Birthday Plaid and Pine

My husband requested that I make a card for his father!! That means a masculine card... and we all know how difficult that can be!!! Well, I took my inspiration from THIS card from leslierich! Isn't it a beauty??!! Well, I'm not sure if this measures up, but I think it turned out good, and masculine. I started with a small piece of Kraft cardstock and stamped the Flannel Plaid background using Always Artichoke. Then, I used the same stamp again using close to cocoa (a great suggestion from leslie!). Using the pine needle stamp from Fantastic Foilage I stamped randomly all over more Kraft cardstock in always artichoke and my close to cocoa marker for the stem. The main image is the pine needle and pine cones on more Kraft cardstock. It is matted on more Always Artichoke and then on some Chocolate Chip. I used my corner ticket punch and then added some antique brass brads in the corners. I added the Happy Birthday sentiment from Papertrey Ink's Papertray stamp set. I used my dauber and sponged all around the panels using close to cocoa ink (I think this might be my favorite color of ink). This is all put onto an Always Artichoke card. Well, I hope my father in law likes it. Have you made a masculine card lately?? If so, feel free to leave a link, I'd love to see it!! I'm always looking for some great ideas for masculine cards. Thanks for visiting.