A couple thank yous

A few days ago my hubby mentioned he needed a couple thank you cards. Last night I finally had an opportunity to head into my craft room (plus, he needed them finished by this morning!). I decided to go with a 5x5 card size instead of my usual 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.

As I've mentioned before, I seem to struggle with masculine cards and of course both cards were going to guys. SO, I did something I rarely do and pulled out a retired stamp set from my stash to start with. I just LOVE this little puppy and thought it would qualify as a masculine image.  I added some of our wide Early Espresso ribbon and tied it with a piece of our linen thread.  With a few antique brads and some faux stitching, I thought it turned out well.

When I showed it to my hubby, he thought it was a little to "girlie". Um, seriously? A dog and a pair of work boots is girlie?  What exactly was he looking for? Oh wait - I have a tree...does that work????  Hum...ok, back into my craft room for take 2!

Here's card number two.  Similar color scheme.  Instead of ribbon, I used a piece of our twill tape (love this stuff!) and a piece of wood grain designer paper from our Woodland Walk Designer Series paper pack.  I tried to keep it simple and as far from "girlie" as possible.

 What do you think?  Did I succeed?

Happy Stamping!