Dearest Dad...

It's the first of the month again, believe it or not, so it's Papertrey Sr. Team challenge time!  This month Nichole challenged us to create a project just for Dad. 

My dad has always had a very special place in my life.  He is one of the most gentle and caring people I've ever known.  I know I can count on him for sound advice when facing almost any challenge.  And now watching him be a grandfather to my children, I love that he has a very special place in their lives as well.  He is forever patient and always has time for them....to pull them on his lap to read a book or play a game.  I am sure that one of the best memories my children will have of him is Sunday dinners at Grandpa and Grandma's...sitting on his lap to read Bible stories after the delicious food has been eaten, followed by a game of baseball in the backyard, or games on the living room floor when it's too cold to play outside. 

Another thing we all look forward to at these Sunday dinners is his grilled food.  Yum!  He's got it down to a science and really nothing can top his grilled chicken and potatoes.  So I decided to make this personalized grilling utensil set for him using my Papertrey stamps! 

 

I went with a "Blue Ribbon" theme since I consider his grilled food to be worthy of a blue ribbon!

To stamp the wooden handles of the utensils, I stamped all of the images with Pallette Noir ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder.  The embossing should hold up well to hand-washing, so he'll get lots of wear from this set!  The embossing powder likes to cling to the wooden surface, so using a colored ink with the clear powder keeps the project looking clean and sharp.  A few stray specks of the clear powder won't mess up your project like using a black powder could.  

For the coordinating card, I created a ribbon shaped card base by starting with a top-fold standard size 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card base.  I trimmed the sides at an angle, then trimmed the bottom edge of the card front into a ribbon shape. 

To create the circle element at the top, I just cut it out with a pinking edge scissors.  I then put adhesive around the edge on the backside and pleated my ribbon, securing it to the adhesive as I went around.  Adhere the circle to the top of the card base and you have a fun shaped card!

And goodness knows these utensils are too big to wrap, so I tied them all together with some ribbon and created a matching blue ribbon tag using the same idea as the card, I just eliminated the card base and left some ribbon tails to create the same effect.

And here's a little peek at the inside of the card.  This will also give you a better idea of what the card base looks like. 

There you have it!  A pretty simple project that Dad will love and love to use! 

Be sure to hop around to the other Sr. Team members, along with our guest designer, Ashley Newell, to see what  great ideas they have for Dad!

 Lisa Johnson
 Dawn McVey
 Heather Nichols
 Michelle Wooderson
 Ashley C Newell 

 
 
Stamps:  All Star Team, All Star Team Additions, Simple Alphabet, A Little Argyle, Borders and Cornders {Circle}, Men of Life, Star Prints
Ink:  Noir Palette, Spring Rain, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy
Cardstock:  Rustic Cream, Kraft
Other:  Enchanted Evening Grosgrain, clear embossing powder, Pure Poppy and Enchanted Evening buttons, Rustic Cream button twine, decorative edge scissors, My Mind's Eye patterned paper (gingham)