Category Archives: Masculine

Owl Punch Three Monsters Male Birthday Card

In trying to think of a birthday card to make for my son-in-law, I was a little stumped this year. Last year I got an idea for a Star Wars card that I probably mostly copied from an idea I saw online. I thought it turned out great and he liked it! Right up his alley! But this year, the other things I knew he liked were a little harder to come up with in a card. When I saw an idea of using the Owl Punch somewhat like this, I decided to go with a "generic" monster/sci fi/comic character/whatever card for him. This is what materialized and I like it!

The Owl Punch is one of the greatest tools you can own! Not that I think of these things, but other stampers come up with a multitude of ways to use our Stampin' Up! punches and make them worth their weight in gold for crafting! To make my little monsters (or whatever they are!) I punched the owl, drew on his mouth and teeth with a Stampin' Write Black Marker and colored in the teeth with the Signo Gel Pen. For the arms I stuck a little strip of paper in to punch just the feet of the owl and then cut the strips to make arms. I punched out the white eye circles with the Owl Punch although I colored them in with black around my Googly Eyes.

The sentiment is from the stamp set You're Amazing and die-cut with the Big Shot and the Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies. The brads are the 3/8" Designer Printed Brads.

If you are looking for a male birthday card, for child or adult, this is a good one and fun to make! If you prefer just stamping your monsters, there is the Make a Monster stamp set!

You can order any and all of these products and more from my Stampin' Up! Online Store. Go there today….and also check the Clearance Rack if you are doing an online order!

Male Birthday Card…or Any Occasion Card!

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Twenty-four years ago today I was driving my daughter home from Sunday School and had to practically stop the car while I let a contraction pass. When I got home I called my parents in St. Louis to say probably something was happening. We four all ate lunch and in the afternoon I baked cupcakes for the cake walk at the Halloween carnival that would be down the street the next night. Naturally I had some licks of the batter and frosting! Since we would be at the carnival and trick-or-treating the next night, I decided to cook a special Halloween dinner that night. In the midst of batter-licking and frosting-eating and dinner prep, I decided maybe I needed to quit eating and go sit down and time the contractions. By half-time of the televised Sunday night football game (my husband always appreciated the timing!), it was time to calmly call my friend and ask her to come get the kids since we'd be going to the hospital sometime that night. She rushed over and by the time my husband helped get the kids buckled in their seats in her car I was more than ready to be going to the hospital. The nurse taking my information laughed when I told her my last meal was cupcake batter and frosting! In just a couple of hours, Steven was born, just about 45 minutes short of being a Halloween baby! How can that be so long ago??!!

We think making a masculine card is hard since we crafters seem to often be using flowers and colors and other images that don't seem to be appropriate for a man or boy. I actually started off thinking I would copy a card I'd seen online, but once I changed the shape of my stamped greeting from "You're Amazing" by cutting it out with one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits, I came up with this design instead. Great way to use up paper scraps, great way to make a card for a male birthday, great way to make a card for ANY occasion! The background of the card is embossed with the Stripes Embossing Folder. And a couple of Glimmer Brads add some pizzazz without being too much bling for a boy!

The paper strips (Summer Smooches…and you wouldn't think that paper would work for a masculine card but it does!) are just cut to varying lengths and widths, no big deal, just whatever you want. And then cut a little "v" out of the end or use a square punch to punch it out. (I think it is easiest to just snip).

Have fun stamping today!

Make an Easy Father’s Day Card!

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This easy Father's Day card will take just minutes to make! To add some texture to the background, I used the new Chevron Embossing Folder #127749…of course you could use most any folder you have…or none at all. Then I just cut strips of designer paper into little banners to decorate the front. This paper is the beautiful new International Bazaar Designer Series Paper #126920, but you could use any that you have on hand. The "DAD" is stamped with the Broadsheet Alphabet (p. 144). I kept it super simple and didn't even use layers! The card base and ink color is one of the new In Colors, Midnight Muse.

