This week at the Global Design Project it’s a colour challenge and boy do I love these challenges! Sometimes these challenges can be easy for me and sometimes they can be a bit of a challenge – and that’s what this is all about – a challenge! This week the challenge took me straight to the one and only Charlet Mallet and a gorgeous card she created for a recent Stampin’ Up! event where she created a card using the Trucking Along bundle with a rusty truck and I just couldn’t get it out of my brain – so it became a colour/CASE’ing challenge for me!
These three colours also happen to be three of our new 2023-2025 In Colours so it was a good time to get them out and have a play! A rusty Boho Blue truck – FUN! Speaking of trucks—it sounds very masculine doesn’t it? This got me thinking about masculine cards and I thought it was a good time to talk about my top tips for masculine cards. Sometimes they can be a bit tricky! Well I have a few tips for you, keep reading for more…
Here’s a look at the colour challenge…
global design challenge #GDP405
Click here to see the rest of the team’s amazing projects and join in the #GDP405 challenge.
See the bottom of this post for my top tips for masculine cards…
sending smiles across the miles – my finished card
Here is a look at my finished card, I had so much fun with this one. Following along with tip four that I have listed in my top tips for masculine cards listed below, I started with my main focal element which was my truck before pulling in the sentiment. I then worked on the grunge and texture and pulled in the Brushed Metallic Dots. I literally drew a plan and worked with those elements. In my brain when I know the elements it makes it more simple. When I work with more feminine cards, it can get messy, very layered, lots of embellishments and glitter! I love to over embellish, complicate things and work in a very messy and over embellished way, the tips I have listed below I have had to develop for myself!
I think I should share my inspiration for this card that I spoke about above – this is Charlet Mallett’s gorgeous truck…
the inspiration for my card…
You can find her post on Instagram here – but you should click follow – Charlet’s work is amazing!
She shared her beautiful watercoloring – she is so talented with this and I can no where near compete with her beautiful talent she is an artist!
a close up look at the finished card…
So in tip one and tip two of my top tips for masculine cards suggesting adding grunge and adding mixed textures, I have done a little bit of both on this card by ripping, tearing and also adding some blending with my blending brush and Pebbled Path ink.
I started off with a layer of Basic White cardstock for my card but actually took a Blending Brush with some Pebbled Path ink to really blend and ‘distress’ the edges. The vignette look that this gives a card is great but it also adds both a vintage tone and helps to draw the eye towards both the middle of the card but also towards the focal point.
I have also added a mixture of textures to my card by adding the softness of the jute twine which I have frayed apart by using the needle point end of my Take Your Pick tool (this tool is magic…if you don’t have one, you definitely need one!) and I have added the metal in using the Brushed Brass Metallic Dots and then finally the ripped/torn edges of the Designer Series Paper!
I love mixing textures and tones! Your eyes almost get excited moving between them and the grunge and fun it adds to a masculine card is exciting when you are limited not being able to add the glitz and glam of rhinestones and sequins!
a little look at the inside of the card…
I had to to make the inside pretty as well! I have pretty much replicated the card front and I had a left over truck! This one was my take one for the card front but I didn’t like it as much but there was nothing wrong with it going on the inside! A strip of the coordinating Boho Blue Designer Series Paper and some of the Wild Wheat Specialty Paper really helped to coordinate it with the card front design and I have added some blending in some beautiful Pebbled Path ink along with another sentiment stamped in Memento Black.
I just had to add some cute clouds stamped in a combination of Memento Black and Boho Blue and now the card has a cute inside fit for a beautiful masculine (or feminine) card!
I actually thought this fun sentiment from the Sending Smiles stamp set is really appropriate to do with Sending Smiles across the MILES being that it is a truck. So fitting!
Now for those tips…
my top tips for masculine cards
add some grunge
- Add some grunge – distressing is one of my favourite things to add to masculine cards. Break out those blending brushes and add some darker colours to the edges for a distressed look (or vignette look). OR get ripping – rip that paper! Paper tearing is another great way to add grunge as is using the edge of a blade to distress the edge or cardstock or Designer Series Paper!
mix up your textures
- Use textures and mix textures! This helps to add depth and interest. Fraying ribbon/twine/thread can also help to add grunge as mentioned in tip one. This helps to enhance to masculine feel.
masculine colour schemes – keep it simple
- Use masculine colours and when choosing a colour theme I like to start with two or three and start from there. KISS (keep it super simple!) Blues, greens, greys, browns and neutrals are a great place to start. Stampin’ Up! make it super simple by having such a great colour coordinated range of products.
don’t overthink it! five steps!
- Don’t overthink it. Keep the design minimalist and simple. You might laugh when you think of myself giving this tip but when planning it goes like this. 1. main focal element. 2. sentiment 3. grunge 4. simple embellishment 5. texture. They are the key elements.
you don’t have to have a theme!
- You don’t have to have a ‘theme’ to make it masculine. Whilst my card I am featuring today has a ‘truck’ you can look for abstract patterns or simple patterns and just add a sentiment and some grunge and have that as a masculine card. You do not need to have a masculine themed hobby card, although these are ‘cool’. Do what suits you!
I hope that you were able to get some inspiration from my card share today for both using those gorgeous in Colours as well as some tips from my top tips for masculine cards!
That is only the tip of the iceberg! There are lots more ideas for masculine cards and I am sure I can share some more soon! That will be a good challenge for myself!
Don’t forget to pop over to the Global Design Project and join in this week’s challenge, I can’t wait to see what you make!
Until next time, crafty hugs. xx
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