A Good Man -- It's Your Day

One thing that I don't seem to make enough of are masculine cards. Today is my youngest son's birthday. He's in the military and currently stationed in a place where the weather is pretty cold and snowy. It's been hard for him to wear his shorts and flip-flops this Winter when the snow is feet deep and the temperatures have been near zero (or below) for a while. So I decided to make him a card to remind him that warmer weather is coming. I really like the pose of the guy in this stamp image because when my son relaxes he is frequently found with his hands behind his head. In fact, his son, my youngest grandson, does the same thing.

This card begins with a panel of Misty Moonlight cardstock embossed with the Old World Paper 3D Embossing Folder and adhered at the center of a slightly larger mat of Basic Black cardstock. Pieces of Braided Linen Trim were adhered across the panels: 3 pieces just above the center with the top piece 2" below the top edge of the Misty Moonlight cardstock; 3 pieces across the bottom area with the bottom piece 1-1/4" above the bottom edge of the Misty Moonlight cardstock; and 3 pieces woven vertically through the horizontal groups of 3 pieces near the left side of the Misty Moonlight panel with the edge of the left piece 1/4" from the left edge of the Misty Moonlight cardstock. All the ends of the trim were folded to the back of the Basic Black mat and adhered as they were placed/positioned on the Misty Moonlight panel. The Misty Moonlight/Basic Black panel was then adhered at the center of the Crumb Cake card front.

A panel of Thick Whisper White cardstock was stamped with the man in the chair image, from the A Good Man stamp set, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The "It's Your Day" greeting, also from the A Good Man stamp set, was stamped just above the elbow to the right of the image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The image was colored using Stampin' Blend Markers:

Tee Shirt: Light Seaside Spray
Shorts: Light Misty Moonlight
Hat: Light Bermuda Bay
Skin: Ivory
Chair: Light Calypso Coral, Dark Poppy Parade, Light Mango Melody, Light Granny Apple Green
Sand: Dark Crumb Cake

The panel was die cut with the 2-1/4" x 3-9/16" rectangle from the Stitched Rectangles dies and adhered to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals. The right edge of the panel is 1/4" from the right side of the Misty Moonlight panel and the bottom edge of the panel is 5/16" above the bottom edge of the Misty Moonlight panel.

The "Relax Your Way!" sentiment was stamped at the upper center of a panel of Basic White cardstock using Misty Moonlight ink. A beach scene was created for the bottom edge of the Basic White panel using the Waterfront stamp set:

Sand: the long, narrow background stamp inked with Crumb Cake ink, stamped off, and then stamped across the bottom edge of the panel. Note that this process will need to be repeated 3 or 4 times to cover the bottom edge
Speckles on Sand: the sand speckles image inked with Crumb Cake ink, stamped off, and then stamped over the stamped sand. Note that this process will need to be repeated 3 or 4 times to cover the sand
Palm Tree trunks: stamped two times near center and near the right edge of the sand using Soft Suede ink
Palm Fronds: stamped over the palm tree trunks using Old Olive ink
Beach Cabana: stamped at the top edge of the sand just left of center using Misty Moonlight ink

The panel was adhered at the center of the inside sentiment area of the card base.

The beach scene was stamped at the lower left front corner of the Medium Basic White Envelope:

Sand: the long, narrow background stamp inked with Crumb Cake ink, stamped off, and then stamped across the bottom left edge of the envelope. Note that this process will need to be repeated 2 or 3 times to cover the bottom edge
Speckles on Sand: the sand speckles image inked with Crumb Cake ink, stamped off, and then stamped over the stamped sand. Note that this process will need to be repeated 2 or 3 times to cover the sand
Palm Tree trunks: stamped near the left edge of the sand using Soft Suede ink
Palm Fronds: stamped over the palm tree trunks using Old Olive ink
Beach Cabana: stamped at the top edge of the sand just to the left of the palm trees

Happy 38th birthday, Brian!

Card Measurements

Basic Black: 4" x 5-1/4"; Basic White: 4" x 5-1/4"; Thick Basic White: 2-3/4" x 4"; Crumb Cake: 4-1/4" x 11" scored at 5-1/2" along the 11" length; Misty Moonlight: 3-7/8" x 5-1/8"; Braided Linen Trim: 3 @ 7", 6 @ 5-1/2"

Supplies I used to make this card

Stamps: A Good Man, Waterfront; Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Crumb Cake, Misty Moonlight, Old Olive, Soft Suede; Stampin' Blends Markers: Ivory, Light Bermuda Bay, Light Calypso Coral, Dark Crumb Cake, Light Granny Apple Green, Light Mango Melody, Light Misty Moonlight, Dark Poppy Parade, Light Seaside Spray; Embellishments: Braided Linen Trim; Tools: Old World Paper 3D Embossing Folder, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine; Adhesives: Stampin' Seal, Stampin' Dimensionals; Other: Medium Basic White Envelope