Papertrey Ink Boys to Men Blog Hop

The theme for this month's Papertrey Ink blog hop is cards for boys and men. When I make masculine cards, I like to incorporate lots of texture to add interest in place of more frilly, fluffy accents. For the hop, I did just that with the new space themed Boy Basics: Out of This World set, using it to create a fun, interactive card that's perfect for a little boy.

I started by embossing a Spring Rain panel with the Sunshine impression plate (and somehow cracking one of my Big Shot's "B" plates in the process--fortunately I had an extra ready and waiting to go . . . ). This provided a fun background for my interactive scene. I made a bumpy moon using a Lemon Tart circle cut in a moon-like crescent shape. I ran the crescent shape through my Big Shot with a dotted embossing folder, then spritzed with a little shimmer spray for a nighttime sky sparkle before attaching it to the panel with foam tape.

I die cut the set's rocket shape from white cardstock, then stamped and colored the image. I added a clear plastic dome embellishment to the rocket's window for a life-like touch. To make the interactive element, I used a punch to make a channel in the Spring Rain panel. To allow the rocket to move up and down the channel, I attached a "sandwich" of pennies with a foam dot between them to the back of the rocket. One penny is behind the Spring Rain panel, holding the rocket in the channel as it moves up and down. Before attaching the panel to the Enchanted Evening card base, I attached a strip of Spring Rain cardstock to it to make the channel in the cardstock a little less noticeable.

The rest of the card's pretty simple. I added a yellow strip along the bottom of the card, running a piece of red ribbon around the top of the strip to visually divide it from the rest of the card. The "3-2-1 blast off" sentiment is stamped on a white panel in red ink and slipped underneath the ribbon. I accented it with a pair of yellow star brads. A blue button, tied with Pure Poppy baker's twine, finishes the card.

Materials Used:
Boy Basics: Out of This World stamp set, Pure Poppy ink, Enchanted Evening, Lemon Tart, Spring Rain, and White cardstock, Sunshine impression plate, Rocket die, Enchanted Evening button, Pure Poppy baker's twine (Papertrey Ink); Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Sparkle Shimmer Spritz (Tsukineko); markers (Copic); word window punch (Stampin' Up!); red grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); Polka Dots embossing folder (Sizzix); 1 3/4" circle punch (EK Success); star brads (Making Memories); clear dome embellishment; foam tape