After yesterday’s very small, colourful project I have something quite different for you. I received an e-mail from The Paper Players announcing their latest design challenge and I knew I’d have to take part. The theme this week is masculine birthdays and who couldn’t use more masculine birthday card ideas? So with a brand new pack of Designer Series Paper (DSP) I sat down and set to work. By the time I’d finished I’d created a very dramatic card indeed.

NEW MASCULINE DSP

I bought the World of Good Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) as it was obviously perfect for masculine cards. The colour palette includes Bumblebee, Cinnamon Cider, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Misty Moonlight and Mossy Meadow with Whisper White accents. But today it was the black and gold foil that attracted me.

Like many of my card projects I began by preparing the ‘coordinating’ parts.

First I cut a piece of the grid design 2-1/4″ x 6″. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached it to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. With that done I trimmed the DSP with Paper Snips using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Next I cut a 3/4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of DSP and glued that down the edge of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Smoky Slate Card. I would use this to line my card base but first I had to make it.

For the card base I decided to use Basic Black Card. After cutting and scoring the card I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then I added the Smoky Slate liner to the inside with more liquid glue.

Finally I cut a 2-1/8″ x 5-1/2″ piece of the DSP. Then using liquid glue I mounted it onto a 2-3/8″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Smoky Slate Card. With that done I glued the layers to the front of my card base.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

For my happy birthday sentiment I turned to an old favourite, the Rustic Retreat Stamp Set.

Using VersaMark ink I stamped my sentiment onto some Basic Black Card. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess. After removing a few stray specks I melted the remaining powder using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

At this point I decided to go looking for some kind of image or embellishment that I could add to my design. In the end I settled on the feather from the Nature’s Thoughts Dies. This die is clever in that embosses the feather design into the die-cut piece as it cuts. Then just to make it extra special I opted to die cut two of them from Gold Foil Sheet.

Now I was ready to put the finishing touches to my design.

Using liquid glue I mounted the embossed sentiment onto a piece of Smoky Slate Card. Then with a little liquid glue I attached one of the feathers to the corner. Next I flipped over the sentiment and feather and added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back. After taking off the backings pieces I used one of the Dimensionals to hold the second feather in place behind the sentiment. Then I added some liquid glue to the back of the second feather.

Finally with the sentiment piece assembled and prepared all I had to do was press it into place on the front of my card.

I can’t tell you how delighted I am with this masculine card design. It’s really dramatic and perfect for that very special birthday.

PP507 MASCULINE BIRTHDAYS

For more masculine card designs see these earlier blog posts:

• Whale have a happy Saturday
• Ending July with a gilded sneak peek
• Forever Greenery surprised me
• Adding texture with simple stamping

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