♪ ♫ ♪ Men, men, men, men, manly men, men, men…! ♪ ♫
It's time to think about Father's Day cards! Masculine cards aren't always the easiest to create, but the Loads of Love and Loads of Love Accessories are an excellent way to start!
Centered around a cute little pickup truck, you'll find all kinds of images you can "haul" around…for every season! You can add a driver, a passenger, and even some dogs in the back. (The coordinating Tailgating wheel, with all the dog-friends chasing the truck, cracks me up!)
Here are a couple of Loads of Love cards I designed with in two color schemes:
First, I stamped the truck in permanent Basic Black ink. Don't forget to stamp Dad behind the wheel! Then I used Watercolor Wonder Crayons and Blender Pens to color in my trucks. I didn't use it here, but you could easily brush on a thin layer of transparent Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint to your exterior for a more metallic ride.
Along with the accessories, it's also fun to add some background images to create a little scene for your pickup (the tree that comes in the set works particularly well for this). I wanted to keep it simple, so I cut out a mask for the truck, then sponged on some Basic Grey road, Always Artichoke greenery and Brocade Blue sky. Gives me the feeling that Dad's heading off for an adventure!
Card Background Details: When I make masculine cards, I try to use simple patterns, streamlined shapes and crisp colors. They seem more manly to me. I used the Sanded background stamp with Brocade Blue on the same color card stock. The Brushed Silver card stock is dry embossed using the Backgrounds #1 Texturz Plates—it looks like the metal you might find on one of those flat bed truck boxes.
Smooch Spritz
Before assembling, I sprayed a little of the new Silver Foil Smooch Spritz over the Sanded pattern to pick up the silver theme. This spray is thicker than you'd expect and covers really well, so I held it about 15 inches away to achieve a lightly splattered look. It's actually a dark silver, kind of a steel metallic color…very pretty…er, ahem…I mean…very manly. *wink*
To show you just how well it covers, I've included a picture of a piece of chipboard photo corner after three sprays. The screen image doesn't do it justice—it's a very rich, metal look! I'm thinking that I'll need to get the Cog Punch to make some cool gears…wouldn't that be awesome, dude?!
First Card Sentiment
I used the new In A Word set…it's a word inside a word to make a phrase. Of course, the phrases are designed for scrapbook pages, but they are versatile enough for cards, too!
OK—Here's a tip I discovered when using the "Journey" stamp…unless you're trying to convey that you love that 80s rock ballad band with "Open Arms," be careful of the color(s) you use. It might just be a guy thing, but after my first attempt, with "journey" colored in a mixture of Sage Shadow and Brocade Blue, my husband told me he never realized I loved the band so much. Ha. Ha. I changed the colors to black and sage and added three Silver Brads under the three letters to make it more obvious.
Moral of the story, use contrasting colors to exaggerate the
"our," or any of the inside words, so the recipient actually gets it. If the colors are too similar, the inside word will get lost. I've seen other cards that pop the inside word up on another layer, which is another great way to highlight it! Got any other suggestions for making the words stand out?
The "i love" is from Three Little Words, and punched with the Jewelry Tag Punch.
Second Card Sentiment
I changed the accent color to Real Red, then stamped the sentiment from Well-Scripted (no longer available) in black. An old Designer Brad, similar to the Star Designer Brads, complements the metal theme. And, remember, you can earn a package of Designer Brads for FREE when you purchase a qualifying stamp set—learn more.
Be Proud Of What You Pull
I couldn't finish this post without mentioning the coordinating stamp set Loads of Fun. Whether it's a camper, jet-ski, motorcycle, snowmobile, or four-wheeler, you're sure to find some toy that your boy likes to pull! Use these adventurous vehicles in combination with the pickup truck or on their own, set deep in the woods, up on a mountain, or out by the lake! Good times, man!
Take a look at this Too Cool accordion card by StampinAK that was CASEd from page 59 of the current Idea Book & Catalog:
What do you do to make a card more masculine? I'd love to see your guy projects!
Angie