Teen Masculine Birthday

Happy Saturday! One of my son's needed a card for a friend's birthday party tomorrow, and being a teenager, I had to be careful not to make it too "girly". Usually, in these situations, my go-to embellishments are brads and hardware instead of ribbons, just to be on the safe side. I picked out the train from a "brand new this catalog" set called Happiness is a Journey. I loved this stamp set the moment I saw it because it reminded me of my father who loves trains and swears he was an engineer in a former life.... :) Nevertheless, this is an awesome set to use for masculine cards, and I look forward to using it often for many years to come. This solid style train stamp was inked up with Versamark first, then sponged with Chocolate Chip and Not Quite Navy ink. This was pressed to white cardstock and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I Versamarked the whole block, and heat embossed again with clear embossing powder several times to create a smooth, glassy surface. This main panel was mounted on black, Not Quite Navy and Chocolate Chip with edge distressing on the C.Chip layer. I added silver brads along the top. The blue background paper is from my scraps pile (source unknown), but a very similar effect can be achieved by sponging and spritzing ink. This layer was edge distressed as well, then mounted on C.Chip cardstock with brads added in the corners. This was placed on my Not Quite Navy cardbase. There's a white insert inside stamped with a birthday sentiment, and my son was pleased with the look of it. So what do you think? Have a great weekend, and I'll be back tomorrow. See you then!