Control Freaks Blog Hop August 2018

Hi!  Welcome to the monthly Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers!  This month our theme is WHAT’S UP DUDE…masculine cards!   You’ve probably just come from my friend, Debbie Henderson’s blog…love her projects, don’t you?  Just click on the link below to take you around the entire blog hop for some GREAT inspiration!

Country Road

I think most of us struggle with masculine cards, don’t you?  Give me a flower set and I will go to town creating…but more masculine sets take a little more thought process!  So, I purchased this stamp set, Country Road, specifically with masculine cards in mind!  I made this card for one of the New Catalog Swaps that I participated in.

Stampin’ Details:

• The base is 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 Early Espresso cardstock, scored at 4-1/4 and folded.
• On the 4 x 5-1/4 layer of Very Vanilla cardstock, a 1-1/2 x 5-1/4 strip of Merry Merlot cardstock was placed across the center.
• The country star was stamped with Early Espresso on the Merry Merlot cardstock towards the right side.
• The greeting from Country Road was stamped with Early Espresso Ink below the Merry Merlot strip.
• On the 2-3/4 x 3-3/4 piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, a piece of Wood Textures Designer Paper was angle cut to look like a “roof line” on the bottom.
• The horse weather vane was stamped with Early Espresso Ink above the “roof”
• The edges of the Crumb Cake piece were sponged with Early Espresso Ink and the piece popped up on the front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
• A Gold Metallic Pearl was added to the center of the country star.

Here’s a closeup of the card:

My second card uses some lighter colors, but still has a masculine vibe to it.

• The base is 4-1/4 x 11 Balmy Blue cardstock, scored at 5-1/2 and folded to form the base card.
• A 3-7/8 x 5-1/8 layer of Poppy Parade cardstock was placed on top.
• On the 3-3/4 x 5 piece of Whisper White cardstock, the branch image was stamped diagonally across the bottom with Poppy Parade Ink.
• The speckle image from Timeless Textures was stamped randomly (diagonally) with Balmy Blue Ink in the background.
• The greeting was stamped with Early Espresso Ink.
• The Wagon Wheel was stamped with Early Espresso Ink on Crumb Cake cardstock.  Sponged with Crumb Cake Ink and hand cut and trimmed across the bottom, then added to the front.

Here’s a closeup…love these colors for a masculine card!

Hope you liked my masculine cards and can use them for inspiration!  OK…next up on the Control Freaks Blog Hop is another good friend, Melissa Davies!  I love her work, so I know you’ll enjoy her projects, too!

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You'll love our brand new set of tutorials featuring the Birthday Cheer Bundle and nice BRIGHT colors from the 2018-20 In Color Collection. We have tutorials for three cards (one a special fold) and a special 3D gift project that are perfect for your classes or to make for yourself or gifts! All are designed by Connie and Mary and exclusive to our subscribers! See details HERE!

And, don't forget our set of tutorials featuring Stampin' Up!'s Tea Together! We've combined this stamp set with the gorgeous Floral Romance Specialty Designer Paper for an elegant look! You'll get tutorials for three cards (one a special fold) and a special 3D favor project, that are perfect for your classes or to make for yourself or gifts! See the details HERE!