masculine friend - with a FLOWER stamp!

Hello, again! Back today with that masculine card I promised. :) The original of this design was made for a man named Mike who worked with Hero Arts and recently passed away from brain cancer. Prior to his passing, many over at the Hero Arts Flickr group created cards to send to Mike to maybe thank and encourage him in his final days. I whipped up my card and mailed it out right away, without pausing to photograph it. So here's a duplicate I made later to share here (click to see larger):



This design is also based on a similar card I made a while back that you can see here. Sometimes coming up with a design on the fly can be difficult. So just like using sketches or CASEing, there's no shame in referring to something you've already done once before to help make the process go faster. The only thing different about this card from Mike's is that this one has a different sentiment (from the new Thank You For Being My Friend set). It was an honor to make a cardc for a person like Mike whose involvement with Hero Arts brought joy to so, so many... directly, and indirectly. :)




Can you tell that I actually used a flower image - the new Small Solid Flower Cling - for the leaves?! I don't know if anyone else has already used this stamp in this way, but I couldn't believe it just dawned on me one day, "Hey - that kinda looks like a tree..." I love it when an image is so versatile! :D To get the graduation of color, I used the rock and roll technique with chalk inks. I think the seamless blending you get with the chalks looks great when doing this technique. And see that trunk? That's what you get when you mask off all of the other trunks on this stamp - the Tree Trunks Design Block. Another new 2011 Hero stamp I knew I had to have. ;)

To me, this has a masculine feel due to the ruggedness of the kraft card stock, the ambiguity of the images, and the neutral color scheme. However, I know hearts and Stickles might not seem masculine, but what can I say? I'm a girl and I love hearts and glitter! LOL At least I went with a more neutral color for the Stickles, like copper. ;)

Thanks for reading! See you soon... be sure to hug the ones you love today.

SUPPLIES
paper: kraft note card, Georgia Pacific white, and SU! Close to Cocoa
stamps: Hero Arts S5208, S5477, CG251, and CL487
inks: VersaMagic Sage & Spanish Olive, and SU! Close to Cocoa dye & Whisper White pigment
misc: rectangle Nestabilities, white embossing powder, Stickles in Copper, and pop dots