GIBBS Happy Mail mobile

The final wish list item on Lisa's list said "Surprise me!" so I had total freedom and decided to make an all white butterfly mobile to go in her purple craft room.  I used my new Tim Holtz movers and shapers die to cut chipboard butterflies and then covered them with some of his Picket Fence crackle paint.  I've never tried that paint before -OooooohBoy is it awesome!  I strung them from a wire hoop that I first covered in plain white ribbon and then stitched a fancy lacy ribbon around the outside edge to hide the tied strings.

This was super fun with the only tricky part being the task of keeping my curious cat away while I was trying to tie all those dang dangling butterflies, lol! 

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GIBBS Happy Mail ATC's

Lisa asked for ATC's on her wish list.  I made this set of 4 using my fantabulously gorgeous G45 Once Upon A Springtime paper.  Oh how I love that set, thanks again Deb!!  I added a bit of stickles to the fairy wings, a simple sentiment and of course a teeny stickled butterfly.  These are more 'my' style and I hope Lisa likes them, but I'll gladly take 'em back if not, lol!

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GIBBS Happy Mail clock

Item 3 on Lisa's wish list was for a wall clock to put in her craft room - again she requested purple and butterflies and although the design I came up with was super simple, I really like the silhouette design.  I covered a clock base with cardstock, added the flowers and numbers that I cut using my Silhouette, and finished it off with a few metallic butterfly stickers.  I sealed it all with mod podge and then held my breath and crossed my fingers and toes as I tried to reassemble the clock mechanism.  I was absolutely thrilled that it still worked when it was all put back together again, lol!!

Oh, and I remembered to take the battery out of it before shipping, I didn't think that a ticking package would make the USPS too comfortable, lol!

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GIBBS Happy Mail banner

The second thing on Lisa's wish list was for wall decorations for her craft room.  I decided to make MY version of a ROYGBIV banner (what is a rainbow without pink or aqua? LOL!) using my Silhouette.  I added rosettes that spell out "CREATE!" and a few color coordinated and glittered butterflies and a couple of the biggest buttons I ever saw as end pieces.

I did have a devil of a time trying to cut these pieces though because we had a week and a half of rain and the paper was so damp my poor Sil struggled to cut and not tear it.  I ended up trimming most of the pieces using my craft knife - but they were so worth it because I love the filigree look of these designs.  (Be sure to click on the pics to see closer detail)


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GIBBS Happy Mail Swap!

According to USPS tracking, the box of goodies I sent to my secret swap partner, Lisa, is sitting on her door step right now, YAY!!!  So it is safe to post my pics ; )

I made all 5 things that she posted in her wish list, not realizing that I only had to choose a few of the items.  Yep I'm a goober I guess, but that's a good thing for her, eh?  LOL!!

The first thing she asked for was a perpetual calendar.  I decided to make a magnetic one and I used a metal dry erase board for the base that I painted matte white.  The day markers are metal rimmed tags that I also painted, then glued onto magnets and covered with punched out numbers that I had printed from my computer.  The month labels were printed from my computer too and then backed with magnet sheets that I cut using my nesties.  I stitched the calendar grid to help with alignment and bordered the entire thing with flourishes cut with my Silhouette.  Extra calendar pieces fit nicely into one of the Stampin' Up! tins that I had stocked up on this winter when they went on clearance. 

I was kind of timid when designing all of the swap items for her since I am not totally sure of her style, but I know she likes purple (her scrap room color) and butterflies so I went with those hoping to play it safe.

I hope you like it Lisa!!



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Memorial Day

Pay it Forward 2011

Today is my birthday (yippeeee!!) and to celebrate it I am participating in a wonderful little blog project called... Pay It Forward 2011!

I read about it while visiting Linda's amazing blog The Funkie Junkie and knew instantly it was the perfect way of celebrating - sharing friendship, inspiration and creativity all while "paying it forward."

