Hello Valentine...my feelings {are}n't neutral!

 No,...my feelings definitely are NOT neutral when it comes to the recipient of this card; my amazing 14 year old son! He has to put up with a lot. He was the only boy for so long and now our house has been invaded by boys...little boys, mischievous boys, boys, boys, boys!!!

 I was really torn on which direction to head when it came to his card; football?, skateboards? gaming? baseball? So many options for such an accomplished son, but in the end I just chose something simple and neutral! Not a hint of pink anywhere! I took a gamble, a serious gamble, by adding the metallic sequins, but hopefully he can just look past that. After all, he has lived with me for 14 years and he knows how hard it is for me to resist the sparkle! I sat down to work on this last night while he was just yards away from me, but I'm sure he has no idea what I was up to. The other day when I was working on the monkey card for my baby, my 5 year old asked what I was doing and who that card was for. I showed him and asked if he knew who it was for. He of course replied that it was for the baby, but he said," But Mom, he's right there, he will see it!" He seemed so genuinely concerned that the surprise would be ruined. I explained to him that the baby really doesn't understand.  He did ask if he could make some cards so he has been busy creating his own Valentines for the family, but he is "hiding" them all over the house. Smart kid!

 I chose to use this phrase play diecut for the focal image of the card. None of the sentiments that were included in the companion set really fit for my mature kid, so I just chose a sentiment from Heart Prints instead. I had to use a black marker to ink up only the letters that I needed and stamped them onto a premade metallic piece.

 I also stamped a large heart from the Heart Prints set as well and stamped the image using white ink. I used the arrow that was removed from the die for an extra embellishment. I also added some glossy accents to the arrow. I just love the effect it gives.  I also die cut a few small hearts to place here and there around the card to make it a little more Valentine-y. I also used an embossing folder for the piece behind the diecut to give it some extra texture.

I also used the "Hello" piece that came out of the die as well to embellish the inside. I hate letting something perfectly useful go to waste. It also received a nice coating of glossy accents as well.  If I get some inspiration for something a little more "teenager-y" I will give this to my husband and make a new one for my son.  My poor husband keeps getting the same card year after year. I had run out of time to write in it, so I just handed it to him and then  ended up using it last year, too. He had no idea it was from the year before. He's not into cards....shocking, I know! LOL! Thanks for fluttering by!