Don't FAINT! Thank Shoe Very Much!

I know, I know -- it's been a LONG time, thought I'd blow the dust off, and write a new post!

Life has been so busy it seems lately, and to say I haven't been all that creative is an understatement.  It seems as though a majority of my craftiness has taken a looooooong vacation, and I'm hoping it's coming back soon!

I was going through some photos, putting together a few photo books on Snapfish, and I came across this cute little project I did back in the Spring, and thought I'd share it with you all.

In our town, since I was very very little, we had this Mom & Pop shoe store, called Marshall's.  There was a corner in the back with toys for the kids to play with and "Mr. & Mrs. Marshall" were always there to greet you with a smile.  Mr. Marshall measured your feet (yes, really, even in 2011!) and it was just a real FAMILY place.

My Mom always brought us there as kids to get shoes for school each year, and she has continued to take all of her grandchildren there each year, too.  In April, much to my dismay, I saw this:

I couldnt' BELIEVE my eyes.  While I'm so glad that they will be moving on to the next chapter of their lives, I was just so sad to see the end of an era here in our little town.  So, I decided I would need to take my girls for one last pair of shoes, one last time in the toy corner, one last balloon on the way out of the store.

I found this AWESOME digi image (and now it has been SO long since I made this, I can't remember where I found it -- so if you know, please tell me, so I can give proper credit!) and decided to make a little thank you gift for our favorite shoe people :).

I even nabbed their logo from my photo of the closing sign, and added it to the sign post on the house. The image was colored with my Copics.  I made the sentiment in Photoshop Elements, and then die cut it using Papertrey's Mat Stack 4 die.  I wrote a little note on the back, thanking them for all the great memories, and wished them well on their new adventure.

The girls got their last pair of shoes, their last balloon, and their last time in the toy corner at Marshall's - and Mr. & Mrs. Marshall were touched by our gift, and shared with us that they had no idea how much they touched the community, until they put up those signs.

Be sure to thank those small shop owners for what they bring to you and your community, you never know when they might be gone.  Thanks for stopping by!