Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has a fun theme challenge for us to work with:

I decided to use Jen M's layout over at Freshly Made Sketches and was also inspired by the masculine blues and browns of Laurel's Inspired By photo for my Father's Day card this week - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Oceanfront - I haven't used the Oceanfront stamp set in ages, so thought today's card was a good opportunity to rectify this! This is such a great stamp for making beautiful beach scenes and is so easy to use. I stamped my scene with a Boho Blue sky, Misty Moonlight ocean and Crumb Cake sand with Copper Clay grasses - done! I also added some birds in Pebble Path from the 'Beside Me' set that I had out on my desk for my sentiment and some retired pebble enamel shapes to add a little extra detail. I wanted to diecut my scene with a stitched rectangle, but since they are now retired I thought I would consider other current options first and what do you know - one of the scalloped rectangles in the Scalloped Contours Dies was the perfect size!

Fresh As A Daisy - I used two pieces of designer paper for my split panel background - do you recognise them? In addition to all of the lovely floral patterns, the Fresh As A Daisy papers have a beautiful wash reverse in each of the new in-colours. I used the Boho Blue and Copper Clay papers to echo the colours of my oceanfront scene, with the diagonal proving a useful way to combine the two.

A Sketch Liberty - Whilst I think it's clear to see how Jen's FMS sketch inspired my layout this week, you will notice I did take a few liberties with it to suit my finished design (I hope she doesn't mind!). The size of my final card is larger than usual (14.9cm x 21cm) as I wanted to be able to accommodate my scene and still have plenty of background on show. I also re-angled the diagonal of my background layer; I wanted the diagonal to follow the diagonal of the shoreline of my ocean scene, so instead of going corner to corner I cut across the the main panel. This way the design still looks cohesive and the diagonal works with my scene, rather than making everything look slightly out of kilter:

A simple heat-embossed sentiment cut out with the label (shortened to fit) from the Cheerful Daisies Dies and a fancy linen thread bow complete my Father's Day card. This one will be headed to my Dad in a couple of weeks time - hope he likes it!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

Enjoy your day; after what has been a decidedly chilly week here in the UK, the sun is finally shining and temperatures are on the up - hurrah! I am looking forward to spending some time in the garden today, hopefully with a good book. I'll be back soon with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

OCEANFRONT PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SET (21.00)	BESIDE ME CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	SCALLOPED CONTOURS DIES (33.00)	FRESH AS A DAISY 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (9.98)	CRUMB CAKE A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	COPPER CLAY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
COPPER CLAY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BOHO BLUE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	MISTY MOONLIGHT CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	PEBBLED PATH CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)
BASICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	LINEN THREAD (4.75)	CHEERFUL DAISIES DIES (32.00)

Today I have my card for the new challenge over at Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge. 

The challenge that we are celebrating this week is 'Father's Day' which is on 18th June. This time around we are also teaming up with Double Trouble: entering both challenges gives you double the chance of winning. Their Thing 1 challenge is to create a masculine card. Their Thing 2 challenge is to enter our Festive Friday Challenge. Their Thing 3 challenge is to include a plaid/check. Here's the link to enter their challenge: Double Trouble Challenge. Remember the fun thing is that at Festive Friday you do not need to actually celebrate the occasion; your goal is to simply use three or more items from the inspiration list on your project. This week I used blue, monochromatic, masculine, plaid/checks and diecuts and decided to create a Father's Day card - this is what I came up with:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Inked Botanicals - The plaid paper that I used for my background inspired the subtle colour scheme for today's card. You may be surprised to know that this soft plaid is one of the designs in the new Inked Botanicals designer paper pack. I though the soft Pool Party and Lost Lagoon tones would provide the perfect background for my coastal themed card which I'm also linking up with the lovely ladies over at SUO Challenges who are all about the blues and sea-inspired cards.

Nested Essentials - I framed my stamped scene using one of the new Nested Essentials Dies. These are one of those 'easily overlooked' products as they are a die-only set. Comprising 12 dies including 4 banners, 4 rounded corner rectangles and 4 nested diamonds with straight edges all of which have a neat stitched border detail, these are great for framing and layering and I know that they will become a new craft room staple. 

