Birthday Theme at TIME OUT Challenges!

Hello friends!
Wow, what a fortnight we had at TIME OUT Challenges! We were amazed by the amount of entries and happy that so many of you have found us. Now it's time for our theme challenge: Birthday with an Optional Twist of Masculine Birthday! The DT has made brilliant samples of both variants: head on over to the challenge blog to check them out. We also have our first ever GDT joining us: very talented Bev from the Sweetest of Peas is with us this fortnight. Congratulations and Welcome, Bev! :)

My card follows the optional twist and is a birthday card for one of my colleagues that I work very closely with. I hardly ever talk about anything else than crafting here in my blog but this time I thought I'd share little something with you. This was the second time I made a card for a co-worker and I was SO nervous about it again... It might be because of the field where I work at: I'm a classical musician working in a symphony orchestra and since what we do is to try to reach for "the perfect results" all days long, presenting a home made card with personal touch is really scary -I tend to think my crafting should have the same professional level than my playing! I know I shouldn't take it so seriously but I get very self conscious about my card making... There's only one lady at work that knows about my blog -some others know that it exists but I've refused to give the web address because I feel so shy about it! I wonder if anyone else is the same as me? However, my colleague loved his card, he asked who had made it and when he heard it was me he was stunned saying he had no idea I was artistic in this way too... Yep, a secret stamper, that's me! He has a green beetle so the stamp was perfect for him and he is sort of a retro guy so that was the look I was after.

Anyways, enough blah-blahing about my self-esteem issues and back to TIME OUT Challenges! We have 2 prizes on offer from Uniko Studio. We are very proud to have the Uniko Studio's owner and designer Bev in our DT! You are great, Bev! 

We'll draw one random winner between those who make a masculine birthday card: that winner will receive a 15 £ gift card to Uniko Studio. The DT will also select one winner from all the entries and that winner will receive Today, Tomorrow & Always Time  stamp set along with Graphic Flowers die set (images below). Great prizes, right? I hope to see you joining us! Thanks for reading this long post all the way to the end... And happy crafting!

I'd like to enter:
http://www.withoutwordschallenge.blogspot.fi/ Gentlemen Only (I used Copics for my beetle)
http://thecraftingcafe.blogspot.co.uk/ One for the boys