You Make Me Happy

Here's a masculine card I put together.

I wanted to play with the Perfect Pennants stamp set from Stampin' Up so the whole design started with using that.  I used the Stampin' Up ink colors Yo Yo Yellow, Real Red, and Certainly Celery.

The patterned papers came from Echo Park's All About A Boy 6 by 6 pad.

The grosgrain ribbon has been in my stash forever, from one of my local craft stores.

The wooden hearts are from Studio Calico.

I usually struggle with masculine cards, but this one seemed to come together pretty easily.  I'm loving wooden embellishments right now and was pleased that they added some real fun while still keeping the masculine vibe.

Thanks for visiting!

Amber

Super Simple Masculine Birthday Cards

I needed some masculine birthday cards to add to my stash.  I have concluded that most men really do not appreciate any additional hard work that goes into making a handmade card.  So I've decided not to bother with stamping or die cutting and let some fun patterned paper do the majority of the work for me.

I just grabbed a Simple Stories Happy Day 6 by 6 paper pad and got to work.  

The card on the left has all 4 corners rounded.  I did some faux stitching with a Stampin' Up marker around the edges.  Other than that it's just 5 pieces of patterned paper.  I started off with the main balloon piece, then added the strip with text and a little border punch look to the left hand side.  I layered a stripe and a polka dot pattern in a strip to run across the card.  Then I finished off with a little design cut out and up on pop dots.

For the card on the right only the top 2 corners are rounded.  I did round all the corners on the "It's Your Day" piece, it's up on pop dots.  The words and letters are just 3 little pieces I cut out and arranged on a dark brown piece of cardstock.

So quick, but still fun since I played for a bit with what pieces to use and how to cut and arrange them.  I think these are great masculine colors and I'm glad to have these ready and waiting in my stash :)

Thanks for visiting!

Amber

Using Some Scraps

 This little card was made using a few scraps.  It measures 3 and 1/2 by 4 and 1/4. 

I based the size on the blue scrap which is what I started the card with.  I saw the large polka dotted scrap and decided to emboss the blue piece to coordinate using a Cuttlebug folder called Polka Dots.  

I cut another piece of green that has little tiny polka dots using a scalloped oval Nestabilities die.  I used my paper piercer to punch little holes in each of the scallops.  Then I stamped "hey hottie" using Versamark ink and embossed it with some white embossing powder.  This allowed my sentiment to stand out and be clear and easy to read on a patterned paper.

To finish I attached all my layers to a Kraft colored base and did some faux stitching wiht my gel pen.

It felt great to use up some scraps that were laying around from recent projects.  To be honest I do throw away a lot of my smaller scraps.  I know I shouldn't, but sometimes I just get overwhelmed by the mountain they can become and usually only save scraps that are at least 4 by 4.  It was nice to use a couple pieces on this card that were smaller than that.

Thanks for visiting :)  Planning to shoot a  video tonight and I'm crossing my fingers I can actually get it done.

Father's Day Toolbelt Card

Masculine cards are always something I have to think pretty hard about.  I try to refrain from bows & sparkle as much as possible.

For the main portion of my card I used a piece of Kraft cardstock.  I stamped it with a woodgrain background stamp by Hero Arts using Stampin' Up's Close to Cocoa ink.

I used the Cricut Lite cartridge called Handy Man.  I cut the tool belt at 2.25 inches.  I added various little details like a bunch of stitching lines and some silver brads.  I accented the dots that should be the holes in the belt with some Sakura white gel pen so they are more visible.  The little belt buckle is a mirrored piece of cardstock.

For the blue piece along the bottom it is cut at 1 and 1/2 inches tall by 5.25 inches wide.  I stamped Happy Father's Day using a couple of the SP & Company Mix n Match sets.  "Happy" is from the Basics set and "Father's Day" is from the Holidays set.  I used Whisper White Craft Ink from Stampin' Up.  I went around the outside with my Sakura gel pen in white, and then finished off with some mirrored Irock gems in the corners.  

I created this card for the new challenge over at Scrapbookaholic By Abby.  Although, there is a sketch and I didn't do a very good job following it.  I had a bit of creative block this time around.  So, please be sure and check out the inspiration on Abby's blog.  Although I made a cute card I really struggled with the sketch.  

