This is my submission for AECP Level 1 For the Guys taught by Jen Rzasa. I really enjoyed this class as there were several great ideas provided for making masculine cards.

Techniques and Design Principles

Geometric patterns which are a great element for masculine card design
Muted colors of brown and gray – I chose Palette 1 from the Altenew Color Inspiration Chart which is a great source for inspiration
Brushed gold to add some shine without being too “elegant”
Large bold sentiment outlined in black
Random textured background
Gradient Ink blending

Steps

I first ink blended the background with Vanilla cream, Evening Gray and Espresso inks starting in the middle in a circle motion to give the center a little glow. The Altenew Large Blending Brush is excellent for making backgrounds like this.
I then ink blended a card panel randomly with Limestone, Cloudy Night, and Pure Graphite and added white splatter with the Altenew Pure White Ink spray.
Next I dabbed the gray ink blended sheet with glue using a sponge and added Antique Gold Embossing Powder in some areas to give it a little random shine.
I cut a sheet out of brushed gold with the Layered Snowflake Stars A die.
I also cut out the gray sheet with the Layered Snowflake Stars B die and kept all of the triangles.
I glued the brushed gold piece over the brown ink blended base.
I then layered the gray cut out sheet with the triangles over the top of the base.
Next I glued some the triangles somewhat randomly into some of the open triangles.
Finally I cut out three shadows for the sentiment background from black cardstock in order to add some dimension. I added the brushed gold Happy Birthday over the top and adhered the sentiment to the card.