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!

In Search of Dolphins

We arrived in Florida in 2004, oh yes, that dreaded year of multiple hurricanes! It was a very memorable one, and like most newcomers, we were thinking that we would be seeing dolphins and gators fairly regularly. The reality is that you are more likely to spot a University of Florida gator before ever seeing a real one, and as for dolphins, the tail goes like this...

We were renting a home beachside near the Eau Gallie causeway so for the first month, the girls and I would randomly drive up by the causeway, park and stand by the Indian River in hopes of spotting some dolpins. We went on the pier behind the library and waited...and waited. We scoured the water from above each time we drove over the causeway (the bridge connecting mainland to beachside), with no real luck. So we finally brought daddy along and discovered Mather's Bridge (a crossing for cars and people connecting Indian Harbor Beach with the southern tip of Merritt Island.) It was here that we had our first, exciting dolphin siting...two dolphins feeding and playing by the bridge. The girls were around 9 & 11 at the time and super excited to see dolphins this close. Finally, it felt like we lived in Florida!

Two years later, we got to experience one even closer doing the Swim with the Dolphins experience at Discovery Cove, something Ashley will never forget about turning 13. Charlotte was our dolphin, a very dominant female who wasn't exactly the cuddly type, however we got to kiss her, touch her, and hang onto her fin and go for a very fast swim through the water. Dolphins are so muscular and full of power. My sister and I posed for a funny photo trying to lift the dolphin, or at least pretend to. Good things our lives didn't depend on it because even in water, they are extremely heavy!

Today’s card reminded me of these fun dolphin experiences. I used an swirly embossing template on my cardstock, inked a sponge and rubbed it over the surface to bring out the texture more in random spots. In wanting to create a colorful layer, I chose to emboss the retired SU dolphin stamp in silver and use blender pens and markers to create the faux watercolor effect.

Try out some of these techniques when creating your next card:
• Rub ink over embossing to really make the texture stand out
• Use gold or silver heat embossing to contain the colors when using actual watercolors
• Create a faux watercolor effect using markers and blender pens*

*To accomplish soft, subtle colors, rub a brush end of a marker onto a slick surface such as plastic packaging or a piece of acetate. Use a blender pen (marker with brush tip) to pick up some of the color and brush it onto your stamped image. You can use a piece of scrap paper to test color first or to color on and lighten your color before applying to stamped image.