And on goes the tradition.
The tie I make on Saturday night.
The tie he wears to church for Father's Day Sunday morning.
Such a good sport.
The mantle all junked up with Father's Day gifts, and Father's Days gone past.
This year's tie took about 3 hours.
Purchased a tie at the local thrift store for $2.
I went and had all my photographs printed into wallet sizes.
I cut out the ones I really liked and placed them on the tie.
Tack them down with a dab of glue for placement.
Then start sewing them into place.
I hand wrote a few things on the photos to personalize.
Hand painted little designs using acrylic paints to tie the images all together.
Looking back to past years:
2001: The very first one. The older girls were in preschool still.
2004, the year we built the house: Handcrafted from roofing tarp and nails,
blueprint plans, copper piping, electrical caps and whatever else I could find on site.
2005: Keys to a father's happiness: His three daughters.
Key tags with school pictures attached to antique looking keys and nested in pockets.
2002: Year of the Olympics and the big move to the suburbs. This tie I placed clear vinyl over it to protect the photos. Now I realize he just wears it once, so it's not necessary. And vinyl is a pain to sew over, as it sticks to the presser foot.
2013: The Year of the chalkboard rage. Several coats of chalkboard paint applied to an old tie. White colored pencil made it easy to write.
2014: The Year our first child graduates and prepares to leave on a mission.
2006: Ultra suede serged around the edges and free-hand machine embroidered the year.
2007: The older girls started the basketball routine with their dad proudly watching on.
2008
2009
2010: This tie used photos this year were from one of my favorite family photography sessions at Liberty Park with the very intuitive amy little. She knows our souls.
2011: Crazy Tie, little photo memory book inserted in a vinyl sleeve.
2012: Everyone's favorite.
Cardstock paper handpainted and decoupaged with pictures and then sewn onto another existing tie from the second hand store.
2003: After I hand sewed this tie from scratch, I tried that photo transfer for fabric. It worked out, well horribly. I don't know what I did wrong for sure. But as I think about it, I think I needed to wash the fabric to take out the sizing so the photo transfers could adhere to the fabric. It was a nightmare. But I've seen it done right and it could have been nice. Now I just use the actual photo. The colors are just vibrant and the detail is perfect.
