Masculine Valentine by Becca

Happy Valentine’s Day Roadies! I hope you are all having a wonderful Valentine’s day celebrating those you love, whether it be a significant other, a friend, or a even a fur baby. Today I am sharing the card I made to give to my boyfriend this year, using the Modern Romance stamp set.

I started with some alcohol ink experimentation. This was my first time using alcohol inks to create background, so it took some real trial and error. I decided to show a collage of the first 4 backgrounds I made to encourage you to stick with your projects. Each background got closer to the organic and saturated look I wanted.

I added more layers to the background in the last photo, then decided to try something that I saw lots of other card makers do. While the inks were still slightly wet and tacky, I laid a piece of Heidi Swap foil (in gold) on top and pressed down. To my amazement, the gold foil transferred! I cut out two strips from my favorite parts of the background and matted them onto a top folding A2 card base.

I wanted a vertical focal point for for this card to go in the middle of the two alcohol ink pieces. I took the little XOXOXO stamp from Modern Romance and stamped it repeatedly on top of each other to create this strip. For the sentiment I white heat embossed “Happy Valentine’s Day” on to black cardstock.

I popped the XOXOXO strip onto craft foam for dimension onto the middle of the card. I added a piece of red cardstock behind the heat embossed sentiment, and added it to the card. This completes the outside!

Now for the inside! I used a leftover strip of alcohol ink background and glued it to the left side. I stamped another sentiment from Modern Romance on the top of the card. This one makes me giggle, and I hope my boyfriend will get a laugh out of it too!

One more thing before I go…I know the title of this blog post says “Masculine”, but that doesn’t mean a card of this style can’t be for anyone! Masculine is a funny word in the card making community that has come to mean a card without frills and flowers. Create what whatever you love!

As always you can use code BECCA10 for 10% off of your purchase at Ink Road Stamps. I hope this card inspires you to spread a little love today!

Becca