Smile

 Here's a really simple, yet elegant, card that could be sent to a man or woman for any occasion -- Smile!

The basic card is white with black and gold stripes layers.  The two part tag is white and velum with embossed gold lettering and dots.  I added a gold bow to the tag.

 The weekend is coming.  Enjoy!

 Entered in the Cardz for Guys challenge:

 Cardz for Guys  #294 Tag You're I

 

Guy Birthday Card

 Birthday cards for guys are somewhat of a challenge.  You don't want something too flowery or pinkish, but not too dark and moody either.

So I just go with bright cheery colors!  Here's a colorful fancy fold Happy Birthday card that could be given to anyone of any age.  I may make several of these.

The Happy Birthday flap flips to the right and the green panel opens to the left.  A message can be left inside.  A cute card that is easy to make.

 

 

 

Here is another version of this card where you can see the folds.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

Fancy Fold #290 Cardz 4 Guyz

 

May all your wishes come true

 Happy Fall!   We have a beautiful maple tree in our front yard which I love looking at all summer.  Usually the leaves slowly turn orange and yellow in the fall.  But not this year.  It seems like half the leaves fell off the tree today - leaves were raining down!

So in honor of my tree, I made this card using fall colors (orange, gold, brown, green) in the paper, foil leaves and twine.

 

 

Challenges:

Cards 4 Guyz Challenge #256  Colours of Autumn/Fall

Tuesday Morning Sketches #577 

 

Festive Friday Challenge #FF0070    (brown, gold, twine)

 

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Kathy

Ugly Sweater

The ugly sweater?  Well, I kind of like Christmas and holiday sweaters and don't find them ugly at all.  I don't think I am the only one as the stores will be full of holiday sweaters soon!

So, here is a holiday card that would be great for a man or teenage boy (they can be most difficult to create for).

The card was made with a red basic card and solid green background.  The red and green plaid sweater is from a die set (Elizabeth Craft Designs).  Love that little reindeer.  The sentiment, Happy Holidays, is from an old Stampin Up set and stamped in white embossing powder.

CAS on Sunday Challenge #165 Make a Masculine Card

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #458

The Male Room - Challenge #121 - Stay CAS

Have a great week!
Kathy

Best Wishes

Best Wishes in black, gold and white.  The other night I could not sleep and my mind wandered all over.  At some point, I thought about a card I had seen on Pinterest and eventually came up with the idea for this card and the Festive Friday Challenge #0042 and CAS on Friday #163.

The Festive Friday Challenge required the use of three elements from their list of ten.   I chose black, gold and a pearl.

The CAS Friday Challenge required a die cut word -- best wishes.

I like this card cause it could be used for a birthday, new job, retirement or even a wedding or anniversary and would be great for a man!

Have a great week!!
Kathy


 

Happy Birthday Watercolor

Watercolor backgrounds are always great as one never knows what the result will be and I almost always love the result!


Love these colors and the simplicity of the card.  Great guy card, too.

 

 Simon Says: No Stamps Challenge

 The Male Room:  Anything Goes

Have a great day,

Kathy

Blue Crab For You

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic, you know the Maryland Blue Crab.  Excellent.  Delicious. Perfect.  We picked a few crabs just last weekend.  Sunday night the weather was absolutely beautiful -- perfect weather to sit on the deck and pound some crab legs!  Love summer.

So with those crabs in mind, here is a card in neutral colors for Memory Box Challenge #26 Noteworthy Neutrals. I used the Crusty Crab die from Memory Box.

And I'll be linking up to Cardz 4 Guys: Challenge # 173 Beside The Sea 
and Let's Craft and Create #127 Just Beachy

Have a great weekend,
Kathy

Best Wishes

Best wishes in blue and yellow.  The Simon Says Monday Challenge - Use Your Favorite Tool seemed like a good time to make a card with an embossing folder and watercolors.  Not sure how others do this, but I stamped one side of the embossing folder (covered with various shapes of gears) with dark blue ink around the outer edges and yellow ink in the center area.  Then I spritzed water on the inked folder.  I had too much water in a couple spots so I dabbed these spots with a tissue to pick up some of the water.  Then I placed a piece of white card stock in the folder and ran it through my Big Shot.

Then I repeated the process so I could cut the smaller panel.  I edged the yellow panel and smaller gear panel with yellow ink before I wrapped them with blue twine and added the 'best wishes' tag. 

I really enjoy using embossing folders with my Big Shot. The Big Shot is my favorite tool as I can emboss plus make die cuts. 

 

I like how this card turned out and will make a couple more in other colors.  We have a few birthdays coming up in March and I think the men will enjoy these cards.

Have a great weekend,

Kathy

Sorry I Missed Your Birthday

Well, it isn't the first time I needed a belated birthday card and surely won't be the last. But, fortunately, a masculine card was the theme for the challenge at Curtain Call so I combined the All Boy Challenge with the My Favorite Things challenge (hadn't used the triangle stamps yet and I've had them for ages).

My Favorite Things Challenge Sketch #267






Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge 




Have a great week.  After what seems like days and weeks of snow and ice, our outside temperature is supposed to get in the 50s this week.  I can't wait.

Take care,
Kathy

Retro Happy Birthday

Here is a card I made for a friend's birthday.  I planned to enter a card in the retro sketches challenge so I thought I would make a birthday card for my friend -- take care of two tasks at one time.

I tried to find paper that looked 'old fashioned' and masculine.  Notice the round paper clip with the string bow.  I saw this paper clips at Walmart and couldn't resist buying them.

It's Hump Day. 
Kathy

Birthday Celebration

Good morning!

