Retirement cards on the lighter side

I have always gravitated toward lighthearted, funny, or sarcastic cards over the mushy, sappy ones. So when my friend's husband retired this fall, I took the chance to make a humorous card for him -- and one for my friend, too.

They're completely different styles, but both cards make me smile, and I love how they turned out. Here are the details:

Supplies:
Kit: August 2020 My Monthly Hero kit (Hero Arts)
Stamps: To Seize or Not To Seize (Hero Arts)
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!); Blends/Blendabilities markers: Pineapple Punch, Real Red, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Smoky Slate, Pumpkin Pie, Bronze, Mocha, Nude, Ivory (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Word Bubbles dies and Mini Treat Bag dies (Stampin' Up!), Basic Pattern Decorative Masks (Stampin' Up!), blender brush (Picket Fence Studios), foam tape (3M)

What better way to spend retirement than relaxing in a hammock with a cool glass of lemonade? I know I'd definitely enjoy that. And the August 2020 My Monthly Hero kit had the perfect stamp set for the occasion. I stamped, colored, and die cut several images from the kit and set them aside to work on the card base.

For the base I chose neutral Crumb Cake card stock and used a stencil, blender brush, and Crumb Cake ink to add a subtle pattern that I thought had a bit of a tropical feel. Then I used a small paintbrush to add splatters of black ink for a little more visual interest.

I arranged the die-cut images near the bottom of the card and added the thought bubble stamped with the sentiment "Not my circus, not my monkeys" above them. As it turned out, that phrase is one of the recipient's favorite sayings, so it was perfect!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bazinga (Ink Road Stamps)
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko); Distress Oxide inks: Black Soot, Fired Brick, Worn Lipstick, Broken China, Peeled Paint (Ranger); 05 Micron pen (Sakura)
Accessories: Moonstone Glimmer Paste (Nuvo), stencil THMM1 (Stampers Anonymous), Detailed Bee dies (Stampin' Up!), Tutti-Frutti washi tape (Stampin' Up!), Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), foam tape (3M)

My friend wasn't sure she was ready to have her husband retire, so I had to use the sentiment "Oh, what fresh hell is this?" for her card. 

I decided to do a little multi-media project for this card, which is a bit out of my comfort zone. (I spend too much time worrying about whether everything looks "right"!) I found a Distress Oxide-inked panel that I liked in a box of unfinished bits and pieces, and then I just started the layering.

First I splattered some black ink on the panel. Then I applied glimmer paste through a stencil in a few patches to add texture and a little glitz. I placed pieces of washi tape and tiny staples near the top left and bottom right corners and doodled a border around the panel with a black pen.

I didn't want the sentiment on stark white card stock, so I found another inked panel in my stash that coordinated with the background and stamped the sentiment on it with black ink. I cut apart the words and added them to the card base with foam tape. I finished the card with three clusters of tiny black hexagons. It's not my usual style, but I think it turned out pretty good!

What type of card do you prefer: silly or sentimental? Thanks for stopping by!