Quote Wednesday – Michelangelo

I saw the angel in the marble and I just chiseled till I set him free. — Michelangelo

Created in 1494-1495, this marble statue resides in the Basilica of San Domenico, Bologna.

I love the simplicity of Michelangelo’s quote.  He saw the beauty that could be and created it.  There was no divine intervention, no long drawn out artistic speech.  He saw, he did.  Beside the fact that he had such great talent, I envy Michelangelo in his simple outlook.  When I want to create, I obsess.  I think about what I want to do, how to do it, where I could go wrong.  I don’t just create.  I need to focus on my crafting techniques.  I want to just do.  And however it comes out, it is.  I won’t obsess over perfection.  I am sure that Michelangelo had many pieces left unfinished.  We see only the greatness of his work.  But I want to not be shamed by the unfinished, the imperfect.  I want to create.  And if I create something beautiful, I want to revel in its beauty without boasting.  Wish me luck…

 

Card Making Fun!

I went to my first official class as member of the Bellevue Stampers!  I am so excited about being a part of the club.  We have a nice small group of six people and everyone is so nice.  They might be a bit older than me, but they’re lovely ladies.  

This week we made another three cards. First up was a pretty fallish card with falling leaves.  I am so bad when it comes to ideas that I didn’t even think of using a simple stencil to make the circles of colors.  It’s such a nice, clean design.  I’m thinking about using this idea for Christmas cards (ornaments?).  Second, we made a cute Halloween card.  Unfortunately, I don’t send cards for Halloween (or haven’t in the past), so I don’t know if I’ll be making this again.  But I do like the layering of paper and patterns.  You can’t really tell from the photo, but the black paper is embossed with a spider web.  Very cute effect up close.  Finally, we tackled our technic card.  The background card is embossed with grass.  The white piece was then embossed clear with a grass and butterfly stamp.  We then mixed ink into a swirly design in a layer of shaving cream, plopped the card facedown, and then wiped the excess off.  Of all the cards, mine had the darkest colors.  But I love it all the more for it!  It created a beautiful tie dye pattern under the grass and butterfly.  To finish we add a vellum punched out butterfly with small beads.  I love this card!  We all remarked that while it was messy to do one, we could fill a shallow baking sheet with shaving cream and do many at one time.  This card could work well for birthdays, sympathy, Mother’s Day, thank yous, or get well.  I love how versatile it is.

I made my first order through Stampin’ Up.  It’s due to arrive sometime early next week.  I’m thinking that I should start thinking about Christmas cards.  What colors do I want?  Any particular stamps/designs I want?  What about techniques?  So many possibilities…

 

Crafty Crafty Me

It’s been a bit boring around here without the boys.  I don’t have much to fill up my day yet, so I started to look around… what could I do?  What do I enjoy doing?  What should I be doing?  Of course, I take care of a lot of the random household stuff right now (still unpacking, organizing, getting rid of stuff).  Plus I read, look for a job, blog, etc.  But I needed more.

And I found something!  Stampin’ Up!  There’s a Stampin’ Up club here in Omaha that meets once a month to make some projects.  I decided to check it out.  And I’m glad I did.  I had so much fun.  Everyone gets one free class and then can either pay per month for the class or join the club to get member perks.  We made three cards.

I especially loved the purple one!  It’s my favorite color.  And I needed a birthday card for my grandmother for Saturday and her favorite color is purple.  Perfect!!!!!  The fall colors card would be great for a birthday or Father’s Day or Thanksgiving or lots of other things.  And while I don’t love the design of the last one, I did get to learn how to emboss.  I’ve always wanted to try it for scrapbooking, but couldn’t see where it would fit.

After the class was over, I talked to the demonstrator about the club (how it works, etc.)  and we ended up talking for almost two hours.  It was a lot of fun.  Before I left, I decided to join!  At least for the next six months, I have somewhere to be for one night a month.  Card making!!!!  And all you friends out there, watch out for some homemade cards coming your way!

Now that I found one thing, time to find another…. I’m leaning towards some academics…