A month or so ago I won a door prize at card making class and these two cards were part of the prize.   I love the purple flowers and embossing on the first card - so pretty and feminine.

The second card is such a cute birthday card.   The colors are vibrant and the card would be perfect  for all ages (male or female).

Have a great day!
Kathy

Here are some cards I made in "class."  I don't have a lot of stamps, so I really enjoy her ideas and creativity!

These cards will be great to send to men.   The cards have lots of layers and stamping.  All Stampin Up products, too.


Take care,
Kathy

Altered Notebook

A couple weeks ago someone asked me to make an altered notebook for them.  The person was requesting a memorial book for her father's funeral as she didn't really care for the books offered by the funeral home.   

Changing a regular composition notebook (you know, the notebooks with the speckled black and white covers) with designer paper can be fun and also quite challenging.   Finding the right paper and designing a cover is the challenge and that can take a little bit of time.

Before I glued the paper to the notebook, I stamped a tree in green and brown (from SU Thoughts and Prayers) on the bottom and added a border line along the left side.    Then I attached a black ribbon (it has a light green line in the center) to run along the edge of the paper.   The printed paper has a light green cast so I sponged the date card a little with light green ink ( the white area is the spot for the name).

   The back of the notebook was also covered with a pretty designer paper.

 

I added a piece of white card stock to the inside of the front and back covers to give the notebook a nice clean finished look.  The card stock covers the outside paper edges that were folded inside. 

 

I used a glue stick to adhere the papers on this notebook.  Yesterday I made another altered notebook and used Mod Podge to glue the designer paper on the cover.  The paper did not stick well to the notebook, but I don't think the problem was the Mod Podge.  The problem may have been with the paper texture or the glossy finish on the inside of the composition notebook.   After a few coats of MP, the paper finally adhered to the notebook.    I'm going to try the Mod Podge with different paper and a different composition notebook and will post those results.

One of My Favorites -- Bicycle

This card is one of my favorites.  The stamps are from Stampin Up -- Feeling Sentimental set. 

The edges of the card are torn and inked for that old and rustic look.  The bicycle stamp is just too cute.  A little twine adds the final touch to this card.  This is the perfect card for a man to give or receive.  I love it.

Mr. Cupcake

Here is another card I made in class.  This man cracks me up!

I call him "Mr. Cupcake."

Take care,
Kathy

Man's Birthday Card

Just realized I will need a couple birthday cards for friends in the next month.  Glad I worked on these cards this week.

Here is another easy and quick card that a man might like to receive or give.

Materials:
Card stock - black and khaki
Paper - ?   (found a small bit in a basket)  ;')
Stamp - Technique Tuesday Greenhouse 09-12
Ribbon - Raffia
Embossing folder - Paper Studio

Have a great day,
Kathy

Masculine Cards

Making the right card for a man can be difficult.  Whether giving or receiving cards, most men seem to prefer cards that are not too feminine, not too flowery and not too plain either.   So, I thought a masculine background with muted colors might work.  Here are two cards I made yesterday.

 

 

Materials:  

card stock - black, light khaki and burnt orange 

ribbon - off white raffia

stamp - Technique Tuesday Greenhouse 09-12

embossing folder - Darice

                   

 

Materials:

card stock - black and light khaki

Washi Tape

stamp - Rubbernecker

embossing folder - Paper Studio

Both of these cards are clean and simple and quick to make.   I think most men would like either of them.

Notice the Washi tape on the second card.  This is my first time using Washi tape.  I love it.  Costco had a revolving tray with lots of tape in different colors and patterns -- couldn't pass it up.

Are you ready for Valentine's Day?

Take care,

Kathy

Another Valentine's Day Card

I saw this card either on Pinterest or when I was roaming the Internet and thought it was pretty cute.  So using my computer and printer, I printed off a few.   Simple and to the point!  The picture might be blurry but I decided not to retake it -- eye exam, blurry eye chart ....    ;'))

 

The actual card is not blurry at all.  

Take care,

Kathy

More Class Cards

In both classes that I attend we've made cards using the masking technique (is there another name for this technique?).  I really like these cards because they are clean and simple (CAS - part of my new vocabulary!).   And I have found that men like the crisp look.  The blue get well card was a big hit.

In the next few days I will post another card using this technique along with directions. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you are having a great weekend. 

Happy Birthday

Recently I needed a birthday card for a friend - masculine, no flowers or fancy embellishments.   So I looked at my stamps and paper and came up with the card pictured below.

I stamped a piece of white card stock with a world map stamp and lightly sponged a the same ink all over to cover the white card.   I used scissors to cut around the edges of the globe map -- sorry I did not keep the original wrapping so I don't know the maker of the globe stamp.   The chronometer stamp is from the same set as the globe.  I used a round corner punch to get a large oval shape. 

The 'it's your birthday' stamp is from another unknown maker.  I can see that I am going to have to start keeping all the wrappings!  After the black ink dried, I lightly sponged the globe, chronometer and birthday pieces with a distressed ink.

I learned quite a bit making this card.  First, I need to practice stamping!  Second, do not put too much pressure on the stamps -- see the blurred edges of the chronometers.   Third, be careful storing clear, clinging stamps.  The corner of the birthday stamp was bent which is why the 'i' in It's is slightly crooked.

The card was simple to put together.  I like the colors and hope he likes it.  

Supplies

Card stock:   white card, black, white and burgundy 

Stamps: Rubbernecker Old World Map, It's your Birthday and travel stamps

Ink: Memories Soft Wheat, Color Box Wicked Black, Tim Holts Distress Ink Tea Dye