Love At First Stamp's First Blog Hop

This is the first LOVE AT FIRST STAMP Blog Hop.  I am so excited to be here!  Our group may be small but we have some wonderful ideas for you.  If you are here then you came here  from Jennifer Gregorsky's blog  you are in the right spot!   But if you started right here, fear not! You can manage to get all the way around the entire tour just by following the links at the bottom of each post.

This post is going live on the morning of the 15th, so if you find some posts in our tour have not yet posted, please be patient.  The entire tour should be accessible at some point this evening. Keep checking back!

My challenge is focused on Father's Day.  This was challenging for me because it has a male theme and I do not create a lot of masculine cards.  I had a slow start because my mind was jumping all over the place trying to figure out what I wanted to do.  I had a rough time trying to focus until I settled on a Designer Series Paper instead of a stamp set and then everything fell very quickly into place.  I chose "PARKERS PATTERNS"( which I think has masculine prints ) for the DSP and used that in every project so everything in this post was cohesive.

 

Here is my first card which uses the same sketch as all my other fellow stampers. It was designed my Jenn Campbell who is one of my stamping sisters.    I think why I was having the rough time was because the sketch was designed with a flower for the focal point.  I had to flip my brain over to manly and I came up with 
using the "JUST THINKING" single stamp from the Spring Catalog in place of the flower .  If you look closely you will see that when I  put the focal point together, I made sure I used many layers to give depth to the card just as the flower had many layers to it.   The supplies used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Just Thinking, Teeny Tiny Wishes
PAPER:  Parkers Patterns DSP,  Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
INK: Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Window Frames Collection Framelits, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Early Espresso Marker, Basics Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Silver Brads

This is one way of taking a sketch and using the main elements but changing it up a bit.  The sketch had a more feminine  feel to it because of the flower but I was able to change it up a bit with a more masculine feel to it.  

This second card also used DSP from Parkers Patterns DSP but I decided to use the  "BY THE TIDE" stamp set also from the Spring Catalog.  I used a Z Fold to create this card.  And to make it pop, I used Tangerine Tango Embossing Powder to create raised coral and a spark of color on the inside insert.  The supplies that I used for this card were: 

STAMP SETS:  By the Tide, Delightful Dozen
PAPER:  Parkers Patterns DSP, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
INK:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Tangerine Tango, Versamark
ACCESSORIES:  Heating Tool, Tangerine Tango Embossing Folder, Sponges






The third idea is a "SQUASH BOOK" .  It is a mini album which I thought might make a great Father's Day gift.  Inside the book there are places to place photos.  What a great gift to give your father or husband with photos of their children or grandchildren!  I think every man would appreciate this.  I used Parkers Patterns DSP on the inside to add a little color to the project.  And I think the sentiment on the front of the Squash Book is perfect for photo giving.  The supplies that I used  for this project were:

Squash Book from the front and closed

STAMP SETS: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Elements of Style
PAPER:  Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Parkers Patterns DSP
INK:  Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
ACCESSOIRES:  Natural 7/16" Trim, Dimensionals, 1/8" Mini Brads

Close up of inside of Squash Book

Inside of entire Squash Book

The final project is a Gift Card Holder .  I used the Twisted Card technique.  So many men are so hard to buy for.  I know my husband is.  So sometimes it is easier on me to just give him a gift card.  This Twisted Card Technique is a really neat way to present that favorite guy (your Father ) in your life a gift card.  Again I used the Parkers Patterns DSP in the construction of this project.  It is so easy to make and I plan to show that in a future post. The supplies that I used for this final project were:

Outside of the Twisted Card- Gift Card Holder

STAMP SETS:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Just Thinking
PAPER:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Parkers Patterns DSP
INK:  Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES:  Cherry Cobbler Marker, Natural Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Glue Dots, Window Frame Collection Framelits, Big Shot

Inside the Gift Card Holder

I hope you enjoyed all the projects I created.  I really enjoyed putting this special post together.  And I think all the people involved in this blog did a terrific job this month.














If you wish to go back to Jennifer Gregorsky's blog, please Click here for Jennifer Gregorsky's Blog


I am the last person on the blog hop.  So if you wish to start at the beginning please Click 
here for Katherine Rock's Blog


Just in case you get a little lost along the way, here is our blog order for this hop:

Katherine Rock- St Patrick's Day 
Buffy  Allen- Happy Spring 
Jennifer Campbell - Easter
Susan Peters - Mother's Day 
Jennifer Gregorsky - Memorial Day 
Gail Derea - Father's Day 

Enjoy the day!