Stampin' Up! products make coordination easy and simple. Now get busy and make an easy card for the father in your life today!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Handmade Father’s Day Gift Idea: Stamped Picture Frame

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It's getting down to the wire! Do you have a Father's Day gift yet? Here's a very easy handmade Father's Day gift idea….just make a stamped picture frame! I bet you have a picture frame of some sort around the house or they are inexpensive to buy. Either using the mat that comes with it or cutting your own from Whisper White card stock, so some stamping on the mat and insert your photo! On this one I used the My Friend stamp set. The leafy image was easy to stamp and good for a Father's Day gift.

Just to fancy it up a bit, I first inked up the stamp a bit with the new In Color Summer Starfruit, then the Gumball Green and finally some tapping with Old Olive. As long as you start with the lightest color first it won't affect your ink pads. It just gave a little bit of a varigated look to the leaves. If you had some leaf stamps, you could stamp those randomly around the mat.

Make a matching little gift card by stamping the leaves on a small card.

An easy gift for the kids to help with, and you probably have the supplies around the house! And Dad will treasure it!

Father’s Day Scrapbook Page in My Digital Studio

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How about using My Digital Studio to make a Father's Day scrapbook page for photos of Dad and the children? You can put it in a scrapbook (if you print it out) OR you can print it and frame it! You most likely can find any size frame these days, particularly one made for scrapbook pages. Add the photos where you see the black boxes. Or if you prefer, just use this design for a starting point and make it the traditional way with paper, ink and stamps! Add your embellishments and you have a great Father's Day gift. Personalize however you like!

For more information on My Digital Studio, click HERE.

It's very easy to either completely design your own page…or do like I did and start with a template in My Digital Studio and change it up how you like it!

Handmade Father’s Day Card Idea

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There are a lot of these Father's Day card ideas out there with the shirt and tie. Usually the tie, and sometimes the shirt, is an origami technique, but I wanted something easier for a handmade Father's Day card idea.

For the shirt, I started with a piece of designer paper (this one is Summer Smooches #125409 from Stampin' Up! cut 4" x 5 7/8". At the top score at 5/8" and again at 1 1/4"….that is, if you want the collar to match the shirt (so that your designer paper is folded over twice). Otherwise, just score at 5/8" if you want the other side of the paper to show for the collar. Either is great! Where you want the collar to fold in, cut in at the sides one inch. That gives you the collar separated from the shirt so you can fold that much in toward the center. Find the center of your paper (2") and fold those top tips to that mark making the collar. Use Stampin' Dimensionals #104430 under the collar edges to hold it down.

Before glueing down the collar, make the necktie. I just used a piece of the new 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Gumball Green #126848 (p. 172), tied a little knot at the top and snipped off the bottom to make a point. Then I stuck it down with a Mini Glue Dot at the top and one lower down. You could also use a little mini brad for a "tie tac". After you have the tie in place you can stick down the collar edges.

Here is what the necktie looks like:

Adhere the Father's Day shirt to a card base and add a greeting and you are done! So cute and relatively easy!

A Father’s Day Gift Idea for the Gardening/Yard Dad

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And what dad isn't involved in at least a little bit of gardening or yard work? This is a Father's Day gift the children can make with some adult supervision by Mom. Buy some roof flashing at a home improvement store, cut it out with your big shot and an appropriate die and then hang on a stake of some sort.

This is one of my photos from the San Antonio Regional back in January where I learned to make these. As you can see, you can cut out most anything with your Big Shot and then punch a hole and hang it and stick it in the yard or in a pot of flowers or a plant. Perhaps it will even scare off the squirrels from the garden….that's what we're trying to do in our garden! But it is pretty and eye-catching no matter what! The flashing has sharp edges until you run it through the Big Shot so you do need to be careful if children make this for Dad. Use your imagination! Once you make one I bet you'll have to make more!

Lovely As a Tree Father’s Day Card

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Father's Day is sneaking up on us! It's Sunday, June 17th….this Sunday!! As you have heard time and time again, this stamp set, Lovely As a Tree (p. 84) (now available in clear-mount!) is so versatile and well-loved….and perfectly suited for those difficult masculine/manly cards for any occasion.

I think the simplicity of this card will suit a father or any man in your life. You can use any background paper, layer the tree and add a greeting for whichever occasion. Teeny Tiny Wishes is perfect for most occasions!

