Poor dads. Everyone makes such a big deal about Mother’s Day that by the time Father’s Day comes along, it’s a little bit of an afterthought. While moms get flowers, candy, jewelry and brunch, dads get neck ties and maybe golf paraphernalia.

I lost my dad about 15 years ago. He was a dear man who led an amazing life – living through Japanese-occupied China, then the Communist revolution, escaping to Hong Kong with my mom and older siblings, and then coming to America to make a better life for all of us. This Father’s Day project is dedicated to him, although he didn’t have a cell phone and would not know what to do with this iPhone holder. But hey – at least it’s not a neck tie.

I love the little mini easels you find at art supply stores. I’ve used them in the past as place card holders, with mini canvases showing the faces of dinner guests. Since I have a lot of them lying around, they have inevitably been used for business card holders, recipe holders, and now, iPhone holders. Because they are plain wood, they are so easy to decorate with Craft Attitude printable film. I love how Craft Attitude goes on wood. It looks and feels like the wood has been printed with the design – not like a sticker or decal. And good news: Craft Attitude is now available at Walmart.

I decided to decorate the easel/iPhone holder with plaid because it’s such a fatherly print – that and argyle. And the plaid allowed me to incorporate a punny line: “I’M PLAID YOU’RE MY DAD.” Let me show you how I made it.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: Mini easel from art supply store or some crafts stores, Craft Attitude printable film, glue stick or spray adhesive, craft foam sheet, glue.

STEP 1: Find plaid prints online and print on sheet of Craft Attitude film with your inkjet printer at home. Print images in reverse if words are incorporated. 

STEP 2: Cut the plaid film in 1/4″ strips, which is the width of the legs of the easel. Then apply a glue stick to the wood legs, place the film face down on the wood, burnish with your fingers so the film sticks, and remove the backing sheet.

STEP 3: Trim the excess film with a hobby knife. Continue applying the strips to the rest of the legs. Apply your message to dad on the ledge that holds the iPhone. I used a glue stick to adhere the Craft Attitude film, but you can also use a spray adhesive.

STEP 4: I glued a strip of craft foam to the top of the ledge to add friction to the ledge holding the iPhone. The rubbery foam grips the iPhone nicely. 

And just like that, we’re done. What a novel, yet useful, gift for a dad. Moms will definitely get jealous over this gift, but they can’t have it – plaid doesn’t rhyme with mom.

Disclosure: I am the designer/spokesperson for Craft Attitude. The Craft Attitude links in this post are affiliate links. Well, here’s full disclosure for you: I’ve made like a total of $11 in commissions over the past year with this affiliate link, but I never even cashed the check because I lost it. So obviously I’m not doing this for the money. I simply love the product and what I can do with it.