As promised last week, I have my dad's birthday card to share. I didn't want to post it too long before he got it in the mail, because I'm not sure when (or if) he ever checks my blog! He should be getting it in the next day or two though, at least I hope so- his birthday is tomorrow! Here it is:
As I think I have stated before, I find making masculine cards a bit challenging. For one thing, it is not easy to find papers that are geared toward/would appeal to men. The vast majority of scrapbook paper out there is pretty feminine in terms of color and design. That's why when I find a good paper with masculine colors or patterns, I try to stock up. I have had both of these papers for a long time, pretty much since I first started making bookmarks, so you have probably seen them both before. I did try to find a new one for my dad's card, but right now, everything in the stores are very pastel and flowery. I didn't want to do anything too close to
the card I did for him last year, so stayed away from any of those same papers. I like the two of these together. The argyle is bold, while the pin stripe is more subtle, but the color tones go very well together and don't clash. The little bit of gray in the pin stripe gives an extra color to work with beyond the different shades of blue and the black. I didn't stamp a setiment on the inside- just left it blank, and hand-wrote in my Happy Birthday message. Hope he likes it!
Next, I would like to share a bookmark I made for myself today. A few months ago, I told you about a book cover I bought from a fellow Esty seller, Rebekah, for which I made a coordinating bookmark. You can see both the book cover and bookmark
here. Recently, I have found myself reading more trade-size paperbacks than I have in the past, and have missed having a book cover to protect the books I read. So, back to
Rebekah's shop I went! She was so nice and accomodating with my first order, I knew that her shop was the right one to go to for my next one. Besides that, she works with the MOST beautiful batik fabrics! The hardest part about shopping in her shop is picking just one- they are all stunningly beautiful! After perusing her shop, I found one or two fabrics that I really liked, and sent her a message about customizing a trade-size book cover for me. This time, my eye was drawn to a beautiful batik fabric in blues, greens, and teals with dragonflies. Unfortunately, I only saw it on a checkbook cover. So when I messaged Rebekah, I mentioned that I liked another fabric, but if she had the dragonfly fabric, that would be my preference. She responded that she would be able to accomdate my request. Again, I asked for no ribbon to be sewn in, as I wanted to make my own bookmark. And this time, I asked for a custom closure for the cover that was similar to another one I had seen elsewhere. I thought it would protect the book better, and since I live in the rainy PNW, I am happy for any additional protection for my books! Rebekah was great about it- she had not done anything like it before, but was willing to try. It came out exactly how I imagined it, and I couldn't be happier!
When I saw the fabric, I immediately knew what kind of bookmark I wanted to make. You might remember
these cards, where I used a sponge and different colors of stamp ink to make a pretty mottled background in colors very similar to the ones in this book cover. So I used that same technique, and then stamped a very subtle leaf pattern in a light green, and a dragonfly in the teal ink. I framed it in deep blue and teal, and topped it with a coordinating blue ribbon.
The leaf detail is difficult to see, so here's a closeup:
Ok, maybe it's hard to see here too..but the ligth green that you see is the viney leaf stamp. The lighting wasn't great when I took this picture, but in reality, there is much more differentiation between all the colors. Anyway, I love it, and it goes great with the book cover!
My family is off on spring break for a few days, so I may actually have some time to craft in the evenings this week! I'm anxious to start on some collage-style pressed flower bookmarks to list in my shop, since I enjoyed making the ones I did for Elizabeth Loupas so much. I'm planning to do some gift envelopes that can go along with those as well, in hopes that they will sell for Mother's Day, which is just around the corner! I also need to make a card for my cousin Trina's birthday, which is on April 1, so will have to get that done soon too. Til next time!
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