Manly Valentines!

Hello Stamping Friends! I am posting a couple of Valentines which are geared a bit more toward guys. I hate to stereotype...but let's face it. So many Valentines are frilly, sparkly and filled with pink! As a card maker, it is tough for me to create interesting guy cards to begin with. Add that challenge to a holiday marked by roses and chocolate, and it's easy to get stumped! But with a little outside-the-box thinking, I came up with some fun creations!! I actually CASED myself on both of these...but hey, if you like a card, why not tweek it just a bit for a new purpose!! My new purpose is a small fund raiser. I am selling Valentines for a local network of service organizations. You can read about my busy project by clicking on the tab Projects for LIFE!

This first card is a combo of elements from this anniversary card and this get well card. I started with a basic black card base, adding a strip of black pattern paper. Using my Extreme Elements stamp set I stamped in cherry cobbler and basic gray ink. The Extreme Guitar is heat embossed...black craft ink AND black embossing powder to get it solid! I added a star in cherry cobbler and a sentiment from the Hostess set Perfect Words punched out with an oval punch. Silver brads, and long-ago retired red twine finish it out.

The next card features the Nautical Expedition dsp and The Open Sea stamp set. I CASE'd this birthday card I recently made for my brother-in-law. My card base is early espresso, and I used early espresso bakers twine. I stamped with not quite navy, cherry cobbler, and early espresso ink on whisper white card stock. The sentiment is from Word Play...isn't it perfect for a Valentine?

Thanks for stopping by! Inky {{{HUGS}}}