ok, you have to check this out

just click on the link, and look at this layout. and drool. it's ok. no one can see you. but i promise you, you will salivate like pavlov's dog!

http://inspirationalcraftblogs.blogspot.com/2008/09/heavenly-ice-cream.html

ding!

and here it is...

the piece i was working toward this afternoon. that's right, folks, it's painted! i'm really digging this piece. oh, i could really get hooked on 4x4!! and paint! especially if i'm painting 4x4s! this, my friends, is happiness. painted minis. love 'em! :) expect to see more of these in the future.

playing this afternoon

it's Mufu's birthday today, so blithe wanted to go to the art gallery in town. there is an exhibit there right now, on till october 26 by Aidan Urqhart (sp?). there are giant boot pieces, which are cool, but my favourite pieces were the minis. little 3x3 delights, mixed media, lotsa fun! well, i was inspired.

i'm going to start incorporating brighter colours into my work now, i think. and get a little quirkier sometimes, too. i love this little bird, i think she's adorable. (for those who have heard the rumours... this is the stamp i licked to make sure i got it. stop laughing. if you know me, you shouldn't be surprised. lol)

this little 4x4, which is really just a first attempt at something cooler (i wanted to make sure i liked the idea before i put in all that work into it (it involves paint and some other mixed media lovelies). so, here's the first attempt. i think i like it.

yeah, i'm really digging this piece. i'm especially pleased by the visual triangles: check out the coral, the turquoise, and the flowers. and you know, i didn't even notice any of them until it was all done. how fun is that?! :)

i'm really inspired by 4x4 right now. it's so much fun! give it a whirl, you'll fall in love! and if you need any inspiration, pop over to the St Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre and check out Aidan Urqhart's work. here's the link to STEPAC: http://www.stepac.ca/ (i'll put it on the sidebar, too, so it won't get lost in post-land).

purging. but in a socially-conscious way...

and now, i'm not tossing all my pretty paper into the recycling bin (instead of the garbage). why would you even think that?! have you not met me?! lol

i read of a women's shelter near my parents' church. i offered them oodles o' paper, as well as free classes on cardmaking and basic scrapbooking. i'll let you know if/when i hear back.

if they don't want it, and staci doesn't want it (lol), i'm saving it for the Yard Sale at CNP. might as well get some store credit for it all... esp since it mostly came from there in the first place. (have i mentioned here that pam's my dealer? and one of my dearest friends? and that i didn't know her from a hill of beans before she opened her store? yeah. lol)

and... because i SO love to purge, i did get rid of quite a bit of stuff the other day. one of my friends, the one who makes annie b look like a disorganized slob, popped by for a moment. she left with my big black box o' paper. not just the box. it was full of paper. and hanging folders to organize it all. she almost cried when she saw it. lol slowly but surely, i'm making progress... are you proud, annie? ;)

purging. a little. more to come, but at least it's a start...

i have a book. honestly, i don't remember the last time i opened it. probably shortly after i got it. the spine is broken in at one spot, but otherwise it's in perfect condition.

Scrapbooking Made Easy. it's a Simple Scrapbooks book.

if you want it, let me know. the usual ways: comment here, email (i'll put my addresses on the sidebar), Facebook.

there you go. someone, please take it. even if you just know of someone who might like it, please take it and pass it along. i'm putting it out to the cosmos.

if it's still in my house in a week, it's going to BFM, just so you know. thanks! :)

Faithbooking... the course

i don't know how many of you know this already, but i'm going to be teaching a course at Cut N Paste, starting 10 September. it's a course on Faithbooking, scrapbooking your faith. classes will be every third wednesday, with samples in the store (and on my blog) at least 2 weeks ahead of time. here's the schedule:

1. Sacred Words. our favourite verses, passages/texts, quotations.
2. Sacredness. spirituality/faith defined. "what i believe."
3. why i believe. "faith gives me..." "faith makes me..."
4. my spiritual heritage. what my family believed. where i come from.
5. my spiritual legacy. core beliefs i wish to pass on.
6. my spiritual role models.
7. "i feel closest to the Divine (or whatever you call It) when..."
8. my sacred spaces
9. "I Know This Much Is True." my sacred truths.

i'm trying to keep this course as "spiritually neutral" as i can, so that as many people with as many different belief systems can participate. granted, i'm an evangelical christian, but if you're muslim, agnostic, catholic, jewish, or "miscellaneous" (as rev lovejoy calls it), please feel free to join us.

if there's any topics i've missed that you feel would be beneficial or important to preserve creatively, please let me know, and i will do my best to accomodate you. but there's the list as it is now.

i've included a link to CNP's website on the sidebar. check it out for the calendar and class descriptions. and if you're interested in the course, please feel free to visit Cut N Paste in St Thomas and sign up. hope to see you there! :)

ps - i'll also post the samples here, as they become available.

wow! it's been a while...

tada! i made this card up tonight, but alas, as pretty as it is, i must part with it tomorrow. i'm giving it away. which, when you think about it, is the very reason we make cards. i mean, really, what's the point of making a card if you don't give it away? why would you give a card to yourself? unless you're jan brady and trying to convince people you have a boyfriend, i can't think of any reason why someone would make a card and keep it for themselves. oh, wait. as i type this, i can see a card i made months ago, just for something to do, and i have yet to give it away. so, ok, forget i said anything about losers who keep their cards for themselves. ... so, um... moving along now...

i made this card for one of the doctors at the children's hospital. he very graciously met with me this afternoon to address some concerns i had, and went out of his way to accomodate me. he listened to my ideas, and in fact, really liked one (the idea about the list of asher's conditions, for those who are also following asher's blog). he's going to make sure we get a list of asher's conditions and put it in the front of his chart in emerg, so that regardless of who the attending physician is and how well we know them, the doc will know of all of my boy's "issues" and quirks, and any extra information that may not be known off the top of their heads (eg, irradiated blood products due to immunodeficiency, risk of drowning associated with reflux, the link between asher's reflux and his heart). in fact, dr a went even further, and surprised me by printing off the schedule of attending emerg docs for august and september. then he added, "the october schedule should be finalized by the end of the month. if you email me, i'll send it to you then." seriously! and so, other than a very embarassing "wardrobe malfunction," i think the meeting went very well and was very productive. and given that i seem to be the thorn in his flesh over the last 8 months or so, i'd like him to know how much i do appreciate his graciousness, time and efforts to placate an obnoxious mom who seems to like to complain. ah, well. at least i didn't drag him onto the news this time! lol

ok, the card-y details: cardstock is Stampin' Up!, paper is K&Company, blue brads are Making Memories, and i don't remember the rest of the items. i'd say miscellaneous brad and eyelets. but the flower? pam, a little help?

so, there you go. i think i've done a couple other projects in the last month or so, but to be honest, i haven't been as, um, prolific as i'd like. hopefully this card will inspire more creativity and productivity in me. ah, well, a girl can dream, right? :)