After The Break

Wow! I had wanted to blog so much more and make some fun Easter things and be all springy on here.
Then I got sick.
Then it snowed and was dank and dark. Very depressing.
Then my husband was sick and I was taking up the lion's share.
Now over a week later and much chaos I have been able to have some free time to get back into the social media aspect of my business. Not to say I haven't been creating ;)
Well. Not as much as I would have liked...
I don't know if you've noticed, but I am a bit of a girly girl. That trancends into my clothing, my likes and even into my hobbies. I don't even have very many 'boy' items. And 'manly' things? forget about it! Though I am working towards more boy stuff :) Dragons and superheroes and dinosaurs and astronauts- oh yessss. I have found items that I MUST have! Soon enough ;) Mother's day is close at hand :D
Until then, I have a few tools in my collection to create some less pink-frilly-glittery greeting cards (not that they have to be just for boys!) If you remember my love for Dawn's Step Panel card-  I went a little bit.... gung ho.

 These Mini Remix Boys from The Greeting Farm are little and cute and perfect for simple masculine cards.
To augment the boys I used a variety of stamp sets from Stampin' Up! including, Banner Blast (with coordinating Bitty Banner punch), Water Color Words, Gorgeous Grunge and Hardwood background stamp.
I used the Brick Wall embossing folder on some Smokey Slate, brushed with more Smokey Slate ink and then AFTER it was embossed, I stamped the Star and Birthday sentiment from the Watercolor Words to make it look like spray paint. Adding that to the Gorgeous Grunge splatters made it look like a Graffit Wall.

I grabbed a stack of gift stamp from one of my other sets and used various banners to give it a birthday party feel.
My color pallet was Daper Denim, Old Olive, Smokey Slate and Crumb Cake.

Being as the cards don't open, I like using the back of the card to carry on and have more space to not only decorate but, in theory, have a place to write a sentiment (though on this card, I think that's not going to happen :) oops!

This showcases the Graffit art a lot more prominently. I added bits of washi tape for dimension, then another one of our fun Boy Remix Boys and his pal puppy on a skateboard.

I'll be honest, it was hard to get started as I am so used to floral and glitter and swirls, but as it came together I was really happy with the outcome.

I hope it inspired you to think outside your own personal creative boxes.

~Brandie~