Here's how it works....the first five people who comment on this blog post will receive a handmade gift from me.  In return, you must FIRST write a blog post explaining Pay It Forward 2011. Then.... send out a handmade gift to the first five visitors who leave a comment. 

You can take your time, they don't all have to be sent today or tomorrow, and it's not the size or value of the gift but the lovely spirit of Pay it Forward.

This is such a great way to connect with friends or make new ones, all while sharing the things we create with our hearts and hands!

{hugs}

Another Fairy Card

Loving these fairies I tell ya!  I made another simple fairy card using one of the die cuts in my G45 Once Upon A Springtime pack.  I popped up the frame to create a shadow box type of frame for the image.  I added some faux stitching around the edge and some stickles on the wings but you can't really see either very well in this pic, sorry.  And yeah, I know my bow is bit wonky too but as I was on my way out the door to deliver this card I realized I had forgotten to take a picture so I quickly pulled it out of the envie, grabbed the camera and snapped a super fast pic, then fixed it before tucking it back in.  Ooopsies. 

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Spring Fairy Teacher Card

Oh I have to send a big shout out to my west coast buddie Deb!!  It took me over a month to get the nerve to finally cut my first sheet of the unbelievably gorgeous G45 Once Upon A Springtime paper that she gave me, but now I can't stop, lol!  OhMyGosh is this set pretty! 

Last month my daughter's kindergarten teacher had to take an unexpected leave for the rest of the school year.  She was very sad to have to make this decision and we miss her very much.  Since it is Teacher appreciation Week we decided to send her a little note to let her know we are thinking of her. 

She used to play guitar and sing daily with the kids so we thought using the image of the fairy playing music for the bunnies would be perfectly appropriate. I cut out a bunch of the individual flowers from the background paper (this is why I say I can't stop cutting!) and popped them for a little dimension and added a tiny bit of Stickles to their centers.  I also added some Stickles to the fairy's wings and dress and edged the papers with a gold gel pen.

This card design is pretty basic but the gorgeous papers make is so pretty that you can get more ooh's and ahh's for your effort.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this pack Deb!  Thank you!!! 


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Pop-Up Twirl Birthday Card

Dustin Pike has a challenge this week to create a birthday themed card or project using two colors from his blog header.  Good grief how hard should that really be?!?? LOL!  Well I've spent the entire week brainstorming and coming up with what I thought would be great birthday themed projects but every time I try to limit my rainbow to two colors I end up banging my head on the wall.  I was really stuck but I was also really determined.  I decided to call in help and I asked my 5 year old daughter (who at the time happened to be dressed all in pink complete with a tutu, pearls, chunky bling rings and a tiara) what one color she liked best from the header and (of course) she picked pink, and then I asked her what kind of card she wanted and (of course) she picked princess.  She could not be more girly girl if she tried, LOL!  So off I went brainstorming again.

I decided to try a new card I just saw last week on Split Coast Stampers called Pop-Up Twirl Card.  Oh-My-Gosh this has got to be the absolute coolest card I've ever made!  I did a test run with scrap paper first to be sure it would work and it did!  I used yellow as my second color, added some dark pink mirror paper for matting, used my Prisma pencils to color (and NO blending solution which was my own personal challenge that I added), printed the sentiments on my computer and popped up the castle on the cover for a little dimension.  When I took pictures to post I really could not convey the amazing twirling movement so I did a quick video and I hope it posts ok for you to see. 

See it in action!!

This was really fun and actually quite easy, well the mechanical part was easy at least - the color limitation is another story, ugh!  I did stick to all pinks and yellows except for the charcoal in the windows of the castle, and even though the rooftops look a bit purple they are a raspberry pink.  I admit I may have stretched the rules a bit with the grass at the bottom of the castle though because I did use a very yellowy'ish light green.  Slap my hands if you must but I'm sorry - pink and yellow just don't look right for grass!

I might still add a bit of stickles and some faux stitching, but my daughter will probably wear the card out before I get a chance, lol!  I guess she approves!


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