Wednesday, June 30, 2010

A Star Line Up

To me, flowers can be part of a feminine card, as stars can be part of a masculine card. Here I used a Spellbinder die to cut out the entire card base, making sure not to cut the entire fold in the cardstock.I was pleased to find that the Close to My Heart set of stamps coordinated perfectly with the Spellbinder dies.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: sentiment (Stampin' Up), star (CTMH)
Ink: Colorbox
Papers: SEI
Accessories: Spellbinders star dies, ribbon (stash)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Take a Bite Out of It!

Two different sizes of the Spellbinders Circle dies allowed me to cut out this stamped image and then frame it within a circle cut out of a piece of patterned paper. Go through your stamp images to find a perfect fit for your Spellbinder dies.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Close to My Heart
Ink: Adirondak Raisin
Paper: burgundy cardstock (stash), patterned paper (SEI)
Accessories: brads (stash), Spellbinder circles

Monday, June 28, 2010

Piece by Piece

Here is another card design that I transformed through the use of masculine patterned paper to a card more appropriate for a guy. Just a little leftover patterned paper was required to make a fabulous card. The curved rectangles were cut using the inside pieces of the Sizzix Bookplates die.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Stampin' Up
Ink: Versafine black
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), red cardstock (Lasting Impressions), patterned (SEI)
Accessories: Quickutz Polka Dots embossing folder, Sizzix Bookplates die, ribbon (stash)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Clearly Framed

As soon as I saw this design on another card, I had to make my own version of it. By using the Papertrey Ink frame stamp, I was able to put the focus on my focal point while pulling the elements of the card together. Inking the edges of the square also made it look more "finished".

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamps: image (Stampin' Up), frame & sentiment (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versafine black
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), patterned (SEI)
Accessories: Spellbinders Squares

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Embossed Borders

Along with A2 sized embossing folders, Cuttlebug sells smaller ones which can be used to make borders. Here I have used part of one, as a switch from a ribbon border. I like how it adds dimension to the card. No reason why this couldn't be taken one step further and highlighted with a sweep of ink.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: sentiment (Stampin' Up), corner (PSX)
Ink: Staz On black
Papers: burgundy cardstock (Lasting Impressions), blue & black cardstock and patterned paper (SEI)
Accessories: embossing folder (Cuttlebug), border punch (EK Success)

Friday, June 25, 2010

Appropriate Border Punches

Though there are many wonderful border punches on the market, I found this one a good choice for a man's card. Border punch designs with "holes" in them tend to look somewhat"lacey" and more feminine. Furthermore, I prefer to use a border punch without spaces in it when it layers on top of a patterned paper. When small parts of a patterned paper peek through those holes, it can look awkward.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Stampin' Up
Ink: Staz On black
Papers: burgundy cardstock (Lasting Impressions), grey & patterned (SEI)
Accessories: brads & ribbon (sash), border punch (EK Success)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Mainly Masculine

The next series of cards were made with SEI's Grandpa's Attic patterned paper collection. I hope that both the card patterns and the paper patterns give you ideas to create those more difficult masculine cards.

Natalie

Card Recipe
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Ink: Staz On Black
Papers: white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), patterned (SEI)
Accessories: Spellbinders Squares