Papertrey Ink June Blog Hop

It's Blog Hop day!

The photo inspiration for this month's Blog Hop is one I fell in love with immediately.

 I do love a good deep blue and the ombre effect in the glass is just gorgeous!  I have had so many ideas churning around in my head.  I wanted to do something with an acetate sheet, to pull the influence of the glass carboy, and I had picked up some Stazon inks last month for the May Blog Hop.  (Nope, you didn't miss it!  I couldn't find the right groove on that one and didn't complete an entry)  I also wanted to concentrate on the blue with a touch of peach.  In my head, the card went from birthday card to anniversary card to birthday card back finally to anniversary card.  

I found this fantastic piece of acetate at Michael's.  The gold dots just screamed, "Elevate!" What a great place to start!  I knew I wanted to mimic the ombre on my card.  It's an obvious choice, but one I felt was necessary.  I had initially wanted to stamp a floral into the background, but it was just too busy and really competed with the pattern of the top layer.  Simple was the way to go.  Using the 2017 Anniversary Set "Grand Finale" allowed me to add some fomality and a floral element without all the chaos.

I decided to go with Jet Black Stazon Ink for the focal piece as the Stazon Blue Hawaii Midi wasn't packing enough of a punch on the gold pattern. The ombre background was created with Papertrey Ink's Enchanted Evening dye ink on white cardstock.  The card base is also Enchanted Evening.  The acetate panel is popped up slightly to add dimension.

As for the flower, that inspiration came from a post I saw on Instagram a couple days ago.  I folded a sheet of tissue paper (coincidentally, the packing tissue from my last PTI delivery) and cut out 8 layers using one of the larder floral dies from my favorite PTI set, Doodlie-Do. For the color, I chose Sweet Blush and Melon Berry, sponging some mottled ink onto each flower.  

Once colored, I stacked them up being careful not to be too neat about it.  I used a gold brad to hold the layers together and form the center of the flower.  Then I bunched and crimped the layers to form a fluffy, 3D flower.  This adds a touch of softness to the design. I just love how this card turned out.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my project.

You can see all of the entries on Nichole's blog here after 10am today.  

2017 Grand Finale

The Home Stretch!

It is hard to believe that just 4 years ago, we were waiting to hear when T would get picked up for Gunsmithing school.  Also hard to believe he has less than 7 weeks of his 16 months left until he earns his certification.  It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of travel, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.  

He is working on his final projects and for the first time in this experience, he is feeling the time crunch.  I am so proud of his dedication to making the very best of this opportunity, even if it means I mow a hell of a lot of grass.  

I asked him to share some photos of one of his projects.  This one is special.  In December of 2015, just a week before Christmas, my Dad left the farm early to go home and change clothes for his dental appointment.  It was very fortunate he did as when he arrived, the house was on fire.  He called the Fire Department and they were able to put out the fire that was contained to the master bedroom. By the grace of God, it was smoldering but had not managed to travel to the rest of the house. 

He had a couple guns damaged in the fire.  They would need to have new stocks and be cleaned up in general.  When T started school, the remains of these guns went along with him.

Through the course of his training, he has had the opportunity to learn the techniques of blueing barrels and other metal parts.  He also had a semester in stock making and has been machining things all along the way.  

It was awesome to see my Dad's face when Todd was able to give him the rifle pictured both above and below.

I can't wait to share more of his portfolio once it is complete.