Lucky man!

I think any man or woman for that matter who receives an original handmade card is extremely lucky. Valentine's cards are particularly special because you want to give something not only bespoke and personal but something truly from the heart.

I always smile when I see February editions of paper craft magazines decked out in pink hearts because, and correct me if I'm wrong..... the majority of card makers (and I mean the vast majority!) are women which means that the majority of hand made Valentine cards will be received by men. I wanted to redress the balance by making a VERY masculine card.

This month sees the release of a collection of dies created by Tim Holtz aimed at mixed-media fans. I think that these dies will adapt to so many different styles that they will become a permanent fixture in my stash.

The dies I am using are all Thinlits sets namely Scribbles and Splat, Handwritten Love and Mixed Media check out the links, you'll thank me for it!

I started by applying a piece of blue/grey paper to the face of an A6 base card before inking around the perimeter. Next, I took an A6 piece of cream card (the colours not really important to be honest!) and tore around the edges.

I chose two of the four mixed media dies and used them to add the corner detail, pretty cool huh!. Next, I die-cut the heart and the word ''Cherish' before attaching them to the cream background as shown.

I used black chalk board paint (any black paint that dries with a matt finish will do the job!) to cover the assembled die-cut background and dried it with a heat tool. Next I reached for an old friend, my Treasure Pewter gilding wax, (you can buy this in many metallic colours and there are several brands out there too, just pop the words 'gilding wax' into your search engine and see what comes up!) I rubbed the wax over the raised detail and the contrast it gives is amazing!

Finally, I took three screw head brads and painted them black before applying the wax.

and that's it really! I attached the background to the base card with a thin strip of double sided tape across the centre before securing with the brads. I'm sure you'll agree that the finished card is designed with a man in mind, I'll just have to send it to myself!