Family Tree Heirloom: Papertrey Ink Honorable Mention

My Family Tree

This tree is very special to me, and for many reasons. First of all, my family is one of the closest families I know of. We come from a Mother & Father that were very kind and loving all through the years. They set a wonderful example for us by their relationship with each other. This past October 26, 2007, they would have been married for 34 years! Teaching my three brothers & I the importance of love in relationships and to always cherish those you love. My Daddy passed away this past June the day after his birthday which was the hardest thing we as a family have had to go through. We have come striding through the glum & misery and pulled together as a family of 16 once again! (16 from mom, kids, spouses & children)

This tree is also going to bring more joy as I now have to embark on replicating 6 times for members of the family and also for my Dad's Parents (who have been married for 62 years).

I recently recieved an email from Nichole Heady, owner of Papertrey Ink, to let me know that this project I submitted in her monthly contest has recieved an Honorable mention this month. I am so excited and even more honored!! Thank you Nichole and all the gang at PTI. FEEL FREE TO VOTE THIS PROJECT STAMPER'S CHOICE >>>HERE<<<

What did I do? I stated by creating the tree base cutting from hand by just "eyeballing" it. Once hat was done I took my branch from the "Out on a Limb"set and applied it to my acrylic block but gave it a curve while doing so. Thats the great thing about these stamps you can change them up a bit. Once I had my branch on, (sounds like something funky..."get your branch on" LOL) I stamped the foundation branches going from the center, up and out. Then I removed the stamp and twisted it the other way and repeated on the other side.

Next, I took the leaves formation stamp and stamped in 4 different shades of green (one color at a time) and also gave them a twist to match up with my branches. ThenI need to fill in the gaps so I took the individual leaf (cluster of 3) and started filling in, also with the 4 different colors. Now seriously folks, I stopped counting after I had stamped that little sucker 200 times. :)

After I was satisfied with the volume of my tree image, I punched out all the ovals and stamped the names of the core family members (Mom, Dad, Brothers and I) using SU simple serif mini alphabet. Then I added by handwriting (which in the future may become computer printed??) the pouses and there anniversary dates. My brothers are notorious for remembering dates (they are guys after all) so I figure when the get their copies it will be great reference. Then I completed the family members by adding our children and there birthdays (and Elizabeth's RIP Date) by using my blender pen to write as the alphabet was too big.

Last I added the sentiment "To the word you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world" This sentiment is SO perfect and SO well suited for our family!! I WILL be having this framed and proudly displayed beneath my Daddy's Photo where every one can see him still watching over his "world".