Beside Me - But Not As You Know It - The image on the front of my card is from the 'Beside Me' set - but the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that there is something missing! I love this image as it looks exactly like the James Juniors with their Dad, but I don't think they have ever been fishing together - so the fishing rods had to go! This was so easy to achieve: I simply inked the stamp in Lost Lagoon and masked off the fishing rods before inking, so that they weren't present when stamped - voila! I wanted to stick with my simple colour scheme, so chose not to colour the image itself, instead masking it before inking in a sky and sea using a blending brush. You can see the results of my handiwork more closely below:

This wasn't the only stamp I tweaked on today's card. I stamped a combination of sentiments from the set inside my card, but since the image on the front of the card had two children, I wanted the sentiment to read 'You've always been there for us' as opposed to 'me'. Again, this was simple enough to achieve: I stamped the sentiment having masked out the 'me', then added in a 'u' and 's' using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up, having selectively inked them up on one of the other stamps in the set:

I think it works - don't you? I love that I can tailor my stamps to create something that is bespoke to my needs. Do you ever do that with your stamps? Do leave me a comment below - I would love to know about your 'stamp hacks' too.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

How does our board inspire you? I can’t wait to see what YOU create! For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Card Making and Paper Crafting Challenge

 Design team:

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

BESIDE ME CLING STAMP SET (ENGLISH) (25.00)	INKED BOTANICALS 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	NESTED ESSENTIALS DIES (32.00)	POOL PARTY A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)	POOL PARTY CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	LOST LAGOON A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)
LOST LAGOON CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD (8.50)	BASIC WHITE A4 CARDSTOCK (10.00)	BLENDING BRUSHES (13.00)

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm sharing two cards made using this week's Freshly Made Sketches layout:

Yesterday was Father's Day here in the UK and I used the FMS sketch and one of my new stamp sets to create a pair of co-ordinating cards from each of the James Juniors for their Dad to celebrate this special day. Here's the first one, from Rebecca:

And here's the second one, from Ben:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

A Good Man - How I love this stamp set! The first time I saw it, it went straight to the top of my wish list. I am fond of the other sets in this style by this particular concept artist (Let It Ride, Beautiful You and Wonderful Moments) with their loose lines and almost handwritten sentiments, but this set with its girl and boy and father figure could have been made for me, it looks so much like my children and their Dad; here's a picture of all of us together so that you can see what I mean:

 They are both a little older now than they were when this picture was taken, but you get the idea! So this set was the perfect way to celebrate a special Dad on Father's Day.

A Split Sentiment - The 'A Good Man' stamp set has some wonderful sentiments, that would work just as well on a birthday card too. To work with the layout, I split both of my sentiments and included the first portion on the three horizontal elements and then the second piece on the main panel, next to the fussy cut images that I coloured with my Stampin' Blends. 

Sail Away Stripes - For a little extra detail, I added a base layer of striped patterned paper featuring two of the designs from the 'Come Sail Away' designer series paper pack. This pack has some great designs and in addition to the obviously nautical sailboats and anchors, these stripes are great for all kinds of cards and projects, with not a boat in sight!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's projects for you to pin for easy reference - for the first card:

And for the second card:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

A Good Man Cling Stamp Set (£22.00)	Come Sail Away Designer Series Paper (£10.75)	Balmy Blue A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock (£8.25)	Whisper White A4 Cardstock (£9.00)
Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad (£5.50)	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad (£7.00)	Balmy Blue Stampin' Blends Combo Pack (£8.50)	Night Of Navy Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Poppy Parade Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)
Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Flirty Flamingo Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack (£8.50)	Stitched Rectangle Dies (£33.00)

Today it's Sunday and time for this week's new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the fabulous Ann to host this week and she has my favourite, a sketch challenge, for you to work with:

I could think of so many ways to use this sketch! I decided to challenge my self to retain the 'any shape' oval element, since I don't often use ovals on my projects and work with a new-to-me stamp set too - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Masculine Classic Garage - The Classic Garage Suite in the Spring-Summer catalogue is perfect for projects to celebrate the men in your life: cars, keys, tools, perfect for those who love motors or anyone with aspirations to be a petrol-head. The designer series papers include some fabulous bright colours too and I used them to influence the colour scheme of my card, both in the papers that I used for my layers and the bold blocks of colour that feature my sentiment and focal point image.

