - It's their 4th Birthday Celebration

WWC158 - Helen's Masculine "Anything Goes" Challenge

This week's challenge is being hosted by Helen Finlay and was absolute perfect timing, too.  I had to make a birthday card for my grandson and this challenge is our Masculine "Anything Goes" challenge.  How serendipitous is that?

Since he had loved a pop-up card which I had created recently, I decided to create one just for him.  As luck would have it, I had just received a die in the mail which I had ordered with him in mind.  (Don't you love it when things fall into place like that?)

The die-cut on this card is beautiful, isn't it?  I cut it out of gold foil and then used my alcohol Stampin' Blends to add a bit of colour.  My grandson's favourite colour is red and so those drums are gold and red with black feet.  His name begins with an "X" which explains that great big X in the centre of that large drum.  I had such fun making this card because he is a special guy and besides loving to play the drums, he also follows "the beat of his own drum".

As I mentioned, I made the inside of the card a pop-up.  This one is all about his birthday and that great big red star comes out at least an inch or so.  As you can see, I left room in the centre to write something special to our special boy.

Oh, and since his birthday was a couple of days ago, I can tell you that he really was delighted.  He told me it's going into his treasure box. 

I hope you'll check out the wonderful creations by our other Watercooler Artists at our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.