Press on to Win ~ a layout

Saturday, June 19, 2010
In 1948, my father was nine years old when my granddad took him to see the summer olympics in London. As the story goes, my father was so moved by the events that he decided then and there that he would one day compete in the Olympic Games. Already a natural athlete, he worked hard and eventually competed internationally in the 400 meter hurdles for Britain. He was to compete in the 1960 games in Rome, but injury prevented him from realizing his dream. He was never bitter and ever thankful for the experiences that he did have.
With Father’s Day tomorrow, I decided to make something for my father even though he is no longer with us. I wanted to pay tribute to the athlete that he was and scanned some photos of him to create a layout recognizing his athleticism and his faith – both very much a part of who he was.

I used this week’s sketch at Practical Scrappers, but turned it sideways to fit my vision. I knew that I wanted to use pennants for the letters of “PRESS ON” and wasn’t sure how I would make them look as one unit. Ribbon just wasn't the look I wanted.  I was really bothered by what to do and then saw the challenge at Frosted Designs to use something from around the house. I think that I was so focussed on what I knew I wanted that I couldn’t see outside of the box on this until I was encouraged to do so. I immediately thought of a wooden skewer and knew that was it! I painted it silver to match the colour scheme of my layout and am so pleased with the results. Thanks Frosted Designs!!
The pennants were cut using Everyday Paper Dolls and the font used for the pennants was Makin’ the Grade. I used Design Studio to cut the letters right out of the pennants themselves. I used a Clear Star Gelly Roll pen inside the letters. For the large pennant in the top right corner, I used Design Studio to add some stars from Home Decor. I hid some contours to add more than just the image given. I outlined the stars with the Gelly Roll pen. I then took the cut stars and put them in the bottom left corner and the loose stars were placed in the larger border, which I had previously embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. The letters for “TO win” were cut using Printing Press. I used my Gelly Roll pen on “TO” and embossed the “win” letters. The photo corners are from Jasmine and were also embossed. The information under the main photo was computer generated. The letter pennants are popped and then glued onto the skewer. The large pennant, the “win” letters and the top layer of the information were all popped as well.
I will submit this layout at Fantabulous Cricut, where this week’s challenge was to create a masculine project to celebrate dear dad. I will also enter it at The Cuttlebug Spot, where we were encouraged to use embossing on our layouts this week. As well, it will be submitted at Practical Scappers (sketch) and Frosted Designs (use something from around the house).

Happy Father's Day Dad!  You were and are a star - in more ways than one. xox

19 comments

Unknown said...

This is a wonderful tribute to your father! How incredible that he was an Olympian!!!! I'm so glad you shared this with us this week at Practical Scrappers and Frosted Desings.
Blessings,
Kim xXx

Barb Craft said...

WOW!!! This is stunning!!! What a fabulous way to remember your father!! AND great take on the Frosted Designs challenge!!! The skewer worked perfectly on the LO!! Glad we could provide some inspiration!! Thank you for playing at FD and PS!!
Barb :)

Angi Barrs said...

What a beautiful heartfelt remembrance of your dad. So thoughtful! Thanks for playing along with us at Fantabulous Cricut.

abusybee - DoubleClick Connections said...

Kate,
This is so beautiful! You really made it look just amazing! I love your use of the skewer it really makes the page! And your story is so touching!

Unknown said...

Wow! This is a super take on the sketch! Love all the details! Thanks for playing with us at Practical Scrappers! /Pia

Myra said...

This is a heartwarming and fabulous layout!

Penny Light/Light Whimsy said...

Kate another fantastic masterpiece from you! Girl you are amazing. I have great appreciation for your artistry! Thanks for continuing to play with us at Fantabulous Cricut.

Wendy Ramlakhan said...

WOW Kate!!! The layout is beautiful and your tribute to your dad touched me so much that it brought tears to my eyes. Are you going to frame it? I would. Your talent with a Cricut machine blows me away!! You should be on their DT.

Thanks for the sweet comments you've left me. (And yes....my hubby knows I posted the photo of him with curlers and earrings....LOL ) :)

scrappingjoy said...

FANTASTIC layout!! You did think outside the box and it worked for you! That is such a darling tribute to your father!! Brought tears to my eyes.

DonnaMundinger said...

Oh Kate, what a FABULOUS tribute to your Dad! How proud you must be of him and he of you looking down from heaven. (Oh oh a few tears coming) This is just AMAZING! Thank you for sharing this beautiful work with The Cuttlebug Spot this week! xxD

Besthobbyeva said...

Kate, what awesome pictures you have and to tell the story that will live on, priceless!!! Amazing page. I just love it!!!! Love it!!

Kel said...

What a great story kate.. very nice.. it put a smile on my face. The layout is INSANE! great great job... love this!!!

M said...

this is a great scrap page Kate!!! Love it! :)

Valerie said...

Kate, this is a fantastic tribute to dad!! I really appreciated the story behind it. Thanks for playing along with us this week at Fantabulous Cricut, your creations are always fabulous :)

Joni Parker said...

This is really touching. I love the theme, the colors and love the skewer inspiration! Thanks for sharing the story & your layout with us at Frosted Designs.

Linda Kaiser said...

This is amazing! You are so talented. I love the theme and your paper choice. Nicely done!

Turnedgypsy said...

how wonderful Kate. He would be so proud to know that you scrap this part of his life. What great thing to show for your children to know this about granddad

http://turnedgypsy.blogspot.com

Candace Pelfrey said...

This is great!! BTW- You won the giveaway on my blog!!

Erin Morehouse said...

Fantastic page and story- wonderful way to commemorate your Dad on father's day!

Former Design Team Member at My Craft Spot (2011-2015)
My Craft Spot


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