Dad...Dad...Dad...

I still hear their little voices echoing in my head as my children called
"Dad, Dad, Dad..."
                   over and over until he would answer them.

Sometimes, it took a while to get his attention because they said it so much that he kind of became immune to hearing it:)  I can't help thinking of the memories when I see this 'Dad' stamp.  Don't you just love the argyle design?

Today, I wanted to make a big and masculine card, so I chose to create one that is a 5 1/4" square when closed.

When I think of a masculine card, I think of the rich colors in the Mocha Morning Specialty DSP and I think of lots of layers and texture --- a manly kind of thing.

My colors are Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Soft Suede, Early Espresso and a touch of Very Vanilla.  After I took the photo below, I went back and slightly curled up the ends of the flags, using my bone folder, so it now has even more dimension.

Compare the photo above with the one below.  That's the difference you can make in layering, just by gently curling the 'flags' with your bone folder.

I certainly prefer the additional texture after the curling:)

I used the Scallop Edge Border Punch to create the edge on the left side of the Soft Suede layer.  The focal piece is created with the oval frame from the Designer Frames embossing folder set.  I used our distressing tool to rough up the edges and then sponged them lightly.  I also sponged lightly over the embossed oval, to make it stand out more and have even more texture.  I stamped 'Dad' with the stamp from the Loved Ones stamp set.  This is a darling set and covers all your relatives!  After I stamped the 'Dad' stamp, I punched it out with our large oval punch, lightly sponged the edges, and attached it inside the embossed oval.

I used the 1" square punch to create the v-shape at the ends of the 'flag' strips.  I added more texture by using the Square Lattice embossing folder on the Early Espresso layer.

After finishing it, I realized that it qualifies for two blog challenges --- a sketch challenge and creating a masculine card challenge.  I feel like I'm stretching my creativity by trying new challenges and coming up with how I will create them.  I hope you enjoyed today's post.  Now, go stamp something!