The sponsor is Sakura and they have a great pack of 6 gel pens up for grabs.  I LOVE their gel pens.  I used one on my card today, and really adore some sparkly colored ones I have as well.  

Here's the basics of the rules, but be sure and review them again on when you get to Abby's blog.  

Link your ORIGINAL post with your project up to Mr. Linky (on her blog)

Mention that your project is for her challenge

Project must be entered by the deadline before Mr. Linky closes.

Project must be on the challenge topic - this time around it's graduation.

Have fun!

You're My Favorite Father-in-law, Masculine Card

Aren't masculine cards always the hardest?  I had fun with this one.  I tried really hard to keep everything pretty simple.  It's my experience that most men I know don't like a lot of "frills" and prefer the more clean card styles.

I started off with a gray card base.  I used Stampin' Up's Totally Tool set for all the tools.  I used a very pale blue ink for them.  I had to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig (which helps you position your stamps), and a whole lot of patience to line all those tools up in a row like that. 

I sponged around the edges softly, and then it was on to stamping my sentiment.  SP & Company has these AWESOME mix and match sets out.  I love them because you can personalize all your greetings so much more than the phrases that are already put together.  The other thing I love is that they are all separate parts.  That made it super easy to make the word "favorite" stand out more in a darker color.  I think that little detail gives the card a lot more personality.  

I used the set Mix & Match Sentiments: Family for the sentiment.  Now, I figured this would be a fun card for my father-in-law since he's always picking on me.  It reads "You're my favorite father-in-law" Of course he's my favorite father-in-law, he's the only one I've got ;)  I'm sure he'll see the humor in that. 

Thanks so much for visiting today!  Be sure and check out my post from yesterday to see some fun stuff about my cardmaking party!  That party was a blast :)  It's the reason I fell behind on my blog last week.

Rock Card

This was a really fun masculine card to make.  I wanted to keep it clean and simple, but still do something a little fun and different.  I did punch a scallop edge along the bottom - but it doesn't show up too well in the photo.  I created a window in the front of the card so that the inner part of the card can be seen.  I used my Gypsy to weld letters from Gypsy Wanderings to spell out "Rock" and adhered that over a rectangle of skull & crossbones paper.  So, when you open the card you can write all around the rectangle on the black portion with a white gel pen. 

All the fantastic papers used were from a great kit from Scrapmaster's Paradise.

A Simple Masculine Card

This is a simple masculine card that could work for many occasions.  Perfect for a teen boy, or a man like my husband who doesn't enjoy sports but for some reason really loves skulls!  *LOL*  It was one of the easiest cards I ever made because I used a fabulous kit from Scrapmaster's Paradise!  It included several coordinating patterned papers & pieces of cardstock.  The cardstock was already cut to make the cards, so all I had to do was fold it in half.  I had a ton of fun with this kit & I will be sharing more cards made with it thorughout the month.  She offers many fabulous paper kits. 

All the product is from Stampin' Up.  I cut 4 2 inch squares out of black cardstock.  Then I cut 4 squares out of the designer paper that are 1 and 1/2 inches.  The little black strip on the bottom is 1/4 inch wide and I used a stamp from Vintage Labels using Whisper White craft ink.  The patterned paper at the bottom was punched using the scallop edge border punch I cut it down to an inch wide, but a little bit of it is hidden under the black strip.  

I am happy to have a masculine card at the ready.  Especially one that was easy to put together.  After all, men don't tend to appreciate all those "frilly details" anyways, right?  

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous, and very crafty day!

Grill Master Father's Day Card

My Dad makes the best steaks ever.  I tell ya, just thinking about the marinade he puts them in makes my mouth water.  I've been seeing cute cards of men grilling for Father's Day on the messageboards, so I decided to try my hand at one.

This is a FULL 8 and 1/2 by 11 sheet folded in half to make a nice large card for assembling all these pieces on.  I did the designing in my Gypsy.  The grass is from Plantin Schoolbook & I used the actual size button and selected a width of 8 and 1/2 to go across the entire card.  

The grill was cut with the From My Kitchen cartridge at 3 inches.  The steak was also cut with From My Kitchen at 1 inch, and I drew on the white detail in the center because it was too small to cut.  The spatula is From my Kitchen also, but I don't know the size (deleted part of the file by mistake.)  

