Who loves receiving handmade gifts? In this day and age, it seems that getting a handmade gift is a rare event but I think the effort spent speaks volumes.As long as I can really remember, I have loved making homemade gifts for people. As I child I loved to embroidery and would make dishtowels and pillows and now these days I pick up a pencils or paintbrushes over sewing needles. I would paint my own stationary designs and make my own clothing. I'm blessed that I learned to sew and that I could draw and paint. It sure made gift giving easier and less expensive over the years.
Today, I am invited to a dear friends retirement party. She has spent almost 20 years serving the community on our local police force. I know she has looked forward to this day for a long time and I'm sure her family will rest a bit easier knowing she is no longer out there in harms way. I so appreciate her service and I know that in the past few years it has become increasingly difficult to work in the law enforcement profession. I can't imagine the stress involved to put on that uniform each day. Now she can just focus on her family, her faith, some gardening and maybe she and I can even plan a little road trip.
I decided I was going to put my newly learned Photoshop skills to the test and create her a retirement card from my artwork. I decided this bee and daisy sketch would be perfect. I added some digital paper for the background border and then added text. Maybe I could have thought of something more clever to write but this is what I came up with in the small space afforded me.
Now, I also decided that I would paint her a cowbell. I know maybe she isn't into cowbells or mice but I'll just have to take my chances with that I guess. I decided to paint a little mouse climbing a dandelion stem headed upward towards the prize. It makes me think of this scripture in Philippians 3:14 "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
As a child, I remember being told to make a wish just before I blew as hard as I could to send each little feathery seed pod off in the wind. Reaching retirement is like having those wishes come true. I pray she will be blessed in this new phase of her life and I really hope she likes her cowbell.
I would LOVE to hear from you if you have recently used your skills to make a handmade gift. If you send me a picture and the details I might feature it here on my blog and Facebook page. Just send me a message and let me know about it.
You can check out more of my artwork on my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com
