February madness

So, Valentines season has arrived, and with it a touch of madness.  I have been non stop busy the last week or so working on some really beautiful commissions, using some gorgeous colours.  It was so great to be so creative, and know that the projects will make special occasions extra special.  However, as the events are yet to happen, I will be sharing them with you at a later date.

What I am here to share with you is a gents card that I made, which I am really proud of.  I have a great deal of trouble making masculine cards, and although I have made some which work, I have made more which don't!!  

The birthday of my uncle Bob coincided with the Papertrey Ink competition :A challenge was set by the lovely people of Papertrey to download some of their tags designed by their design team, and make a card using them- so i made my uncles card with the lovely tags they gave us.

Here is the finished project ...

Flowers, which are a traditional female embellishment, has been used here as a background for plain blue and mustard embellishments.  The polka dot embossing folder gives an impression of pressed metal, and I used diamantes on the birthday tag to look like nails.  I stamped 'bob' onto mustard card stock and it just personalised the card enough, whilst still being all about his birthday.  I combined curved corners with blunt edges to create an interesting layout, and I set it all on a plain white card blank to make a canvas.

Challenges like that set by Papertrey Ink are a great way to keep designs fresh- to make you work with elements or colours that you find challenging, but that is in the nature of a challenge, and it is so rewarding when you make something that you didn't think you could.

This is a simple card using simple elements, but I think its all come together to make an uplifting card to say happy birthday.

Hope you have all had a great weekend, and have a good week.  See you next Monday.

Shelly X