Fishing Memories on Father’s Day

Hello Friends,

I’m sorry for the long absence!  After our broken pipe and flooded craft room, it’s been a whirlwind of work around here getting things put back together over the last three weeks.  But, the work is now done and I am happily settled back into my room.  Let’s just say… it’s good to be back!

Today I want to share with you the card I made for my dad for Father’s Day.  I don’t know why I struggle so with masculine cards, but I’ve heard from others that I’m not alone.  Thankfully, Stampin’ Up does have some wonderful products for these occasions which makes it easier!

I was blessed with an amazing dad.  I’m the youngest of three kids and as my older brother and sister got involved in other activities as they grew, I became my dad’s fishing buddy.  He and I spent many Sunday afternoons after church out on a small pond not far from home in our little aluminum boat catching crappie.  They’re not big fish, but they’re sure a lot of fun to catch.

I have so many good memories of days spent with my dad, just he and I out on the pond, our lines in the water just waiting for our bobbers to go under so we could reel in another one.  There were days that we’d bring home close to 100 crappie, and my dad would sit and filet out all of them so that my mom could fix beer-battered crappie.  I’m not a big fish eater, but I loved eating those fish.  We devoured them like candy!

For my 8th birthday, I believe it was, my dad bought me my own tackle box outfitted with all the supplies I would need for crappie and trout fishing.  He very patiently taught me to tie a variety of fishing knots so that I could rig up my own line.  I would sit and practice tying knots while watching t.v. in the evenings until I had it perfected.  I still have that tackle box…

Before nearly every trip to the pond, we would stop at a little local hardware store that carried fishing tackle and he would let me choose several crappie jigs in different colors.

It was amazing how one color would be the “hot” color that the fish were biting on one day, and the next trip you could try that same color and get no bites.  Change colors, and BINGO!  Fish on again!  Therefore, it only made sense to have several different colors to choose from and often it would take several tries at different colors for the fish to decide what color they were hungry for on any given day!

My mom would always pack us a lunch and we’d sit in the boat and eat it with fish-smelling hands.  Ohhh… the good ol’ days before hand sanitizer.  We survived and I would say even thrived!  I still tell my grandkids when we’re out hiking through the woods on our property and playing outside, “A little dirt never hurt!”   I do not promote unsanitary conditions, and I do insist they wash when we get back in and before they eat.  However, I do promote getting outside, playing in the fresh air and sunshine, and even getting a little dirty, because seriously… a little dirt never hurt!

So on to getting INKY…

For my dad’s card, I chose to use “By The Dock” for all the reasons noted above.  The sentiments are from “A Good Man” – one of my “go-to” sets for masculine cards.

Colors & Measurements:

Seaside Spray Cardstock for the card base:  5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ – score at 4 1/4″ and fold in half

Soft Suede Cardstock for Mat 1:  5 1/4″ x 4″

Neutrals DSP in Soft Suede for Mat 2:  5″x 3 3/4″

Whisper White Cardstock for Image Panel:  4 1/2″ x 3 1/2″

Putting it together:

  • Stamp the dock, boat and water ripples in black ink.
  • Using Stampin’ Blends Combos to color images:  Soft Suede (dock); Gray Granite (boat); and Seaside Spray (water)
  • Stamp the sentiment from A Good Man on a scrap of Whisper White CS and trim with paper trimmer.
  • Adhere your layers together as shown.
  • I placed a clear epoxy heart sticker (now retired) on the sentiment tag using the spatula end of the Take Your Pick Tool.  (The spatula works sooo well for lifting and placing small adhesive-backed gems.  Much better than trying to use tweezers…)
  • I finished off the front by wrapping some Braided Linen Trim around the top and tying it.

This card isn’t difficult, it isn’t showy, but it tells the story I want it to perfectly.

For the inside, I just used a Whisper White panel stamped with sentiments from A Good Man, the boat oars from By The Dock, and the Happy Father’s Day sentiment is from the April 2020 Paper Pumpkin.

I got ahead of myself and wrote a little note to my dad on the inside of the card before I remembered to take a picture…oops!  So, you’re privy to that as well… sorry!

Product List