Masculine card idea with Gears & Textures bundle by Stampin' Up!®

 Masculine or guy cards can be hard to make. I'm not really sure why that is but it is. My household is all guys so I feel like that is what I make mostly for my personal use. I love certain color combos and mostly outdoorsy stamps and dies. Well, Stampin' Up!® just upped the game plan with the Gears & Textures bundle. It is a stamp set with a few gears, chains and loads of textures and a coordinating die set with different sized gears that can be used alone or layered and chains and textures. I think it's amazing! 

Today, I'm sharing the card I made on my Coffee and a Card Facebook live. It has a masculine feel and the color scheme is one of my new favorites. 

I used Cloud Cover, Pecan Pie, Secret Sea and White. I added in a little Early Espresso too. This layout is simple and you could use it with different elements stacked along the top and bottom of a large greeting. The greeting is from a new set- Exploring Nature. I love the sayings and the bigger size. It can be used for scrapbooking or cardmaking. 

Instructions:

1. Card base 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 5 1/2"
2. Basic White layer 4 1/4" x 2". Stamp large greeting. I used Cloud Cover classic ink.
3. Various gear die cuts. I used Pecan Pie and Secret Sea two tone cardstock light and dark sides
4. Use the texture stamps from Gears & Textures to stamp on the gears. I used Pecan Pie classic ink. 
5. Use a pencil to lightly mark where your greeting layer will go. Stamp textures of your choice along the bottom and top of where the layer will be. For the card I made live, I used the blending brush for Pecan Pie ink without reinking it. This gave just a hint of brown along the top and bottom of the greeting layer.
6. To add a little more texture to your gears, use a blending brush and Pecan Pie ink to rub on some color randomly. Use a sponge dauber and Early Espresso classic ink to add color to the edge of your gears. For the card I did live, I also added brown around the edge of my white layer. 
7. Basic White layer for inside 3 3/4" x 5". Use a few extra gears. Add texture the same way you did for the gears on the front. Using the stamping off method, add some texture to the lower left corner with Cloud Cover ink.  Adhere gears overlapping on top of the texture.
8. Apply a thin line of adhesive down the middle of greeting layer. Adhere to front of card.
9. Adhere gears, tucking under the greeting layer.
10. Adhere inside layer. 

This card I made on my Facebook live. With help from the live participants, we changed it up a little from the original. I stamped textures onto the gears with Pecan Pie classic ink. Then I used a blending brush and Pecan Pie ink to add some more color. To make the edges darker, I used a sponge dauber with Early Espresso classic ink. Once I marked where my greeting layer went, I stamped the lines and splatter texture in Cloud Cover classic ink. Then I used my blending brush that had Pecan Pie classic ink on it to add a little brown in that area. It's subtle because I didn't reink the brush. Since I added some brown ink above and below the greeting area, I decided to ink up the edge of that layer with a sponge dauber and Early Espresso ink. I did this on the inside layer as well.  

I asked on the live what other types of cards you could use the gears on- here's a list of ideas.

• 
  Masculine wedding
• Baby shower
• Birthday
• Thank You
• Retirement
• Graduation

What are some other things you can associate gears with? Someone mentioned clocks. They also make me think of bikes, pulleys, and robots. I love the texture of gears. So I'd love to hear in the comments so ways you would use gears. Also, what do you associate gears with? I'm thinking cards for engineers, car lovers, mechanics, machinists. Who's on your list that would love gears?

You can use embossing powder to make parts of the gear shiny. There's also a chain with this set that would look great die cut from metallic paper or embossed in gold or copper. 

Here are some other cards I made with the Gears & Textures bundle. 

For this card, I die cut several different gears and a chain from two tone cardstock (secret sea and pecan pie light and dark). If you're not familiar- two tone cardstock comes in 12x12 sheets and is printed. So there is a dark side and a light side. It's available in all the Stampin' Up!® colors. I love this cardstock. It really helps expand your color scheme. 

