A Nephew Celebrates His October Birthday!

I've just finished my last October birthday card that I am able to complete before my trip to Las Vegas.  I will have four more October birthday cards to complete upon my return. . .two of the feminine variety and two more of the masculine variety.  When I'm all done, I will have completed thirteen cards in all for this month, with seven of them being for men!  Now, that's a record for male cards in one month. . .and I have already finished five of those seven.  Surprisingly, my creative juices were flowing at full speed for these masculine cards, because normally, I find myself struggling to come up with designs without struggling a bit, especially when I'm under pressure.  I am pre-posting all these cards I have just completed so they will appear while I am away.  This way my blog does not look like I am neglecting it, when in truth I am until I return from my trip.

This final card that I created and am ready to post is for one of my nephew from my sister's side of the family.  I know Davis likes to hunt, but I am not sure that it is for pheasant, though he does do wild turkeys for sure.  But, I so wanted to use a Stampin' Up stamp set that I bought several years ago but have never used.  I think it is great for masculine cards, and it is named Walk in the Wild.  

In making this card, I decided to use a technique that I've always like, but not used for quite awhile---a form of edge distressing by fraying the edge of the paper with an open pair of scissors.  (There is also a fraying tool that can be purchased, but I find the scissors work just as well if not better.)  I followed this distressing with ink distressing on the frayed edges.  These two distressing techniques give cards that worn and vintage look that I think lends itself well to men's cards.

My next step was to decide on papers.  Since I decided this card would have a vintage feel to it, and because it was for a man, I decided browns and dark blues would be good.  At this point, the rest of the card design fell together quite rapidly, and I finished it in record time.  My final step, as is traditional in all my cards, was to create the inside to coordinate with my outside design and choose or make up a verse that befits the occasion.  Take a peak below at my finished card, inside and out.  I think Davis will enjoy his specially design card, just for him!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Early Espresso, Midnight Muse (retired), Soft Suede, Natural Ivory (inside/ retired).  Pattern:  Natural Composition Specialty dsp (retired).  Stamps: Walk in the Wild.  Ink: Burnt Brown Sugar (distressing).  Ribbon: 7/8" Cotton (retired).  Spellbinders dies:  Ovals SM; Big Scallop Ovals LG (modified).  Impression Obsession dies: Instant Photo Frames Corners (inside).  Computer sentiment/ verse.  Size:  4-1/2" x 5-3/4".