Well, the holidays are over and it’s time to start thinking about the next big holiday. Yes, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It’s a holiday where I dare say more cards are made by us cardmakers for men than virtually any other holiday and it can be a challenge. When I know who I’m making a card for, I like to make something geared for their hobby or interests which usually helps make it a little easier. My husband of 31 years loves to fish so I decided to pull out a reel-y cute stamp I have had in my stash for years. It always feels great to use your stash and I was happy to use already owned supplied for a card that perfectly fits my husband. I encourage you to check your stash to see what you can use again. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

For this card, I wanted some bright colors and CutCardStock’s Astrobright line fit exactly what I had in mind. Pink and red are not my husband’s favorite color combo so I turned to other colors to make a fairly untraditional Valentine’s Day card in colors I know he does like.

Astrobright Lunar Blue formed the bright blue A2 card base. I wanted to also create some texture for this card so I cut a background out of Astrobright Gamma Green. The pattern can be found in Cricut Design Space. It’s called Scale Pattern, Overlay #475F6. This pattern is square but it easily sized to 4″ x 5 1/4″. I placed a piece of Pop Tone Sweet Tooth cardstock behind the background and glued this to the card front. I used the same cardstock to print the sentiment on my computer since I didn’t have this exact sentiment in my stamp collection.

At this point, I stamped and colored the image of the bear fishing using Copic markers on Neenah Clasic Crest Solar White cardstock. Then I cut it out using an oval stitched die in my stash. To add additional interest and make it stand out more from the background, I cut a scalloped oval out of Stardream Metallic Iceberg.

Inside the card, I stamped a simple, I love you sentiment. I look forward to surprising him with it. I know he’ll enjoy it!

So do you struggle with masculine cards? I hope my project will help you look at your existing collection with an eye for something a little different that will be a great way to say, I love you in a way that will be most appreciated by the recipient.

Written by

Janet Axtman - SugarShine Designs

My passion is to teach and inspire others in the same way that I've been inspired by so many others over the years. I enjoy using electronic paper cutters to create cards and 3D projects of all types. Stamping, coloring and designing is my happy place. Join me over at my Blog or at my YouTube Channel.