Manly Cards for Any Occasion

With Father’s Day just a week away, you may be looking for some inspiration for making some masculine handcrafted cards. From an easy breezy military themed sample to feeling the coastal breezes, here are some samples to get your creative juices flowing...

For this card I wanted to do something special for my husband who is a terrific dad so I built a scene from stamps and techniques. For this I used a wave and palm tree stamp. For the sun, I used a punched circle and a sponge to define the shape then used markers to color in the sun. The sky was created using pastels. See below for some tips on creating the white ocean edge and shoreline.

Coastal Paradise Card created for Father’s Day

(but is suitable for any occasion!)

I first tore a strip of card stock to create a deckled edge. When stamping the ocean, I stamped over top of the strip to create a more natural shoreline. Then I used the same strip and a blender marker to rub some of the ink over the deckled edge it and onto the card a slight space away from the bottom of the wave. This creates the white foam area. For the sand, I used a combination of colored markers and a to create the spattered look, I used my old Stampin' Up spitzer with brush markers for the ocean spray and to give the sand it's sandy texture. 

Note: I also used Ivory naturals Cardstock as my background which already has some texture to it.

Tip: to extend the surf on each side of the palm, stamp a tree onto scrap and cut out. Use this as a mask with some temporary adhesive when stamping the waves in the background.

I wanted a softer edge, so I used my corner rounder on the 4 corners.

To finish the card, cut strips of coordinating cardstock and arrange in assorted lengths for background. I grabbed a piece of soft raffia from my scrap pile to tie around the art before mounting on the card. Being a tropical state of mind, I wanted to create another card with this palm tree image. I will also share with you my technique for creating the multi colored watercolored foliage stamped in the background along with a tip for putting coffee filters to use in your cardmaking. Read below!

Palmy Breezes Card

(another Father’s Day creation suitable for any time of year)

Creating a watercolor effect with multi-colored foliage:
Turn your rubber stamp face up and color entire image with a very light color marker. Randomly color over top with 2 - 3 other darker shades. Be sure to "clean" your brush marker off by rubbing off any of the colors it may have picked up onto some scrap paper before storing it away! Use a spray bottle of water to mist over the stamp lightly before stamping onto background. This is what gives it that watercolor, washy look.

Coffee Filters aren’t just for coffee!
Take a coffe filter and mist it with colored spray mist. I used a walnut ink on mine. Crumble and fold it, then tear of a piece of it to incorporate on your card creation.

Golden Years Birthday Card

(could also be used for Father’s Day or any occasion)

Sometimes card creating dictates trying things outside of your comfort zone or working with colors outside of your normal favorites. I created this card thanks to the extreme generosity of my stamping friend Ree Nathan, a fabulous SU demonstrator, who shared with me some of the new patterned papers, etc. from Stampin’ Up!®. I was so excited to test out the pack of In Colors and markers she gave me the day we had lunch and stamped...can’t thank her enough! I used some of those new In Color markers on the Coastal Paradise card, too! I got to play with some of the frame dies and new patterns. I wouldn’t have picked this color combination ordinarily, however I do like the end result.

Now it’s your turn...

Let’s slow things down a bit and end with an easy to make card layout. For my starting point, I merely stamped this old military theme rubber stamp into the upper area of a piece of trimmed cardstock I grabbed out of my leftovers stash. I built the card from there coordinating another patterned piece of cardstock and some solids to go with it. To complete the look, I added a pennant, a vintage gold button with thread and a Father's day stamped verse. To give it an aged feel, I sponged and dragged ink over the edges.

Military Style Father’s Day Card

(simply change out the sentiment to use for other occasions!)

Easy, Peasy, right? The rest is up to you! Happy creating and an early happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!

Father's Day Inspiration & Sale!

In case you need to whip out a last minute card, I am sharing 2 Father's Day cards (part of my Project 365 creations) created with a verse from my newly released Masculine Verses digi stamp & brush set and a FREE download Lighthouse digi stamp in my shop at www.Mygrafico.com. I am working on doing some tutorials or videos in the near future to show just how to use digi stamps.

  

These cards show two different ways to work with b&w printouts of digi stamps. The first card combines the verse with the stamp which is printed out and matted onto patterned and solid CS. The second shows how you can dress up a b&w stamp simply by sponging on some soft colors. The verse is printed separately, matted with buttons, brad and ribbon to embellish.

Download this free digi stamp set here.

