A Man's Man's Card

My husband's brother's birthday is later this week, and my dear man asked me if I had a card he could send him. Well, of course! Honestly, I had it on my "to-do" list to make him one, but, as I have already revealed, I am challenged in terms of stamp sets that provide inspiration for cards for men.

So, I was surprised when this turned out to be one of the best cards I've ever made for a guy. I started with a bunch of 1" square pieces of retired Designer Series Paper called Outlaw. I'm really trying to use what I have, and this paper coordinates with several colors that are being retired at the end of June, so it's time to stop saving it for a later day! That day is NOW!

I attached the squares to a 4" x 5" piece of card stock. Normally, I wouldn't put Really Rust and Going Gray together, but because it was already paired in the DSP, I took courage and went with it. Another thing I did that I haven't ever done before is stamping on DSP. I took my Wanted stamp set, which this paper was designed to pair with, and stamped a variety of images from it on the DSP in Going Gray. I stamped them off once, so that they wouldn't overpower the pattern in the paper.

I distressed the edges with a pair of kid scissors I have specifically for this purpose. Then I wrapped the whole thing in twine. For the main image, I took the horse stamp and stamped it four times, starting at the right side of the piece of Going Gray and moving to the left without reinking. Then I distressed this piece too and crumpled it up to make it more rough.

Then I got the idea to stamp the large Linen background image on the Going Gray base. I did it first with Really Rust and then again with Going Gray ink.

I carried the theme inside by using the largest image from the set and stamped it off along the edges. The sentiment is from Full of Life, and it's just something I know Bob's brother will resonate with.

What stamp sets are you drawn to when making a card for a guy? How do you choose a color palette? I'd love to hear how you manage this challenge. In fact, if you are inspired to make a card for a guy because of this post, include a link to your picture of it in the comments!