Everyone appreciates a work of art

Especially when it is custom made for them! That’s what every handmade card is – a custom work of art! One of the things I like to stress is that guys can appreciate a work of art too! That’s why just a simple change can take a card from feminine to “masculine”. What is “masculine” anyway? Who’s to say what a guy will appreciate? Perhaps he likes glitter, or a bit of sparkle and shine? One thing’s for sure, whether it’s a guy or a gal, they will love that the card was made with them in mind!

Level 1: FINAL

I received my Level 1 Final project assignment from Virginia last weekend, and I got straight to work! I wanted to have some extra time to try out a few ideas and get my project just right. My assignment included the following requirements:

• Use techniques from three of the Level 1 Classes to make a birthday, graduation or encouragement card
• Explain the components and share tips
• Create a Masculine and Feminine version
• Do a step-by-step photo tutorial and/or YouTube video
• Complete the assignment by March 31st!

Wow! That’s a lot! Fortunately, some ideas started coming to me right away, and I had some idea of who these cards would go to – yes, even some guys! So, let’s get into the project and all of the how-to details!

My Project

The trick to combining multiple techniques is to not go overboard and make sure that they are in harmony with each other. In most cases, that means that the background will receive the majority of the techniques. That got me thinking along the lines of a “multimedia” project, and that’s where I ended up!

How To:

Here’s the step-by-step! This project pulls from lessons in four classes: For The Guys, Let it Shine, Celebration – Stenciling Techniques, and Easy Die Cutting. The techniques are called out in bold throughout the steps, with a citation to the class in parenthesis after. Project Supplies are listed and linked at the end of the post.

1. On a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece of Solar White 80# cardstock, trace an A2 sized (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) rectangle in pencil. This is the key working area. We are using a larger piece to allow the background to take shape more freely.
2. Pick three Altenew Crisp Ink colors for the stenciling step. This is how you can skew the project more masculine or more feminine. Go for pinks and yellows for a more light & feminine look. Pick grays, greens and/or blues for a more masculine look. Of course, it all depends on your recipient – pick colors they will like! Here’s some ideas:
   Flirty feminine – Rose Quartz, Puffy Heart, Warm Sunshine
   Monochrome Gray – Silver Lake, Cloudy Night, Jet Black
   Masculine blue/gray – Silver Lake, Cloudy Night, Desert Night
   Masculine green/gray – Bamboo, Gray Denim, Evergreen
3. Use the Calligraphy Maze stencil (Class: For the Guys) to apply three layers of color. Clean (if necessary because of color changes) and rotate the stencil 90-degrees between each color so they overlap at different places. This is a partial stenciling technique (inspired by Celebration: Stenciling Techiques), so don’t attempt to cover the entire background – focus the pattern in the mid to lower right side of the piece.
4. Next, it’s time to do some background embossing (Class: Let It Shine). Coat the background panel with an anti-static bag. Then, using the Reason to Smile stamp set, pull out some inspirational words and stamp them on the background panel using Versamark. If you stamp the images on white, they will be more hidden. If stamped on the stenciled areas, they will be more visible. Once stamped, coat in white embossing powder and heat set with a heat gun.
5. Arrange the “YOU ARE” stamp towards the left-center of the background panel. Stamp with Versafine Clair Nocturne, coat with black embossing powder and heat set. Once cooled, cover the “YOU ARE” with a bit of Post-it note to mask it off.
6. Next, create a stencil from the Halftone Cover Die (Class: Celebration: Stenciling Techniques) using some scrap ca.rdstock. Place the stencil over the background panel and apply embossing paste with a palette knife (Class: Celebration: Stenciling Techniques).Use a heat gun, if desired, to speed up the drying process.
7. Flick a lightweight glue onto the background panel. I created my own by watering down Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive with rubbing alcohol. Allow it to dry for a minute or two – until tacky.
8. Apply Nuvo Gilding Flakes (Class: Let It Shine) in your choice of color (Gold, Silver, Copper or a mix). Once all the glue spatter is coated in flakes, remove the excess flakes with a soft brush.
9. Cut down the background panel to 3 3/4″ x 5″ , remove the Post-it mask, and adhere to a standard A2 card base.
10. Coat a strip of Lawn Fawn Vellum with anti-static powder. Then stamp the “awesome” stamp from the Super Script stamp set using Versafine Clair Nocturne. This will help make the black even more black! Before it dries, add black embossing powder (Class: Let It Shine) and heat set the vellum. Use a low heat setting, or be sure to move the heat gun around so it does not scorch the vellum.
11. Diecut the finished sentiment with the coordinating die. (Class: Easy Die Cutting Techniques) I omitted the tiny center of the “s” as it is difficult to place, and unnecessary for this design. Add small bits of foam adhesive to the back of the diecut sentiment.
12. Remove the foam strip backings on the vellum sentiment, then add some swirls of metallic thread (Class: Let It Shine) to the back and adhere to the card base.

Click to enlarge slideshow:

Project Tutorial Video

Even though I distilled the how-to into 14 steps, this card does take some time to make. When I created the video, I went on for about 30 minutes! That’s when I knew I’d have to give a voiceover speed video a try. I hope you enjoy it and that it helps you to understand some of the steps and techniques better. Please don’t hesitate to leave questions in the comments – I’d be happy to answer you!

Here’s a closeup  look at the fantastic texture in that background:

Can you see the hidden words?

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