Fishy Cards

This week I needed to make some masculine cards, so I took out the Let's Go Fishing designer papers to work with.  I just love the little fish images that are on one of the papers.  I fussy cut them out and they coordinate so well with the remaining papers.  

For this card, I used a saying from Picture Perfect Birthday.  I love this saying because you can use it for any reason  - birthday, Father's Day or graduation.  I thought the card needed something to put behind the saying, so I used a net from Under the Sea dies cut from a piece of light coral designer paper.  Perfect, right?  

Then I added a little sprig and couple of embellishments to finish off the card.  

This second card uses the Pebbled Path colored papers from the Let's Go Fishing set.  I just loved the netting, so I put some on this card, too, along with more cut-out fish.  

Under the Sea dies had some sea grass cut outs, so I put those on my card, too.  The fish have some Wink of Stella added to their fins for a little bit of sparkle.  The saying is from Wildlife Wonder and this can also be used for many different occasions.

My third card is made using Pecan Pie cardstock with a piece of designer paper that I cut about an inch from the edge.  Then I flipped it over to give the left side of the card a bit of interest.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but I "hung" a couple of fish on some twine and then stamped Happy Father's Day into the circle.  The moss sprig is from Under the Sea.  

I had so much fun making these masculine cards.  The only stamping was for the sayings along with a bit of a grunge for the backgrounds.  Now I wish that I had ordered more of this fishy paper before it retired!

What sets do you like to use for your masculine cards?

What To Do With the Bear

Okay, I have to admit that sometimes I like some of the "weird" stamps that Stampin Up sells.  Because I have so many stamps to begin with, more flowers just doesn't do much for me anymore.  This bear happens to be one of the ones that I thought was different and a little bit quirky.  I loved him right from the beginning when he appeared in the last mini catalog!  

Looking on Pinterest, I have not found many samples at all using this set.  But finally I took him out this week and made a couple of cards using the Wildlife Wonder set.

Honestly, he stamped so well.  It's a great image and I'm looking forward to doing more things with him!  Here is the card that I made to go in my "masculine card" pile.  I got the layout from Glenda Calkins.  I used the In Good Taste designer papers for the background.  

After I made the bear card, I tried out the wolf.  He stamped so nicely, too.  This is such a nice wildlife set.  And it has a great font and sayings.  I am definitely going to try some more cards using it.  

What do you think of the bear?  I think he'd look good in a camping scene with a tent in the background!  In what ways would you use him?