In my preparation for Bouchercon, I've been "kitting" up the stuff for my scrapbooking class where we'll be making the page above. (See the Sunday post below for details.) Unfortunately, the creative bug hit me hard in the midst.
Maybe that happens to you, too? You're supposed to be doing "A" but you suddenly feel the urge to do "B," and away you go. I couldn't help myself. I stopped everything to see if I could translate the page above, to scraplift the design, and make a similar page in the Halloween spirit.
After a couple of false starts--I couldn't decide what paper to use for the branch--I came up with the page below:
Can you guess what I used for the branch? The owl was a hand-drawn and colored piece I created last year. I have a file of these, and frankly, I can't recall what was the original inspiration. Sometimes I'll look at a rubber stamp or clip art or even a purchased embellishment and decide to try for my own version.
I liked the finished page pretty well. One problem was replicating the border on the big area of yellow/gold paper. I did it with scalloped scissors and a hole punch, which totally wrecked the palm of my right hand. I've injured the muscle connected my thumb to my palm, and I never seem to let it heal right. Somehow I roll my hand when I put my purse on my shoulder in a motion that keeps ripping the same spot.
Another problem: Page protectors are generally smaller than 12 x 12 inches. It's a cheat. So after you make your page, you often find it won't fit in the plastic protector. Hence, the wonky trim job. After the scan I also noticed my jerry-rigged border isn't completely straight.
But the biggest bug-a-boo I have with the page is the owl. Other crafters would either have to download a copy of mine or get their own. I puzzled over that most of the weekend. In fact, my husband David and I were invited to Robert Duvall's farm in Virginia, so we had a nice, long drive in the country side. Mr. Duvall--Bobbie--talked to me about seeing an osprey grab a fish once only to have it snatched back mid-flight by a bald eagle. He said that image has never left him.
So, I've had birds on the brain.
This morning, I used my punches and created the owl below. The main paper is a sort of corduroy paper I had with ridges on one side and smooth on the other. I used a large oval punch twice. One oval is the body--with a flat piece trimmed off the bottom. I split the other oval and trimmed the interior edges to be concave for the wings--then I flipped these over onto the flat side of the paper. I have a neat punch to create file tabs in 2 1/4 by 3/4 inches (by McGill). I used it to create the head with the tufts of ears. Yes, I trimmed it, but I think you can still make out the base shape. The eyes are 1/2 inch circles of white with a 1/2 inch brown flower (daisy) stuck on them. Then I added two black brads even though owls' eyes are more like cats'. Finally, I used that daisy punch again and turned a petal into a beak.
How'd I do?
PS Happy Columbus Day! I hope you have the day off to do some crafting.
4 comments:
Oh, fantastic, Joanna!
I can't wait to make my own. And now I have to get to my own kit -- you've inspired me.
Thanks, Camille. I'm thinking the "OO" in BOO should have been a different color though.
We'll also have more than enough supplies for people to make their own bookmarks. Perfect for this crowd!
Very cool project. I didn't think to sign up for any craft projects. I thought if you were putting one on, it excluded you from taking part in any. I'm going to see what's still available.
The page is so great! I think the OO are ok - but you could have done the pink one red! :P
I love to scrapbook but seem to get side-tracked as well! LOL.
Did you make the tree with felt?
I made a page (that I gave away and didn't photograph first!)and used black felt for the highway and white felt for the stripes.
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