Geared Up - I chose the classic car from the 'Geared Up Garage' stamp set as my focal image, stamped in black onto Tranquil Tide cardstock. I stamped it again onto vellum and fussy cut the windows before gluing to my car and covering them with a layer of fine tip glue for added shine. I'm not big into cars and I'm not sure what car type this is, however it does remind me of old-fashioned cars in the 1970s and I remember my Dad driving a car that was turquoise green in colour at the time and since this will be his Father's Day card I think he will appreciate the similarity and it is sure to evoke a few memories. I used another of the stamps from the set for the sentiment on the inside too:

Keys To The Car - Or key, to be precise! The silver metal keys and spanners that make up the Classic Garage Metal Elements are perfect for tooling up cards and packages and I couldn't resist adding one with a little bow of black twine to finish off my card.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my Product and 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day; we have a family sport-free day today so will be making the most of it before the Juniors return to school tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Geared Up Garage Cling Bundle (£45.75)	Classic Garage 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper (£10.25)	Classic Garage Metal Elements (£6.50)	Classic Garage A4 Cardstock Pack (£8.00)	Real Red A4 Cardstock (£8.00)
Basic Black Solid Baker's Twine (£2.75)	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies (£28.00)

Happy Bank Holiday Monday to all my UK readers today and to all those in the USA - Happy Memorial Day. I hope you've all been enjoying the long weekend and perhaps have even been able to squeeze in a little extra crafting time too. Today I'm sharing a couple of cards - the first one using this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I still need a couple of Father's Day cards so decided to use up a few more retiring products and 'go masculine' - perfect for the challenge over at SUO Challenges too. Here's my card:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Best Dad Ever - This sentiment is from the 'Everyday Tags' stamp set, whilst designed to co-ordinate with the Cheerful Tags Framelits Dies, also makes a great focal sentiment for my card. 

Layered Squares - I can't seem to put down my Layering Squares lately! Here I adapted them slightly to create a rectangle that would frame my sentiment better and used a piece of Urban Underground Specialty Designer Series Paper for my background. 

Nailed It - I paper-pieced three tools from the 'Nailed It' set for my embellishments and cut them out by hand as I didn't want a border around the edge. I also used the 'Happy Father's Day' stamp inside my card.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. Is your Dad a tools man into DIY or would you choose an alternative theme for your card? Do let me know in the comments below - I would love to hear your thoughts.

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Everyday Tags Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Nailed It Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Layering Squares Framelits Dies	Urban Underground A4 Cardstock Pack	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
Basic Black A4 Cardstock

Happy Monday everyone! A nice early post from me to start the week with a card for this week's challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches:

I needed to get cracking on some Father's Day cards and this sketch gave me the perfect opportunity:

 Here's the low-down on today's card:

Urban District - The vertical panel was perfect to showcase the DAD letters of the Urban District stamp set. These letters are such fun and include so many fun images in relation to hobbies and past-times that Dads everywhere will be able to relate to. I stamped the letters in Versamark onto a piece of Urban Underground Specialty Designer Series Paper and heat embossed them in silver. This set also includes two of the best sentiments for a Dad card that I think I've ever seen (you know how much I love a good sentiment!) and I stamped this one inside my card:

Dynamic Hexagons - I decided to go for a textured foil background for the front of my card and ran a piece of silver foil in the Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder through the Big Shot to give me a super shiny, amazing dimensional impression onto my cardstock. This card is larger than usual (it measures 8" by 4 1/4" finished size). Whilst my foil panel is the width of the embossing folder, it is also longer. Extending the embossed panel is really straightforward: all you need to do is emboss the length of the folder, then rotate the foil mat through 180 degrees and reposition the foil in the embossing folder, matching up the section already embossed with the pre-embossed pattern.

An Expert Envelope - An oversized card calls for an oversized envelope; this one is beyond the printed sizes on the Envelope Punch Board though. The answer? Why, my trusty Envelope Expert tool of course! Envelope Expert allows you to specify your desired envelope dimensions,  in either cm or inches, and it will then tell you what size paper you need and where to punch and score. I used a co-ordinating piece of Urban Underground paper for my envelope, Along with my Envelope Punch Board. If you don't have an Envelope Punch Board, I can't recommend you purchase one highly enough - they are so useful! Don't forget my Envelope Expert tool can be found on my website here and is free for you to use too, so don't be shy - make any size card you like and use Envelope Expert to produce an envelope to fit. 

I do like this modern, masculine set and will be disappointed to see it retire, along with Nailed It, at the end of this month.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Urban District Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Versamark Pad	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)
Embossing Buddy	Silver Foil Sheets	Basic Black A4 Cardstock	Envelope Punch Board

I've had a busy day - we have today welcomed 4 new additions to the James Family - yet still managed to find time to photograph this little number that I made yesterday for this week's challenge over at The Global Design Project. Thank you for to the GDP team for choosing my card last week as a GDP Winner  - I'm honoured. If you missed it, you can see that card here. This week the challenge is to case one of their design team, the lovely Michelle Last, and this is her inspiration card:

I liked the way Michelle embossed the whole front panel, as this isn't something I do on a card often, and combined it with the focal point frame and I wanted to retain these elements. I considered using butterflies but a quick glance at the gallery showed lots of other examples so I went through my box of embossing folders for inspiration and this is what I came up with:

Here's the lowdown on today's card:

Pick A Pattern - I chose to use the Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder for my background and that formed the basis of the masculine theme for my card. This folder creates such a deep impression with wonderful dimension it makes a great background.

