Masculine birthday – Perfect Combos

Hello Everyone, It is Zsofi here, welcome to another edition of my Perfect Combos series. Are you struggling with masculine cards? I admit I do, mostly because I love bling and sparkle and somehow it just does not fit the concept of a guy card. Today I show you a way how you can still have texture and shine, without making a card glittery and “for her”.

I started with stamping the cake and a couple of candles from the Popping by stamp set, coloured them with Copic markers and cut them out with the coordinting dies. I die cut a Stitched Oval from a textured white cardstock and popped up the cake with the candles using the thick 3D foam tape from the Heffy Doodle Essentials line. It gives so much dimension, I love it!

For the background I used the Lots of Happy stencil on Neenah Desert Storm cardstock with Gatherd Twigs Distress Oxide ink. As this ink stays wet for a while, I simply heat embossed the pattern with clear embossing powder. It gives just a little shine, not too much. Then I cut down the panel a little and ink blended a bit of the same brown ink on the sides using a blending brush. It makes the focal panel pop even more!

For the sentiment I chose the Wavy banner dies and Wavy Banner Sentiments: I stamped with a brown ink on a Neenah Desert Storm banner and matted it with a slightly bigger brown one. I used the same brown cardstock to mat the stenciled background too.

After popping up the banner with the thick 3D foam tape I added just a light touch of clear shimmer to the flame and covered the candles and chocolate drops with glossy accents.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Perfect Combo and will check back later for more inspiration. If you like my cards, please make sure to follow me on Instagram where I also share my happy creations! Thank you! See you soon, Zsofi