A Manly Birthday

Do you struggle with creating birthday cards for men?  I do.  Why is that?  Just because I don't want to use flowers, butterflies, ribbons or pastels?

Well I decided to try making a card of wood.  That's right - wood.  My son is a contractor, and although he always tells me he likes my cards, I know that sometimes the cards are not quite "manly" enough for him.  So this year I went this way:

Yup a card of "wood".  And I love it!

There's no stamping on this card.  I used the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper and the Happy Birthday Thinlits dies.  Easy.

I started with a piece of Basic Black Cardstock, to which I adhered strips of the Wood Textures paper.  I cut the strips anywhere between 1/4" and 3/4" and then mixed them up.  Once adhered, the piece was cut with the Rectangle Stitched Framelits, and then mounted to another piece of Basic Black, leaving a very skinny border.

I popped up the piece on a card base covered with another piece of the Wood Textures.

And I cut out the Happy Birthday twice - once in Wood Texture paper and again in Basic Black.  

Can you see the "shadow" behind the letters?  Using two layers also gives a little added dimension.  And the phrase was adhered using the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (before cutting out the words).

And inside:

A frame of wood surrounds the sentiment.

Of course a card like this needs a coordinating envelope:

I think Evan will love this card!  Don't you?

Wood Textures is a terrific DSP, back for a second year in the Annual Catalog, and still a great seller!  Get some today!

Product List

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

[144177]

$11.00

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

$8.50

Happy Birthday Thinlits Die

[143700]

$20.00

Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies

[148551]

$35.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets

[144106]

$10.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.00

"What's on the Desk?" Wednesday

Long post with lots of pictures today...Time for another look at my crafting table to see what's there and what I can do with it:

I'm going to Las Vegas on Friday to attend Stampin' Up!'s On Stage program, and have been a very busy bee making swaps (more about those in a few days) and gifts for my downline.  I had to keep cleaning up my work space so I could still create, so when I took a look at my desk the only thing that was on it was this new punch.  And some scraps of the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack.

What to do...

Punch them!

And then I began to play.

Hmmm, nice and geometrical, but not sure I like the vanilla space between each shape...

Yeah, maybe that one.

So I started by finding the center of the base piece of cardstock:

Draw a line from each corner to the opposite corner:

Then from the center of each side to the opposite side:

Now I have my starting point:

And I'll fill in the space around the shape:

Keep going:

And keep going, adding adhesive to the base paper so you don't get it all over your workspace when pieces hang off the edges:

Finally fill in the little spaces and flip the card over to trim off the excess pieces (use the Vanilla card as a guide):

And voila:

Let's make a card.  I started by choosing another piece of the Wood Textures paper in a contrasting color and added some Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets to the back:

Then, using the Happy Birthday Thinlits, I cut it out:

Almost done...need to stamp "to", but I don't want it to be in ink:

I know - emboss it with White Embossing Powder:

And a finished card:

Side view:

And that's today's "What's on the Desk?"

What do you think?  Won't you leave me a comment and tell me?

Product List

Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set

[140386]

$21.00

Versamark Pad

[102283]

$8.50

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

[144177]

$10.00

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[101650]

$9.00

Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[119686]

$8.00

Happy Birthday Thinlits Die

[143700]

$20.00

Celebrate You Thinlit Dies

[146840]

$0.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Tailored Tag Punch

[145667]

$18.00

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

[110755]

$4.00

Paper Snips Scissors

[103579]

$10.00

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

[109132]

$5.00

Heat Tool

[129053]

$30.00

Linen Thread

[104199]

$4.50

Masculine Birthday Card

I think most stampers have some problems creating masculine cards.  So when I saw a card on Stampin' Connection by Carolyn King, I knew I had to copy it:

This is so simple and so beautiful (is it OK to call a masculine card "beautiful"?).

I started with a 4-1/4" x 11" piece of Very Vanilla Thick cardstock, scored and folded in half at 5-1/2".  I took another piece of Very Vanilla that was 4-1/4" x 4" and ran it through the Big Shot with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder.

The strip of Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack paper is 4-1/4" x 1-1/2", and is adhered to the top of the card base.  I added a 1/8" strip of Basic Black and then the embossed Vanilla piece.

The Happy Birthday Thinlits are fabulous!  Just adding this cut out piece to a card adds texture and a sentiment without any stamping.  I cut mine with Basic Black cardstock (hint:  use the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets on the back of your cardstock and run through the Big Shot with the Thinlits--makes it SO easy to adhere your thinner die cuts).

And I just finished off my card with some Black Rhinestone Jewels--the perfect embellishment!

So what do you think?  Perfect for those times when you need a masculine card?  I think so!

Product List

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

[144237]

$7.00

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[101650]

$9.00

Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

[121045]

$8.00

Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack

[144177]

$10.00

Happy Birthday Thinlits Die

[143700]

$20.00

Pinewood Planks Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

[143708]

$10.00

Big Shot

[143263]

$110.00

Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets

[144106]

$10.00

Black Rhinestone Jewels

[144639]

$5.00