Another gorgeous Saturday. Glen and I went to the Farmer's Market this morning. I decided to walk up to it and have Glen meet me there. That worked out pretty good except I fell down on my way! Dangit! I was even still on our street. I just stepped on a rock, lost my footing and down I went. I twisted my ankle a bit, scrapped my shin and my knee. I felt like a little kid when I fell because as I was sitting there, I picked up the rock that brought me down, threw it, and sat there for a moment and just pouted! Thankfully, once I got to the Farmer's Market, Glen was there to offer me some much needed sympathy (and lemonade!) :-)
So I got one of my projects I've been working on done!!! I joined in on a Fatbook project through the Art and Soul Yahoo group. The theme is "Heart." The kind and talented Elise is not only hosting this swap but she has also been sending the participants cards, info, and birthday fortunes. VERY fun!!! Thank you Elise!
I've been taking pictures here and there of my progress with the Heart Fatbook and I'd like to share them with you. This is the first fatbook I've ever participated in. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. I did catch myself a few times considering the questions - Am I doing this right? Will it fit in? Thankfully, I didn't go too far down that road. OF COURSE it would be "right" and it will "fit in" by virtue of it being unique! Having just gone through this whole mental exercise, I was really drawn to the opening quote in the Introduction section of the book Foolsgold.
Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. Harold Thurman Whitman
I love this! It's this kind of stuff that keeps me taking risks and experimenting and exploring...and finding what makes me happy.
So here are a few pictures of doing what makes me happy! :-)
For the base of the pages, I used watercolor paper. I cut the pages down to 4" x 4" and punched holes in it. For the color I used Making Memories acrylic paints mixed with Golden Glazing Medium.
On the front, I stamped with a linoleum block I carved. I also stamped "Michelle's Small Scroll" from justjohanna stamps. I was trying to use original items on these pages and since this is a stamp that, a-hem, yours truly designed (smile), I wanted to include it. On the back, I made imprints with lace. That took awhile to get the hang of that but I was happy with how it turned out.
Here's a close up of the lino-block. I'm a fan of the rugged look and so I'm not overly careful about making sure I get real clean white space.
Lots of ingredients and lots of sewing with these pages. I know it's goofy showing these kinds of pictures but I just love seeing all the pages and bits in quantity!
These are the pages after I got the words all stamped.
Completely finished! The "heart" is stamped on to ribbon and then secured with grommets.
And here's the back completely finished. Since I was saying that "dreams come true when you wish them with your heart," I decided to share my wish coupons. :-)
Boy that sure feels good to get this one accomplished! Out of the three Art and Soul swap projects I'm participating in (with the exception of charm swap) this was the one with the latest due date but I really felt like I wanted to do this one first. I am having such a wonderful art-filled summer and so many artsy dreams are coming true that I was really drawn to this one first. My heart so happy and content right now. Creating these pages was a very positive experience for me.
Okay, on to the next project! :-)
Take care and hope you have a fabulous weekend!!! I'm planning on spending some time doing a bit of housework (ugh!) and spending some time in my studio. Glen's off working on his plane and Miranda's on her way over to have a scheduled "lay low" day. She's coming over specifically to hang out in our cool house, drink POM Peach Passion tea, eat kettle corn from the Farmer's Market, and read Animorphs. That's the plan for the entire day!
See ya!
