My Dad had minor surgery on his hands last Friday - and I needed a quick card to get sent off to him. My current on hand stock of cards is zero right now. This was a great card, because I made several of them up and can just add my sentiment when it's time to give it away! I love cards like that - that are versatile and especially when you get a versatile masculine card!
All that being said - my favorite part of this is that I used the Tutti-frutti Adhesive-Backed Sequins as some added interest. Bling makes cards better- but I cannot add a rhinestone to a card for my Dad - I just can't, so this gave me the boost the card needed - and they don't look like sequins - but rather geometric shaped "things"! I'm going with it anyway!
Unfortunately the stamp set I used is now retired, but I bought it specifically for Dad - so I was going to use it! But don't worry - Stampin' Up! has other wilderness options. In the annual catalog, there is a beautiful Christmas stamp set called Nature Sings, it is beautiful. It has an Elk as well, as some pine trees and some very lovely sentiments. I used this set a lot during the Holiday season and think it would be a great addition to anyone's set, as the animals, and trees can be used year round.
Let's talk about that Elk - I used the new blends to color him in - it took about 1.5 minutes and that included the rock! They are just a treat to color with. I used the crumb cake duo and then I added a little Daffodil Delight to his Antlers to add some dimension and color to those. On the rock I threw in the bronze color to really highlight the crevices. If you are really good, you could certainly spend some time and really make him life like, I don't generally have the patience - so I like how with little skill or time, I can have something that looks like I spent much longer on it! I threw some 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon in Garden Green, but it just didn't seem enough, even with the tilt on the layering of the circles so, that is where the idea to put sequins on a masculine card came in to my head. I used the pale blue and you can see that the overall effect is added interest without being "bling".
This is a standard A2 card base in Early Espresso with a mat of 5.25 X 4 popped up on Stampin' Dimensional's. On the inside I have a mat of the same size with the head of the Elk coming in at the bottom right - stamped in Early Espresso to finish the card off nicely.
Let me know how you add interest without "bling" on your masculine cards!
Thanks,
Michelle with BellaRu Boutique