Brooke came over to hang out for a bit on Saturday. It’s always a treat to spend time with her. As she was on her way, she called to say, “My Mom’s neighbor is turning 90 tomorrow. Can we make a card to take to the party?” Now, that’s a challenge I’m happy to accept. After we chatted for a bit, we headed to my Stamping Studio (I just gave my basement space a small facelift by adding a ceiling and some new lights – it’s been upgraded from Stamping Dungeon to Stamping Studio).
Brooke’s only guidelines for the card were that it should be masculine and that the front should have a big, bold “90”. With a little help from My Digital Studio to create the “90”, here’s what we came up with:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders:
- Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack: Year-Round Fun. This stack offers 48 pages of 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″ double-sided paper. If you flip though the stack, you’ll see all sorts of beautiful Christmas prints – bold Cherry Cobbler and Lucky Limeade prints with some Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake thrown in for good measure. If you turn the stack over and flip through the opposite sides, you’ll be greeted by bold, not-Christmas patterns in Early Espresso and Island Indigo. This feature makes this paper stack extremely versatile and allows you to use it all up (if you don’t get through it during the holidays. This Early Espresso houndstooth print screams “masculine,” don’t you think?
- Accentuate intricate elements with bold elements. As we flipped through all the options in MDS to select the font for the “90,” we were tempted by lots of narrow, intricate fonts. They just looked so darned fancy! We had to keep reminding ourselves, though, that we needed a solid, bold font that wouldn’t fight with the intricate print of the houndstooth. Selecting a bold font to coordinate with the detailed print allows both of them to shine in their own right.
It’s not shown here, but we added an Early Espresso “Happiest Birthday” from Apothecary Art. I hope Mr. Gilmore had a wonderful birthday celebration!
Papers: Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla Accessories: Window Frames Collection Framelit Dies, MDS
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Brian
The One-for-One Swaps will be mailed back out today. I received 28 cards from all over the U.S. The cards were all wonderful, and I appreciate your participation! I’ll post pictures of all the cards on Friday (I’m excited to share them all with you, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you!)
Happy Birthday Mr. Gilmore! Fabulous card here in Houndstooth! Love it!
Thanks, Patti! Simple does the trick. 🙂
Awesome card, love the big 90 on the front. That Houndstooth design is just perfect and I’m sure Mr. Gilmore liked it a lot.
I can’t wait for the cards Brian, this was a wonderful idea. Maybe you should have more of this card swaps, like for the Holidays, Valentine’s Day, 4th. of July, etc.
Thanks, Maria! I’ll definitely do the swap again. I loved opening up all the cards. Be on the lookout!
Great card- you met the challenge well!
Thanks! When “masculine” is a requirement, you almost have to go uber-conservative. No frills, no ribbons. These colors and framelits made it easy to stay between the two.
BK – the card was a HIT! My mom was over the moon with our design and so appreciative… There’s no doubt in my mind that our card was the handsomest of the bunch celebrating such a monumental occasion. 🙂 Thank you again (s always) for your willingness to help me create a true MASTERPIECE! And I was thrilled to tour the facelifted Stampin’ Studio… So proud and excited for you and your new and improved space. <3 you!
Oh, Brooke! I am so glad to hear that the card went over well. It was so good to hang out with you on Saturday. Let’s do it again – soon!
This was the perfect card for Mr. Gilmore….I love houndstooth!!! I bought a pack of houndstooth in all colors a couple of years ago and was so excited. The word houndstooth always makes me think of Sherlock Holmes !! So glad you got a good response on the card swap…I think it`s fun and makes your blog interactive ….I agree with Maria ….we should do it again ,my cards aren`t all that great ,but I really do like swaps. You and Brooke did a very good job because this card is handsome probably like Mr. Gilmore .
Sonny – I love that you said houndstooth makes you think of Sherlock Holmes. The very word always makes me picture a blood hound with a Sherlock Holmes hat. Strange. We might be twins.
In one word: classy!
this is a fantastic masculine card. great idea to make use of mds!
hugs, m
These framelit dies are so neat. They are decorative, yet they are not frilly. They look good on this masculine card and on a pretty women’s card with a fancier stamp.
Fabulous card! It’s a classic–just like Mr. Gilmore!
Brian, this card is the total, absolute BOMB–both stunning and so very simple at the same time. Ultra-classy. I love it.
Love this new paper stack, though I have yet to use it….it does provide for a variety of card designs for all year long! WONDERFUL card and am sure he loved it!!!!!!!!
Fabulous Card! You keep making me re-think my rebelious attitude towards MDS!