I had a bit of a block about doing this, so first I stamped a bird from the StampinUp Love Life Stamp Set and watercolored it.
Then, still worried about trying to actually draw something that resembles a bird, I decided to do a silly owl drawing and paint it. And to be even more fun, I added some nut brown Flower Soft to make fuzzy feathers, a couple of googly eyes, and a linen thread bow.
After doing these is when I allowed myself to try drawing a bird. I have a long way to go, but I made the first step and drew my first bird.
It doesn’t happen often, but this head cold has got the best of me right now. I have a whisper of a voice (and for those that know me well know what a challenge this is for me – you know – my quiet, reserved nature… NOT!). My throat just aches, and I am so sick of honey lemon cough drops I could throw up, but they help soothe and quiet the hacking cough. My stuffed up ears are cracking and popping, and I would like to poke holes in them to release the pressure. What a whiner – eh?! Good thing I don’t get sick very often!!
I spent most of the day snuggled with Mikey on the couch watching the snow fall and binge watching crazy stuff on television between cat naps.
I was glad I had this card made and photographed and ready to go for the Friday Mashup Challenge (#193) for today’s post.
The challenge is to:
Create a project with the “Triple Layer Technique” (For my card-making friends, you can check out a Tutorial HERE for this technique)
Create a project that’s “Floral”. (I decided lemons with leaves were kinda “floral” – ok – maybe a stretch!)
or Mash it Up! and create a “Floral Triple Layer Project”.
I decided not to add a sentiment to the front of the card since it already has a lot going on, and this is the simple inside:
For my card, I used Stampin Up Old Olive and Very Vanilla Card Stock, the SU Love Life Stamp Set (same one that had the cute little bird I featured here), the SU En Francais Background Stamp, and had fun with the technique and challenge. I colored the lemons in with a Crushed Curry Marker and the leaves with Old Olive, and some thin black lines and some accents with a white gel marker. I finished it off with a button and some twine.
I really enjoyed the technique of triple layering, and besides being much easier than it looks, there are so many possibilities and variations you can do with this.
So it’s Friday night – though you are reading this sometime after 6:00 am EST on Saturday. (If you haven’t caught on yet, I schedule my daily posts for 6 am EST, but I typically write them the evening before.) 😉
And for this particularly exciting Friday evening (as I am fighting off a head cold that is trying to get the best of me and a little bit of a sore back – did something at the dang gym – grr!), Marty and I ate Chinese take out (I indulged in my favorite 8-treasure rice from Jimmy Wann’s and a nice glass of Red Zin – my first all week!) in front of a warm fire… and I got to pick the movie.
I rarely even care what is on television, but I love to pick a movie on Friday evening for some reason. ( I know – really exciting stuff – eh?!)
So, as I write this, I am not only sniffling from the nasal drip of this cold, but from literally bawling my eyes out.
I know – a little late to the game on this one – eh? But – wow – what a beautiful story…
Ok – maybe a little mushy, a little cliche, a little predictable.
But also so life affirming, thought provoking, and a reminder of how precious life is.
A story that shows us how we need to discover that a good life does not mean we have to be famous or accomplished or published or world-renown ….
One of my favorite lines is when 16 year old cancer patient, Hazel tells her boyfriend Gus, an 18-year old young man who is dying and disappointed that he didn’t do something greater with his life:
“You say you’re not special because the world doesn’t know about you, but that’s an insult to me. I know about you.”
My BFF, Jill, and I have often said to each other throughout the years, “What’s it all about?”
I think it’s about loving…
Loving life – and the people that are in our life…
And isn’t that enough?
So what a coincidence that I had made this (yet another – been on a crafty kick this week) card with this crazy little bird that I can’t even tell you what colors I used, because I kept combining and mixing and blending a million colors until I liked it, from the SU stamp set called – of all things – “Love Life.”
the creative life in between 