I hear the same thing so often, and I agree! It can be a real struggle to find products and come up with cardmaking ideas for masculine cards. So I love that the Global Design Project team has inspired and motivated us with a masculine themed challenge this week for #GDP103.

My latest masculine card idea inadvertently came from my husband a couple of months back, for a card that I could give him. I tucked the idea away secretly in a safe space in my brain and let it perculate for a few weeks, so I could make it into his 2017 birthday card.

So where did the idea come from?

A couple of months ago, Tony did a weekend leathermaking course and he came home with a borrowed template to make a leatherworkers apron. I helped him make his own template - funny how I had all the right tools in the stamping room, along with a steady enough hand to cut all the curves freehand with a craft knife . . . 

He was so rapt with the finished template, it got me thinking, this year I could get away with making him an "Apron" birthday card. And so, I did!

I used a full A4 sheet of our Soft Suede Card Stock, cutting 2 each of 1cm wide strips from the long side of the A4 card for the straps before scoring the remaining card in half for the apron.

I used one of our Oval Framelits to draw a pencil line for the curves at the top of the apron, and since I was not at home at the time, I cut the curves just with my Paper Snips.

I then sponged the edges of the card, straps and pocket with Soft Suede ink and one of our sponge daubers.

I hand drew the stitching with an Early Espresso Stampin' Write marker and stamped the tools from Guy Greeting Stamp Set on Sahara Sand card with Soft Suede ink and cut them out with the Paper Snips too.

I cut an insert from Whisper White card for the inside and stamped it with the same tools and words from the Guy Greetings Stamp Set.

I softened the straps by running them over my bone folder (like you do when you are curling ribbon) to break all the fibres in the paper, then scrunched each one up tightly and smoothed it out again. This helped to ease the card into an envelope without having to actually bend the straps, or leave obvious crease marks in them.

I told Tony he was getting the best birthday card ever, and by his reaction, I think it must have come pretty close!

I'm so glad that the timing of his birthday / Father's Day worked in so well with this week's Global Design Project #GDP103 Theme - All About HIM. I wouldn't have wanted to post the photos of his card BEFORE I gave it to him LOL!

His birthday is extending out for another week anyway as one of his gifts was a Paddock to Plate Long lunch which we are going to enjoy this coming weekend. Let's hope the weather has warmed up a little by then! In the meantime it's perfect stamping weather, so I'm going to keep stamping! So many stamps! So little time!

If you'd like to come and stamp with me, I am planning a stamp afternoon in my stamping room on Saturday 16th of September - weekend after next. Look out for further details to come out in the next day or two.