I created the smoke by manipulating a puff of smoke coming out of a genie lamp on Paper Doll Dress up, I stretched it out and then flipped it, and I made the center one a bit larger.

The rest of the cuts are from Everyday Paper Dolls, the doll & accessories are cut at 5 inches.  I lost the size of the sun in the part of the file that was deleted.  I placed the sun hanging off the card, & then trimmed it down to fit.

For detail I sponged the grass, drew on the apron, & created salt and pepper hair by cutting the hair in black, drawing lines with a white gel pen & then blending with a metallic silver ink with a wedge of sponge.

Thanks for visiting!  Have a wonderful & very crafty day!

A Super Simple Father's Day Card

This was pretty stinkin' simple.  I spent more time on the inside than the outside!  *LOL*  I think it turned out nice looking & plenty masculine.  I tell ya, sometimes spending more than a few minutes on a card isn't really necessary.  Sometimes I get all behind & frantic, which was the case this weekend, and I decided to make one of my projects simple.  All the embellishments & paper are 3 birds I've had in my stash for awhile & the inside quote is from a single sticker sheet by Miss Elizabeth's.  It's always great to use up the things that have been sitting around forever.  I like to de-clutter when I can!

A Very Unique Valentine!

Well, I'm sure you can all guess my nickname for my husband Ryan, well, the stinky part isn't always in front of it, but I always call him Ry Ry.  Instead of going for something mushy I went with something I thought he'd really appreciate, something with some attitude :)  I will certainly say it's unique, one of a kind I'm sure :)

Father's Day

So, for my husband for Father's Day I wanted to do a couple handmade things for him. I crocheted him a skull and crossbones pen holder. It was a free pattern from Lion Brand yarn that was designed to be a can cozy. Well, he doesn't have any use for a can cozy. In this picture you can see the plastic container I used. Then I cut the excess off to hide the plastic. It isn't my finest work. It came out pretty wonky! *LOL* I was in a bit of a rush when I made it though, so I didn't take the time to undo and redo things as I probably should have.

Overall though I still like it, and I think he does too. At least he has some unique things that I've made him instead of the typical gifts that all start to look the same! There are lots of cute Father's Day gifts out there, but they all start to look the same to me after awhile. I mean, yes it is adorable to have a mug that says "World's Greatest Dad" but I would rather make one myself that includes our kiddos handprint or something. I often spend a great deal of extra money ordering from websites that do personalization for the very reason of making something a little more unique and special!


Yesterday was a fun day for me because I got crafty mail! *LOL* I had ordered a new cartridge for my Cricut, along with some accessories and cutting mats. I knew I wanted to make him a card, but I really didn't have a vision in mind. All I had were these two twine things with leaves on the ends for inspiration. They were part of wrapping on a gift we recently received and my husband liked them so well he insisted I should save them and do something with them. So... naturally I figured I may as well use them for his card since he liked them.


I based the colors for the card on them, and then I really didn't figure out where to put them until after the card was pretty much done. That was a bit of a mistake! I don't think it turned out horribly, but I probably would have laid things out differently if I had given it more thought. Originally I envisioned the leaves still on the twine and maybe wrapped around the picture like a frame or something, but they were too long and I couldn't seem to make them look right, so I ended up cutting the leaves off and using them alone instead.


The photo is of him meeting our daughter for the very first time a little over a year ago. I think it's such a precious photo, and since we are about to meet another little one here in about a month I figured the sentiment was extra special for this Father's Day!


I really enjoyed playing with different fonts to create the words! I like what I ended up with a lot! It didn't take too long and it wasn't too hard, but I think it's such a fun touch! Way cuter than just doing all one plain font! I really love my Cricut! I am slowly collecting cartridges for it, but I have also purchased the third party software called Sure Cuts a Lot that allows me to cut other images. That's how I did all the letters for this card. I also recently got some drawing software that I hope helps open up even more possibilities for me. I truly adore papercrafting so having such an amazing tool at my fingertips is pretty exciting!


So... that's my crafty little Father's Day for this year. Next year my daughter will be 2 and I'll probably get her involved in the fun!