a fun little evening that inspires....

so, tonight i spent some time with some of my girlfriends, scrapping and chatting, chatting and scrapping... well, one of us was scrapping. one was working on a card swap. one was making her own rubber stamps. and me? well, i was making ATCs! :)

i don't have my camera handy, so you'll have to trust me on this when i say that they're LOVELY! :) the first one, which i'm hoping will turn out in the end, was based on the theme "ghost" from the challenge blog Inspire Me Thursday. the other one was much more romantic, featuring a vintage couple. it was inspired by the Stripes challenge on, um.... another challenge blog (can't remember which one off the top of my head!)

the ghost card was done with versamark ink on glossy cardstock. over that, i sponged fuschia ink, which then smeared over the versamark image, leaving a ghostly image. i mounted it diagonally on grey cardstock, with the word "believe" stamped with black stayz on in the corner. once all that was done, i covered the image and word with a crackle medium... i'm waiting for it to dry, and then i'll post (if it isn't damaged, that is).

the second card was pretty basic. some paper (BG eva), and cardstock, mounted off-center of each other, with a pink frame stamped behind the couple. a metal "love" charm attached, and voila! ATC number 2! :)

like i said, when i have my camera, i'll post some pics. until then, you'll just have to trust me on this. they're lovely! :)

k, off to play euchre for a bit! ttyl!

Blockage!!!! Ugh!!!!!

ok, so, an hour ago, i was feeling so creative, and sat down to work on one of my newest projects. and, i might add, one of my favourite projects. an altered journal. LOVE IT!!!!! well, i did at the time...

and now...

it is my NEMESIS!!!!!!!!

that's right, folks, i'm blocked. i got nothing. i put one of my most anticipated elements on: black eyelets with black wire wrapped around the edge of the cover. LOVE IT!!! but now what?

i'm sitting here staring at it, going, "it looks cool so far, but it needs more. but what?!" and i don't know. i mean literally, i have no ideas here.

i'll admit, i briefly toyed with the idea of prima flowers, a pretty contrast to the harsh/industrial feel of the metal accents. but it just wasn't working for me. i have a stamp that would look absolutely stunning, but where to put it? i have bling of various descriptions, but that's not right for this piece. fibers? they're lovely, but i don't think they're right, either.

my one thought was to do the whole edge with eyelets and wire. that might look cool. and hey... now that i'm thinking about it... it WOULD look really cool... and i could do something funky with the stamp, and then use some wire and maybe a transparency to anchor it... and then a word or quotation at the bottom or something...

oh, the ideas are flowing now!!!!! yay!!!! thanks for your help!!! ;)


UPDATE: GAH!!! doing the whole edge with eyelets and wire... yeah, can't work. the measurements are wrong, and it will leave either too much space at the bottom, or too little. which sucks, because that would have been freaking cool! :(

how did i forget this?!

mom and i were going through some beads the other week, and we came across this pendant... that boat at the top of the skinny. well, she had never had any idea what to do with it (she beads). i saw it, and immediately knew it was going to go on a skinny with that boy!!!!! so, i got out all my stuff, and got to work. here's the result.

i used: SU cardstock and stamps, BG patterned paper (ambrosia, i do believe), some brads, some fibres, and a vintage boy. so simple. and i dig it.

btw, it was for a challenge. the theme was "red." but i don't remember what challenge blog it was for. once i remember, i'll update.

Arty Girlz - Red!

the theme this week on Arty Girlz is Red. it's been a while since i've played there (or have i before? i don't remember. after a while some of these challenges blend together, to be honest... especially if you're not a regular. but they're fun and i like them, so...). i wondered what to do for this one, since i don't often use red in my work (other than the tag i did on the weekend; that was also an exception), so this challenge was just that... a challenge!

i was playing beads with my mom earlier this evening, making myself a necklace to go with a sweater i just bought. my mom showed me a gold chain that i could use for a different necklace, and she said, "you can just get rid of that pendant." i sat speechless (imagine that!), gazing at the pendant in my hand, and i was immediately inspired. i knew the papers, i knew the theme, and i started searching for the perfect little boy. and there he was! thank-you, gail, at PaperWhimsy! he's delightful!

the only real challenge on this piece was attaching this most beauteous pendant. it took me a couple minutes to figure out, i'll admit. in fact, i deliberately left it till last, and i pondered this dilemma whilst working on the rest. i finally went with glue dots, some scrunched up into "boogers." then i punched a hole in the paper behind the loop at the top, and threaded outrageous red and oranges fibres through.

so, here's the run-down of what i used: BG ambrosia (love it!!!!), SU! Flexible Expressive Phrases (or something like that... if you know the name of the stamp set, let me know. i forget and i can't find my old catties). other than that, it's miscellaneous brads and fibres and ink. there you have it. my little travelling boy. i dig him. :)

and i forgot to mention that this is a skinny (3x5). i think this is my favourite size. although ATCs are fun, too. and 4x4. and tags. oh, bother, i love them all! :)

Faithbooking 2: Sacredness

this week's faithbooking class is about Sacredness, or Faith Defined. what is faith to me? what does it give me, when do i need it, where do i find it? i included a poem on the first page, though what you put there is up to you. perhaps a picture of your meditation space, church, holy book, yourself in prayer, maybe even a prayer that you've written out. the journaling on page 2 is how you define faith, whatever it means for you.

i realize that this is a very personal topic that we're scrapping here. i'm not saying you need to come to the class with your journaling already written or even planned. i'm just giving you the medium on which to preserve what you believe at this point in your journey. there is no right or wrong answer for this, and no one (least of all me!) is going to judge your beliefs.

i also realize that this layout may be somewhat challenging for some people, not only because of the subject, but the layout itself is challenging. all that space! (pam made me add the picture in the bottom right corner on page 2 - the original version has more space there.) for me, the whole layout is a definition of my faith and sacredness. i find my faith in the space between. between you and me, me and Him, moment to moment. my faith restores my personal space, balances my space, helps me find peace in my space, generally makes my space more live-able. faith is the white-space in my life that draws my focus to what really matters, puts everything back into perspective, and lets me breathe again. that's why there's so much space on this layout.

i urge you to give this layout a try. i really enjoyed making it. it's simple, with some fun techniques (painting, tearing, doodling, stamping), but i think the impact of the design is striking. it's simplicity is what makes it work.

i hope you enjoy this layout as much as i enjoyed creating it. hope to see you wednesday night! :)

ps - i'll post better pictures when i get them. we forgot to scan the layout before hanging it in the store. :(

on the first page is the poem Zero Circle, by Rumi.

my journaling on the second page reads:
faith is what you find at the end of your rope, when you're lost, confused and weak. it picks you up and carries you when you just can't do it on your own.
sometimes i'm too stubborn to admit that, and then i'm screwed. i need help sometimes, i admit. faith is a helping hand.
when i'm quiet and still, even - especially - in the chaos of my life... that is when i find my faith.
and my strength.