Tag Archives: Masculine

Masculine Twisted Easel Card Tutorial

Masculine Twisted Easel Card Tutorial with Authentique Voyage & Reneabouquets

Hello, Friends! It’s Throwback Thursday, and this week I have a really fun Masculine Twisted Easel Card Tutorial to share with you. If you can keep a secret, I’ll let you in on one: this is Dale’s birthday card! His birthday falls right after the 4th of July, so I thought it would be fun to create a red, white and blue card for him. But, he also loves the beach. So that would be a good option, too. The perfect solution was found in this 2019 Authentique Voyage collection.

Once again, I limited myself to using only scraps to make this card. That is always a fun challenge for me, and y’all seem to enjoy it, too. Even the 6×6 card base is made with a 6×12 piece of kraft cardstock that I found mixed in with the papers.

Spicing Things Up with Mixed Media Techniques

Since my husband comes from the “less is more” school of design, I wanted to keep things more on the simple side. But simple does not have to mean the same thing as boring. I did two things to spice up this very basic card:

First, go for a fancier fold on your easel card. Instead of scoring the front panel in half horizontally, I scored it in half diagonally. I’ll show you how to do this in the tutorial below.
Next, add a little texture and visual interest with embossing powders. I’m of the opinion that embossing powders are one of the cheapest, quickest and easiest ways to add a little spice to a card design. I’ll share tips with you in the video tutorial.
Then, think about repeated shapes. The sailboat images has triangular sails. The twisted easel card design is triangular, too.

Line it Up!

Notice that the stopper or brake for this easel card follows the same line and angle as the easel front. This lends a cohesive feel to the card design. Then, see how I created a reverse triangle with the addition of the blue tag and button feature.

Add a few real shells and natural elements to your heat embossed Reneabouquets Starfish Beautiful Board to make the card come alive. All these simple elements come together to create an interesting card that is not too busy.

A Peek Inside

Here’s a look at the card interior. Hopefully, Dale will approve.

Masculine Twisted Easel Card Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to follow along as I create this card, I hope you’ll enjoy this little Throwback Thursday tutorial.

If you’d like to see more examples of masculine cards, you can find them in the archives HERE.

You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.

Now I need to get busy in the kitchen and make Dale’s birthday cake. It’s to be a New York Cheesecake this year. Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

Authentique Voyage (2019/retired)
Reneabouquets Starfish Beautiful Board
Seth Apter Baked Textures: Ancient Amber/Dirty Sand
Patriotic Baker’s Twine (out of stock)
Buttons and Charms from my Stash

Little Birdie Classic Gentleman Steampunk Folio Tutorial

Hello, Friends! Today is all about the guys with this Little Birdie Classic Gentleman Steampunk Folio Tutorial. Back in January, I shared a Classic Gentleman Notebook Tutorial with you. So I had lots of panels and pieces of this collection in my stash. Rather than let them keep gathering dust, I decided to create a project that we could use for Father’s Day, Graduation, Retirement or birthdays. Even though it has some unique interactive elements, I think you’re going to like how simple it is to put together.

Got Gears?

When it comes to masculine projects, steampunk is always a great choice. All those gears and trains and mechanical drawings lend themselves to a project most men will enjoy. The Little Birdie Primed Chipboard Gears on the cover of this album took a trip to the grunge factory to make them stand out on this folio cover.

First, tap the chipboard with VersaMark Embossing Ink.
Next, place the gears in a funnel tray or on a sheet of printer paper.
Now shake a jar of Seth Apter Chunky Rust Embossing Powder and sprinkle it liberally over the inked up gears.
Let the excess embossing powder slide off the gears. Don’t tap or flick! Just pick the chipboard up and let the extra powder slide off into the tray or onto the sheet of paper.

TIP: A word to the wise: Always take a moment to pour the powder back into the jar. Then make sure you cover the jar and move it to a safe place (i.e. away from the area where you will be using your heat gun.) BEFORE you start heat embossing. If you, like me, have ever ended up with a spilled jar of powder, or a jar that has been ruined by being exposed to heat, you are nodding your head right now.

Now heat emboss the chipboard. Keep the tip of your heat gun moving around the surface so that you don’t accidentally burn the powder. Heat until all the powder is melted. This can take a few minutes depending on how hot your embossing gun is.
Once the first layer has cooled, randomly tap the surface with more VersaMark. Then sprinkle random areas with Patina Oxide Embossing Enamel. Heat emboss, cool and repeat until you are happy with the finish on your gears.
Adhere small metal gears over the centers of the chipboard gears for extra dimension and texture.

A Peek Inside

The inside of the folio is pretty simple. There are two flap pages: one inside the front cover and another inside the back cover.

Learn how to create a spine in the center of the album. Then attach these fun flip pockets.

What’s behind the flap pages? A kinetic waterfall on one side and a large photo mat with a journal card on the other.

TIP: Adhere just the bottom edge of the car image to the page. Then tuck the journal card in behind in. Now you can place a really large 5″ x 7″ photo on the page and journal or add a smaller photo behind the card.

I think you are going to love how easy it is to create the pocket and pull out page. It’s so easy, I can’t believe I didn’t do it this way earlier!

TIP: Trim 4″ x 6″ journal cards to fit the cover of the pull out page.

The inside back cover is a mirror image of the front. This really makes it easy to design pages!

Classic Gentleman Steampunk Folio Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to learn how to make this folio base, please enjoy this 20 minute video tutorial. In it, we will learn how to create the folio cover and spine. Then I’ll show you how to make the flap pages, pocket flaps and hidden pocket. A tour of the finished folio has tips and tricks that you might find helpful.

You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.

If you’d like to leave a comment, please click on the REPLIES button below the title at the top of this post. I love hearing from you!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

Little Birdie Crafts
Other Products
- Gathered Twigs Distress Ink
- Versamark Embossing Powder
- Chunky Rust Embossing Enamel (out of stock)
- Patina Oxide Embossing Enamel (out of stock)
- Small metal gears

Classic Gentleman Valentine Notebook Folio

Classic Gentleman Valentine Notebook for Little Birdie Crafts

Hello, Friends! How about we make a Classic Gentleman Valentine Notebook with some of my new Little Birdie Crafts goodies today? It’s a little bit vintage, a little bit steampunk, and a quick and easy project for your favorite fella. I’m thrilled to be a Little Birdie Crafts Guest Designer again this term. This is my first project, and I hope you will have fun making it, too!

I don’t want to rush the season, but we will blink twice and Valentine’s Day will be upon us. We all love frilly, frou-frou, pink Valentines. But most guys don’t! So this is the design I came up with for my sweet husband. (Did you know he composes, arranges and performs all the music on my YouTube channel?) He’s such a great guy, and I just really wanted to bless him with something special on Valentine’s Day. Dale loves to write things down in notebooks, so I designed this 5 1/2″ x 8″ folio especially for him. Since he’s a generous soul, I don’t think he will mind if I share it here with you.

Getting Started

Begin by cutting 4 sheets of 12×12 Classic Gentleman papers to measure 12″ x 8″.
Score the text collage sheet at 5 1/2″ and 6 1/2″. Then fold along the scored lines to form a 5 1/2″ x 8″ notebook or folio.
Next, cut the dapper gents patterned paper to 5 1/2″ x 8″ Ink all the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Ink.
Now use the Little Birdie Filmstrip Die to cut a frame from your scraps. Adhere as seen in the photo.
Then, fussy cut the walking stick silhouette man, top hat, and playing cards from the cut apart page of the paper collection. Then use the Cogs and Wheels die to cut a bunch of gears from your scraps.

Little Details

Next, trim the 4″ x 6″ Clock and Gears Journal Card to measure 4″ square. TIP: if you just cut the bottom off the card, then glue the 4″ x 2″ scrap back behind the 4″ square, you can keep the framed edge all the way around the card.
Then trim the clocks from the second 4″ x 6″ card. Place foam adhesive or other dimensionals on the back and adhere over the clocks on the 4×4 card.
Cut the Primed Chipboard Vintage Keys apart and ink them with Ground Espresso. Then apply Little Birdie Metallic Wax in Gold, Silver and Green to create a worn, vintage finish.
Adhere the 4″ x 4″ clock panel to the notebook base. Then embellish with the keys, fussy cuts and die cut pieces using the photos as a guide.

The Spine

Since most men are not crazy about ribbons and bows, you need to find a good alternative for adding texture. Little Birdie Flat Braided Twine looks (to me) like a watch fob, which makes it perfect for this project! Simply punch holes at the top and bottom of the spine, then run the braided twine through and tie in a knot or shoestring bow.

A Peek Inside

Create a box pocket on the left hand side of the notebook. I tucked in one of my hubby’s favorite chocolate bars and a nice gel pen. The inside panel is lined with a 5 3/8″ x 8″ panel of the designer paper.

On the right, I decided to make a flip page. Here’s how to do that:

First, cut an 11 1/2″ x 8″ panel from a 12×12 sheet of Classic Gentleman.
Now score it at 5 1/2″ and 6″. Fold along the scored lines so that the patterned paper is on the inside and the blank white side is on top. You will have a 1/2″ spine on the right of this flap.
Cover the blank flap page with a 5 3/8″ x 8″ panel of designer paper. Decorate with a 4×6 journal card and the Die Cut Time Pieces.

Now you have the perfect spot to adhere a junior legal pad in the center of the notebook. The flap cover will protect the pages from getting all wrinkled. It also provides a great spot for a slash pocket to hold receipts and other “stuff.”

Classic Gentleman Valentine Notebook Tour on YouTube

To help you get a feel for the function and flow of this little project, I’ve prepared a short video walk through with tips and tricks.

You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.

Also, I have a little unboxing video and giveaway of the Little Birdie Dies used in this project HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Kathy by Design

Custom Paper Art for All Occasions

Tag Archives: Masculine