Purchase this new set for great phrases and titles for guy projects...

Hey, dad's don't just get to celebrate on Father's Day, crafters have a reason too with the 40% one day sale going on at mygrafico.com. Check it out. Ends at midnight on the 19th!

Hazeldiddlies in Heaven

Today didn’t work out to be a very Happy Father’s Day. We got news mid day that my mom’s only sister, my Aunt Flossie, passed away losing her battle with ovarian cancer. It is bittersweet since none of us wanted her to suffer any more and knew that she was anxious to meet God, but the thought of family gatherings without this kind-hearted and loving, woman who loved to dance, had a contagious sparkle about her that everyone loved is just beyond comprehension right now. She was by modern-day standards a foodie. She loved and appreciated great food. No matter what the event or place she went, she would always entertain us with great tales of how good the food looked or tasted. I will never be able to eat an ice cream cone without thinking of her. In fact, we stopped by Moos, our favorite beachside ice cream stop, on the way home from church tonight. Ashley and I toasted our ice creams in her honor. There are so many little things about her that I will miss. like trying to keep up with her doing water aerobics or a line dance for that matter! She and I share so many things in common. Whether it was the thrill of a great bargain, a love of sharp clothers, the contagious urge to dance to a great beat, the gift of gab, speaking up for things we feel strongly about, the thrill of traveling or just always wanting to be on the go, I defintely see a lot of her in me.

Growing up, we lived down the street from my aunt, uncle and cousins. We took family vacations with them every year and still continue to do family reunions whenever possible. Our families were and will always be lovingly intertwined. She was as much a second mom to me as she was an aunt so even though my mind knows I should be rejoicing that she is at peace, my heart is still grieving her loss.

When we were little, we had this little tradition that if something really wonderful happened, she would call us over for a rambuncious round of twirling in an energetic dance she called a “hazeldiddly”. I have no doubt in my mind, Aunt Floss, that you were warmly welcomed by God, your mom, dad and husband, Rob and that everyone was dancing hazzlediddlies in heaven welcoming in a soul as wonderful as you! >

My kind of Tweeting!

Ahhh, the craze of social media and networking! It is a love/hate relationship for me. You won't find this girl tweeting, so the closest thing to it is my Take Flight set, my most current collection at Mygrafico. This one has some fun graphic elements and verses that are perfect for Father's Day card or scrapbook page! Safe travels over the Memorial Day Weekend and have fun celebrating sensibly!

Naturally Masculine

When trying to plan a card for a guy, it is often easy to create a good look by using elements from nature. In this card example, I used the Botanical Blooms Sale-A-Bration set with a verse from Sincere Salutations set along with the Sanded background stamp to add some texture. Color comination used on this is Ivory Naturals, Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke and Night of Navy cardstock. Inks used were Creamy Carmel, Old Olive and Night of Navy. For the border strip, I used repetition stamping to create the varied tones. The Ivory Natural cardstock was laid on top of the scratches background stamp inked with Creamy Carmel ink. The verse and leaf patterns were then stamped on top. I used a square punch to create the window on the front panel and glued the stamped leaf to the back side of the front panel. You can also mount on the inside left panel and leave as a true window.

This design can easily be used to create a wonderful Father's Day card. Here it is shown as a masculine birthday or get well card.

Some New Goodies!

It is always fun to combine a bit of stamps you own with some fresh new elements. I distressed some SU Naturals Ivory CS to use as the base of this card and added some of the wonderful new cardstock from Inque Boutique’s Memoirs Mini Paper pad assortment. To create the subtle wave border, I used the new Cabana mini stamp set with one of my favorite blue inks...Whisper's Starry, Starry Night along with Chestnut, Black and copper embossing on the rest of the elements. It is extra fun when you get to design stamps, then use them on your projects. Here, I used the “100% my guy” Lil’ Stamp I designed for Inque Boutique along with elements from the Build-A-Tag set. Adhesives are all from the Glue Arts’ Crop & Glue line. I couldn't resist adding the skull from Inque’s Awesome Mini Set next to the word adventurous since my husband likes cycling, and that can get pretty risky when riding in big groups. He has the battle wounds to prove it! This was the card I made him for Father’s Day. The inside is stamped with some other stamps from the tag set, the Enthusiastic LC mini alphabet and some handwritten words to read...Guaranteed 100% (repeated many times) a terrific dad. You’re a natural. I will post the inside on my Inque gallery.