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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Blogger's Challenge #121 - Alter It!

Hi everyone, it's finally Friday and I am finally starting to feel better from this awful cold I've had this week. Thankfully it didn't turn into Bronchitis, I appreciate all of you who e-mailed me get well wishes. I've felt your prayers this week! Our Blogger's Challenge this week was to Alter something and for a while I planned to sit this one out, but I NEEDED to get out of bed and DO something productive, kwim?

So, yesterday afternoon, I forced myself to go into the studio and make my project for today and I decided that since I felt so cruddy that I was going to just make something for ME - something that makes ME happy and not worry about whether it would be a good class, or if it was perfect or anything but making sure it would make ME smile. So, I pulled out this package of 2 ugly wood plaques that I picked up for a buck several years ago at some local craft store and decided to turn it into something beautiful.

This is my final result.

I am SO HAPPY with how it turned out in all it's shabby chic glory! The best part of creating this art piece was just allowing myself to create from scratch with really no plan in mind other than knowing the pictures had to make it onto the finished project!
So, I took out my gorgeous Night and Day Designer Series Paper and chose one of the more subtle patterns for my base. I cut it to size and adhered it with Tombow Glue. Then I used the Sanding Block to smooth out the edges and shabby it up some.

Next, I took out some Rich Razzleberry cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot with the Tulipe Die, creating the pieces for this fleur-de-lis. This was shabbied up with some of the Shimmer Paint in Platinum dabbed on with a Sponge Dauber. I then applied it with more Tombow Glue to the left side of the plaque, spreading out the pieces from top to bottom.

I then took out my Bella Toile Background stamp and inked it up with Rich Razzleberry and stamped it randomly on the DSP background. I also pulled out the swirl stamp from Baroque Motifs and inked it with more Platinum paint and added that image randomly as well.

My photos were trimmed down and mounted on Whisper White and Rich Razzleberry cardstock to make them more sturdy. I also stamped more Platinum swirls directly onto the photos. When I added them to the plaque, I mounted them with Stampin' Dimensionals so they would stand out over the embellishments.

On the right side, I added a different piece of Night and Day DSP. This one, I shabbied up a few different ways: Spiral Punch down the right side; crumpled up, smoothed out and inked with Rich Razzleberry and torn down the left side. This was adhered with more Tombow Glue. Next, I added a piece of Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware and inserted a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock stamped with the swirl in more Platinum paint. It was punched out with the Designer Label Punch so it would perfectly fit the hardware label holder. The hardware is attached with Mini Glue Dots behind the brads.

I wanted to add something to the plaque that expressed what the photos meant to me and I remembered this stamp from the "A Beautiful Thing" stamp set. I inked it up in Rich Razzleberry and stamped it on Whisper White. After punching it out with the Large Oval Punch and layered it on a piece of Basic Black punched out with the Scalloped Oval Punch. That was layered on a piece of Rich Razzleberry punched out with the Wide Oval Punch. I stamped a little swirl on the layers as well and shabbied it up with more Platinum paint. It is mounted with more Stampin' Dimensionals.

As a final touch, I added two ribbons, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot and Whisper White Organza. Honestly, I debated over the bow, BUT since this piece was to make ME happy, I left it. I love the clean purity of the white bow against the shabbiness of the rest of the embellishments.


And here's the thing....when it was all finished, I was almost in tears. Not only do I love my family shown in the pictures, I absolutely LOVE this finished project! For the first time in a long time, I truly did something creative just for me and it felt SO GOOD! Maybe I'd been feeling so cruddy all week and this creativity was just a release or maybe it was a sign of something more - the need to do art just because I can and because I want to. If the end result feeds my soul alone, then the effort is worth it.
I think too many times we get caught up in pleasing others and meeting others expectations that we forget to do the things that truly make us happy. So that is my encouragement to you today - if you haven't stamped or created anything just for YOU lately, make some time to go do that this weekend. Don't worry about how it turns out, just create from your heart and know that you don't have to please anyone but yourself with your art!

