For the Guys: AECP Class Projects

Hello and welcome to my blog; today I am sharing the card that I made as part of my home work for the Altenew Educator Certification Program. Todays card is inspired by the Altenew class For the Guys Online Cardmaking Class. If you struggle with making masculine cards this is a class I highly recommend. Even as I guy I struggle with making cards geared towards guys but this class helped to shed new light onto the process.

For the Guys Class Project:

For my card today I was inspired by Jennifer's idea of using a geometric stamp set to create your own pattern paper. I used the Simple Shapes XL Stamp Set (from Altenew) to create my pattern. For my color scheme I played with the thought of using complimentary colors. I wanted to keep the color palette simple but striking.

I was super surprised at how easy it was to line up the shaped images from the stamp set to create a pattern. For my color palette like I said I went with complimentary colors. I got a chance to break out my freshly arrived Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes. I used the Golden Sunset Fresh Dye Ink Mini Cubes, the Summer Nights Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes (the two darkest blues) and a couple ink cubes from the Sweet Dreams Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes (the two lighter shades).

I started off my card by taking Jennifer's tip from the class and looked at a few geometric pattern designs online. So I headed to Pinterest and searched away. Pinterest is always a great place to look for inspiration when you want to get ideas for a project. Once I started my stamping I started with a piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock (110 lbs) but started larger than I had thought I would use. This allowed me to be able to stamp out a pattern and use the part I really liked.

Masculine Color Palette:

I picked out my lightest shade from the Sweet Dreams Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes which was Dew Drop and Aqualicious and stamped my first two shapes. I made to sure to line up the shapes so that they slightly overlapped just on the edge to create a seamless look. I then picked the two darker blue shades from the Summer Nights Fresh Dye Ink Mini Ink Cubes. I placed the next image and stamped it using Dusk Fresh Dye Ink and then turned the cardstock and added in Desert Night Fresh Dye Ink at the end. And then repeated the colors on the other side. Next I used the large triangle shape from the Simple Shapes XL Stamp Set and stamped my triangles alternating between the colors from the Golden Sunset Fresh Dye Ink Mini Cubes. I stamped one and then flipped it to fill in the next area and repeated the process until my panel was filled.

I then cut the panel down into a nice size strip that would leave me with a nice amount of white space on the card. I added two strips of black cardstock to the top and bottom of the panel to make the colors pop against the white card base. Next I popped up the using some Instant Dimension Foam Tape. And stamped my sentiment from the Best Sentiment Stamp Set (from Altenew). I stamped it in Obsidian Black Pigment Ink onto a scrap of the same white cardstock and covered it in Clear Embossing Powder. I then just trimmed around the sentiment with my snips and added it to the card front. I did use a cover plate from my stash and cut out small black circles in the same black cardstock to add to my card front as a simple embellishment.

(Wondering what I used in this video/project? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails at the end of this post, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible).

Masculine Cardmaking Bonus Tips:

• For a straight geometric pattern use a ruler to draw a straight line to line your images up with. You can always erase it or trim the pattern down.

• Make sure to clean your stamps completely when changing ink colors.

• Use a stamp positioner so you can double stamp your image, if necessary in order to ensure a solid impression.

• You can always cut down your stamped panel to be smaller than you start with.

• When making masculine cards invite your guy (husband, boyfriend, son, friend, etc.) into the craft room with you.  You're both sure to have a lot of fun!

Thanks for dropping by today I hope that you have a fabulous weekend and I hope that you find a couple tips and tricks to making masculine cards a little easier from my post. And again I highly recommend taking the  For the Guys Online Cardmaking Class if you find yourself struggling with creating cards for the men in your life. You will learn so many more tips and tricks on creating cards for them.

Happy Crafting!

Materials Used:

Here you will find the list of supplies that I used to create today's card. All supplies are linked to supply sources below. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.

Happy Stampin'

Rick Adkins