decor for dudes

Hand crafting items for the men in my life can be a challenge. It can't be too sparkly, floral, or anything else "girly"... which often causes a shortage of ideas for me when thinking up ways to create something special to show how much I care. Luckily, four members of the Fiskars design team are here to help with fabulous ideas to create just in time for the holiday season, or for any occasion at all!

Designer: Lisa Falduto
I think I spend more time picking up remote control devices around our house than anything else!  So when I found this napkin/silverware holder in the thrift store I thought it would be an ideal place for my husband to keep all of his remote controls!  I've seen holders before, but I loved that this had a handle.  He can carry it to the couch and when done he has the caddy right there to refill and return.  And if he doesn't return it then it is now much easier for me to grab the whole caddy by the handle and place it next to the TV. 

When I start with an item I want to alter I usually use scrap paper to make patterns.  First I laid down the curved front face down on scrap paper and traced.  Then I cut it out and continued to trim it down using my Classic No. 8 scissors until I got the fit I wanted. Continue to make patterns for each panel on the outside of the holder.  Once the patterns were complete I used them to trace onto the Kimberly Poloson Old Fashioned Flowers patterned cardstock and cut them out and secured them to the holder.  (who knew the Old Fashioned Flower line could have such a masculine look)   I inked the edges of all the papers I cut or punched with brown ink.  For the inside I used my 12" portable rotary trimmer to cut straight edged pieces the size I needed to create a liner in the area that will hold the remotes. 

Once you have your holder covered you can begin embellishing.  I made a trip to the hardware store to see what fun things I could find to create something I knew my husband would love.  I found these huge metal washers that are 2" in diameter and knew immediately my 1.5" Round and Round squeeze punch would be the perfect fit inside, making for a nice metal frame to showcase my punch! I also brought home some smaller washers and some jute cord to use as embellishments.   Next I grabbed my Ultra Shapexpress along with the Letters 1 shape template and cut the "T" and the "V" out using my 12" self healing craft mat.  I placed the letters in the center of the
washer pieces. Next I wanted a border trim along the bottom so I got out my 1/8" eyelet punch and created some holes in the blue strip finishing it off by using the reverse side of my tool to set the eyelets in place.  I also wanted a border on the top of the front panel and took my jute cord and braided it gluing each end to hold the fibers in place. Then I ran a strip of glue along the area I wanted it and placed the jute as a border.  I added the word "remote" using some Cloud 9 Hannah's story cardstock apha stickers.  I popped the smaller washers inside the front area bordering the top of the inside divider.  Last, I used my medium, large and extra large Twinkle Twinkle squeeze punches to place stars at the top on the handle.  For me this represents that even though my husband leaves those remotes strewn about the
house, he is still my star!  (but don't tell him that)         

Designer: Kelly Purkey
My boyfriend tends to keep a lot of photos, menus, flyers, and other random things taped up to his fridge, so I came up with the idea of creating personalized magnets for him to use.  They're so easy to make and you can make them any size, shape, or color you want to go with your man's sense of style.  I used lots of products from the new Ink by Steph release which works awesome for projects with males in mind!

I started by making some simple circle magnets by stamping images onto patterned paper and then embellishing some of them with Cloud 9 rain dots.  They were layered onto other circles punched with the Round 'n Round squeeze punches and adhered together with foam adhesive to give them some dimension.  On the backsides of each of them, I attached a little piece of self-adhesive magnet tape, which you can find at craft stores or often in the sewing aisle of stores like target.

For the frames, I cut out frames from the Frames Shape Template and my Ultra ShapeXpress.  Then I used my trimmer to cut out the inside of the frames so a photo would peek through.  The frames were embellished with more stamping, some Cloud 9 raindots, and dimensional Ink stickers.  A small strip of magnet tape went on the backs of those as well, and they were placed on the fridge right over a photo.

Designer: Patti Milazzo
When I’m making something handmade for the guys in my life, I like to keep the design simple and clean.  And I’ve found that geometric shapes and colors in earth tones work really well in fitting their styles and tastes. 

For this frame, I started with an unfinished wood frame and painted it with acrylic paint.  Then, I stamped cream colored cardstock using Fiskars’ Stamp Factory (I love this tool!) with Chocoholic Ink and a fun stamp design from the Thank You clear stamp set.  Stamp repeatedly and then Squeeze Punch Large Round ‘n Round circles.  Layer these circles on top of Extra Large Squeeze Punched black cardstock circles and adhere to the frame.

Designer: Lisa Storms
Coming up with cool decor items for guys can be a difficult job given that most of the products in this industry tend to lean toward feminine or childish with flowers being the most common design element found.  This is a good time to put those tools to work to come up with clever solutions!  My husband is a huge sports fan, especially football.  This time of year he can be found sitting on the couch on any given Sunday cheering or yelling at the screen.  And rest assured there are snacks nearby, so I figured combining sports and food is the way to any man's heart! 

I painted a plain serving tray black and went crazy with a football theme by creating a faux football field complete with hash marks created by the Rectangle Hand Punch, which adhered easily to my decoupaged tray.  I left the base of the tray white so all I had to do was add strips of paper for the field leaving the white showing through for instant yard lines.  Instead of the painted team name found in the end zone, I stenciled "SNACKS" to keep it generic for munchies at any game.  I used white acrylic paint with the Letter Jacket Embossing Stencil being sure to allow each one to dry for a few minutes between letters.  I simply ran the stencil under water while the paint was still wet to wash it right off. 

But the star of the tray is my football full of texture.  I created the football shape using the largest Super Sized Circle Template to draw a circle, then moved it up evenly using the grid lines to draw a curved line to complete the shape.  After cutting it out, I crumpled it up to give it an extra leathery texture before adding its trademark bumps with the Dots Texture Plate and Texturizing Tool.  I went back with a Stylus to be sure the bumps were extra defined before adhering to the tray.  Once my first coat of decoupage medium was dry, I drilled holes into the football to lace a white grosgrain ribbon.  By adhering the ribbon beneath the tray, I added less bulk to the top of the tray leaving a flatter surface.  After taping off the ribbons below, I covered the bottom with a layer of felt for a clean, finished look.  I then sealed the entire try so it can easily be wiped down in case of fumble!

By Fiskars design team