I stamped textures from the Gears & Textures stamp set on all the dies with Pecan Pie classic ink. Then I used a blending brush with Pecan Pie ink to add more color to random areas of the die cuts. I inked the edges only with a sponge dauber and Early Espresso classic ink. I used two patterns from Nature Walk designer series paper and tore one edge. I inked the edges of both papers with a sponge dauber and Early Espresso ink. The card base is Secret Sea cardstock. The greeting label is light Pecan Pie two tone cardstock. I stamped the greeting (Simply Said) in Pecan Pie. Then I tore the end edges and inked the edge with a sponge dauber and Early Espresso ink. 

This card is definitely in the grunge category. Do you know someone who would love this card?

I started off with a piece of dark Pecan Pie two tone cardstock (5 1/4" x 4"). I used Pecan Pie classic ink and stamped different textures from Gears & Textures stamp set. This tone on tone works great to add texture but not overwhelm your card. I did a bunch of texture, but if it's too much for you, feel free to tone it down on yours. The card base is Basic Beige cardstock (5 1/2" x 8 1/2" scored at 4 1/4").

I used gears from Gears & Texture dies and a retired set (Garage Gears). I love that this new product works well with something I already had in my collection. I cut gears from light Cloud Cover and light Basic Beige two tone cardstocks. Then I added loads of ink. I added these inks with blending brushes- Cloud Cover, Pecan Pie and a little Secret Sea. I did the edges with a sponge dauber and Early Espresso ink. 

The lights are die cuts from Gears & Textures dies. The filament is part of the stamp set. I highly recommend if you like this set to get it as a bundle. I die cut the lights from light Basic Beige two tone cardstock. There are two pieces that layer. I die cut both from the same color and used a marker to color the top part of the bulb. The string is an Early Espresso twine I had in my stash. After assembling the lights, I used a sponge dauber and Early Espresso ink to add color to the edge before I adhered them to the card. The greeting (from Simply Said) is stamped in Secret Sea classic ink on Basic Beige cardstock. 

For this card, I created a simple gear embellishment cluster to go with my greeting (Beautiful Motifs). I used two tone cardstock (Secret Sea and Pecan Pie) to die cut the gears. The greeting is stamped in Secret Sea on Basic Beige cardstock. 

The scene from Beautiful Gallery designer series paper is really the star of this card. It is just gorgeous. I layered it on a piece of dark Secret Sea two tone cardstock. The base is Basic Beige cardstock. 

Don't forget to decorate the inside layer of your cards. For all of these, I used Basic Beige two tone cardstock and stamped images, textures and even added in a few gear die cut clusters. 

My last card is a cute valentine's card. I used a retired set (Nuts & Bolts) from my collection. I thought it paired really well with the new gears. 

I stamped my robot in Secret Sea classic ink. Then colored him in with Stampin' Blends markers (Cloud Cover and Cherry Cobbler). I stamped a greeting and hearts from that set in Secret Sea and a few gears from Gears & Textures stamp set. I colored all the hearts in with Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends. The heart that's layered with the Cloud Cover and Secret Sea gears is stamped with the robot and cut with scissors. 

I used some nesting dies to cut the layers- Branching Out dies. I love this shape. It's different and a great set to add to your collection. I used Basic White for my stamped layer and a polka dot patterned piece from Traditions of Christmas specialty designer series paper. What papers do you have in your stash that could be used beyond the holiday it was intended?  I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock for my base.  The inside is a Basic White layer with some extra gears and a few hearts. Do you know someone who would love this card?

I've had so much fun playing with this new set. I'll be using it a ton. I love the texture it adds to my cards. 

You can watch the replay of my Coffee and a Card Facebook live on my YouTube Channel. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out my cards. I hope they've inspired you. This set could be used on its own or paired with many different sets to create unique cards. Check out this and more in my online store. 

Take card and happy creating!

~ Beth 

Sympathy Card with Prayers & Promises stamp set by Stampin' Up!®

 Sympathy cards are the hardest to make. What do you say at such a time? The right words are hard to find. Prayers & Promises stamp set by Stampin' Up!® is a new stamp set with wonderful sayings for times that you need to send condolences or an uplifting message. 

