Masculine Birthday Card

I needed a masculine card and thought it was the perfect excuse to play with a new (to me) technique.

I used the stencil Burlap from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection along with texture paste to create the kraft cardstock base panel. The sentiment was created using the Straight Talk - Birthday die from Technique Tuesday along with a Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Deckled Rectangles die to create the rectangle onto which I stamped "wishes". I also cut a larger deckled rectangle from patterned kraft paper to place behind the sentiment, added a strip of vintage-looking patterned paper, then tied some jute twine around the entire panel and attached everything to a basic card base.

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Masculine Birthday Card using Cricut Explore Writing Feature

I've been a mess lately.

Raising teenage girls will do that to you. Raising kids for decades without a break will definitely do that to you. But God continues to carry me through from one crazy moment to the next, so here I am to share something I made when I wasn't busy sharing my angry thoughts on the World Wide Web.

I love the Cricut cartridge Chalkboard Fonts, especially the font called Extended because to me it's exactly what I picture when I think of a fancy chalkboard font (and the primary reason I bought this cartridge). However, trying to piece those tiny bits together from cardstock is not my idea of chalkboard font fun.  So for this masculine birthday card, I decided it would be the perfect time to let my Cricut Explore write the sentiment with a pen instead of cutting it.

After the Explore had cut a rectangular card front and written "Happy Birthday!" (yes, just like that all by itself like magic), I punched a design across the bottom with a Martha Stewart border punch. I then added a couple of layers of washi tape above the punched edge and tied black twine around the middle of the card front. I cut a slightly larger rectangle from black Core'dinations cardstock to create a mat, ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot inside an embossing folder, then sanded it to reveal the blue core. Finally, I adhered the card front to the mat and attached the finished front to a black note card.

I'm sure tomorrow will bring a new set of challenges, but for now I'll try to be thankful for the good things God has provided.  (Although He didn't bless me with massive amounts of creativity, He did provide me a little time during my day to pretend I'm creative, and for that I am truly grateful.)

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