If you have time, be sure to check out all the other Blogger's Challenge players and their Altered Art by clicking on the link in my sidebar. And I'd love it if you come back tomorrow to check out the card I created for the Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge this week. Yep, I made it for you, but it made me smile too. You'll see why tomorrow!
Blessings,
~~Robin

26 comments:

  1. This is just gorgeous! I love all the little details.. I'm glad you're starting to feel better.

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  2. Beautiful - glad you took some time to create just for YOU! Love all the details - glad you're feeling better!

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  3. WOW!!!! This truly is a beautiful project. Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad you're feeling better.

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  4. You know, Robin, that is SO true. I get worn out just from trying to do everything and then find little time to work on stuff for myself. I always recharge at a weekend stamping retreat (next weekend!) when I ONLY work on things for myself. I always come back very energized! Glad you are feeling better...your project is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS! Love it!

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  5. Just Beautiful Robin. Another great part about it making you happy is that it makes us happy too! So glad you are feeling better.

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  6. First of all, I am SO happy that you are starting to feel better. Second of all, this project is truly gorgeous!! It's so important to feed your soul and create for yourself as often as you can. Thanks for sharing your story!!!

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  7. You are indeed an artist...one to be admired!! I absolutely LOVE this creation! Sorry to hear you have been under the weather and glad to hear you are feeling better. Have a great weekend!

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  8. Robin,

    THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! And I know you will know what I'm talking about when I say I can FEEL THE LOVE in this picture! I love all your details and how you shabbied it up. Beautiful use of the DSP and the Tulipe die! Glad this made you feel better and yep, I'm feeling better as well. Your things are so great anyway, but your post today made me laugh out loud. I love that! Laughter is the best medicine and when I can see how much love you put into this, I know how much it will be cherished for a long time to come! Great job!

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  9. Ohhh I love the colors - and the lay out - this is absolutely GORGEOUS!

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  10. Happy to hear you are starting to feel better.
    Wow your project is just amazing!
    Thanks for your thoughts as well because just yesterday I was saying that "Stamping should be FUN not a chore" so I'm glad you created something just for you and encouraged others to do so as well.

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  11. I hope you are feeling better! This turned out fantastic, I love the colors you chose and the layout in which you put it in, it's gorgeous!

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  12. I can see why you would love having this nearby to look at....it's gorgeous! Definitely, it's all about the details because they are what make this into an extraordinary piece of wall art. Of course, the photos are fabulous as well! Glad to hear you are feeling better....hope you are back to your feeling like your old self soon.

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  13. This is stunning...love those colors and all the extra details! {SMILES}

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  14. Three snaps for you girlfriend! This is beyond beautiful! What a perfect use for the Tulipe Die...and such attention to detail! LOVE it! Glad you're on the mend too! :-)

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  15. Wow, Robin, this is just gorgeous! I'm glad to hear you are feeling better too! Your words reminded me of the quote "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life". Sometimes we just need to create for no reason except to create for our enjoyment. Your beautiful work is a wonderful example. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  16. This is absolutely beautiful Robin! Lovely mix of colors! So glad that you are feeling better! :D

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  17. wow, this is wonderful! You really did a great job. I hope you are feeling better.

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  18. What a transformation for your project today! What a beautiful piece of art for you...Glad you are feeling better and congrats on Stamper's Showcase this week!

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  19. That's really gorgeous, Robin! So glad to hear that you're feeling better...and that you made something just for yourself.

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  20. OMG!!! You brought tears to my eyes as I was reading your post and taking in all the LOVE you put into this project!! This turned out just GORGEOUS and I totally see why you love it so much!!! We all do need to slow down and just create for ourselves every once in a while!!! Glad to hear you are feeling much better!!! Sucks to be the sick one!!

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  21. Beautiful project Robin! Glad you're feeling better. THIS is what you can crank out when you're sick??? :) I love it!

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  22. My goodness, Robin! This is LOVELY! Isn't it fun to create art just for the sake of feeding our soul? Good job!
    Kay

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  23. Wow! I bet this made you feel better--absolutely gorgeous project! Love the colors!

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  24. This is so beautiful. Glad you are better.

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  25. What a stunning page, Robin. I don't know how I missed it the first time around. It's beautiful! TFS!

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