Memorial Day May 30th

Tuesday May 24th

Sign near a Beach in Australia

Don't think I've ever seen a warning sign
with the word DIE in it...

another good reason to re-think vacation plans...

Always thought I'd like to visit Australia...

Maybe not so much after finding this map!

Page Twelve, the last page

page twelve

Time heals almost everything.

Give TIME time.

I think this is my favorite page.

The background is clock-printed paper.

The quotes are typed, punched out in circles, and mounted

on lager paper circles and pop-dotted onto the page.

A TIME charm is in the bottom left corner.

Actual clock faces and clock parts decorate the page.

Page Eleven

page eleven

GET RID OF ANYTHING THAT ISN'T USEFUL, BEAUTIFUL, OR JOYFUL.

The challenge for this page was to use a sheet of die cuts.  These are from Graphic 45 applied over a striped paper background.  The one extra piece I added is the puffy UNIQUE sticker.

Page Ten

page ten

The best is yet to come.

The background on this page is the torn napkin on waxed paper technique.  I used floral napkins on this one.  

Don't you love the daisy as the sun?!  

For this page I peeled the dried napkin collage off the waxed paper before 

adhering it to a piece of striped Memory Box paper already glued 

to the chipboard shape.  

I had some puffy stickers that were perfect for this page:  

nothin' but blue skies; sun shine; smell the flowers.  

I added a listen charm with a ribbon bow and a row of bows 

on a piece of apple green ribbon to finish the page.

Page Nine

page nine

Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

Nothing special for the background here--music paper over chipboard.  The fun part was using the Lion and words from a sheet of Graphic 45 Le Cirque to support the central theme.  The lock and key are flat stickers, as is the pocket watch and the decorative piece in the peak.  I outlined the "house" with daffodil pearls to finish the page.

Page Eight

page eight

Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.

 This page, A Note from the Woodhshed, began when I learned a packing tape image transfer technique.  All of the background images on this page are magazine pictures transferred to packing tape.  This is a technique I'll be teaching in my class on Monday the 16th.  I popdotted a piece of acetate over some of the images to create a "house", outlining it with bakers twine.  I love the brass owl charm and the sketchbook sticker!

Page Seven

page seven

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

The background for this page is torn strips of paper inked around the outside edge of the shape.  I used a piece of mesh to anchor the items in the center of the page--an old photo postcard from an auction lot; a mini file folder embellished with stickers; a 3-D key sticker; a book sticker; 3-D puzzle piece stickers in the right corner and at the peak.  I love the photo--it reminds me of pictures of my mother and grandmother.  The green on the background is decorative tape and I added a tiny piece under the file folder to bring more of that color to the center.

Page Six

page six

Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

The background technique for this page was really interesting.  Start with a pile of decorated paper napkins and peel the layers apart until you have just the thinnest top layer.  Tear out the images you want to use.  Layer these images onto waxed paper using Multi-Medium Matte.  Keep adding layers and overlapping images until you like the look.  Adhere this to the chipboard page and trim to fit.  I think fishing is a deep breath, mind-calming activity and that became the focal image for this page.  I typed the text, printed it out, tore the edges, and inked it with olive green before layering it over an olive green plaid square.  I applied stickers from a fishing-themed package--rod, vest, compass, net and fish.  I created a charm for the center of the page from a rusted tin fish, a BREATHE charm, and a fishing lure.  The last detail on this page is the frog on the lily pad charm in the lower right corner.

Page Five

Page Five

Believe in MIRACLES.

The background for this page is a piece of a cardboard box.  I tore some of the top layer of paper off to expose the cardboard ribs beneath.  I then painted it with metallic copper and red acrylics.  I found an interesting paper scrap to place on the right before I added copper metallic stickers to the bottom corners and the peak, a key, some dots in various sizes.  The castle takes the center with a banner above it that features a fortune-teller's globe and two acrylic stars.  A crescent moon, scepter, a lock, and a butterfly are the other decorations.

Page Four

Page Four

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

This was a fun page to create.  The background is a page from a nature textbook titled "About Crows".  The technique for this page was to paint on blocks of color in similar tones over text--I used copper metallic, red metallic, and peach acrylic paints.  The thin coat of paint allows the words on the page to show through in places as well as the page's illustration of crows and scarecrow.  I gathered all of my Memory Box crow stamps and stamped a different image in each painted block.  The quote was added last with a bit of tea dye ink smudged on the white paper.

Page Three

page three

No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

I began this page by covering my chipboard shape with sheet music printed scrapbook paper.  I put some metallic copper acrylic paint on an old credit card and swiped it down the page.  I then repeated  that technique using a lighter peach acrylic paint.  I stamped a row of bare trees near the top of the page and centered a large bare tree at the bottom.  I stamped a word collage, tearing and inking the edges before adhering it to the page.  I typed up the words for this page, printed them out, and adhered them to the left of the word collage.  I added a row of pearls and a piece of cream lace-printed transparent overlay to accent the quote.  A copper metallic sticker and some copper dimensional dots finish the page.

Page Two

page two

Over prepare.  Then go with the flow.

The background for this page is one inch squares ("inchies") that I punched from a variety of coordinating papers in black/white/cream  spaced a bit apart on white-papered chipboard.  I then added only a few simple elements--some three-dimensional flowers, white dot stickers, and three white domed pearl brads.  The glassine envelope holds some special little paper pieces and a note to myself, sealed and decorated with another white dot sticker, a pearl "a", and a row of little pearls on the envelope flap.

My Latest Book May 1, 2011 page one

front cover

page one

This book was a project that I started in early March and finished up in  late April.  I found the challenge and basic instructions on the Ink Stains blog and decided to play along and create my own book.  I followed Roni's suggestions for the foundation of each page, trying techniques that were mostly new to me for creating page backgrounds.  And then I decorated each page as I chose, adding a phrase that held meaning for me in light of my cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.  The title for the book, "My Cancer...An Artful Journey to Recovery" came at the end after all the pages were finished and the book was bound together.

I decided to share a page each day starting May 1st.  Page One:  IF LIFE DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE GAME YOU WANT THEN INVENT A NEW ONE.  The background for this page is layered papers which I cut into, scratched, tore and mangled any way I could before adding inks and layers of other ephemera and stamped images.  There is a lot of texture and depth to this page, many hidden images and text in its multiple layers.