Making cards for friends

Have you ever made a card for someone else and while you're assembling it, it goes against your grain? That's how I felt about the cat card. While putting this card together it just felt wrong. I think sometimes it better to go with your own style than try to force something to work (like in this case)because the end result will never satisfy you. The second card is more in my style and it just put itself together, but the other one took me an hour to do and I just don't like it?