A Creative Frame - I decided to create a frame shaped like a nut to tie in with my masculine hexagonal theme. The hexagonal shape in the Build It Framelits was too small for my card, so I just punched a 2" circle into a piece of cardstock and freehand cut my hexagon around it. It is not perfectly proportioned because I needed a larger hole in order to accommodate my sentiment, so a little creative licence used.

Nailed It - The real feature of my card has to be the tools from the Nailed It bundle. I was so surprised and disappointed to see that this set and the Build It Framelits were not carrying over into the new annual catalogue. It's a great set and I haven't used it much on my blog yet as I was building up to Father's Day in June. The framelits have unfortunately already sold out but at the moment the stamp set is still available. I would really recommend it as it makes a great masculine set and the main tools can be easily fussy cut my hand. I watercoloured my tools with ink and an aquapainter to reflect the style of the card I was casing - a quick and easy way to add a splash of colour.

The fun thing about casing someone else's card is that you can take lots of basic elements that are the same - the embossed background, fancy frame and watercoloured image - yet make them your own to produce something completely different. My card is a completely different theme to the challenge card, but similar in many other ways and it's clear to see where I did a 'Copy And Selectively Edit' of Michelle's original. Thanks Michelle for the inspiration this week!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a new project. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Nailed It Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	Delightful Dijon Classic Stampin' Pad	Pacific Point A4 Cardstock	Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad
Smoky Slate A4 Cardstock	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad	Aqua Painters	Whisper White A4 Cardstock
2" (5.1 Cm) Circle Punch

I'm back again! Apologies for yesterday's lack of blog post; at this time of year the last few weeks of the academic year are always busy, so it sometimes means my daily blog schedule is disrupted. Do bear with me - it's often not for want of things to share and more the time to write the posts, in amongst other commitments to my family, customers and team. There will always be posts to coincide with my design team commitments; there just might be the odd day when I don't make it to the laptop! Anyway today I do have a fun share that uses this week's colours over at The Paper Players again and the sketch layout at CAS Colours and Sketches:

My fellow Paper Player LeAnne, who chose this week's colours, also chose to use this sketch for her Sunday card (you can check it out along with the other Paper Player Team cards here) and whilst I was working on my team card, I also came up with this one that would make a fun last-minute Father's Day card:

I am using a few retired products on today's card, but you could quite easily substitute these with other similar products such as the scalloped tag topper punch, layered circle thinlits and an alternative alphabet stamp set such as the new Labeler Alphabet. Here's the low-down on today's card:

My Hero Captain America - The layered circle element on my card is inspired by the shield belonging to that all-American superhero Captain America. I used my circle framelits and the challenge colours, with a circle of silver foil card, to create my shield. I decided to make this card into a Father's Day card, but the sentiment could also be adapted for a younger boy's birthday card, which given the popularity of Marvel comic book heroes with my 8 year old and his friends currently is something I definitely need to look into!

Calling All Heroes - I used the Retired 'Calling All Heroes' stamp set for my custom sentiment on my tag; this comic book script adds just the right feel for my card. For my UK readers who might be thinking 'what set?' this set was available only in the USA. I was sent a set by the lovely LeAnne (thank you again!) and I knew that I would get lots of use from it with its fun comic book and superhero images. I also used other images from the set to decorate the inside of my card. For me it's a keeper!

It's In The Stars - Lastly, I punched a white star for the centre of my shield using the medium star punch and embossed the background panel for my cardfront using the Lucky Stars embossing folder to add texture and interest and tie in with my overall theme. 

