A Masculine Anniversary Card Rich with Color and Texture -

Don’t let the idea of making a “guy card” intimidate you. Cards for men can be just as colorful and rich with texture as those for women. This masculine anniversary card is a great example of a card that’s sure to make him sit up and take notice.

Let color and texture guide you in making masculine cards

A while back, one of the very first cards I made for Mr. Right was this simple yet effective anniversary card, a white one with a bird-in-a-heart die cut which I colored with Q-tips and pastels. It’s an actual working puzzle with the final piece poised for placement. I often say I don’t “do” white cards very often, and while I enjoyed making that card, it was still a struggle.

This card is more my speed – an anniversary card rich with color, texture and a yummy, luscious bow. That darned bow cost me hours of anxiety, but… more on that in a moment.

When it comes to handmade cards for men, bold colors get his attention

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A good place to start is your man’s favorite color. In this card’s case, I wanted to use his favorite color, which is purple.

(BTW, the supplies I used will be in the Supply List below, with appropriate substitutions if necessary.)

The color combo took me a while to come up with. Using purple was a given, but I didn’t want to use lavender as the contrasting color. Looked a little too girly for my taste. Red was too “Red Hat Club-by” and yellow looked like school graduation colors. Hmmm…

I finally grabbed this turquoise out of my stash. This color combo didn’t seem likely, at first, but hey, it worked beautifully! This might be my new favorite combo!

The moral here is to pull out your colored papers, even if you think “no way, Jose.” Lay them next to each other, this way and that, until something excites you.

Before we start the fun stuff, let’s cut the cardstock. This is a standard A2 card, cut as follows (including the inside layers):

Base layer: 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ – purple
Top layer: 5 3/8″ x 4 1/8″ – turquoise
1st inside layer: 5 1/4″ x 4″ – turquoise
2nd inside layer: 5″ x 3 3/4″ – kraft colored paper (this is where the message is written

Heat embossing on the front of a masculine anniversary card — Gold embossing powder makes any stamped image more elegant

Once the papers are chosen and cut, it’s time to add some pizzazz (aka “texture”)

I didn’t want to cover that gorgeous turquoise top layer too much, so I heat embossed my favorite masculine background stamp onto it. And honestly, it’s such a detailed stamp that the rest of the card didn’t need much embellishment.

Heat embossing a big background stamp like this always makes me want to rub my fingers over it. Odds are your guy will too. Touchy feelies are a major point of interest on masculine cards.

Close up of net ribbon on masculine anniversary card — Just a little more glimmer = a lot more interest

This is why I decided to add a little more texture (cuz if a little’s good, a little more is better, right?), so I decided to use a bit of very open weave net ribbon shot through with gold threads from my stash. More texture – yum.

I wrapped the net around the card, secured it with tape runner adhesive, and popped that layer up on pop dots. Using thick, textured “ribbon” like this one prevents the card stock from laying smoothly if glued directly to the layer underneath. Besides, a little elevation gives the card more importance.

The oddly difficult task of choosing a focal point

By now, all I needed was a focal point, and this being an extra special, romantic card, I wanted it to be a heart with a textile behind it. So I tried one. Two, Three. This way and that, I tried a total of five (that’s 5!) hearts. I embossed a purple heart and punched a tiny heart out of its middle. I painted a tiny wood heart and stamped an “I love you” onto it (and promptly wiped it off – it didn’t look right).

5 hearts of different materials, including paper, wood and a plastic gem — I tried them all. And they all failed.

Continuing the struggle, I stamped a piece of kraft paper with the same stamp as the card cover and inked the edges. And I even colored a clear plastic gemsone heart with a pink Copic alcohol marker, to no avail. What to do?

I finally asked my daughter for her opinion, and she promptly reached into one of my “doodad jars” and pulled out a darling piece of jewelry chain that had a tiny bronze/gemstone heart attached. Eureka!

Close up image of "messy bow" with jeweled heart in the center — Men like bows too

Because the heart charm was so small, I decided to put a squashy, messy “Colleen Bow” behind it, which I made with coffee-colored seam binding ribbon. Messy bows aren’t as feminine as regular, tailored bows. Hey, guys like bows too.

(Check this post out for 12 other delicious ways to use seam binding ribbon. This messy bow is #6 on the list.)

Small, jeweled heart in the center of a brown messy bow decorates this masculine card — Perfect!

The little heart charm was the p.e.r.f.e.c.t finishing touch to the front of this gorgeous card.

Don’t forget to finish the inside of your guy card – details count here, too.

Last but not least, I turned my attention to the inside.

The color and texture continues inside this colorful masculine anniversary card — Almost as interesting as the front

I nearly always mat the inside card stock to add color and weight to the card. There’s nothing worse than a card that’s gorgeous on the outside with a wimpy, floppy, no-extra-layer inside. Not to mention that even moderate decorations outside can cause the card to buckle under its own weight if the inside isn’t beefed up a bit.

I stamped the kraft paper with the same stamp as used on the front piece after first inking the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. In fact, to make a watermark effect, I stamped it with the same clear embossing ink (Versamark) and let it dry. It’s a technique that adds interest to plain, sometimes boring card stock.

The greeting was two individual stamps, and the teensy love note at the bottom was a 3-piece stamp. (It came from a set of individual words that you could put together for any number of sentiments.)

Close up of stamped sentiment inside this handmade anniversary card — It’s nice to see it as well as hear it

So there you have it – the masculine anniversary card I made for Mr. Right, loaded with color and texture with a dash of sentimental sparkliness. Guys like a bit of sparkly too.

Angled view of colorful, textured handmade masculine card

Let color and texture drive your next handmade masculine card

Now it’s your turn. Share a photo of a masculine card you’ve made, whether it’s for an anniversary, birthday, or any other occasion. You can link to it over on the G&B Facebook page so we can oooh and aaah over it.

And let us know how you used it! We love reading romantic stories!

Craft on!