Feeling Fallish...

I know it's been months since I've posted anything... I've been busy with so many other things, and quite frankly just hadn't been feeling particularly crafty. In the past week or two, though, I'd been missing the East Coast autumn, and decided I really wanted to make something "leafy." Anyway, last Sunday when I was watching the Eagles game I grabbed a pair of scissors and a mostly untouched Boxer pad and started cutting leaves - double thicknesses so I had 2 (mostly) matching shapes. I used some old brown variegated fiber (which I know has been around for at least 5 years) and then glued the leaves together with PVA bookbinding glue (chosen since it dries clear and remains flexible). I gave it about 10 minutes to dry - yes, I'm impatient - and then hung it around the kitchen entry. Thankfully I'd planned ahead and left the nails up from the Christmas garland ;) I love how it turned out, and I even used the scraps to make something else... will post about that later this week!

Clay Fun

Polymer clay - something I was very familiar with due to my religious watching of the Carol Duvall show (I still have the VHS tape that was always loaded and ready in case I sensed that a good paper project was coming up :) - but I had never actually used it.

Well, our daughter saw these cute little animals in an issue of her American Girl magazine, and even big brother wanted to make one. They suggested using air dry clay, but I was afraid that they wouldn't hold up too well, so yesterday while running errands we procured a package of assorted color sculpey. And then, of course, the kids wanted to start making their animals before I'd even left the parking lot of the store - I convinced them to wait the ridiculously long time until after lunch...

I must say, they turned out amazingly well. The kids made all the shapes themselves (the bodies have a ball of aluminum foil inside) and I helped with fine tuning, attaching, etc. The pig is our daughter's, our son made the cat, and the dog and panda were made for some friends. They were hanging out with their long-lost Little Pet Shop cousins yesterday afternoon, and happily survived the rigorous hands-on attention. I predict more sculpey fun in our future!

Love Makes. Love Gives.

I try to keep this more as my "crafty creations" blog, but obviously I share a lot of myself through these little endeavors. As I was going through my Google Reader line-up this morning, this post caught my attention.

Genesis 1:1 is one of my favorite verses: "In the beginning God created..." simply because it reminds me that the enjoyment I get from making stuff is a tiny (and very imperfect) reflection of God's character. He created our whole world just by speaking - except for man, when God reached down and actually took dirt and formed Himself. Talk about a play dough masterpiece!!

Anyway, it also reminded me that many times I have a hard time letting go of my little creations... After a project is completed, I want to keep it to myself rather than passing it along. But the creation is an expression of my very heart, and it needs to be shared.

Even when I'm not sure if it will be "properly" appreciated. But that's what love is. Giving without strings attached. Letting go without expectations. What a gift to give.

Striped Polka Dot Baby Card

I really wanted to play along with this week's One-Layer challenge, which was to create a baby card inspired by one of these cakes. I was drawn to the striped diaper bag cake (10th photo down the page) and I have this new Hero Arts set, which happens to have a striped polka dot. How serendipitous! I originally was going for multi-colored dots, but the result was pretty abysmal. Actually, there was nothing pretty about it. I ended up just using the different colors in different dots, although there are a couple striped ones in the mix. I'm still not thrilled with the finished product, but I'd already spent waaaaay too long working on this "simple" card -- and I really need to get it mailed off to our friends who've announced they're expecting another little bundle o' joy! The sentiment is from Verve - love the versatility of this set.

Would anyone care to offer any design insights? Are the dots too close together? Are the pastel colors just too washed out? Any and all thoughts are appreciated!

Be Yourself

Simple card to share today - the lovely lady is from an Inkadinkadoo inchie set, and the sentiment is Hero Arts.

White cardstock, two ink colors, layered onto a card base. Sometimes nothing more is needed...

My help comes from the Lord...

I can't imagine that each of us hasn't been touched in some way between all the economic issues and the natural disasters sweeping the globe. We know a number of families who've experienced different degress of loss, and I sometimes struggle with what to say. I want to *do* something, but obviously I can't just sweep in and make everything better... I made this card to send to a friend who is going through some difficulties, but I found myself encouraged as well. No matter what is going on, HE is still in control, and HE will provide what we need.

Mountaing image: Cornish Heritage Farms, Sentiment: Wordsworth, Patterned Paper: 7gypsies

Tape Love

Yes, I'm definitely digging tape. This was the stuff* that got it all started (translation: putting in this order) but I realized I had never shared these 2 cards that I cranked out in about 15 minutes. I just stamped the sentiment (both from Hero Arts), layered on a bit of tape, added a flower to 1, and then rounded the corners for a finishing touch.

*I'm pretty sure I bought these as a set at HobLob last fall, but I can't remember the manufacturer or any other info. Sorry!