Sunday, January 28, 2018

It's a Long One!

Long post today, but I'm excited about what I will be sharing.  First a little "history"...

After 38 years as a Registered Nurse, and 19 years with my current employer, I am retiring.  Yup, calling it quits as of Wednesday.  I've been extraordinarily blessed to have had a long, rewarding career, but even more so to have been able to work with some wonderful people.

This week I am saying thank you to two of them:  Monica, my assistant, and Lori, my colleague.  They have been by my side for some time - Lori since I started at Sutter Medical Foundation 19 years ago, and Monica, a more recent addition of about 18 months.  I wanted to give them each something to remember me and to say "thanks" for our time together.  Today I'll start with Monica's gift.

Monica is a lovely young woman and a very competent assistant.  She came to us without much experience, but somehow we knew she would be great...and she is.  Always pleasant, she takes on any assignment and makes us proud.  When she doesn't know how to do something, she "googles" it and finds out. Amazing...And Monica is a TOTAL Disney fanatic!  Loves, loves, loves anything Disney.  So I bought Monica two Disney limited edition collector's pins:  Sleeping Beauty Castle and Snow White.   And of course I had to dress them up.  So here is what you've been waiting for:


Yes, a mermaid bag and coordinating gift card!  I was so happy with the way this turned out!  Let's take a closer look:


First, the gift bag.  I used the Gift Bag Punch Board and the Myths & Magic Specialty Designer Series Paper to create it.  This was the "large" gift bag, starting with a piece of 12" x 7" paper.


Once the bag was created, I needed a way to close it, and chose a "bag topper" using the Layering Circles Framelits dies.  This starts with a Berry Burst Scalloped Circle topped with a Lemon Lime Twist circle that I ran through the Big Shot using the Ruffled Embossing Folder--doesn't that look like waves?

My mermaid and seahorse were stamped with the Magical Day stamps and colored with Stampin' Blends, then cut out with the coordinating Magical Mates Framelits dies.  They are popped up on Dimensionals and I added some Glitter and Clear Epoxy Shapes to look like bubbles.  The sentiment was stamped once in Tuxedo Black ink, and again in Berry Burst; I used one of the framelits to cut them out and layered them for some texture.  The tag is glued to a circle of Tranquil Tide, which is folded over the bag top, and held in place with a Birthday Mini Binder Clip.

Now for the card:


This little 3" x 3" card slipped inside the bag.  The base is a piece of Thick Whisper White, cut 3" x 6" and folded in half.  There's a layer of Tranquil Tide, also embossed with the Ruffled folder, and then a scalloped circle of another piece of Myths & Magic DSP.


I fussy cut that mermaid straight from the designer paper and added her with Dimensionals.  Then cut some green "seagrass" using the Myths & Magic Glimmer Paper.  "Thanks" comes from Waterfront and was stamped in Tranquil Tide.


So there is my long story, and my first "thank you" gift.  It's been an emotional week, and will only get worse over the next few days until 1/31 when I walk out of my office for good...sniff...

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2 comments:

Laurie/Paul said...

So cute and special. What a great feeling knowing you have only two days left! Wishing you all the best with your retirement and upcoming adventures!

Stampin' Amigos said...

Thanks, Laurie; it's getting exciting. I keep thinking "Bucket List - Career, check!" :)