ICS Blog Hop: It's A Guy Thing

Welcome to the May Inspire, Create, & Share Blog Hop! This month, our theme is "It's a Guy Thing." Let's face it. Masculine cards can sometimes be tricky for me to make. I like flowers. I like pink. Well, hey, I like turquoise too - but that's maybe more of a girly blue. Anyways... we were tasked with making a masculine card. And while I freely admit that this might not be the most manly man masculine card... I love it and I'd totally give it to my man - or my boys! They are my knights in shining armor every day :)

For this card, I used the Magical Day stamp set. I loooooooove it, and I am so sad that it's not carrying over into the next catalog! It is just so stinkin' fun to color in with the Stampin' Blends, or Watercolor Pencils, blender pens, or Aquapainters. We just have so many great coloring options right now!! I colored these images with the Stampin' Blends, using Night of Navy, Bermuda Pay, Pool Party, Old Olive, Smoky Slate, Ivory, and Pink Pirouette. And a little light touch of the Color Lifter here and there. I used the coordinating Magical Mates framelits to cut out those images with the Big Shot. I love how they cut them out so perfectly!

Also. That background behind the "Happy Birthday" stamp!! Simply take a piece of plain Whisper White cardstock, and color a gradient using the Blends. Start with the darkest color and color a strip. Then, add the next lightest color and add another strip, blending it with the first. Continue on until you have a gradient you're happy with! I started with the Bermuda Bay dark Blends, moved to the Bermuda Bay light Blends, then Pool Party Dark, then Pool Party Light. Then I cut a circle using the Stitched Shapes Framelits, embossed the Happy Birthday stamp image with white Stampin' Emboss powder, and layered it with a scallop circle in silver foil. And those rhinestones? Simple rhinestones, colored with the dark Bermuda Bay Stampin' Blends marker.

Hope you like it! I love the Blends, and I love any excuse to use them as much as possible. What's your favorite technique with the Stampin' Blends? Leave me a comment to let me know you were here :)

And then go see the next person on the hop - Shirley Merker. Simply click on the button below, and enjoy the rest of the hop. Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in any of the products I used on this card, scroll down for the product list. Clicking on any of the items will take you to my online store where you can purchase them, if you're in Canada. If you don't already have a demonstrator, I'd love to be yours! If you're outside of Canada and you're looking for a demonstrator, I can direct you to one of my friends. Enjoy the hop!

Here's what I used on this card: