Grad Card Set for the Guys

Make a Grad Card set for the guys in your life! 

In the Altenew Academy class, For the Guys, geometric designs shapes and designs were suggested as well as adding splatter to appeal to the guys. I kept this in mind while creating these masculine cards. My local high school colors are burgundy, black, gray and white which work well on masculine cards. 

Card #1 Huge Congrats Leaf Splatter

 

Supplies: Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 dies, Altenew Zero Waste Field of Flowers Die, Honey Bee Thin Frames dies, black dye ink (Gina K), cardstock (burgundy, white, black), fan shaped watercolor brush, water spray bottle, foam tape, liquid glue

Steps to make this card:

1. On white A2 size cardstock panel, ink blend a gradient of black ink from bottom to top using Altenew large ink blending brush. Brushing in a circular motion one direction, then the other, will provide a more  smooth application. 

                                                       

2. Spritz water on panel, wait a few seconds, then blot with paper towel. Set aside to dry.

                                                       

3. Die cut the following 

•   Leaves in white, black and burgundy from Zero Waste Field of Flowers.
•   Cut 2 of sentiment "huge congrats" from Timeless Sentiments 2 in white cardstock. 
•   One set of thin frames using Honey Bee dies and black cardstock. You'll only need one frame for this card, but several more will be used for card #5. 

4. Cut one piece of burgundy cardstock 4 1/4 x 2 inches. 

5. Splatter the inked panel in black ink by tapping black ink on a piece of acetate. Spray with water. Mix with fan shaped watercolor brush then flick onto card panel. Turn card so the splatter does not all originate from the same direction.  These tips were part of the Irresistible Inking Techniques class. 

6. Use liquid glue to adhere black rectangle frame on the panel, offsetting to the right. 

7. Stack two "huge congrats" sentiment pieces and glue together. Adhere sentiment to burgundy rectangle with liquid glue. Then adhere to panel with foam tape, with top slightly below center. 

8. Glue burgundy and white leaves onto panel, tucking under burgundy strip. Then adhere black leaf to burgundy cardstock strip to the right of the sentiment. 

TIPS:

• When a background is busy or you don't want to detract attention from it, as with this splatter background, keep the sentiment simple. White words stand out and don't need the frame included in the die set. 
• Dye ink can be thinned out with water and used as splatter or watercolor, but alcohol ink cannot. 

Card #2: GRAD Pennant 

Supplies: Altenew Fine Alpabet Dies, Altenew Pristine Peonies stamp set (sentiment), Altenew Organic Linen 3D Embossing Folder, Altenew Rock Collection Enamel Dots, black dye ink (Gina K), Altenew clear embossing ink, white embossing powder (Brutus Montroe Alabaster), Pink N Main antistatic powder brush, heat tool

Steps to make this card:

1. Emboss white A2 carstock panel using Organic Linen 3D folder. 

2. Apply black ink direct to paper in center, side to side, landscape direction. Just lay the ink pay down and drag without pressing too hard. 

3. Adhere a 2 in wide strip of double sided tape to back of burgundy cardstock, leaving backing on tape. 

4. Now for some negative die cutting: Arrange Fine Alpha Dies to spell GRAD, lining letters up straight using a T square tool. This is important because you will be using the negative space. Tape the dies down so they will not move during die cutting. Die cut, keeping all pieces that may fall out. Most of the pieces will stay in place with the double sided tape on the back. Easy Die Cutting Techniques class was so helpful in learning these tips. 

5. Trim GRAD cardstock to 2 x 4.5 inches. To make pennant shaped end, use ruler to find center of the width of the cardstock. Mark with pencil. Then cut in from each corner in to center. 6. Remove letters and adhere to inked panel (landscape direction) by removing double sided tape backing. Replace tiny inside pieces of R, A, and D so letters will look complete. Keep letters with tape backing for another project. 

7. Embossing the subsentiment: prepare black cardstock piece (longer than 5 inches) by dusting with antistatic powder, then stamp "I am so proud of you" from Pristine Peonies stamp set using clear embossing ink. The sentiment should be stamped near the right end of the strip. Cover with white embossing powder and tap off excess powder.  Use a fine watercolor brush to remove any stray powder. Melt with heat tool. 

8. Trim the subsentiment strip to approximately 5 x 7/8 inch. Cut a second black strip the same size. Then adhere each strip above and below the GRAD pennant on the panel. 

9. Finish the card off with dark gray enamel dots. Place some dots in areas where there is a transition of paper. For example: on the edge of the black strip and white background. Place a heart near the sentiment to emphasize you are proud of the grad! 

TIPS:

• Altenew enamel dots are so easy to use with the sticky back already there for you. They are easy to reposition, because they don't adhere fully right away. 
• When embossing a small sentiment such as this one, take extra care. Don't press down too hard on the stamp or the letters won't be clear. Antistatic powder is a must!  A fine watercolor brush is handy to get very close to the sentiment when removing stray powder. I usually make several of these small sentiments because they are easy to mess up. If they both turn out, the work is done for next time! 
• This ink to paper technique on the Organic Linen background gives the card a grungy look, appealing to the guys. Check out Altenew's Irresistible Inking Techniques class for this technique. 
• Altenew Satin Masking tape is so helpful to keep dies from moving while die cutting. I wished I'd had some for this project. Add to cart! 

Card #3 GRAD Cubes

Supplies: 

Altnew Cube Cover Die, Altenew Fine Alphabet Dies, Altnew Zero Waste Field of Flowers die, Altenew Colorful Wonder Enamel Dots, Cardstock (burgundy, gray, black, white), metallic silver paper, 0.1 fine tip black pigment ink pen

Steps to make this card: 

1. Adhere double sided tape to the back of an A2 burgundy cardstock. Die cut with Cube Cover Die, being careful not to use so much pressure as to cut through the double sided tape backing. The double sided tape will keep the cubes from falling out before you're ready to remove them. Gina K Intricut has a pressure adjustment knob that makes a small adjustment easy. 

2.  Remove some rows of cubes, leaving the burgundy cubes in top, bottom and middle two rows. 

3. Remove backing of double sided tape and adhere to a black A2 panel. Black will show through where cubes were removed. 

4. Cut some extra cubes for inlaying using gray and white cardstock pieces. You can cut an A2 size piece and have these panels for other cards if you'd like, or just cut a few strips. One of the extra cube die panels will be used for card #4, so save it! Color doesn't matter. 

5. Inlay a row of white cubes in the row above the middle (where GRAD will be placed) and gray cubes in the row below. A dot of liquid glue will do the trick on these pieces as they nestle right in place like a puzzle piece. 

6. Cut the letters for GRAD using Fine Alpha Dies from dark gray cardstock as well as silver metallic paper. 

7. Center the gray letters for GRAD and adhere to the cardstock over the middle 2 rows of burgundy cubes left in the cover die. Off-set the silver letters slightly and adhere with liquid glue, omitting the silver D for now. 

8. Before gluing down the silver D, place a black leaf from the Field of Flowers die against the bottom of the gray D. Then glue the silver D in place so the leaf is nestled under it slightly. 

9. Write the letters of your grad's high school or college on white cardstock. Trim down to 1/4 inch and cut end in a pennant flag shape. Adhere on top of the leaf. 

10. Finish off the card with black enamel dots. Use a variety of sizes to add interest. The large dots look good on this card with the busier background. They also tie in to the black of the leaf and hand lettering. 

TIPS: 

• Don't be afraid to use hand lettering on your cards. Adding the high school or college initials makes it even more personal for the recipient and doesn't take a lot of work. 
• Metallic paper is often thin, so layering it over cardstock letters gives the letters more height. 
• Check out Easy Die Cutting Techniques on Altnew Academy for other ways to use inlaid die cutting. 

Card #4: Huge Congrats Stars

Supplies: Altenew Cube Cover Die, AltnewTimeless Sentiments 2 dies, Altenew Silver Shimmer Relief paste, Altnew Rock Collection Enamel Dots, Cardstock (black, white, burgundy), foam tape

Steps to make this card: 

1. Place a Cube Cover Die piece leftover from card #3 on a black A2 panel. The Cube Cover Die panel will be used like a stencil. Apply Silver Shimmer Relief Paste in a diagonal direction from top left to bottom right. The whole panel will not be covered. Leave black cardstock showing. This is more of a grungy look with some cubes only partially filled in with paste. Scrape off excess paste leaving a layer thick enough to fill the cube spots. Peel off the Cube Cover Die layer. Set aside to dry. 

2. Die cut "huge congrats" from Timeless Sentiments 2 in white, and the background in black. Adhere these together with liquid glue. 

3. Die cut a burgundy A2 panel of cardstock with the Cube Cover Die. When shimmer paste is completely dry, lay burgundy panel over silver paste panel and shift it to the right slightly. This allows some black to be seen in each silver cube. Adhere the panel down with liquid glue. 