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Enjoy your evening. I'm off to bake and ice some cupcakes for a very special birthday girl who will be celebrating tomorrow. I'll be back then with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Cherry Cobbler A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim A4 Cardstock	Dapper Denim Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Silver Foil Sheets
Lucky Stars Textured Impressions Embossing Folders

Happy Monday everyone! What a lovely day we had here in the UK yesterday - sunshine at last! I'm here bright and early this week as I have a busy one: two monthly technique classes today and tomorrow, my Project Life memory keeping class, a drop-in coffee and card session at Bells in Northampton and my Annual Catalogue Open House at the end of the week to look forward to, amongst other things! Today I'm back with another masculine card, this time for the colour challenge over at Pals Paper Arts:

I thought these colours would suit a little ocean scene - I originally started out with the sketch I used for yesterday's card, but eventually my idea morphed into this:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Sail Away With The Swirly Bird - It's official - I am in love with the Swirly Bird stamp set and co-ordinating thinlits! This bundle is definitely at the top of my list of favourite things from the new annual catalogue. It has flowers and birds, boats and kites and the splatters you see in the background behind my boat - such a fun set! I stamped my boat in Sahara Sand, then for the sails I stamped one in Night of Navy and the other in Mint Macaron (stamped off first) then overstamped the stripes in Night of Navy and clear heat embossed them for a lovely shine.

A Life on the Swirly Scribbles Ocean Wave - The sea on my card was made using a die from the co-ordinating Swirly Scribbles Thinlits: I cut it out of the top Mint Macaron layer, which was attached to my base layer with dimensionals, and paper-pieced the negative pieces into the space on my Night of Navy base layer. It's a little difficult to see in the photograph, but this gives a lovely added dimension to my rolling waves.

A Swirly Greatest Greeting - I wanted my sentiment to follow the curve of my cardstock, so I used my sentiment from the 'Greatest Greetings' stamp set and curved it to follow the contours of the cut line before adhering to my stamp and stamping it. This is much easier to do with photopolymer stamps, however since I hadn't adhered the word image to the back of the stamp it was a little more sticky than would otherwise have been the case and held in place on my block long enough for me to get a shaped image. I then finished this with some retired Mint Macaron It's My Party enamel dots. 

I love this fresh colour scheme and although my card features only the tiniest pieces of Sahara Sand for the hull of my sail boat, I think my design really makes the most of these colours.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

I'm off to get ready for my class. I'll be back tomorrow with another masculine project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Swirly Bird Photopolymer Bundle	Greatest Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad
Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder	Heat Tool (Uk)	Night Of Navy A4 Cardstock	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of the super-talented Claire to host our challenge this week and she has a timely theme for you to play along with:

With only a couple of weeks to go until Father's Day, today's challenge is a great opportunity for you to get your cards made (and posted if necessary!) in a timely manner. For my card this week I debated with myself what stamps to use: old or new! In the end I ended up making not one but 3 cards, each using a different set. I will be sharing them all over the next three days so if you're in need of masculine inspiration be sure to check back for three very different cards, each of which would work for both Father's Day or a male/Dad's birthday.

For today's card I used this week's sketch over at the Global Design Project and decided to go with one of my favourite existing masculine sets, Guy Greetings, along with some new product - copper embossing powder. Take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Add Shine With Copper - Heat embossing adds a 'wow' to any project and the new copper embossing powder is no exception. I stamped my anchors from the 'Guy Greetings' stamp set in Versamark onto a panel of Whisper White and heat embossed them in copper. Check out the lovely sheen that you get when the light bounces off it on my card above! I chose Bermuda Bay for the base and top split layer above my recessed anchor panel; it looks great with the copper and reminds me of the sea, so seemed appropriate for today's card. 

A Multi-Purpose Guy Greeting - I saved my 'Happy Father's Day' sentiment for the inside of my card and chose the anchor one for the front. It ties in with my visuals of course, but would also make this card a multi-purpose masculine card that could be used for other occasions too.

A Layered Label And Embellished Anchor - I used a layered label from the Tags & Labels Framelits set for my sentiment, modifying the mat as I wanted it to have a thinner border than the standard framelit size. This was easy to do: I just cut a standard sized one, then cut it again to remove a slice off two of the four sides. To finish I embossed another anchor in copper, then fussy cut it by hand, removing the rope pieces. I then took some thick Bermuda Bay baker's twine and wrapped it around the anchor where the embossed rope would have been and secured it in place with glue dots. You can see it in more detail in the thumbnail at the top of today's post.

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing your masculine creations in our gallery this week. The weather hasn't been great here this week, however yesterday was a little warmer and today is forecast the same, so I'm looking forward to a BBQ lunch in the garden - doesn't food always taste better if eaten in the open air? I think so! Then I'm hoping to spend some time in the afternoon preparing for my Annual Catalogue Open House on Friday later this week. I hope you enjoy your Sunday too.

I'll be back tomorrow with another masculine project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: 

Guy Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set	Tags & Labels Framelits Dies	Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder	Bermuda Bay Thick Baker’S Twine	Bermuda Bay A4 Cardstock
Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Cardstock	Embossing Buddy	Versamark Pad	Heat Tool (Uk)