My Brother's Birthday

My brother Mark's birthday is Friday, and I just love to send him cards because he's not really the "sentimental" kinda guy. But when he sees me, he always smiles and says, "Thanks for the card, Mik" (my childhood name is Miki)... and that twinkle in his eye when he says it tells me that he really does appreciate the personal touch. You may remember the last card I made for him when he got a new job... well, here's his birthday card:

He likes old trucks, so I decided to go ahead and watercolor this one on Whisper White cardstock with an Aquapainter and the Bravo Burgundy ink pad lid. Normally, I don't like a "rough" look like this - the combination of that cardstock with straight ink doesn't allow hardly any play, as it dries almost instantly. But I think it looks simply charming on this old truck! See, there's a time for everything, isn't there?! I will also mention that to get a nice soft shadow, I used my Stampin' Pastels... I used the Basic Black ink pad lid on the tires and didn't want the shadow to be that dark. Here's a closer look at the truck:

I also made a pure knot in the ribbon which looks a bit more masculine than a normal "bow" with tails. You may also notice some of the now retired Print Pattern background on the Night of Navy... I had several of these bases already stamped for an earlier project that never panned out, so I'm still trying to use them up. They make good bases for masculine cards.

So, happy birthday, big brother! --Miki

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Loads of Love, Think Happy Thoughts, Classic Stripes background
Ink: Night of Navy, Black StazOn, Bravo Burgundy, Basic Black, Versamark
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White, Parisian Summer DSP
Accessories: Night of Navy Narrow Grosgrain ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Silver Brads
Tools: Aquapainter, Stampin' Pastels, Photo Corners punch, 1-3/4", 1-3/8", 1-1/4", 3/4" Circle punches