OLW #72: CRAZY

This month's Word Up at One Little Word is CRAZY, put forth by the lovely Denise Morrison.

Ooo, did that word sing out to me!  Yes, in actual song.  Which made me think of all the songs that have "Crazy" in them like:

• Crazy by Patsy Cline
• She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals
• Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
• Crazy For You by Madonna
• Let's Go Crazy by Prince
• I Go Crazy by Paul Davis
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen
• Watching The Wheels by John Lennon

There are a lot of them.  And, yes, I realize I am dating myself with the selections cited. ;)  Whatevs.

It was the John Lennon one that struck me.  

"People say I'm crazy, doin' what I'm doin'"

There are a lot of choices I've made in life that others think are crazy--from adding a pet to the family to quitting high salaried jobs--and there are chances I've taken that are crazy by my own retrospective measure (remaining tight-lipped as the statute of limitations may not have yet expired. Lol!).

Journaled with a Speedball fountain pen and Higgins waterproof black ink
on a piece of Disney Princess drawing paper by Mead.  :)
(It was here, it was 9x12, and it had the weight I was looking for.)
I colored the paper with a wash of several Distress Inks and Dylusion mist.

I started journaling with the intent to obliterate some crazy confessions and over-journal with my crazy dreams.   I realized that I don't hold regrets for any of the crazy stuff I've done.  It all makes up who I am, the past experiences, close shaves, exhilarating risks, and leaps of faith.

 "Crazy" is subjective--what seems crazy to some may be completely sane to others.   

I tore the journaling into strips, mixed them up because my past and my dreams for the future, no matter how crazy each might be, are a part of me, perhaps the essence of me.  I wove them through a little self-portrait that I'd done with a Stabilo All Pencil, watercolors, and oil pastels.  (Kind of a mess…)

Check out all the crazy, wonderful inspiration on the One Little Word blog, and join in!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweeping Up

Sometimes when my floors need sweeping I call my mom.

I knew it sounded awful when I said it out loud…

…which made me laugh…

…which inspired me to make a scrapbook page.

First of all, let me assure you that I do NOT call my mom and tell her to get over here and clean my house!  But, when I realized that I do have this weird thing that I sweep while I talk to her on the phone (and never when I talk to anyone else) I spent a few minutes psycho-analyzing my behavior.

I doodled that little telephone, cut it out and added the button over the dial.  Fun!

I think that when I talk with my mom, when we connect, I begin to look at my surroundings with her eyes and feel compelled to clean up the things I'd hate for her to see.

Some goodies from Cocoa Daisy, layered and tacked down with some
red embroidery floss to echo the stitch I put on the telephone's button.

This layout also made me realize something about my scrapping style:  I'm a literalist.  I like supporting  embellishments that visually, literally tie to my story.  Hence the telephone.  And, here, I used water soluble pastels, colored pencils and graphite to lightly extend the dirty floor in my photo onto the white background paper.  Lol!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call to make…

"Hello, Mom?"  

Thanks for popping in!!  Have a great day!

Edit:  With a little nudge from Ashli (aka SoapHOUSEmama) I've linked up this layout to the challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  You can link up, too and be entered to win a $50 gift voucher to Simon Says Stamp!  Woohoo!

Beauty Secrets

Yeah, sorry to have pulled you in with that post title.  Lol!  It's more a "Dirty Little Secret" than a "Beauty Secret".  Um…maybe it's actually a "What Not To Do" than it is "A Tip".

I cut my own bangs.  And Meaghan, (and Leyla, and Lindsey, and Sharon, and the other Sharon, and every other professional I've ever entrusted with maintaining my locks) deal with it, kindly, and ask me not to, and will do it at no charge if I would just come into the salon and ask.  "5 minutes!" they say, "that's all it'll take!"

So, here is the secret, here is the probable reason they object to my self-care:

Cocoa Daisy has a monthly "Pleased to Meet You" challenge, highlighting one of their amazing Design Team members, in which you take inspiration from their personal style of scrapping.  This month features Denise Morrison.  A few of the design elements I took from Denise are, off-cropping (for lack of a better term) my photo, journaling directly onto the background paper, use of arrows and torn paper, and paint splats.

True Denise style would have included scribbles, gesso, and stenciling.    Head on over to the Cocoa Daisy blog, get inspired and link up!  This "just for fun" challenge goes until May 13, so maybe I'll have time for a second attempt at channeling my masterfully-messy, inner Denise! (God, I really hope I have an inner Denise!  Getting to know her through the Cocoa Daisy message boards--this is the kind of woman you'd wear a WWDD bracelet for, for strength in the moment, and asking yourself, "What would Denise do??  I love her!)

Still Searching for Myself

I found my art journal the other day.  It was buried on my work table which is decidedly too small a space for working AND allowing in progress things to dry and/or marinate.  A re-design of my space is in progress.  :)  

Flipping through, I found this spread from May of last year.  "You can be who you want to be….and it doesn't have to have a name.  It doesn't have to be defined.  It is You.  At your core, your center, it is You."  Hmm.  Sage advice I'd given myself, and yet I am still struggling, still trying to construct a definition.   

