Customized projects are my jam! My mother-in-law had a dear friend/co-worker, Susan, retire several weeks ago and asked if I could help create three unique items to celebrate her 20 years of service in the hospital’s radiology department. I knew I had to incorporate x-rays of some sort into the projects.
The first piece is a super-sized greeting card made large enough for the entire department to sign their well wishes. The “peace out” hand x-ray is inside a rectangular shaker box that was filled with sparkly sequins and tiny diecut shapes. Creating the “peace out” hand was quite a task as I started with a open hand xray vector image and individually moved and placed each bone to create the “peace out” configuration. I definitely had a new appreciation for human anatomy!
A celebration isn’t one without cake so my next creation was a mixed media cake topper. Again, reiterating the x-ray theme, I printed a head CT scan on printable clear sticker paper, backed it with a clear acetate sheet, and trimmed off the excess from the acetate sheet. Next, a little shoutout using glitter gold cardstock was created with my Silhouette machine. Lastly, added a little yellow bow at the base of the cake topper which also helped hide the toothpick.
The last piece for Susan’s retirement party was a customized “subway art” wall sign. My mother-in-law provided the text and I went to town placing them wherever they looked best. The key to subway art signs is to use minimal amount of color (you can see I simply used two colors, yellow and white) and no more than 4 different fonts (any more and your eyes will go nuts). We had these printed on a 14in x 14in canvas via Costco Photo Center, which is affordable and rather quick. I really am pleased how this sign turned out! I just wish I knew what all those terms mean! Ha! 🙂
Congrats Susan on your retirement!
On a side note, how does one know they are ready for retirement? I’m far from retirement albeit I am not working a corporate job but I hope one day I will feel satisfied in my contribution to the world and be ready for retirement. #lifegoals