Welcome to my blog and be sure to check out our other member contributions this month. They are listed at the end of this post.
With Father’s Day just around the corner, the Father’s Day/ Masculine theme for this month is perfect. I sadly cannot celebrate Father’s Day since my dad passed away when I was 22 so I made a birthday card instead but before getting into that let me tell you a bit about my dad.
My father passed away from a second heart attack at 52 years old. It was a shock at the time as to me he was such a strong man. As my 52 birthday was closing in, I thought of him everyday – in particular his age at death. At the time, I thought of him as an old man, but even now in my sixties, I don’t think of myself as an old woman so I realized just how young he was – robbed of so much more life to live. My father was an extremely hard worker, often putting his customers before family which meant he didn’t spend a lot of time with us. Typical to those days, my mom cared for her three children and so he attributed his long hours to wanting to provide the best life possible for us. He did and I am forever thankful. He was kind, generous, and funny. There was always a smile beneath his thick black mustache. Here I share a photo the two of us on a rare holiday in Cape Cod.
For the background on this card, I used a technique I learned from Gina K. Designs called
‘woodgraining’. It created a perfect backdrop for the Nailed It stamp set bundle. Unfortunately this bundle completely sold out.
To start with I cut a piece of Whisper White to 3-3/4″ x 5″. Place the short side of the card stock on your score board and score at 3/4″, 1-1/2″, 2-1/4″ and 3″. Rotate it to the long side and then randomly score between the horizontal lines to create the look of a hardwood floor or brick wall. Hopefully this next photo will show you the lines I created.
Pick out three ink pad colours. I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Always Artichoke.
Starting with the lightest colour, drag the ink pad across the card stock. You want to tilt the pad slightly and drag slowly from the short end of the pad. You don’t’ want to lay the pad flat and drag. It will just stick to the card stock and create an outline of the pad. Turn the card stock so you can drag from the other end, applying as much colour as you want. Switch to the next colour and repeat, then do the same with the darkest colour. Here is the result:
You can choose to leave in as much white as you want or not want. You decide. I really enjoyed how simple this technique was and will be doing it again experimenting with different colours. If you have any of the sea/ocean themed stamp sets, imagine a background with a whitewashed look. For two more ‘woodgraining’ looks, check out Gina’s video below.
Happy Stamping everyone!
Bruni P. |
Jean M. |
This month’s contributors:
Adrienne H.
Bruni P.
Erica – you are here and welcome
Jean M.
Mi Ran B.
The Victoria Paper Shaper
Ah, you haven't changed a bit. Great card!
Unknown
Great photo and card and I loved the write-up
Stampingforu.blogspot.com
You're so creative! Love your card and your love for your dad!