However, it is important to keep in mind that men – like those of all genders – have varying tastes and interests, styles and passions.

Whereas cards for some gents may feature stereotypically male interests or themes, there is, of course, nothing to stop any card from being suitable for a male recipient.

After all, it is the intended party, far more than the imagery or wording on a card that helps to land it a masculine, feminine, gender-neutral, etc camp.

From newborn babies to chaps well into their golden years, throughout my time as a paper crafter, I’ve had the pleasure of making cards for males of many ages and truly relish the experience.

I know that cards for guys are not everyone’s cup of tea to create and readily acknowledge the challenges such greetings can pose at times.

In some cases though, cards for boys and men need not be a daunting or difficult prospect – especially if you know at least a wee bit about the likes, hobbies, favourites, and so forth of a given individual.

Happily, when it came to the person who will be receiving this card, that is definitely the case!

This chic black, gold, kraft, and cream hued honeybee themed card will soon be whisking its way off to one of my male family members (there’s a slim chance he might read this post, so I don’t want to reveal precisely who this card is for).

His birthday falls during the same week of two other close family members. That same week houses my wedding anniversary and, some years (it transpires annually on the second Monday in October), Canadian Thanksgiving as well.

Add to that mix the lead up to Samhain/Halloween, plenty of festive fall happenings, and the fact that by the tenth month of the year, I’m usually shifting a lot of my paper crafting focus to Yule + Christmas projects and it is easy to see why October is often the busiest chapter of the year on my end.

All that to say, knowing how full October tends to be around these parts, I’ve long learned to make birthday and Thanksgiving cards in advance, if at all possible.

And that is exactly what I did with this birthday greeting.

My relative is a skilled home chef (IMO, his homemade bread is award-worthy) who enjoys gardening and spending time in the great outdoors, so a bee themed card felt like a perfect fit for his special day this time around.

Elegant bee and honeycomb themed birthday card

This card is heading off to a male recipient, but its design is highly versatile and could easily be used for any gender.

Just as it is open to a wide range of possible events, if you were to switch the sentiment out for something that suited the occasion at hand.

I could easily see this card working fabulously for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, anniversaries, Thanksgiving Day, thinking of you, missing you, encouragement, congratulations, just because, get well, and sympathy cards.

And on the (Northern Hemisphere) Pagan front, I think its theme and warm, sun-baked palette are a fantastic fit for the sabbats of Litha, Lammas, and Mabon, in particular.

Bees are a familiar sight in many areas of the world during the spring, summer, and early fall. These industrious creatures are an integral part of the ecosystem, a source of inspiration for many cultures stretching back to time immemorial, and, famously, the creators of one of nature’s most scrumptious sweet treats: honey!

I really wanted to drive home the bee theme here, so went with a colour palette that channels honeybees, honeycomb, and of course, gorgeously golden honey itself.

Bees appear here on the layers of bumblebee patterned paper and again in the form of darling little 3D Jolee’s Boutique bee-shaped stickers.

The iconic design of a honeycomb shows up in the form of metallic gold cardstock that was die cut with a repeating hexagonal design die.

To increase the gold factor and help create further visual interest, I placed some of the die cut pieces back into their respective hexagons so that you see a mix of both open and solid “honeycombs”.

This birthday card was a joy to make. Creating it reminded me all the more of why I cherish those brief, gorgeous months when summer melds into autumn, nature is hard at work on the harvest front, and the hues of this card abound in many locations across the globe.

Products used to make this sophisticated black, gold and cream bee themed birthday card

-Black, cream/very light beige, white (used for card base), and kraft cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Black and gold cut apart sentiment paper – With Love Just Because paper from Kaisercraft

-Black and gold leaf/flourish print paper – Transatlantic Travel Explore The World paper from Carta Bella

-Bee print paper – Classic Pooh Busy Bee paper from EK Success

-Elegant nested die set

-Honeycomb/hexagon card background style die

-Postage stamp edge scissor – Paper Edger Stamp Scissors from Fiskars

-Black seam binding

-Gold and black scrolling leaf/flourish print ribbon

-Metallic gold thread (or embroidery floss)

-Good sized wood veneer flourish shaped piece

-Faceted black plastic button – Style 20539 from La Mode

-3D bee stickers – Bee Repeats stickers from Jolee’s Boutique

-Glue gun and glue sticks

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a beautiful honeycomb and bee birthday card

Begin by making a card base from white cardstock (as the front portion of the card base will be entirely covered by other layers, you could easily make your base from cream, light beige, ivory, kraft, or black cardstock instead, if so desired).

Cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock the same size as your card base and adhere it to the base.

Next, cut a piece of black cardstock slightly smaller than the metallic gold layer. Using postage stamp edge scissors, cut a piece of kraft cardstock a touch smaller than the black cardstock layer. Adhere together and then adhere to the card base layers.

Cut a piece of cream cardstock and a slightly smaller piece of black and gold flourish print paper. Die cut a layer of gold metallic cardstock using one of the elegant nested dies.

Layer these three pieces together, as shown, including a small piece of the EK success bee print paper on the left side of this grouping. Adhere all layers and attach to your card base layers at an angle.

Using the postage stamp edge scissors, cut a piece of black cardstock. Top this layer with a piece of kraft cardstock and a piece of EK Success bee print paper. Adhere these layers together.

Cut a piece of black seam binding and attach it vertically down the middle of this group of layered pieces. Follow this step up by cutting two equal length pieces of black and gold print ribbon. Adhere one piece horizontally near the top of this group of layers and another horizontally near the bottom.

Adhere this group of layers to card base.

Using the nesting die set, die cut a black background layer and a smaller kraft layer. Adhere together, then cut and attach a piece of black seam binding horizontally across the middle of these two layers.

Die cut a honeycomb/hexagon background from metallic gold cardstock. Adhere to the kraft cardstock layer. Place some of the hexagon shapes back into their slots and once you’re happy with your arrangement, adhere them in place.

Cut the sentiment piece from Kaisercraft With Love Just Because paper. Adhere in the middle of the gold metallic honeycomb piece of cardstock. Adhere this grouping layer to the existing card base layers.

Adhere a Jolee’s Repeats Bee sticker on each of the four corners of the metallic gold cardstock honeycomb piece.

Create a bow from black seam binding (I crinkled mine ahead of time using the water and embossing heat tool technique; this step is optional and you can easily use straight/uncrinkled seam binding instead).

Run gold metallic thread or floss through a black button, tying a bow with the thread/floss. Adhere the threaded button to the centre of the black seam binding bow using hot glue or a strong, suitable adhesive of your choice.

Attach the large wooden flourish piece just below the center of the card, ensuring that it will be partly covered by the black seam binding bow. Attach the seam binding bow on top of the wooden piece.

And there you have it! One bee-utiful bee-day card that is ready to bee sent or delivered to someone special in your life. (Yes, I am having way too much fun with the word “bee” in this post, as the closing section bee-low will further attest to. )

Handy sentiments for bee cards

Given the fact that many of us refer, at least some of the time, to birthday as “b-days”, creating bee themed cards for this special event is a natural fit.

The theme of “bee day” opens itself up to a great many possible designs and sentiments, be they punny, cute, classic, or anything else you desire.

As touched on above, bee themed cards are a great fit for many other occasions as well.

If you’re keen to create a bee card of your own, the following is a list of bee-related card sentiments that I came up with (though I’m sure most, if not all of them, have been used before and am certainly not claiming originality here) to help you out on that front.

-Thank you for bee-ing there for me (or us)

-Don’t stop bee-lieving in yourself

-Happy bee-day

-Ha-bee birthday

-Thank you for bee-ing a great friend

-Wishing you a bee-utiful day (or birthday, anniversary, Thanksgiving, etc)

-For the parent(s) or grandparent(s) to bee

-You are sweeter than honey (or, may your day be sweeter than honey)

-Thank you for being such a sweet friend

-You are the bee’s knees

-We were meant to bee

-Thinking of you, my sweet friend

-I would bee lost without you

-Just bee-cause

-Welcome new bee-bee (aka, baby)

-You make the world a sweeter place

-Always bee yourself

-We bee-long together

-Congratulations to the bride/groom/happy couple to bee

-Wishing you the sweetest of days

-You are bee-yond amazing

-Bee mine (such a classic!)

-Love you bee-yond bee-lief

-You are the undisputed queen bee

-Honey, you make my world a sweeter place

-So bee-lessed to know you (or have you in my life, as my friend, as my sister, etc)

-Thank you for bee-ing there for me

-With love (or support, sympathy, encouragement, etc) from our hive to yours

I hope that these wordplay filled bee card sentiments, as well as this card share itself, inspire you to create a bee themed project of your own.

If you make one, please don’t hesitate to drop a link to it in the comments below and/or tag me on social media (or should I say, bee-media ) so that I can see what’s buzzing on your own card making front as well.

Do you enjoy incorporating bees into some of your paper crafting projects? What was the theme of the last masculine card you made?

The post Sophisticated Bee and Honeycomb Masculine Birthday Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.