Mixed Media Wall Art ~ Be An Individual

Hello folks!

My 13 year old granddaughter was accepted to a performing arts school starting this fall. 
Her papa and I could not be more proud of her than we are now!

I decided to create a mixed media wall art in her favorite color-purple. 
Also incorporating some encouraging words that will hopefully help her to... 
Be An Individual!

The perfectly written cling rubber stamp is from none other than   

Tim Holtz - Way With Words

Love, love, love it!!

The large purple flower is from Prima. 

The tiny leaf die is from Memory Box - Fabulous Phlox.

The acrylic heart with the music notes is made by Heidi Swapp .

I added wire to the Heidi Swapp chipboard mistable butterfly.

The flower die cut here and border die cuts are Spellbinders Shapeabilities Parisian Accents.

The resin flower has been in my stash for years.

Individuality

        When individuals base their feelings, opinions, choices, or decisions only on what others believe to be true, normal, good, right or wrong, without giving any critical thought to their real value, then they themselves forfeit much of their own individuality and in turn join the ranks of mediocrity.

        Even though people may think of themselves as individuals making unique decisions when they simply adopt certain behavior demonstrated by their peers, in reality each becomes just another small fish in a big sea of insignificance.

        You cannot really realize your full potential as an individual until you can truly say to yourself that what you believe, who you are, and what you will become is directly related to what is deep within your soul. This is where true individuality is born.

        Anyone wanting to accomplish this must first be true to themselves. For those who live this idea, outside influences become only minor distractions and one’s potential and ability to flourish become limitless.

Kirk Mango
Becoming a True Champion  (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012)

Papa and I have always instilled in her to be herself, and to move forward in life with confidence. 
Most of all, to never stop learning!


Have an awesome weekend!

TTFN

x's & o's

aka The Rebel Blogger

Think Love & Smile

The real Valentine's Day is not comprised of roses, chocolates or pretty cards.

Actually, Valentine's Day has some dark origins. It harks back to a pagan festival known as Lupercalia.

In the 5th century, in an effort to Christianize the pagan tradition, Pope Gelasius declared Feb.14th Saint Valentines Day.  

Centuries later, romantic authors like Shakespeare helped seal the deal with references to the day in their works.

Now, Valentine's Day is celebrated as a day to express one's love.

I have put together a small list of some of my favorite love quotes. 

Inspirational:

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart" ~Helen Keller

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly" ~Sam Keen

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward in the same direction" ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Funny:

"As a man in a relationship, you have a choice...you can be right or you can be happy" ~Ralphie May

"I wanted to make it really special on Valentine's Day, so I tied my boyfriend up. And for three solid hours I watched whatever I wanted on TV" ~Tracy Smith

"I love being married. It's so great to find one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life" ~Rita Rudner

____________________________________________________

My husband and I are way past being lovey, dovey and gushy!

But my baby is hunky dory with me and can still do the hanky panky! (Oops, ...I should probably not post what might be considered R rated content, so sorry)  Tehehe!  ;-o

Tom is the outdoorsy type...loves to hunt, fish and ride his Harley. 

In the dead of this extremely cold winter, he is like a lost puppy who can't find his home! Can you picture it?!?!

As I have said in the past,

I always find it a difficult but a challenging job of creating a masculine card.  

There will be no traditional Valentines colors, no lace and no fufu for my man!

Ingredients:

Prima ~ Doodle Deux  patterned paper

Paper Accents ~ Smooth Black card stock

Martha Stewart ~ Flourish  clear stamps

Fiskars ~ All Year Greetings   clear stamps

Fiskars ~ Sentiments  clear stamps

Fiskars ~ Lace 3in1 corner punch

General's ~ Pastel Chalk Pencil, white    

Posh Impressions ~ Heart Trio  rubber stamp

Micheals ~ Silver Pearl  flatbacks

May Arts ~ Green Leaf  ribbon

I have always loved the chalkboard effect but never experimented with it. And yes, I know, I am way behind the times!

There is a whole roll of chalkboard vinyl sitting in my crafting space that has been staring at me for almost a year! 

Hope your Valentine's Day is filled with sweet love! 
And no matter what the age, keep that love light glowing.

TTFN!

aka, The Rebel Blogger

Sister Act Design Team Call Entry

While I have never applied to be part of a Design Team, the thought has been in the back of my mind for some time. When I was invited to apply, I said to myself " Cindy, you don't have the experience, nor the supplies". I had thought of every excuse why I should NOT apply! After a week of crafting, thinking, crafting, thinking....I am applying! 

Sister Act is a new challenge on the block. Jenni and Tricia are sisters-in-law. They are an Anything Goes-all the time challenge blog.

I don't have one specific style. Here are my 3 card entries. 

#1: Here is a simple,easy,fun card. Card base is made out of Kraft card stock. I used Fiskars border stamps with various colors of ink onto white card stock. I cut Kraft card stock to make a sort of " banner " like background for the words. I used Tim Holtz ; Grunge Cirque  stamp for the " Love Wish Dream" and attached them with pop dots.

#2: Another fun, cute card. The base is white card stock, the pink card stock is embossed with Sizzix textured impressions, dots and flowers set. The blue cardstock and the pink inside the card are rounded off with a Fiskars corner punch, then embossed with Fiskars embossing stencil that I have had since I started scrapbooking.  The cupcake ribbon is from JoAnn's. The Birthday stamp is a Fiskars stamp. The cupcake chipboard embellishment is from K&Company called Sweetie Birthday.

#3: This card was made incorporating the vintage look. I painted  the white card stock with Making Memories specialty glaze in copper. The flourish stamp is from Scrappy Cat using StazOn ink in jet black. The patterned paper was inked on the edges and  I applied Ranger Distress crackle paint in clear rock candy. The large black patterned chipboard behind the flower is covered with washi tape, then stamped with various stamps in jet black ink. The flower is from Prima, Love Note collection and brushed with the copper specialty glaze . The lace was from my stash and the leaves are from Recollections.

Thank you for considering me for your Design Team! :)