Michelle My Bell

Bienvenidos!

Part ONE:

Friday was my friend Michelle's birthday, and she is very, very, very crafty. So for her birthday, I knew I had to get very, very, very crafty to make her a worthy present. I've had this idea for a magnet board for a looooong time, and I knew I wanted to incorporate it into her present.

And then I found this at Old Navy. A cute tank top with a shell design (plus it was on clearance, and I love sales!)

This tank top inspired a themed birthday present. I love The Beatles, so I wanted to collect a compilation of gifts that in some way spelled out "Me-Shell, my bell" in tribute of the song Michelle my Belle. Thus began the hunt for perfect gifts that fit the theme.

"Me" was easy--I had already created the magnet board (which I will explain later) and on the back, I had written, "Love, me". So I had my "me".

"Shell" was also easy, because I had already found the tank top with the shell on it.

"My" gave me a few options. I considered finding her a magazine that had "my" somewhere on the cover page. But then Michelle presented me with the perfect solution about two weeks ago. She told me she was in desperate for new music! Perfect, so I made her a mix CD (the first song, of course, was "Michelle my Belle" by The Beatles).

"Belle" was the most problematic. I wanted to find her something she would love and actually use. I found a bell at the dollar store, but it was very teacher-y and Michelle had absolutely no use for this... So, my practicality told me no. I also considered finding something with Belle from Beauty and the Beast, but again, no real practicality in that, seeing as Michelle is an adult. So, I went to the store Anthropologie (Michelle and I happen to be obsessed with their merchandise and styles, but we definitely cannot afford shopping there on the regular...) I was hoping to find some inspiration (or some conveniently beautiful bell). No such luck. Right as I was about to leave, I found this amazing little book. It's called the "Non-Planner Date Book".

It's a very creative mix between a journal and a datebook, which is so incredibly perfect for Michelle. I frantically flipped through the pages hoping that by some miracle there would be a bell on one. No such luck. But the book was so perfect, I had to buy it for her. Then, I decided to just draw a bell on the first page and call it good!

To wrap everything up, I compiled all of the pictures together (plus one of me holding a sign that said "happy birthday") to make a birthday card that depicted "Happy Birthday to Michelle my Belle"!

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Part TWO:

Now, back to the magnet board. Here is what you will need:

1. Spray paint the cookie sheet whatever color you want! (My base color was black)

2. Decide on a design if you want one, and paint! I found this image of a chicken with hearts awhile ago, but I cannot remember where I found it from!! It was similar to this, but I'm not sure if it was exact...If anyone has seen it before, let me know so I can give proper credit where it is due!

3. Ironically, the day after I finished this project, the giant yellow pages book was delivered to my door, and with these three little magnets! So perfect.

I cut the magnets to the design I wanted (similar to my big design) and painted them (using acrylic paint).

4. I braided the three ribbons I chose to use (although I'm sure one would have worked just as fine).

5. And glued my braided ribbon to the back of the cookie sheet.

And done! A magnet board for pictures, notes, or perhaps just decoration... =)