Eyelet Outlet: To the Lighthouse

Father's Day in the US is Sunday --which arguably makes it a little late to just be starting on cards, lol-- but let's face it, sometimes it's the last minute or nothing, right? And for that matter, I (Lauren) never turn down a masculine card idea at ANY time of year, especially one that can be made by combining some of my favorite styles of Eyelet Outlet Brads!

For this not quite 6x6" card, I painted a tiny watercolor --though you could easily do this with stamps-- using some of my favorite shades of ColorBurst pigment powders, then framed it by cutting a heart-shaped hole in some sea-themed dictionary paper backed with cardstock. I attached the brads (which I'll list and link to in a minute!) to the frame, then popped the edges up around the opening using tiny slivers of foam tape. But before I started piercing a million holes in my frame, I did a "dry fit" by flattening the prongs a bit and laying the brads on to estimate how many I'd need; while also checking color, size and arrangement. Then I took a quick pic on my phone, so I'd have something to follow when I started attaching them for real.

So which varieties did I choose? Well, I've got some very handsome Trout and Bass Brads, as well as lots of Stars in assorted colors (each pack has shiny gold, patina-ed silver and copper); Seagulls seemed like a great choice for the lighthouse theme, and of course every good sailor needs a Compass. I hadn't originally thought of using Sketched Owl Brads, but they're so lovely and the colors worked perfectly! After I assembled the main panel, I added a decorative band of Cruise Washi Tape, flanked by two strips of Brown Skinny Glitter Tape, and mounted the entire thing to a folded card in a coordinating shade of teal.