Three down and one to go! This is in reference to school finals of course! Yes, I'm that close to living out a four week break and I've already started enlisting plans for it, including afternoons spent solely on scrapbooking and extra hours with the kiddo! The pressure of finals week is no longer as apparent as it was earlier this week. With only the math exam remaining, there's a sea of calm developing and for the first time in a long time, I have zero reason to rush through life. Tonight, I cleaned the house with enthusiasm! There wasn't the pressure to "get it done" so that I could move on to the next thing. Instead, it felt like I had all the time in world to do whatever it was I wanted..I could clean at a snails pace without the hassle of the clock. I picture Monday afternoon will bring me further relief - I've made special arrangements for myself to visit my favorite local boutique shop, Patinas, on Monday. Thereafter, I'll peruse the fabric shop on Grand and then maybe stop off for a delicious bite to eat at one of the local eateries. It'll be a divine experience..I'm certain. No homework. No exams. Nothing...pure heaven. :)
So, how about the status of the wreath? What do you think of it so far? I'm especially fond of it after having added a couple of more notes this afternoon. The detailing is quite substantial now that I'm seeing it as "a whole". It's going to be of a significant size after all the notes are attached and displayed. I picture it will take me another week to finish the project, though my ultimate goal is to have it done before the week's end. With no school on the horizon, I just might be able to pull it off! We'll see...
Before I was a scrapbook convert, I was a quilter and fabric dyer. If you've not acquainted yourself with quilting or "sewing" before, then you're probably not aware of the similarities between quilting and scrapbooking. Both entail obsessions with needless supplies like patterned fabric/papers, thread/ribbon, fabric dye/paints, cutting instruments, books/magazines, etc. I used to collect fabric like it was going out of existence. I'd scourer my fabric stores for the latest and greatest fabrics! Besides the sharing of supplies, scrapbooking and quilting both entail the knowledge of basic design principles such as color theory and composition development. It's in having quilted that my passion for color and design blossomed exponentially! I learned a great deal about my personal design style while experimenting with fabrics. Eventually, my quilting habit resigned and was replaced by paper - I still carry with me though bits and pieces of my quilting days. It's from an actual quilting book that this latest note was inspired - the book is from Japan and is one of many that I have from my international quilt book collection:
Inside this book is a feast of textiles set about with colors and patterns of every style & theme imaginable that are combined in the most seamless of fashion. What isn't obvious is so perfectly paired that it makes for a wonderful surprise to the reader! I highly recommend this book to anyone! I took out the book this afternoon before beginning today's note. While paging through it, I ran into an old friend - a common quilt pattern called "log cabin". Have you heard of it before? It's extremely easy to implement - it's impervious to error. I thought it a simple enough pattern to create with paper, so I chose to use it for the note. Here's my paper interpretation of "Log Cabin":
First, trim any ol' sheet of cardstock in the shape of a square (this one is 3.75" x 3.75"). Adhere a a small square photo to the center of the square.
Carefully and selectively, starting from the center while moving outwards, trim and layer a series of "oblong" shaped paper strips/stickers/ribbon/borders. Did you catch all that?! Essentially, the strips can be made out of anything - fabric, paper, sticker material, etc. Lay down the strips around the photo while over/underlapping each one on top/below their neighboring strip. Don't adhere anything at this point. Play around with the size/placement of each strip as you create a log pattern around your photo.
For added detailing to your log cabin design, tuck tiny border strips beneath one or two of the larger strips. Also, think to add typography elements from word phrase stickers and/or vintage paraphernalia. The letters lend to the contrast of the varying strips.
Lastly, think in terms of color as well. Note that I've echoed red and yellow a couple of times - this emphasizes "flow" and unity amongst the strips.
Lastly, mix-up your patterns! Don't go all "polka-dots" or "solids" - the whole point is to create something eclectic and fun!
Once you feel good about the overall location of each of the strips, adhere them in place with wet adhesive. Trim any excess overhang from the square cardstock's edges. Lastly, layer the finished "log cabin" square on top a piece of solid color cardstock (Vanilla) and trim around the square with a pair of Fiskars Scallop scissors. You should now have a "log cabin" background to coordinate embellishments on top of and to further finish your note.
My embellishments for this note are pretty straight forward. I decided that since the background was already well busy, it'd probably be best to keep the embellishments at a minimum. So, I took a couple of "candy-cane" circle rub-ons (Cosmo Cricket), applied them to vanilla cardstock and trimmed them out with a scissors. I then layered them with dark brown cardstock before finally adhering thin strips of vanilla cardstock to their backsides. The overall look is that of "candy-cane snowflakes"! Cute, eh?! I love'em!
Following the shape of a triangle, add the snowflakes to the note in three separate locations. You should now have a completed base in which to finish the rest of the note! I went ahead and added an adorable snow man from K & Company (Peppermint Twist or Swell Noel?). I then poked holes through the snowflake's and added pearl brads.
This pretty much concludes the post! I have another note to present, though will wait 'til Sunday to share it with you! It's design and color is slightly different from those notes I've been working on the last couple of weeks. I almost thought to not include it as part of the wreath, but decided to just go with it and *heart* it's uniqueness. Not everything has to look identical!! :) So, I'll return Sunday with a whole 'nother brand new post! For now, it's time to say good-bye and enjoy the weekend! I hope you enjoy yours as well! Thanks for visiting - Take Care!
Woops, almost forgot - look what landed in my inbox this morning:
Northridge Publishing has included my last year's Christmas mini album in their latest December issue of Scrapbook Trends! It's also been noted on their blog today with this week's newsletter!! Find it at the "Create" blog! :)) Just wanted to share...super excited about this!!
