Card Tricks: Happy birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad’s birthday. Word cannot express how wonderful he is. He’s always been there for me, whether it was helping a four-year-old me unlock the shed door so I could go and play with the Barbie house when my older sisters weren’t around, or walking me through my very first house purchase when I was 21. He’s bolstered my self-esteem when I was down, congratulated me on my achievements when I was on top of the world and walked me down the aisle when I married the man of my dreams.

My Dad is a farmer. He’s big, tall and strong – so much so that when I said my Dad could beat other dads up, I wasn’t lying (not that he would, but he certainly could!). He has farmer’s hands. You know the ones, big and always showing traces of grease, no matter what. As a kid, I used to watch him working in his shop, sometimes handing him tools (I still am terrible at remembering which tool is which, so I don’t know how helpful I really was) and observing him work his magic to get the farm equipment running again.

Recently, I borrowed some Paper Crafts magazines from our local library and came across a series of Father’s Day cards that used nails, washers and nuts. I thought that idea was brilliant and so perfect for my Dad, so I came up with this design for his birthday card.

Supplies:

· Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” light beige card stock

· Strip of 3” x 5 1/2” patterned card stock in coordinating colours

· Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” white text paper

· Four (or more, if you wish) washers (two large and two small – I used 7mm and 10mm)

Equipment:

· Computer

· Printer

· Paper trimmer

· Bone folder

· Glue runner

· Hot glue gun and glue stick

Directions:

1. Open a new letter-sized document in a design layout program. Create a text box (about 2 1/2” wide) with the sentiment, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” written in it. Print the document.

2. Use the paper trimmer to cut the light beige card stock in half to get two pieces, each measuring 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”. Set one aside for future projects. Cut out the “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” sentiment, leaving a small border around the text.

3. Fold the piece of light beige card stock in half to make a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” card.

4. Attach the “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” sentiment in the middle of the strip of patterned card stock with the glue runner. Glue the patterned card stock strip to the card, centering it vertically.