Category: Masculine - Crystal Komara

Bad To The Bone

6/21/2023

Now that we have passed Father's Day, I can share the card that I made for my father this year. Granted, he is not a biker at all, but I still think any man would think this card is pretty cool!

Card details:

*All supplies are always linked at the end of each post for your convenience.

This is an A2 sized card. The white cardstock base was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of the same Neenah White cardstock and created my ink blended background. First I blended three Distress Oxide inks Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey and Fired Brick from top to bottom. Then I used the Tiger Stripes Stencil from Whimsy Stamps and used both Wild Honey and Fired Brick Distress Oxide ink to ink over the stencil to create the stripes (or what I thought looked like flames).

I die cut the block letters "Rad Dad" from both black cards stock and an orangey/red glitter cardstock. I layered to two colors together, slightly offsetting the black cardstock for a shadow look. These block letter dies are from the Bold ABC dies from Whimsy Stamps. I adhered the letters to the card and then heat embossed the motorcycle with gold embossing powder on black cardstock. I fussy cut the motorcycle out and adhered it to the center of the card. I stamped the "Bad to the Bone" sentiment and banner in Tuxedo Memento Black ink and colored it with Copic Markers. I adhered the banner over the motorcycle. Lastly I stamped the small skull and flames at the bottom of the card with Tuxedo Memento Black ink.

I ended up liking this first card so I much that I wanted to create a more feminine/girly version!

So I kept the layout the same, I simply swapped out the Distress Oxide ink colors for Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry and Rich Preserves. I die cut the letter for "Bad A$$" from black cardstock and silver glitter cardstock.

Minus the sassiness of the second card (I had to find three letters that would fit keeping in line with the theme!) I hope you agree these cards are pretty wildl!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Supplies used:

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Dad's Day by Picket Fence Studios

1/22/2021

Last November when I knew that I was going to start creating more masculine themed cards this month, I went on a bit of a shopping spree. Okay, it was more like a $140 shopping spree. . . This Dad's Day stamp set by Picket Fence Studios was one that piqued my interest with it's giant burger. I love a stamp that is unique and not like everything else on the market and this stamp does just that.

I like to show you multiple ways to use one stamp set, so here is a look at two other cards I created using the Pink & Main Dad's Day stamp:

This was a fun stamp set to use for masculine cards, but now I am officially hungry and craving Five Guys!

XO, Crystal

D-A-D

1/18/2021

Could the theme of today's #manuarycards be any more obvious? : ) The large letter dies that I own are, in fact, quite large, and really wouldn't allow me to fit any more letters onto one card, so no "Grandpa, Uncle or Brother." A simple plaid "dad" card it is! But, if you have smaller letter dies, you could create similar cards, but have more variety in the words.

Card details:

*Please note all of these cards were made the same way, I simply used alternating color combinations.

The base of these A2 sized cards are made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Gina Marie Stitched Rectangle dies, I cut a piece of white cardstock. Then I die cut the letters "DAD" on the stitched white rectangle. I lined the back of the letter cutouts with a piece of plaid cardstock (in red, blue or green). I adhered the white cardstock onto a coordinating color mat before adhering both pieces to a white cardstock base. On thin strips of coordinating cardstock, I stamped various sentiments in Versamark ink and heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder. I notched the ends of both sentiments before adhering them over the word "dad" with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

I mentioned earlier this month, when I began creating more masculine cards, that I found a black, gold and white color combination was an easy way to achieve a masculine look, so I also recreated these cards using those three colors:

Do you have a preference for one look versus the other?
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Rainbow Tux

1/15/2021

On Wednesday I shared my first card using this fun tuxedo stamp from Brutus Monroe. Today I am sharing another very unique way to use this same stamp set! Now, this card is a bit on the wild and colorful side, so it really needs to be mailed to a very wild and colorful kinda guy!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of Yupo paper, I created a background using alcohol inks in a variety of rainbow colors in a diagonal pattern. I then added splatters of alcohol to create the white dots. Once this background dried, I then used a bowtie stencil overlay and smooshed Versamark ink through the stencil. I heat embossed the bowties using black embossing powder. Once this cooled, I adhered the Yupo paper directly to a black cardstock mat before adhering both pieces to the white card base. I stamped the tuxedo and sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut both the tuxedo and sentiment out and adhered each to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

I love that this card is so out of the box for me! In fact, I have a tiger stripe stencil and I think I just might need to create the same background with tiger stripes in lieu of bowties for an even wilder look!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

XO, Crystal

Tux by Brutus Monroe

1/13/2021

Hello friends and happy Wednesday! Today I am sharing more elegant masculine themed cards featuring the Tux stamp set from Brutus Monroe. I absolutely love this stamp set and think that it could be used for a wide variety of occasions! If you are looking for a really classic and timeless stamp set to add to your collection for future masculine themed cards, I'd highly recommend this one.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from black cardstock. Using the Diagonal Stripes with Window die from Pinkfresh Studio, I cut the background frame from black cardstock. I placed a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of light gray cardstock behind the frame. Using the Gilded Holiday paper pack from Whimsy Stamps, I cut a piece of the gold and black polka dot paper to fit inside the window. I stamped the tuxedo in Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut the tuxedo out and adhered it to the left side of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the sentiment "you're a classic" using the You're A Classic stamp set and coordinating dies from Honey Bee Stamps in Memento Black ink on white cardstock. I used the coordinating die to cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a couple white sequins randomly to the card for texture.

