Masculine cards are often perceived by many crafters as difficult to make. With feminine cards, if all else fails, add flowers and bows. For the men, not so simple (although lots of men like flowers!). Anyway, when Stampin’ Up! brought out the Hats Off Stamp Set and coordinating Hat Builder Dies I could see an immediate need. Oddly enough my first hat card was a feminine one, just to prove a point. But when it came to my recent 24 cards in 24 hours marathon, I couldn’t resist going in a completely different direction.

ROUGH AND RUSTIC

As I was tight for time I decided to keep my hat card pretty simple. First I had to find a suitable background. I went straight for the Beauty of the Earth 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack and the green trees/camouflage pattern.

First I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece, and using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) attached it to the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Then I trimmed off the excess paper with Paper Snips, using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Next I cut a 1″ x 5-1/4″ strip of the DSP. To add a rustic feel I tore down the left edge of the DSP pulling the ‘waste’ towards me to reveal the white core. Then with liquid glue I mounted the strip along the right-hand edge of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card.

TIP – practice this torn edge technique using some scrap DSP. Pulling the scrap or waste section towards you will reveal the core of the paper. Tearing away from you will still give a rough edge but without the potential colour difference.

For the card base I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Thick Very Vanilla Card. I folded it along the scored line and then sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Finally I glued the assembled Very Vanilla layer on the inside.

I needed one last piece of the DSP and I cut this 4-1/4″ x 5-1/4″. This time I tore all four edges before mounting it onto the card front with liquid glue.

HAT BUILDER

Now it was time to work on the focal point of the card, the hat. I decided to look for something that appeared to have texture, but instead of looking at the In Good Taste DSP I went for the Blackberry Beauty 12″ x 12 Specialty Designer Series Paper. In it I found the perfect chevron pattern in shades of brown.

After cutting out the hat using the main die from the Hat Builder Dies set, I realised that the peak looked odd. The pattern was too perfect. So I cut just the ‘peak’ section again but this time set it at a slight angle on the DSP. Then using Paper Snips I trimmed along the top of the peak (where it joined the main part of the hat). Finally, using liquid glue I fixed this new peak onto my original hat and somehow it looked better, more realistic.

To decorate the hat I chose a mountain scene image from the Hats Off Stamp Set. After stamping it onto Very Vanilla Card using Tuxedo Black ink I cut it out with the coordinating die from the Hat Builder Dies.

Before attaching the decorative piece I decided to accentuate the ‘stitching’ on the hat. So using the fine tip on an Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker, I carefully drew a line along the ‘stitching’ added by the die. That made a big difference, and with that I glued the ‘patch’ to the front of the hat.

FINAL TOUCHES

That just left the sentiment and from the Hats Off Stamp Set I went with “Here’s to the next adventure”. Using Mossy Meadow ink to coordinate with the background, I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of Very Vanilla Card. To cut it out I used a die from the Smooth Sailing Dies and I was almost done.

Using liquid glue I tucked the bottom edge of the sentiment behind the top of the hat. After flipping the assembled piece over I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back. Finally I fixed the hat and sentiment onto the card front and my masculine / gender-neutral project was complete.

I do love the idea of making hats for all occasions, and I’ve added that thought to my to do list. The variety of ‘patch’ shapes included in the dies will allow me to pick images and sentiments from other stamp sets. Who knows what I’ll come up with next. Do you have any requests? Leave me a comment below and I’ll see what I can do.

For a floral version of the hat, see my previous blog post Hats off to enhanced faux stitching.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Hats Off Stamp Set and coordinating Hat Builder Dies using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included both options below in case you’re considering adding them to your collection and want to explore this further.