Stampin On Tuesday Masculine Card Class

With a number of male birthdays coming up and Father's Day just around the corner, I decided to kick off the first of my Stampin' on Tuesday Card Classes with some Masculine Cards.  

I don't know about you, but masculine cards have always been the most difficult ones for me to make, and I always have to put my thinking cap on when making them.  For this set, I wanted something that would be exciting and fun to make.

To begin with, I don't have a lot of masculine or graphic themed stamps.  I need to change that, don't you think?  And, I've made lots of shirt and tie related cards in the past, so it's high time to find something new and modern!

With that in mind, I set out to design four simple cards with a minimal amount of stamping, modern colours and design elements and appeal for men.  I also wanted a variety of cards that would work for any occasion such as Father's Day, Birthday, Retirement, Graduation, Thinking of You, and Encouragement.  Tall order you say?  I checked out card shops locally and did some searching on the internet and with a little help here's what I came up with, I hope you enjoy them:

Card Number One: Striped Masculine Card

If you're like me you probably have lots of scrap card stock kicking around, so here's a great way to use up those those bits and pieces.  

This simple card starts with a standard  5 1/2" x 4 1/4" base in Crumb Cake,  followed by a 5 1/4" x 4" layer of Whisper White.  Add 1/4" inch stripes in Basic Black, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake. Very the length of the strips in conjunction with the size of the sentiment stamp you use.  You can also change up the direction of the card and have the fold at the top and your stripes layered horizontally for a different look.  I stamped this big bold birthday sentiment from the "You're Amazing" Stamp set in basic black ink.  I think it adds a very masculine look to this card front.

Card Number Two:  Washi Tape Birthday Card

Have you used Washi Tape yet?  Well this next card features the Washi Tape from the Epic Day - This and That Collection.  This was my first experiment with it and I'm in love!

What fun!  There are three spools in each of Stampin' Ups! Washi Tape  collections and they are 3/8", 1/2", 5/8" in width.  Each spool has 5 yards of tape.  

These beautiful translucent tapes have a lot of flexibility to them.  They're light weight and can be easily be removed or repositioned without damaging the card stock or leaving marks behind.  Note:  Washi tape is not the same composition as adhesive tape (think Magic tape), so they aren't strong enough to permanent bind objects together, they are more for decorative purposes.  

I got inspiration for my card when I recently attended Deb Smart's New Catalogue Open House.    Here is what her card looked like:

Deb's card uses the Gingham Washi Tape Collection and Serene Silhouettes Stamp set.

I've used all three of the Washi Tapes in the Epic Day set and created a grid pattern. You can create whatever pattern that appeals to you when making this card.  The card base is in Crumb Cake and the first layer is Calypso Coral Card stock measuring 5 1/4" x 4".  The Whisper White layer is 5" x 3 3/4". The sentiment is stamped with the Pretty Petites and That's the Ticket stamp sets on Whisper White card stock.  I used the new Petite Curly Label punch for the happy birthday sentiment and the Ticket Duo Builder punch for the basic gray layer and the happy birthday ticket image.  Note: To create the ticket layers I fussy cut around the Calypso Coral stamped image.

If you stamp on Washi tape you create a whole new look.  For this card I used Basic Gray classic ink, and the image from The Open Sea.  I also spritzed the card face with Calypso Coral, Basic Gray and Crumb Cake re-inkers for a splotched appearance.  Tip:  Leave some extra drying time for the stamping on the Washi Tape as the ink does not dry as quickly as it does on card stock, and you wouldn't want to smudge it.

Card Number Three:  Colour Swipe All Occasion

My next card uses a direct to paper technique where you literally take your ink pad and swipe it across your card stock. Thus the name "Colour Swiping". 

I'd actually forgotten about this method of stamping but my interest was rekindled by Julie Davidse's blog post titled "Feeling Blue".  

I liked Julie's great card with its free flowing design and blend of colours, and decided this technique would work perfectly for the card I had in mind.  Here's my card:  

I used Soft Sky one of the new Subtles Collection colours along with Basic Gray and Midnight Muse cardstocks and inks for my card.  The Labels Collection framelit dies were used to cut the stacked sentiment and backing labels. Three 3/8" Silver Mini brads were added for some interest.

The sentiment stampwhich I feel is very versatile and could be used for almost any occasion such as "Retirement, Congratulations, Graduation or Encouragement is from a very special stamp set that Stampin' Up! distributed to demonstrators who attended the 2012 SU Convention in Salt Lake City.  It is aptly titled "I Am....".  This years new catalogue has many sentiments that would also be perfect for this style of card.

To finish off this card I wanted to add movement and a sense of going somewhere.  To achieve this I chose to add a strip to simulate a tire tread.  I did this by embossing a  1" strip of silver duct tape and glued it behind the sentiment labels layers.  I also added three 3/8" mini silver brads to draw the eye across the card face.  I don't know if anyone else gets my theme for this card, but for me it was "mission accomplished".

Card Number Four:  Open Sea Double Flip Card

The last card in my Masculine card class is one of those WOW cards that I wish you could see in 3-D because it's really very special.  I cased it exactly the way it was shown and I have to give full credit for the design and execution of this card to Tammi White of "Stampin' With Tami".

The card base is in Crumb Cake and is cut 7 1/2" x 4 1/4".  I used the 2nd and 3rd label dies from the Label Collection die cuts produced by Stampin' Up!.  The beautiful stamped images are from one of my all time favourite sets, The Open Sea.  I hope you enjoy this card.  

This is the front view of the flip card.  When it is completely open the ship will face the back of the card.

This view shows the inside view of the flip.  Pretty cool eh?  I just loved doing this fast and easy card. 

These two views show a little of the stamping detail.  Ink colours were Midnight Muse, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake.  Cardstock was Midnight Muse, Soft Suede and Ivory Naturals.

The Open Sea