A Touch of Grace

I know I sure do!  I dread when I have to design a card for the male gender .  .  . LOL.  Well the beginning of the year is definitely male birthday season in my family.  My husband and brother’s birthdays are in January; my son, nephew, and dad’s birthdays are in February.  Well, I totally blew it with my husband and brother in January.  I was so busy getting ready for CHA I gave them BOTH store bought cards.  BIG MISTAKE!!!

My husband was very put out that I didn’t make a card for him and while I was at CHA, I received an e-mail from my brother stating that he couldn’t believe that his sister, who is a card designer, would deem it appropriate to send him a “store bought” card for his birthday.  He then told me how much he looked forward to his birthday card . . . you know . . . really laying the “guilt” trip on me.  And, it worked!

So once I finished up a couple of commitments I set about designing a card that I hoped would make everyone happy.  I made four of the design and now realize I need to make two more.  It was a hit!  My husband and son both loved the card.

I designed a wallet card using designer papers from Hot Off The Press.  I first made the design on regular xerox paper to get the template and then once I had the template, I set about cutting the paper.  At $1.99 per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet this paper doesn’t come cheap, but I think the end result was worth the expense.  When I handed the card to my husband to sign for Daniel, he said, “You got Daniel a wallet for his birthday?  I thought we were getting him gym shoes?”  I told him the wallet was the card, it was paper.  He couldn’t believe it, he turned it over and over in his hands looking at it.  I knew then it was a hit and later that evening, after Daniel’s birthday, I gave my hubby his card.  I’ll be sending one to my brother and one to a friend as a thank you.

The wallet opened from the back side.

The inside of the wallet.

A group shot of all four wallets.

A view of the inside of another wallet that hasn’t been written on.

A visual of the Just Rite stamper and font set that I used for the lettering on the inside of the wallets.

I strongly recommend that everyone who stamps should have at least a few on the JustRite products in their arsenal of stamps, and more if you’re like me and have to have it all . . . LOL!  They really are a must have!  I used the Harmony Rectangular Stamp Set together with the Small Letter Set to spell out the words “Genuine Leather” on the left side of the wallet and the names of the recipients on the right side of the wallet.  I love having the ability to spell out anything I want on the rectangular blocks, in any size or font that’s available at JustRite.  There are so many to choose from, and I have to admit I have several of the font sets.  I love having so many choices with the different font sets that are available for different occasions.  The thing I love most about the JustRite products is that once you begin to collect the various sets and fonts, they all work together, they’re interchangeable, and as more designs become available, you can make additional purchases either as kits or by individual items, to suit your needs that will coordinate with what you already have.  I was tickled pink when Violettes chose several of the JustRite products at CHA to carry in their store, more toys for me to play with.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I appreciate your comments, they keep me inspired.

• Stamps:  JustRite Harmony Rectangular Stamp Set; Just Rite Small Letter Set
• Paper:  Hot Off The Press
• Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Chocolate Chip Craft Ink
• Accessories:  Scor It (available at Joan’s Gardens); sewing machine, doubled sided strong adhesive (red tape); Stamp-A-Ma-Jig