It’s the day to wish all the fathers out there a very Happy Father’s Day! And especially to my husband, the father of our three children! Since he works out in the yard a lot and tries to have a nice garden, I thought I would make a personalized card for him that somewhat matches our back fence, the view out our window. I got the idea for this card from another demonstrator, Patty Bennett, who stamped with the Hardwood Wood background stamp with Soft Suede ink on Crumb Cake card stock. To make it into a fence, she used the Stampin’ Trimmer to cut along the Hardwood lines to make separate fence posts and sponged the edges. We have this same kind of “privacy fence” in our backyard, in face they are about the only kind of backyard fences in Houston. I like it for the privacy it provides and I don’t like it for the privacy it provides because you don’t get to know your neighbors as well, especially the ones behind you. And the kids can’t just run from one yard to another.
Here is a photo of your backyard that inspired this card:
I forget what that flowering plant on the right is called, but it is really pretty in the morning against the fence. Whatever that plant is below the rose bushes has just taken over in the last few days. That’s how it is down here in the jungle, plants don’t stay small like they are supposed to!
Here is how to cut apart the fence posts from the Hardwood Wood stamp (even if you stamp the image crooked on the paper, just follow the straight lines in cutting the posts apart. You will need to stamp two images so you end up with six full-size fence posts. Depending on where you place them on your card, the fence posts will likely overhang the bottom of your card. This is ok, just snip off the excess when you are finished. Be sure to play with the spacing of the posts before you glue. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want to see how the spacing works on your card.
To get the pointy tops on the fence posts, Patty used the Border Chevron Punch. Just stick the strip into the punch as you see in the photo and punch. To match our own fence, I snipped off the pointy tip to make it flat!
And to make a few clouds on the Pool Party card base, I punched a Scallop Circle out of a scrap and sponged around parts of it with White Craft Ink to look like clouds! It’s very easy to do, Just move the punched shape around on your paper.
To make the flowers, I just punched various shapes. I’m sure the scale isn’t correct, but it looks ok and it is, after all, a handmade card! I used the new Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack flower for the rose bush, circles from the Owl Punch for the pink flowers, and the good old reliable Boho Blossoms Punch for the yellow “iris” flowers. I used the new Fringe Scissors a lot for the grass and the long flower stems. For the stems and leaves on the rose bush I used the stem from the Bird Punch. I had to add a little punched butterfly and for the center, I colored the Rhinestones with the new Blendabilities Markers (which hopefully will be available soon for everyone!).
The greeting on the front of the card is from one of my favorites Teeny Tiny Wishes. The greeting inside the card is from a new set Fabulous Four. After I stamped it I just loved the look of it!
I hope you got a new idea for using the Hardwood Wood Stamp today and maybe how to personalize a card for someone.
For tips on stamping with a background stamp, such as this Hardwood Wood Stamp, check out one of the recent posts on my Stamping With Karen Facebook Page. Click the Like button there so you will receive my posts.
Have a Happy Father’s Day!!
