Handy Hardware

Hello, friends!

 

It's that time :)

Papertrey Ink is bringing you all new products for the April release and I get to feature one of them today.  {Just a note... all of Papertrey's April releases will be available for purchase at Papertrey Ink beginning April 15.}

 

Introducing Handy Hardware...



 

Now, I'm going to be straight up honest here.
I am the daughter of a carpenter.
I'm the granddaughter of a carpenter.
This week alone I have been logging hours alongside my dad in the woodshop prepping a not-gonna-lie-it's-gonna-be-the-most-fantastic-birthday-gift-of-all-time for my daughter.
{Pictures to come after the big birthday reveal, I promise.}

It's practically genetically guaranteed that I would like this set.
I mean "Measure twice, cut once"? I was RAISED on that saying.
I think I would have been down right offended had I not been given the chance to feature this one ;)

So, I made these projects with certain folks in mind, one of them being my dad...

Hmmm... I'd say someone who has completed my workspace remodel (building custom upper and lower cabinets to house all of my crafting supplies), constructed and installed butcher block countertops in my kitchen, rewired said kitchen, and topped it all off by installing one *gigantic* farmhouse sink and faucet deserves a little thank you complete with gift card, right?  ;)

I couldn't resist pairing Handy Hardware with some real wood paper (from Creative Imaginations).  The panel at the top of the card is adhered flat while the lower panels are adhered with foam tape around the 3 outside edges.  That leaves plenty of room for the gift card to slip in and out... the saw serves as the pull tab. {FYI, the saw is a single image... it was super easy to just mask it off and stamp the 2 portions separately to get the image with both colors.} 

he 2 panels at the bottom are adhered together.  This card is a bit taller than normal to accommodate the gift card so I added the second panel at the bottom to balance the bottom out visually. 

I finished out the inside with another coordinating sentiment...

 

And yes, I put it right about the cut line of the wood paper because I'm punny like that ;)

 

And thus completes one of my favorite masculine cards of all time. 

I just love it and I know my dad will get a kick out of it!

 

 

This one is a bit more traditional...

 

This time I paired Handy Hardware with Background Basics: Farm & Barn.  These two were just meant to be, don't you think?

I like to leave just a bit of space between the planks when I stamp that background... love how it really looks like panels.  I wanted the tools to really show up well so I did the background in gray and the tools in Dark Chocolate and Pure Poppy, masking the hammer and screwdriver as needed. 

My grandpa had *lots* of tools in his shop (yes, my grandpa had a woodshop and now my dad has a woodshop... apparently I will need to trade stamps in for a woodshop at some point ;) and I always liked the ones with painted handles, so that's the look I was going for.  Those little tools would also look super cool with some silver embossing... just another idea.

 

Once I made cards inspired by my dad and my grandpa, I decided that it would be really fun to take Handy Hardware in a completely direction and go with a card inspired by my girlfriends.

 

Last month I went on a little antiquing expedition with some friends to a *huge* monthly antiquing fair (yes, it was Canton, for all you Texans).  I was on a mission to find the pieces I needed to start the aforementioned birthday gift for Noelle.  My girlfriends *totally* helped me find just the right pieces and talked through all the details of this rather large project {any guesses on what it is??}.  So, in honor of my DIY girlfriends, I went with a pinterest inspired project...

 



If you follow any home design blogs or follow their authors on pinterest, maybe you're familiar with the campaign style dresser...

 



{Source}

 

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Making a campaign style card... somehow incorporating all that shiny gold hardware... has been on my mind for a while now and the sentiments in Handy Hardware were perfect to finally bring it to life.  

 



Soooo... yeah...
it's like Handy Hardware gone *fancy.*

I took one of those silver screw brads that lots of us have stashed away somewhere, heated it up with my heat gun, and then just dipped it right into the gold embossing powder while it was blazing hot.  The powder instantly melts and voila... silver hardware become gold. 

And the campaign "hardware?"
Just squares of cardstock smashed into a VersaMark inkpad, coated with embossing powder, and heated.  Three tiny gold brads in each one makes all the difference.

To keep with the luxe look, I paired it with some black shimmer cardstock. 
With super simple cards like this one, the details are super important... the shimmer helps keep the style consistent.

An "I screwed up" card... I probably need to keep several of these on hand ;)

That's it for me today but there's more sneaks to be found here...
Nichole Heady

Maile Belles

 

Thoughts on Handy Hardware?


{Cut Once} card

Supplies not available now but available 4/15: 

Stamps - Handy Hardware
Die - Handy Hardware
Supplies available now:
CS - White
Ink - Dark Chocolate, Going Gray (SU)
Paper - Cherry Wood Paper (Creative Imaginations)

{Thanks} card

Supplies not available now but available 4/15: 

Stamps - Handy Hardware
Die - Handy Hardware
Supplies available now:
Stamps - Background Basics: Farm & Barn
CS - White
Ink - Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy, Going Gray (SU)
 

{Screwed Up} card

Supplies not available now but available 4/15: 

Stamps - Handy Hardware
Supplies available now:
CS - White
Ink - True Black
Die - Double Ended Banner
Other - Gold Filigree Embossing Powder; screw brad, regular brads (Recollections); Black Shimmer cardstock