The phrases can fill the need for several types of cards. The uplifting messages would work well for those that just need to know someone is there for them and is thinking of them. I like the variety of fonts too.

For my Cardmaking with Beth live video we made the cards pictured above. This stamp set can be paired with other stamp images or designer series papers to creating beautiful cards. You can even stamp the messages directly onto designer series paper.

For my first card, I paired this beautiful saying with the large flower image from Layers of Beauty stamp set. The large image works well to fill the card layer. I used the coordinating decorative masks to add color with ink pads and blending brushes. This image is beautiful and can be used for many occasions. You can get the Layers of Beauty bundle (stamp set, dies and decorative masks) in my online store. 

The card base is Old Olive cardstock (5 1/2" x 8 1/2" folded in half or scored at 4 1/4"). The layer is Basic White cardstock (5 1/4" x 4").

I stamped the image in Smoky Slate classic ink. I used blending brushes and classic ink pads in Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Pretty Peacock to add color to my image. The greeting is stamped in Smoky Slate ink. 

I left the inside Basic White layer ( 5 1/4" x 4") blank but you could stamp more flowers or another saying if you wanted. 

For this card, I used some simple layers of designer series paper. You could even use scraps. I used the Nature Walk designer series paper. The color scheme is beautiful and it has wonderful patterns that fit many occasions.  The greeting is stamped in Secret Sea Classic ink on a die from Branching Out dies.

I created several cards with this base layout:

• Base- 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
• Bottom dsp layer- 5" x 3"
• Top dsp layerp- 4 1/2" x 2 1/2"
• Die cut for greeting

If you don't have a cut & emboss machine and dies, use a rectangle or square cut with a trimmer or a punch shape. Use whatever you have. 

My last card is as simple as you can get. I cut a piece of Beautiful Gallery designer series paper (5" x 3 3/4") and stamped directly onto it with Secret Sea classic ink. I highly recommend using a stamp positioner for this step. I inked my greeting and stamped it several times.

The scenes and textures in the Beautiful Gallery paper are perfect for this. I added this layer to a Secret Sea cardstock base (5 1/2" x 8 1/2" scored at 4 1/4").

Here are a few more cards with Layers of Beauty and Prayers & Promises. The first one has a Secret Sea, Cloud Cover and Old Olive color scheme. I stamped my flower image in Smoky Slate classic ink and used ink pads and blending brushes with the decorative masks to add color. Once I did this, I created a mask for the flowers. Then I used a retired decorative mask, Cloud Cover classic ink and a small blending brush to add a subtle background to my layer. Then I stamped my greeting in Smoky Slate ink in the top corner. For the second card, I used Secret Sea, Calypso Coral and Cloud Cover. I added a little bit (just a hint) of Smoky Slate classic ink with a blending brush to my white daisies. You can get many looks with this stamp set and the coordinating decorative masks. 

Here are a few more cards with the layered patterned paper. You can use any paper you have in your stash. One uses the same Nature Walk dsp as the other card. The second one uses Peaceful Garden and Country Woods dsps. Mix and Match papers. 

This one features more of the Beautiful Gallery dsp. I love the serene scene. I had a few scraps so I just used them as is. The bottom layer is 5 1/4" x 3 and the top layer is 4 1/2" x 2 1/2". This is a great layout for those scrap bits. The die cut is a left over negative bit from the Gone Fishing dies. I saved them and they work great on cards. 

You could make up many different cards and have them on hand when needed. I found myself without sympathy cards during the thanksgiving time frame and I had wished I had a stash of these cards ready. So make some up to keep on hand and you will be prepared when it's needed. 

You can watch my Facebook live- Cardmaking with Beth on my YouTube Channel.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope I've inspired you with these ideas. You can find Stampin' Up!® products in my online store. New products available January 6, 2026. 

Take care and happy creating!

~ Beth