Just stamp the tree in Black Stazon ink and color in however you like. I used a Blender Pen and various inks straight from the ink pad. I started with a little yellow (the new Summer Starfruit) because someone used to always say use a little yellow with any green. Then I colored in with the new Gumball Green and Old Olive. And there is nothing "artistic" about coloring in the greenery on the tree….just scribble on some color…really! It will look fine! The tree trunk is Soft Suede to match the card base and layers. The designer paper background layer is the new Comfort Cafe #126898. If you don't have the new papers yet, I'm sure you will be able to find something suitable in your stash. Well Worn from last year would be great…and don't overlook the subtle patterns on the back of the more dramatic sides of any designer paper.

To order Lovely As a Tree in either wood-mount or clear-mount or any other stamping supplies, please go to my Stampin' Up! Online Store HERE. Or contact me if you prefer and I'll put in your order for you!

Get started on your Father's Day cards right now if they need to be mailed..and check back this week for more Father's Day papercrafting ideas.

A Gate-Fold Circus Big Top Birthday Card for a Boy

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Often times we think it is difficult to come up with a card for a boy or a man, but once you put your mind to it, it's really not impossible! And nothing says this card couldn't be for a girl, but I did need a card for a young boy.

This is a gate-fold card, which is very easy to make. Once you have the idea, you could vary the size to whatever you need. I started with a 5 1/4" x 12" piece of card stock for the base. It is scored at 2", 4", 8" and 10". That gives you a 4" center with each side (4") folded in half.

Here is the inside decorated with the Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper #122348. Besides just using the paper, I cut out some images to place on the card. Also, another fun thing is to add die-cuts from the Big Top Birthday Quick Accents #122368.

You can do various things with the front of the card. I chose to make a belly band around, cut out a medallion from the Perfect Pennants Die #123126 and stuck on a self-adhesive accent from the Quick Accents. You can find the designer paper and the Quick Accents on the main catalog on pages 186-7. All of these papers and Quick Accents are great for scrapbooking, but you can use them for any kind of project!

To shop for any Stampin' Up! products, just click HERE. Be sure to check the Clearance Rack if you are doing an online order (last week Stampin' Up! added a lot of new items to the Clearance Rack but inventory can change rapidly depending on demand)….and don't forget about the Retired List of stamp sets! (this is an updated list to print in black and white if you choose).

Houston Texans Football Team in Their First Playoff Game Today!

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There is excitement in Houston today as the Houston Texans football team play their first playoff game this afternoon at Reliant Stadium! They are playing the Cincinnati Bengals. The Texans are a relatively new team, ten years old, and haven't made it to the playoffs….until now! So everyone is very excited and optimistic!

In honor of the Houston Texans, I made this spirit card in My Digital Studio, the Stampin' Up! software program for digital papercrafting. I made my own "designer paper" background by typing "Houston Texans" in a text box, changing the color to white, lowering the opacity, and copying and pasting the text box all over the page! Since I didn't have a football digital stamp, I was able to go to Stampin' Up! and order it online and have the download in seconds! Really cool!!

The big red circle is from a free download Stampin' Up! is offering on their Facebook page! If you scroll down through the posts and find it and take a short easy survey, you too can get this free download….it's more than the circle!! Go to the Stampin' Up! Facebook page HERE.

The football is actually a little tricky….it comes as just the black outline as you can see in the "motion" footballs being thrown! In order to add color digitally, you have to add punches that match the shape of the football, add color to them and then send them "behind" the football. Not hard, you just have to know to do that!

I can teach you all about My Digital Studio and direct you to even more resources as well as any other Stampin' Up! products….stamps, inks, papers, accessories, gifts and home decor items. Stamping offers so much variety and so much inspiration for creativity! Sign up for my mailing list in the upper left and keep up with the latest stamping news. Or contact me at Karen@Karenstamps.com for more information about having fun stamping!

Go Texans!!! Win Big!!

Card for a Male Birthday

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Lots of birthdays in our family recently and mostly male! I think I mailed my other son's card before photographing it, but my other little boy's birthday is today! Okay, he's not so little any more, but you know how it is…when you are a mother, our children really never grow up in our hearts!

