Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives---when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Gina K. Book Inspired Challenge

Does anyone else remember this delightful book? It was one of my favorite books as a child! (Note the 29 cent price on the front! That tells you how old I am! Actually, I believe the original publication date of the book was about 10 years before I was born but I'm sure it didn't cost much more than that when my mother bought it for me.) I remember my mother reading it to me and when I was old enough to read, I continued to read it because I loved the story about the kind little chipmunk mailman who delivered cards and letters to all the animals on Bayberry Lane, except for Mrs. Pig. Mrs. Pig never got any mail even though she waited every day for Mr. Chipmunk to come. Seeing how sad she was that she never got any mail, Mr. Chipmunk and the other animals arranged a surprise party for Mrs. Pig and sent her an invitation in the mail in a yellow envelope. She was so happy to get that invitation in the mail and to make new friends with the other animals along Bayberry Lane. Amazing what one little piece of mail in the mailbox can do for someone's spirits. That's why we all make cards, isn't it? To bring a smile to someone's face when they get it in their mailbox?

My card for Gina K.'s illustrator blog hop challenge was inspired by this lovely little book. When I got the new Stamp TV Kit "Spring Mix" I knew that the mailbox with the chipmunk in it reminded me of something and when I saw Gina's challenge to use a favorite childhood book for a card inspiration, it clicked! The stamp reminded me of this favorite book from my long ago childhood. Here is the card I made using "The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane" as my inspiration.

This gatefold card is made with Stampin' Up Groovy Guava as the base and the scalloped circle. The green panels and scalloped circle are Pure Luxury Creme de Menthe and the dp is from the Cosmo Cricket Earth Love paper pack. All stamps are from the Stamp TV Kit Spring Mix. I colored the images with Copics, including the background, which I colored in with Copic B32 and then went over with the colorless blender to remove some of the color because it was too much blue.

Thanks, Gina, for bringing back such warm, childhood memories for me! I had many, many books as a child (and still do! So do my kids!). My mother was an elementary school librarian so reading was a huge part of our lives and home. It was really fun to take a quick stroll down memory lane to recall this book and a sweet little piece of my childhood!

Thanks for stopping by and for sharing this memory with me!