I had a lot of fun with the Classic Garage Suite when I created a card for my son's 13th birthday. I began with the idea of using the fun fold from my Mother's Day card to create a masculine version of it. Instead of using the car stamp from the Geared Up Garage stamp set, I decided use the motorbike from the Classic Garage Designer Series Paper for the focal point...

Bundles: Geared Up Garage Stamp Set + Garage Gears Thinlits Dies (cling: 150610). Stamps: Itty Bitty Greetings (wood: 146664, clear: 146667). Ink: Real Red (147084), Tuxedo Black Memento (132708). Card/Paper: Real Red (106578), Crumb Cake (121685), Basic Black (121688), Whisper White (106549), Classic Garage Designer Series Paper (148482), Silver Foil Sheets (132178). Accessories: Classic Garage Metal Elements (148485). Tools: Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine (143263), Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, (145372), Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755), Mini Glue Dots (103683), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430).

The embossed-look background was made by die-cutting multiple gears from Crumb Cake card stock and adhering it tone-on-tone. Before adding the notecard to the front, I also added some torn Real Red designer paper. Both of these techniques are great ways to add texture and interest to masculine cards.

Masculine cards need bling! I finished my son's birthday card with some silver bling... gears die-cut from Silver Foil and a metal spanner embellishment.

The Classic Garage Suite is my go-to for creating fun, coordinated masculine projects. I was really pleased to see that the Geared Up Garage stamp set and the Garage Gears Thinlits will be returning in the new Annual Catalogue (released on 4 June), however, the discounted Geared Up Garage Bundle will not be an option, nor will the Classic Garage Designer Series Paper be in the new catalogue either. Best stock up before they're gone!

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