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May 28, 2008

The Art of Living

I don't know where it came from, but yesterday, I was a whirlwind of creative impulses. I did so much, tried so many new things, and all of it turned out cool. And today has been just as blessed.

For example. Yesterday I finished doing the paper collage work on my button box.

There is a very light low relief shape on the top that I wanted to highlight. You could barely see it in the original, and it was actually the thing that made me decide to get the box. The original colors and finish were ugly, it was distressed fake gold overkill, but that little raised design spoke to me of possibility. And I got to see that possibility realized this afternoon.

(In the photo above, you can sort of make the relief out on the lid under the red tissue paper. Notice that I left some of the original fake gold finish showing. It's not bad in small doses, just when it's the only finish option for the entire box.)

Today I used some charcoal and some Treasure Gold in Classic Gold to bring out the texture on the lid. Moments ago, I applied the first coat of sealer to the lid and spine, and this is what the box looks like now. (It's a little cloudy because the finish is drying, but you get the idea.)

Once it dries, I'll be coating the back with the same thing. The idea is to give it a couple of coats of the sealant, to protect everything and also to make it all shiny. Then, I'll be attaching a couple of elastic bands to the inside of the lid to tuck button cards under and dumping my buttons in it. I'm very excited about that part.

But that was just one creative thing I worked on yesterday.

I also finally booked my plane tickets for my trip to Idyllwild Arts Academy this summer for the book making workshop. I wrote a bit. I coffee dyed a white ribbed tanktop that was just too white for my tastes. I participated in a play reading. And I tried a new image transfer technique (new to me, anyway) using packing tape. Now I have these four animal images and no idea what to use them on. They'll probably become ATC's, but I'm not 100% on that yet.

Then, even though I was yawning so hard I thought the top of my head might fall off, I started messing around with my camera to see what the possibilities were for this week's PhotoHunt entry. The theme is "Self," and the idea is to take a picture of you or any part of you. An accidental overexposure turned into a gift from the Muses, and wait until you see the picture I have for you on Saturday.

So that was yesterday. Today I slept in. No alarm clocks in the summertime or any vacation at the Sallyacious house unless they're absolutely necessary. When we can, we sleep until we wake around here. So I didn't wake up until 9am. And then I wrote for over an hour. After that, it was back in the car to get some more art supplies.

Wandering through our local chain crafts store, I came upon their clearance aisle. I got a whole lot of little bunches of fake flowers of all sizes and materials for a quarter each. And three 20" x 6' rolls of acetate for a dollar apiece. Plus several rolls of glassine paper and some small rolls of Martha Stewart giftwrap for the same price. Also a distressing kit for half price because they had a "50% off any one regularly priced item in the store coupon." So I used it for something I would not otherwise have purchased and I think I chose wisely. I already used the charcoal, and figuring out how to use the rest of the contents will be a hooot.

Then I went to Ross to find a container for all of the rolls of paper & acetate I'd just purchased. No luck with that, but I found four square mirrored/glass plates with four different flower designs on them in black and white. They're very 1940's. They were only $2 each, and I did not tell the nice woman at the checkout that I was not going to use them as either plates or wall art. I have a sneaking suspicion I will be wrapping them in an old pillowcase and dropping them from the top of a ladder onto the driveway so I can use them for mosaics. But she didn't need to know that.

After that, I came home and worked on the button box. I'm itching to make paper again tonight, but I don't know if I really want to get into that this evening. Even though I've got some great ideas for new things to try. Among other treasures I purchased on my recent trips to the local chain craft store (yes, it rhymes with Pike-ls, I resent that being my only option for art supplies unless I want to use the mostly overpriced university bookstore), I bought a bunch of teeny little fondant cutters in leaf, flower, heart and star shapes. I'm going to use them for paper molds. I'm so clever.

The thing is, I can't remember the last time I had all the time in the world to do creative projects and the energy to do them. It's really wonderful to be feeling this inspired.

Posted by sally at May 28, 2008 03:54 PM

Comments

Posted by: alohapenny at May 30, 2008 12:05 AM

Posted by: Sallyacious at May 30, 2008 09:26 AM

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