I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do...my gift is my song, and this one's for you...

Could it be true? Did I really get into my craft cave and make something? Yep, I did! It's Verve Release Countdown time, and I have a fun and different project to show you. I hope you like it.

But before I show it to you, I have a little bizness to conduct. I just noticed that as of yesterday, I have been blogging for 3 years. Holy moly! What started on a whim has become so much more...a place to share, a world-wide network of people that I truly consider friends, and a place to just express myself. I'm still surprised that people like to read my babbling...this blog is more about the journey for me than anything else. It has turned out to be so much more...and something that is quite a blessing.

To celebrate and say thank you, I'd like to share some goodies with you. After cleaning off my desk, I have things that I didn't even know I had! Can you relate? Anywho, I don't have a list or a pretty picture, but three random people who comment on this post will get a fabulous goodie package from me. And we're talking paper, stamp sets, ribbon, cardstock...who knows, but it will be good stuff, I promise!

Ok, so on with the project! Today on the Verve Blog, the New Release Spotlight is on the upcoming set called Blessings. It's a very special set, with a stamp that is very near and dear to my heart, so I decided to do something a little different and create a wall hanging. See whatcha think:

I know, it's a little different for me, but I really like how it turned out. I knew I wanted to use the Irish Blessing stamp from this set...like I mentioned earlier, it is very special to me. When I was in high school choir we sang a beautiful arrangement of this song, and it was always one of Josh's and my favorites. It has come to mind in some very dark times, and I can actually picture myself and my little life held safely and tenderly in God's hands. It was also what we placed on the back of Josh's memorial cards at his funeral.

This past week I learned that my choir director from high school is retiring this year. A group of alumni started to organize a little surprise at his last concert, and it has grown into a group of over 100 people. Kind of hard to sneak 100 people into a concert without being noticed! So all of us old folks are going to sing a song during the concert (and show those whipper snappers how it's done...), and then we will join the rest of the choir for The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which is the traditional finale of each concert. It is going to be quite a special night...I'd be lying if I said it wasn't going to be hard for me, but I'm looking forward to seeing lots of old friends.

So...yeah, all that to say that I wanted to make something special for our director that he could display in his study or office. While I was digging through my stash of alterables, canvases, and tins, I came across a Basic Grey 6x6 chipboard album that caught my eye. I used just the cover page and covered it with the Chopped Tomatoes pattern from Jillibean Soup's Minestrone collection. After sanding the edges, I ran my Versamagic Jumbo Java dew drop across them. I wanted to add a little oomph to the polka dot background, so I stamped one of the flourish images from the Blessings set repeatedly in cream colored acrylic paint. Then I dry-brushed around the edges of the plaque again with the cream paint to bring it together. That was the messy part!

I cut a panel of the Cannellini Beans pattern from the same Jillibean collection to fit within the rectangle of the plaque, inked the edges, and matted it with Dark Chocolate cardstock. I distressed the edges with my fingernail and attached it to the plaque with foam dimensionals. Then I stamped the Irish Blessing in Jumbo Java ink on Vintage Cream cardstock, cut it down to fit within the rectangle, and inked & distressed the edges. After mounting it onto the green and brown pattern, I decided to add a few red buttons to the left side. All that was left was to tie some thicker Jute through the holes for hanging.

All in all, I think I accomplished my goal, which was to create a meaningful gift for my choir director that is masculine enough to hang in a study or office, as well as any other place in the home. I really hope he likes it.

Ok, if you've made it through all this, you sure are sweet for sticking with me. Don't forget to visit the Verve Blog for more eye candy, and don't forget to leave a comment here, too! I'll choose three winners and post them on Sunday. Tell me something fun...a favorite quote, a good high school memory, a joke...whatever! And have a fabulous day!