This year I gifted my daughters with things I made instead of bought, beginning with what turned out to be a very rich chocolate cake. I also detailed Valerie's car (their Aunt Phylliss did Dawn's!) Actually, I cheated, I only did the inside (with a little bit of help from their dad), I ran it through the carwash for the outside. Hey, California is in the middle of a water shortage, okay? :-}
Bookmarks have become something all of us seem to have aquired. Here are two more Dawn and Valerie can add to their collection.
The numbers bookmark is for Valerie, she loves numbers and text. I dry embossed cream-colored cardstock, heat embossed the lettering with gold embossing powder and finished it by inking it with my favorite walnut colored ink pad by Tim Holtz.
Dawn makes the prettiest tassels, so I'll leave that touch up to her.
The galaxy-themed one is for Dawn, she loves the night sky. It's painted with all sorts of colors of sparkly ink pens on canvas and backed with black cardstock. The planet was cut from a piece of gold shimmered card stock that had veins of white running through it. It actually looks like a copper penny!
Then I wrapped them up in cardstock which reflects their fondess for (Dawn) cameras/taking photos, and (Val) numbers and letters. I even dug up a brad with her favorite #7 on it!
The flowers are handcut from a combination of patterned paper and tissue paper using a nifty technique I found on
YouTube by Shannon Green. It's addicting!
Their main presents were paintings I created. Dawn's has a galaxy theme and Valerie's is more of a mixed media piece.
I used canvas paper and a variety of inks and paints. I had intended for it to be darker, more starry-like, but after walking away from it for a few days and coming back to it, it grew on me.
When I was finished, I ran some black glitter tape along each edge
and framed it in a simple black frame. I titled it "Out There." She actually likes it turned with the corner planet at the upper-right, but for some unknown reason when I rotate this photo it won't upload here in the new rotation. *sigh*
As I said, Valerie's is more mixed media because after I finished the painting I wasn't very happy with it. So I added the girl with the suitcase, the tiny dog, flowers, tree and created a shiny sun to beam down on it all. I titled it "Oh May I Go A Wondering," because she likes
The Happy Wonderer song. We sing it using her name instead of what the song says.
After wrapping the paintings I topped them off with the tags I made. Valerie has a fondness for western themed things (who am I kidding, fine cowboys are her eye candy!), so I went with that.
I used a Julie Nutting paper doll stamp and fussy-cut her outfit from cardstock. Her skirt and bodice also has a layer of Tim Holtz's shimmer paper, a gift from my daughters. Glossy accents was applied to her boots and hat just to give them that extra pop. Oh! And I drew her face free-hand! For someone who doesn't know the first thing about drawing, I'm getting the hang of giving Julie Nutting's doll faces a bit of personality.
The balloons are shaker stickers from Michael's. And I have so many of these beautiful paper flowers not being used, I couldn't resist adding a few here. I think the orange, yellow and green adds a pretty touch, and the gold leaves makes it that much more special.
Dawn's tag was reminiscent of our trip to London, England, last year. She gave me several Julie Nutting tag tablets and this is by far my favorite print; it has the feel of an English garden. Dawn also gave me the pretty girl stamp, which reminds me both of photo of Dawn holding a little green suitcase and Audrey Hepburn.
Seeing Big Ben is my favorite thing from our trip, and probably the most iconic, so, of course it had to be featured in the background. The taxi is because we relied on and appreciated having access to this form of transportation. They saved our aching feet, I'm not even exaggerating. And the tiny little airplane is symbolic of the bravery of my daughters on their first flight, a very, very long one.
So my gift to my daughters was essentially of my time, something I have plenty of when it comes to them. They have the patience of a saint for this forgetful, bumbling old woman, and I can't even begin to list the things they do for me on a daily basis. I'm so very proud of the women Dawn and Valerie have become. Happy 31st, girls, it's only just begun!
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