4. Use foam tape to adhere "huge congrats" near bottom of panel. This allows the silver paste to take center stage. 

5. Add some stars from the Rock Collection Enamel Dots, tucking one partially under the c for interest. 

TIPS:

• Silver Shimmer Relief paste is a good way to add shine without the card looking too feminine. 
• Plan ahead when using Shimmer Relief Paste if you want a thick layer. Thin layers dry quickly but thicker layers need a lot more time to dry. I prepped this and let it dry over night. 
• Get more from your supplies by using them in different ways. The idea to use the Cube Cover Die as a stencil came from the Easy Die Cutting Techniques class. 
• Keep it simple, yet add a little something, by using the stars or a different shape included in the Altenew Enamel Dots packs. Stars seemed perfect for celebrating a grad.

Card #5: Huge Congrats Silver Leaves

Supplies: Altenew Playful Leaves 3D embossing folder & stencil, Altenew Timeless Sentiments 2 dies, metallic silver paper, Honey Bee Thin Frames die, foam tape, 0.1 fine tip black pigment ink pen, foam tape

Steps to make this card:

1. Cut a black A2 cardstock panel and emboss using the Playful Leaves 3D embossing folder.

 

2. Place the Playful Leaves stencil over the embossed panel with the same design. The stencil will fit easily into place with the raised leaves from embossing. Using a palette knife, apply Silver Shimmer Relief Paste over the stencil, being sure the paste gets into the center veins of the leaves. Scrape excess off, leaving a thin layer on the raised parts of the leaves. The black should still show through the silver on the leaves. Remove stencil and clean tools. Lay panel aside to dry. 

3. Die cut two "huge congrats" sentiments from silver metallic paper and one background frame from burgundy cardstock. Adhere by stacking two silver pieces for added height. Add foam tape on back but leave tape backing on for now. 

*Notice the little notch missing from the "h" above. This happened when my die shifted when die cutting. Instead of throwing it away, the error was covered with the second layer, which had a perfect h. 

3. Locate your extra black frames from card #1 (Honey Bee Thin Frames die) and play around with various sizes and placement of the frames. I liked the smaller frame vertically and the larger one horizontally. I even took several pictures to look at and decide on placement. I intentionally used a frame that the sentiment words would not fit inside. When you are pleased with the placement, adhere frames and sentiment. 

 I was able to see the one frame was too big and the sentiment seemed to be floating in the first option (left).  The option on the right was better, but I decided against the sentiment sitting directly on the frame. 

                   

4. A final touch was needed but I didn't want to add more bling or enamel dots to the busy background. Write the graduation year in in fine tip pigment black ink on white cardstock and trim tightly, but wider than the black frame.  Adhere this on top of the frame to break up the line a bit. 

TIPS:

• Little mistakes often go unnoticed by the recipient. Getting caught up in perfection will take the fun out of card making. Mistakes can often be covered by another layer or go unnoticed when the focus is not on that element. 
• Step away and come back or take a photo of a card you design you aren't sure about. This allows you to see the card with fresh eyes. 
• Leaves can be used for a more masculine card. They don't have to be green!
• Adding in some geometric shapes to tones down the suggestion of floral that leaves may suggest. 

                                                  Make your own packaging!

 

I picked up this men's shirt from the 99 cent rack at a local thrift store and had a cell phone case box ready for the trash. The front of the box had an acetate window perfect for showing my cards. 

Get your supplies ready: double sided tape, white thread and needle, fabric scissors, silver metallic paper, Label Love stamp set, black ink, & a fine tip pigment ink pen.  

I cut up the shirt and adhered it to the box using double sided tape. I placed the fabric so the pocket of the shirt was centered on the back of the box. 

I added a piece of black cardstock to the front of the box. I cut the collar off of the shirt and used it to wrap around the box, hiding some wording on the cell phone box. I had to move the button to fit the size of the box correctly. I left a little extra room to slide in a pen on the side of the box. 

 

To be sure the fabric was secure and give the package a more finished look, I hand stitched around the top edge. 

The back pocket is functional and can be used to hold a list of card recipients or other items. 

The little tag and chain was from a pair of shoes I had recently bought. I covered the tag in silver paper and added a Label Love stamped sentiment along with a handwritten "grad". 

This card set specially made with local high school colors would be so helpful for anyone who has multiple grad parties to attend this year. The packaging is a special touch to make the gift even more personal.