Finally Finished!

My Father-in-law is turning 60 in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to make him a really nice card. I struggled with ideas for quite awhile, until I stumbled on two beautiful cards on Splitcoast (one made by "Rascal", the other by "Qbee"). They were similar cards, with different layouts, and I thought they were both gorgeous! So, filled with inspiration from these ladies, I set out to design my card. This is what I came up with:

This is of course the finished card; the one I'll give to my Father-in-law. It is NOT the card I stared at for hours yesterday, trying to figure out how to finish it! Well okay, it's mostly the card I stared at ;) In the end, I added a small piece of linen thread at the bottom of the card, and tied a knot. I can't believe I agonized over such a small detail; sad but true that I did.

Anyway, I hope he likes it! It was actually a really easy card to make, using one of my now favorite techniques. The "sunset" background is made using the Pumpkin Patch spectrum pad, and brayering it on glossy cardstock. After that, I simply stamped all the images using SU's Classic Black ink, and re-stamped the bear (after waiting for him to dry first) using a Stamp-A-Majig. After all the images were dry, I ripped a piece of paper and placed it over the images, and brayered black over the bottom. That's it! Just make sure each step is totally dry before going on. I'm so glad I got the "Lovely As A Tree" stamp set; it's turning into one of my favorites! And for a masculine card, who can resist using a little piece of hardware? I have to say, I think this is my favorite card (of the ones I've made, anyway); even my husband was impressed (a major feat - he just doesn't "get" this whole homemade card thing)!