I wasn't feeling so creative when I made this card, and of course was in a hurry to get it in the mail at the last minute.

It often seems to be a challenge to come up with a "male" card, but look how easy this one is! I just used the Postage Stamp Punch #122344 and scraps of Halloween paper, Frightful Sight #122351 on a card base of Cajun Craze. So don't put your Halloween paper away just because it is close to Thanksgiving! Turn it over, look at the parts without a Halloween image, just see what you can use! The squares are each popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

Here is the inside:

This stamp is from the stamp set "Bring On the Cake", available in wood- or clear-mount.

If you need any stamping supplies, please order from my Stampin' Up! Online Store or email me!

My Digital Studio All in the Family Father’s Day Card

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This would be a great card for either you to make or have your kids make for Dad on Father's Day! You can use My Digital Studio, as I did, or you can stamp with the All in the Family stamp set #113488. Either let the children design it or let them color it in after you make it! With this stamp set, All in the Family, they can each make their own personalized card!

Stampin’ Up! Idea for a Father’s Day Card

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Father's Day is June 19th so it is time to be making Father's Day cards. There are plenty of Stampin' Up! ideas for Father's Day cards…just look through your Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog and you'll find a great resource of ideas, even if you change the paper or color or saying. Sometimes I am surprised myself at how easy it is to be inspired by looking through the catalog.

I had so much fun making this card! The clouds are made by punching out the solid piece on the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch #122464 (the first image on the left of the punch), laying it on your paper and then sponging off the edges a little bit with a little bit of ink. I used Bashful Blue. Just move it around until you have your sky how you like it! You just want to be a little more careful than I was and not get much ink on your sails! For the water I just sponged on some Night of Navy ink. To emphasize the waves, I used my White Gel Pen #105021 so my sea may look a little stormy! Everyone should order this Sail Away stamp #123013…great for masculine cards and gifts, summertime themes, nautical themes, general occasions.

You will want to order the Baker's Twine in the Summer Mini (page 10) because it is really trendy right now and certainly easy to use.

And to finish off my card I stamped a greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched with the Modern Label Punch. With the two little gold brads on it, it seemed to just "make" the card when I attached it!

This was a simple card to make (and my eyes were dilated from the eye doctor so I could barely see what I was doing!) and just one of those that I LOVED when I got finished! Isn't rubber stamping grand??!

Order your retiring stamps and accessories today at my Online Store!

Veterans Day 2009

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This is a swap card I received at the Stampin' Up! Convention this summer, made by Julia G. from California. I thought it would be perfect to showcase today on Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor military veterans.

This card uses the stamp set Courage for the main image, the set Service & Sacrifice for the sentiment, and in the background on the Brilliant Blue the wheel Hero. You can find all of these stamps on page 67 of the Idea Book & Catalog.

You can read all about Veterans Day by clicking HERE.

Autumn Splendor

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I had purchased this stamp set, Autumn Splendor, in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini, thinking about our upcoming (at the time) New England fall foliage trip. I knew it would make beautiful cards and scrapbook pages with fall colored leaves. Here is a card I made. I stamped the leaf with Basic Brown ink so I could watercolor the leaf with my Aquapainter and Watercolor Crayons to give it the fall colors. Then I painted over the leaf with the new Shimmer Paint in the Holiday Mini (Champagne Mist). The shimmer kind of covered the colors of the leaf but I think it still turned out well and I hope you can see the shimmer in the photos. You'll love the new Shimmer Paint! If you need any suggestions or tips on using it, please email me.

The card base is made with Dusty Durango card stock and the Designer Paper layer is Autumn Meadows from the Holiday Mini. Those are actually the two sides of the paper you see in the photo! The ribbon is Dusty Durango polka dot turned around so you just see the solid side. And for a greeting I used Teeny Tiny Wishes punched out with the Oval Punch and layered on the Scallop Oval Punch. You'll notice the leaf layer is sponged on the side, which I do think adds a lot….but just so you know, I decided to do the sponging after somehow getting extra ink from my fingers on the edges of the card. See! There are no mistakes in stamping! You can probably click on the photos to see them enlarged.

Here are some more photos from our trip!