Here is the second tuxedo card I created using the same Brutus Monroe stamp set:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from black cardstock. For the first mat, I used a piece of paper from the Gilded Holiday paper pack from Whimsy Stamps. I adhered this black, gold and white striped paper directly to the card base. I cut a 4 " x 3" piece of black cardstock and stamped polka dots over it in Versamark ink. I heat embossed the polka dots with black embossing powder to give it a subtle shine and pattern. I adhered the black rectangle to the center of the card at a slight angle. I stamped the tuxedo in Versamark ink on white cardstock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I fussy cut the tuxedo out and adhered it to the right side of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the words "happy birthday" in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock. I used the coordinating die to die cut the sentiment out and adhered it to the card using foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a couple gold sequins to the card for added dimension and sparkle.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

More #manuary

1/12/2021

Today I am continuing on with the #manuarycards and sharing a simple, but elegant golf themed masculine card. For this card, I used the Golf stamp set by The Frantic Stamper. Last week I shared these birthday cards also featuring a black, gold and white color palette, which I have found works well for a wide variety of masculine cards.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smoothcardstock. I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of black cardstock and a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of brushed gold patterned cardstock. I layered and staggered the black and gold cardstock to the font of the card. On thin strips of black cardstock, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I also stamped the golf clubs in Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I adhered both the golf club and sentiment strips to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

I hope you have enjoyed today's card. Thank you for visiting!

XO, Crystal

More #manuarycards

1/8/2021

Hello readers and happy Friday! I'm not sure if you have noticed or not yet, but with the start of this new year, I have decided to only blog three days per week (most likely it will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday). For the past few years I have typically blogged five days per week, but in all honesty, the burnout was real and I was feeling exhausted near the end of last year. My creativity had suffered and I have been determined to bring back the joy in cardmaking again. So, my New Year's resolution was to spend less time on the computer and more time in my craft room!

Card details:

Both of these A2 sized cards have a black cardstock base. I matted the first layer with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I created two different alcohol ink backgrounds using alcohol inks in browns and golds on Yupo paper. I die cut the bottom of each alcohol ink piece with a border die and adhered the alcohol ink background directly to the white cardstock. I die cut the word "hello" or "thanks" from black cardstock and gold cardstock. I layered the two pieces together and adhered the sentiment to the left side of the card using 3M foam adhesive. Underneath each layered word sentiment I stamped an additional sentiment in Memento Tuxedo ink on white cardstock. I adhered this second sentiment directly below the first.

*For more information on how to create beautiful designs with alcohol inks to use with your cards, please refer to this basic video by the amazing Jennifer McGuire.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

XO, Crystal

#manuary Birthdays

1/7/2021

Birthday cards are probably one of the cards I make and send most. But, how do you make a card for a grown man look classy and elegant? I found that it's really quite easy with a simple black, gold and white color combination. Add some balloons and champagne (wine or beer works too) and cheers to the years! Today's cards will be the first of many cards I share this month using a similar color palette.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from black cardstock. Using the Stitched Scalloped Rectangles from Gina Marie Designs, I die cut the background from Neenah Solar White crest cardstock. I die cut a half circle in the center of this white cardstock and lined the back with clear acetate in order to make a shaker card. I lined the back of the hole with a gold foil striped paper. I added black, gold and white sequins to the shaker. I heat embossed the word "cheers" in gold embossing powder on the front lower right corner of the card. I stamped the champagne bottle and two wine classes in Versamark ink on black cardstock before heat embossing them with gold embossing powder. I fussy cut the images out and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive.

*I used the "Cheers" (retired) stamp set from 88 and Clear to create both of these cards.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Music Speaks

1/5/2021

At the end of 2020, I started a small movement (for lack of better words) on social media proclaiming that the month of January 2021 would be "MANuary" and that I was determined to make and share more masculine themed cards using the hashtag" #manuarycards." Today I will begin sharing the first of many cards this month designed for the men in our lives from fathers, brothers, husbands and sons, to grandfathers, friends and more! Today's cards feature the Music Speaks stamp set and coordinating dies from HoneyBee Stamps and would work well for teenagers and adult men who still yearn to be
rockstars too!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock, I stenciled the background using the Tiger Stripes Stencil from Whimsy Stamps in Squeezed Lemonade, Pumpkin Pie and Barn Door Distress Oxide inks. On a 4" x 3" piece of white cardstock, I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink with the word "friendship" in red ink. I stamped a few music notes in red ink randomly below the sentiment. I matted a 4 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of black cardstock directly to this white cardstock before adhering both the background. I die cut a large star from black cardstock and adhered it to the lower right side of the card. I stamped the drum, sax and trumpet images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored in the images using Copic markers. I adhered the instruments to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added some Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.

I hope you will enjoy seeing a variety of masculine themed cards over the course of this month! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Father's Day Inspiration

6/10/2020

Who else struggles with making masculine cards? I know that I sure do! I know in today's society we're all about being gender inclusive and non-stereotypical, but cutesy pink dancing pigs and glittery pop-up mermaids just aren't going to cut it for my dad! With Father's Day soon approaching I know that we are all looking for some inspiration to create cards for the special men in our lives. I have found that simply by using certain colors, it is easier to achieve a more masculine look. For today's two cards, I used the Lumina Layering Plates (A, B & C) from Birch Press Design and a darker color palette of black, gold and green. I think this same card in navy blues and golds would also be an excellent combination to create a masculine card.

Here is the first card I created using the "leftover" cutout circle pieces from the Lumina Layering Plate. You can see what I mean by the "leftover" cutout pieces in the video below. I could have added this cut-out back in to the original card design, but I like the idea of creating two cards from one die.

Here is the second card I created using the Lumina Layering Plates:

I have created a step-by-step YouTube video tutorial sharing how I made both of these cards. I like to keep my videos short and sweet, so it under 7 minutes long!

I hope these cards will inspire you to try different color combinations in order to achieve a more masculine look.
Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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