I need to put that torch down.  I need to answer "Who Am I?" with "I Am Me."

"Me" is answer enough, though I can always continue developing, evolving, and emerging into my me-ness.

This bit of blue paper that I made into a pocket for my journaling was piece of a two part experiment.
Part One was to draw and cut out the "girl version" of the paper dolls seen in the Amy Tangerine washi tape there, with the connected hands and feet forming heart shapes.  Part Two was me wondering how bleach and colored paper would react.  I mixed some bleach and water in a spray bottle, laid the paper dolls down as a mask, spritzed and waited to see what happened.  I like it!!

I know that my art journal is a pivotal part of my self-discovery process.  In finding it, I feel I found a piece of me.  A forgotten piece, literally buried beneath a bunch of "have-to's", projects for others or for purposes other than play.

How completely perfect that it resurrected itself today, on Easter Sunday.  :)

Happy Spring!  Thank you for visiting!

Today's Post Brought to You By…

...The Letter "R"

I've always been a HUGE fan of Sesame Street, hence the title of today's post.  Why the letter "R"?  Well, when I came up with this idea for an off-the-page project for Remember When, I decided "R for Remember When" was a good candidate.

R is a lovely balanced letter from a monogramming  standpoint:  It's as heavy on top as on bottom, has vertical, round, and slanted lines, and has complete as well as broken horizontal elements to carry a design across, both directly and suggestively.  

Paper: My Mind's Eye Collectable "Remarkable"

To construct the letter, I printed out a bold "R" in Arial Black font at size 800.  I traced it onto a piece of 12x12 chipboard, which was actually the backing of a stack of scrapbook paper.  From a thinner, flexible piece of cardboard (the back of an old spiral notebook) I cut 1-1/4" strips and glued them perpendicularly around the edge of the R, creating a 3D block letter.  

While a coat of blue paint dried on the finished R, I punched a bunch of 1-1/4" circles from the papers and curled one side of each around a pencil.   I glued the flat edges in a scale pattern on the front. 

I think this would look cute on the mantel of some R-named family, or on a bookshelf in an R-named kid's room.  I wonder if Jeremy would mind if we changed his name to Rob, Randy, Rick or Rafael….   

Thanks for visiting! :)

You LOVE Me

Look at that face!  (I pronounce it "faysh" cuz he's got those cheeksh! Shoh cute!!)  I think Jeremy is about two in this picture.  It's amazing to think this was about a dozen years ago.  One of my favorite stories/memories of this time was our tender mother and son moments.  I'd be holding him on my lap or carrying him and just ooze out, "I love you!" to that little face!  And he would tenderly lay his hands on either side of my face, look me deeply in the eyes and reply, "You love me."  Lol!  Not the response I was expecting, but TRUE, nonetheless!   I'm not sure when he came to verbalize a reciprocal love for me, but I adored this response while it lasted.  :)

I exclusively used My Minds Eye "Collectable" "Remarkable" line for this layout, as it was another Design Team project for Remember When.  Everything, including the washi tape. Oh, but the stamps are from the "Collectable" "Unforgettable" line.  And the yellow bakers twine, while also from My Minds Eye, is from their "Indie Chic" collection.  I decided to handcut the title and gave it a little dimension by sewing across and gently "fluffing" the letters away from the background. 

My inspiration:  this layout by Michelle Hernandez
(known about my house as "Brooklyn Girl" and around the web as WillieburgScrapper, though her star
 is fast rising, and I can probably just start calling her Michelle Hernandez, no aka needed!)

Such a great stamp set.  All of them in the collection, really.  I want them all!  Shh, don't tell Mike, but I bought a second one while I was at the store "just looking" the other night. ;)  But, at $6.99 retail, how could I not???

And, here is my journaling.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  I have another "off the page" project that I made with these lovely papers that I will share with you later this week!  The paint is drying!  ;)

Have a wonderful day!!

Bo Bunny Wreath

Along with the "A Proper Lady" layout, I also made a wreath using the 

Bo Bunny C'est La Vie line,  inspired by this tutorial.  

I tucked the remaining bit of Maya Road Satin Scallop Edge trim between two rows of random pieces of accordion-folded 6"x2" pieces of paper.  The brown trim hides all my staples, and the leaves were hand drawn, cut out, and tucked in round about.  The flowers are from a spray by Prima.

Adding the large sticker, "Everything happens for a reason," to the center was an afterthought, and I think really makes the piece.  And, I love the tiny "listen carefully" sticker, a reminder that perhaps sense can be made of even the most senseless of happenings if only we tune in.

Maybe Jillian would like hanging this wreath in her room after it's run on display at Remember When.  I'll keep you posted on what she thinks! :)

Thank you for coming by and seeing what I've been up to!
Have a great weekend!