Monday, August 27, 2012

The Blank Page

Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead (Gene Fowler)

    This quote is usually in the back of my mind when I begin a project. I found this quote in my early days of working on calligraphy projects. I'd have all the materials in front of me, including a beautiful sheet of whatever special paper was chosen for the project. I'd load my pen nib with ink, practice some strokes on scrap paper until the ink was gone.

   And then........
I'd stare at that beautiful paper, clean the pen nib a little more, straighten the work area, grab a nail file and work on my nails a bit, get up and straighten a shelf of supplies, discover a book I'd forgotten I had.............and..........

   I waited for the blood to form on my forehead, but the procrastination had to end. Finally!  I made the first stroke of the first letter and once again fell in love with the beauty of the ink blending with the paper and I was on my way to a finished project.

   Somehow that procrastination of mine carries over into many things, making cards, putting a scrapbook layout together, cleaning a closet or a drawer.....

   Thank goodness, no blood ever formed on my forehead or I would have required several transfusions by now!! whew!!
                                Do you procrastinate in your creative process too?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Halloween already?

Yep! I made a luminary with a Halloween theme. I will make each out of different card stocks for  my Christmas card workshop attendees.
Try them with Thanksgiving and Christmas themes. It is fun to walk into a friend's house at a holiday and see your gift on a table or mantle with a flicker candle inside.

I am so glad someone invented the flicker candles....wish I had thought of it!!

If you want the directions to make these, send me an email with Halloween in the subject line!
Happy-back-to-school time!!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Wedding Guestbook Completed

The guestbook for the wedding of my niece Carly and fiancĂ© Sean is finished. The album was one that I've had for awhile. It has beautiful flower petals embedded in the handmade paper on the cover. I used most of the handmade pages that came with the album but hand-colored all of them. The paper for these pages is delightful....great texture and strength.  I took the whole book apart and rebound it with a stitched signature and adhesive.

Other pages in the book are made of various cardstock. Eggplant, green, white and cream are the main colors with Eggplant highlighted to match her wedding color choice. These pages contain pockets for an assorted number of tags. Guests will be able to leave a message, or just a signature on tags or on any page - wherever they want. There should be enough room for Carly and Sean to journal on pages or tags later on.

This was a joy to design and create!!
Enjoy your weekend...
cbs.....

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Stapling Tip

I can't believe it's been 7 days since I've posted anything!! Where DOES the time go? I have been very busy getting some projects designed and underway. I'm finishing up a guestbook for a niece's wedding.....such a joy to do these!! I'll post photos after she's seen it. But, I used a technique with staples that I've not seen before and thought I'd share it. Maybe you already do this...click on the Paper Clipping Tab above for details.




Have a fun weekend!!

..........cbs

Friday, August 3, 2012

Using the Sun

I decided to use the sun today when I found a package of solar paper today. This was exercise too 'cause I had to keep walking outside, then back in and back out again.....well, it FELT like a lot of exercise in this heat!

Anyway, here are the results. Recognize some of what I used? Exploring a new way of using Dreamweaver Stencils was fun too! I tried to use stencils that were best in blue.

Next attempt will be to incorporate these in other projects.....stay tuned.
......enjoy the weekend.....
CBS...…

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

34th Anniversary


    Nice memory --- the early years of marriage and anniversary celebrations...... getting all dressed up for fancy dinners at a favorite restaurant, surprise gifts for each other (and my husband is good at surprise gifts!!), and time together.
   This year, our 34th was a fun weekend. Our daughter Heather, her husband David and granddaughter Emmalee took us to our fancy dinner out at Mario's in downtown Detroit - a good restaurant that has been around for a long, long time. It was a 34th celebration for Heather too because she is Jim's daughter and I adopted her a year after we were married.
   We also drove around downtown Detroit and were excited to see all the activity. Jimmy Buffet and Lionel Richie were in concert at the ballpark. There were people everywhere. It was sad to drive by the old ballpark location - an empty, fenced-in lot, but good ole Corktown looks like it's stayin' alive.
   I used to work in downtown Detroit, my husband and his family would make fun trips to downtown Detroit when he was young - to shop, to eat at the Hudson's tea room, etc. I hope it becomes a vibrant city again.....the architecture on many of the buildings is beautiful!
   ANYWAY, our actual anniversary was the 29th and we spent the evening with our 3-year-old granddaughter Emmalee at Chuck E. Cheese!!!  I've gotta admit, it was a special evening!!

Enjoy your August!!
.....cbs
p.s. The building above (former Michigan/PennCentral Depot) is broken down, falling apart and one of my favorites in Detroit because I saw part of it in a beautiful stage in the mid-70s. It is privately owned now and I hope it's restored to its glory!!