Hubby's Valentine

 It's that time of year again - time to make a Valentine's card that I like, but that is masculine enough to give my husband. I've chucked some flowers in here - but he's a gardener, so I reckon I can get away with it. Thanks to Sunday Stamps Challenge 249 and As You See It Challenge 242 for getting me started! 

There's quite a bit going on in this card that I'm not sure will photograph well - I hope it doesn't just looked like I slapped some Very Vanilla together! 😀 I embossed the heart and the card front with different folders, and also cut one sentiment frame into another. 

Here's the card: 

Ingredients:

Stampin' Up! ink (Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Cider), card (Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler), stamps (Awesomely Artistic, Petal Palette), dies (Tasteful Labels), embossing folders (Hammered Metal, Subtle) Hearts punches, Cherry Cobbler watercolour pencil. 

Other products: francheville rhinestones. 

One layer flowers

An inviting challenge from Less Is More for Challenge #394 - One Layer Buds and Petals - led me to make this card. I've decided that I need to use Very Vanilla card more, so that was my starting point. I do like this lovely flower stamp - it's more versatile than it first appears, maybe because you can vary the intensity of the flowers with different colours.

Ingredients: Stampin' Up! card in Very Vanilla, watercolour pencils in Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green, Stazon black ink, Derwent Inktense watercolour pencil in Shiraz, francheville rhinestones.

Cut out flowers

I was struck by the pleasing symmetry of 'Less is More's Challenge #378:

 and 'read' the image as two rectangles rather than four squares. I combined it with the rich colours of CAS Colors and Sketches #286: Mango Melody, Poppy Parade and Merry Merlot. I haven't yet acquired Mango Melody ink, so made do with my closest match - Peekaboo Peach. I stamped the flower image, in black, on the main card, and then (in Merry Merlot) onto card sponged with peekaboo Peach and splashed with water drops for texture. Then I mounted the coloured card onto the plain, matching the images. I used vellum for the sentiment so it would 'float' above the card. 

Ingredients:

Stampin' Up ink (Merry Merlot, Peekaboo Peach, Basic Black), card (Shimmery White), stamps (Awesomely Artistic, Big on Birthdays (sentiment)).

Other Products: My Favourite Things dienamics (Vertical Stitched Stripes), francheville pearls, Derwent watercolour pencil (Poppy Red)

Say it with flowers

This card is a response to three challenges: Retro Rubber's 'Colour My World Challenge 63: 

Fab Friday's sketch challenge 113:

and Just Add Ink's #361 to choose two from flowers, washi and watercolour.
The flowers are from the Stampin' Up set 'Awesomely Artistic', which satisfies the Retro Rubber requirement of a stamp older than a year, because it appears in the 2105/16 catalogue (it may be older, but that's when I got converted to making cards!) I loved the sketch's invitation to put the flowers front and centre, and the lines behind the circle just begged for washi tape, which meant that JAI's challenge fitted beautifully.
Anyway - here's the final result:

Made Using:
Stampin' Up: Awesomely Artistic stampset, Banners for you stampset, Bunch of Banners framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, Whisper White and Pool Party card, washi tape from Affectionately Yours suite, Basic Black Ink, Cucumber Crush and Elegant Eggplant marker pens.
Other Products: Fiskar small butterfly punch, American Craft Pow! glitter paper, Faber Castell water colour pencils, Wink of Stella (clear)