It’s Thursday…and time to play with the Pals at Pals Paper Arts. This week is a sketch challenge. With its multiple layers, this sketch is right up my alley. It has been some time since I created a masculine card, so I put my flowers and sea shells aside, and inked up Look Up to Father for the very first time. I hope you enjoy this week’s card as much as I enjoyed creating it!
The Stampin’ Schach Design Tips: Masculine
This finished card measures 4-1/4″ wide by 5-1/2″ long.
- Selective inking! Always Artichoke and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Markers were used to selectively ink this image. Always Artichoke is one of my favorite greens. It has a rustic, vintage flair that I love. After I was finished inking, I did my “Big Bad Wolf” impression, and huffed and puffed on the stamp to re-moisten the ink.
- Details! Details! And more details! Leave it to a former science teacher to pay attention to details. The Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (I shed a tear when I saw it on the Retiring Accessories List), adds the perfect subdued texture. It has been quite sometime since I have added cross-stitching to a card, so I pulled out the Linen Thread and the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch. And as much as I wanted to add pearls, I paper pierced instead. Of course, a few random Soft Suede speckles, added with the Gorgeous Grunge Speckles stamp, contributes to the aged and weathered appearance.
- Covering my mistakes! Framing the image within a Starburst Circle was not in my original plans. Instead, the tree had been stamped onto a square, which was much smaller than the Starburst opening. However, I simply stamped the sentiment a second time, cut it into a banner, and covered up my mistake. No one will be the wiser…unless they read my blog.
Creating this card, for Brady to give to Kim, brought back a flood of memories about my own father. This card would have been perfect for him. He was a man of the land, born in a sod shanty near Sheridan Lake, Colorado nearly a century ago. I lost him way too early, only a year after I graduated from college. Although I lost him when I was young, I have so many warm recollections of him. I remember hunting with him on crisp fall nights, listening to the baying of the hounds, and returning back to the warmth of the kitchen for “real” hot chocolate. Knowing my love for animals and how soft-hearted I was, he never shot a thing. But sharing those times alone with him and the dogs, sharing nature, was priceless. I remember bucking bales in the dead heat of summer, and taking a break to rest in the shade of a tree with a tall glass of ice tea. Since there were no sons left at home, it fell upon the shoulders of the daughter to help out in the fields. (Maybe that is why I had a masculine nickname…Jake!) He modeled a work ethic that became instilled in my own life. I remember his beautiful baritone voice belting out a Hank Williams tune in the cab of the pick-up truck coming back from a horse show. We never had much money, but we always had food on the table, clean clothes on our backs, and family time. I remember the pride he felt when I became the first member of the family to graduate from college. “Jake, you did good.” He was a man of few words…he was a man of his word…
So when I made this card, I made it not only for Brady to give…but I also made it for the memory of the grandfather he never knew. And that is the wonderful thing about a hand-made card. They are made from the heart with love.
Thank you for letting me reminisce today. As always, your comments are important to me. Won’t you share with me your feelings about today’s card? And remember, if you ever have a question about the cards I create or the techniques I use, I am only an email away. Until next time…
Stamp Sets: Look Up to Father, Hardwood, Gorgeous Grunge; Inks: Soft Suede, Always Artichoke and Soft Suede Stampin’ Write Markers; Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke; Tools: Paper Piercer, Starburst Framelits, Sponge Dauber, Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Hexagon Punch; Glitz and Glam: Linen Thread
