Husband Has a Birthday Coming Up!

My husband celebrates his birthday on Groundhog's Day.  Last year, I made him a cute little Copic-colored groundhog card.  I have covered a lot of his hobbies for birthdays and Father's Day in years past, so, I had to put on my thinking cap to come up with a theme I had not used before.  I do realize that some year, I will have used them all, but in the meantime. . .  

I've had several Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous stamp sets involving Retro transportation themes, and I've wanted to use them for a long time.  I thought this was the year to do it!  Before I began really focusing on John's card, I happened to see a really feminine card on Pinterest using a little piece of "notebook" paper torn from a spiral tablet with butterflies and flowers.  Those lovely nature items, though beautiful on this card, would not do for a man, of course, but the torn notebook paper stuck in my mind, and my creative juices began to flow.

Throughout our long married life (we celebrated our 50th this year!) whenever we travel, whether it be via car or our motorhome, John always keeps track of his mileage, how many miles to the gallon he's getting, what's the cost in one area of the country vs. others, etc.  First, I thought I'd do a notebook page entitled Travel Log with gas mileage calculations jotted down.  Then, last night in a half-awake state, I thought, "I know, his log will be a entitled, Road Trip to a Birthday! and its notes would involve the use of 365, as in 365 days in a year to each birthday, traveling one mile per day, gas mileage for the car, etc.  My stamps chosen had a retro 1950's gas attendant, a Route 66 road sign, and it also had a tire tread stamp that I thought would dress up my notebook page.  

Next, came the search for just the right paper.  I, of course, wanted paper that would lean toward a masculine look, and I wanted it to be colorful.  After a bit of time, and making quite a mess, I chose the star paper in dark charcoal, red, golden yellow, and white, and the rest of the design flowed easily from there.  I hope John likes his card. . .it looks like it came from a late 1940's or early 1950's magazine!

And, the inside view:

Recipe:  Stampin' Up cardstocks: Basic Black, Real Red, Crushed Curry, Whisper White.  Pattern:  Queen & Co. - Magic Film-Stars.  Stamps: Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous: Road Trip.  Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black.  Stampin' Up punch: Spiral Border. Size: 5-1/2" x 6".  Inside: EK Corner Pumch: Victorian Frame Corner Slot (modified).