Love of Labor Swap, Gardenbella

I participated in a super fun swap on splitcoast. The swap was called Love of Labor swap. The idea what that you hand craft an item tailored for your secret gal. It's been a lot of fun as we've been chatting the past couple of weeks but no one is telling who has who. :)

Well... i'm post dating this post so hopefully my secret gal has already received it (though i dont think she reads my blog, so i'm probably safe. Still... i'm not going to mention any names just to be safe. :)

I created a basket/tin that could be used for all kinds of things. It could be to store cards (my first thought) but could also store stamps, tools, or whatever else she wants to have within close reach. Inside my tin are lots of other goodies for her to craft with but most notably in a plastic screw top jar tower with matching embellishments to the tin (to go with the idea of a place to store cards and cardmaking supplies). There are also some stamps, stickles, and other small items inside just for fun.

To create my tin purse, i started with a tin purse base i picked up at Hobby Lobby. I then picked up some pizzazzill cardstock by bazzill as well as some patterened paper by Sandy Lion at a local scrapbook store. After careful measuring... i modgepodged the paper to the tin. I wasnt pleased with my seam lines, so i decided to add the ribbon along the edges instead of just around the middle as i originally planned. I was pleased with the more finished look the ribbon gave (ribbon is soft sky double stitched ribbon by Stampin Up).

The flowers and fabric covered brads added a great dimension touch to the project i thought (and all of the extras from the packs are included inside the tin for her to use!).

I also included this bella card in my tin. I tried to keep within the same color scheme as the tin. If you remember my post earlier in the week from my baby shower you notice the same trim of embossed paper ad scalloped border. Yep, thats because i had an extra of each still sitting on my craft table. I'm not a waster. I use EVERYTHING. :)

My card base is actually very vanilla by SU. I wanted to match the off white of the tin. Then i layered an embossed cardfront (that i received in a swap, though i do have that embossing folder) and my left over pieces from the baby thank you. I colored my bella (Gardenbella from Stamping Bella) with copic markers and for the first time, i added a base (the grass) to her. I've seen this done on other blogs and i just think it's so neat. Its especially worked with this bella for me because i've always been a little curious with what to do with her feet since she doesnt have the typical trendy shoes that the bellas wear. Well, i personally like to be barefoot in grass so i made her some grass! Other cardstock pieces on the card are all from the scraps bin (i'm a little meticulous with how i keep my scraps, i have different compartments for every color so i'm sure to be able to find perfect colored mats, etc. Like i said... i use everything!)
I then added a rub on from a small spring pack from making memories. I really like the rub ons over embossed cardstock because you still get the whole sentiment without the distortion you'd get if you stamped the sentiment.

So i really hope my secret gal enjoys my creation i made for her. it was a super fun swap and i'd join another on in a heartbeat! :)