June 2014 archive
Suit & Tie Card Craft for Father’s Day
This is the perfect card for my dad, who wears suits and ties almost all the time. But even if the man you’re honoring this Father’s Day isn’t much of a suit guy, you can’t deny that this is a cute card idea and he’ll totally love it anyway.
This card looks hard to make. And it kind of was. But if you break it down, it’s really just cutting and pasting shapes. You could make this card with a lot of measuring and it would probably turn out really good. I’m not the measuring type of crafter (or baker…or cook…) so I used eyeballing and estimating instead of measuring. You pick what works best for you!
P.S. I didn’t invent this design. I sort of lifted the idea from a Papyrus card I saw in Target last year. There are also cards like these aplenty on Etsy if you’re not into DIY.
How to make your own Father’s Day suit and tie card, step by step
You’ll need card stock and scrapbook paper, fabric (optional), scissors and glue, buttons (optional) and a ruler (optional).
First, fold cardstock into a card shape.
Then, choose your suit paper and cut a square the size of the card. I chose a striped scrapbook paper that was double sided, so I could use it for the lapels too.
Cut a V shape out of the top of the suit paper.
This step is important! The layers matter. Don’t glue down the suit yet!
First, glue down a square of your shirt paper. It doesn’t need to cover the whole card.
Now, glue down the bottom half of the suit, leaving the top half unglued.
Cut a thin rectangle for the tie. I used fabric for this but paper works just as well and is easier to manage. Glue the tie down to the shirt.
Cut a square for the knot of the tie. Glue down.
Finish gluing the suit down.
Now, cut the lapels. They are skinny triangle shape. Glue them down.
Glue real buttons on or draw buttons if you prefer.
Add a pocket and pocket square if you like!
Super simplified directions:
To recap, or if you skimmed the detailed directions, here is the order to glue things down (learned the hard way):
1. Shirt square, 2. bottom of the jacket, 3. Tie bottom, 4. tie knot, 5. top of jacket, 6. lapels, 7. pocket square, 8. pocket, 9. buttons
You’re done-now for the heartfelt message inside! Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, step dads, grandfathers and father figures out there.
May it Be of Use Month Recap
May it Be of Use Month has come to a close, and I’m happy to report that I more than reached my goal. It was challenging and fun and I highly encourage you to participate next year.
What I gave away since my last update:
I boxed up a bunch of clothes to send off to a girl a bit younger than me who has a style similar to mine (boho chic, feminine, and lots of skirts!).
Got this Art Nouveau print bag ready to mail to my old harp teacher. She used to admire a bag like this that I carried my music around in when I took lessons from her. I’d found one for her and meant to give it to her for years and yet I never got around to it. So I mailed it off to her along with a card and some old photos from a recital. I haven’t seen her since high school and I don’t even know if she remembers me or the bag. Found my old baby clothes from the 80s picked out a few items to give to my brother and sister-in-law who just had a baby. Cause who doesn’t want the most hipster baby on the block, wearing all genuine 80s vintage threads? Other miscellaneous things were bagged up to be picked up by a local charity.
What I’ve learned this month is that letting things go to a good home is freeing. It’s also a lot of work. May it Be of Use Month is probably most successful as a year-round lifestyle. I have to change my way of thinking and always be on the lookout for what can be made of use by letting it go.
For more inspiration, see posts about organizing, giving stuff away and May it Be of Use.
Thanks to those who participated including the creator of May it Be of Use, Maggie Harris, and blogger Emma from It’s Emma Elise.
Nostalgic Candy
I’ve been cutting back on sugar drastically, but I had to go shopping for some American candy to send to some kids who live in China. The closest candy store happened to be Bloom and Buttercup in Northeast Minneapolis, a cute, welcoming shop on Central Avenue that sells fresh flowers, gifts and nostalgic candy. I had fun picking out some unusual flavors:
I’d heard my parents talk about the candy cigarettes from their childhood and I remember the ultra-obvious Razzles product placement in the Jennifer Garner movie 13 Going on 30, but other than that I’d never heard of most of these brands. They did have other candies I remembered, like candy hamburgers (which as I recall taste neither like candy nor hamburger but quite like rubber) and Pop Rocks.
And for really old-fashioned candy lovers, there is all the stick candy you can dream of, sold by the each.
It was fun to check out Bloom & Buttercup. Whether or not you eat sugar, browsing at a local retro candy retailer is a totally legit way to spend part of an afternoon. If you’re a big candy lover, supporting small local businesses is always nice too. (By the way, Bloom & Buttercup assured me that while their candy is “nostalgic” it is, in fact, freshly manufactured. In case you were concerned.)
If you remember a candy that’s rare to find now, share it in the comments!
Midsummer Looks
**The links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link.
Midsummer is fast approaching (it’s June 21!) which means the longest days of the year are upon us. More time for fun and fashion! ModCloth has created the clever hashtag #Modsummer for sharing summer adventures on social media. Whether you’re posting about your adventures at a music festival, backyard BBQ or tropical vacation, include the hashtag #ModSummer and you could be featured on one of their social networks.
Here are some summer looks I love from Modcloth:
|
Violet Flower Crowns
Real Flower Crowns
There’s a little flower that’s in season right now in the upper Midwest, and it’s been a huge inspiration to me this week. I had a throwback to childhood moment and decided to make a flower crown with real woodland violets as I used to do as a kid. I made a slip knot with each stem, then closed the knot around the stem of the next flower, and so on. It was a lot harder than I remembered! I had to use sewing thread to bind the flowers together and even so it was delicate and short-lived. But I was able to wear it for this photo shoot and it was a good excuse to play barefoot in the woods.
Besides being a lovely accessory inspiration, violets have many other uses too! I’ll be covering that in a post really soon.
