Explore weekend project

I haven't completed a project in a long while that brought me such joy.  I am extremely glad I jumped on this boat even though I almost missed it.  It isn't too late for you either ... just click on the banner above and join the class with Shimelle and explore!

I wanted my weekend project to reflect some of the inner exploring I have done over the past week.  I didn't want to do a layout and then put it in an album, so I decided to try something I usually avoid and worked on an 'off-the-page' project.  I have a beautiful old range by Sassafras Lass (that I haven't found a use for yet since I unpacked it) called 'Life is Beautiful Felicity', and I used one of the collage papers for this project.  Once again I am fighting against bad light so these photos aren't great.  I will replace them when I can.

I cut some two inch squares from chipboard and then covered each square with a piece of the paper.  Because I cut the paper squares from a collage sheet I got to use all of the different papers from the pack and only cut up one sheet.  Now I still get to use the rest later!  Once I had each piece covered I glued them all to a base piece of chipboard and lightly sanded the edges.  Each row also has a non-square (rectangle LOL) just to mix it up a bit.  I then made embellishments and decorated it with sayings that I had written in my playbook.  Here are a few close ups.

 The big flower I cut from an old aubergine satin blouse using the Tim Holtz tattered floral die.  I then singed the edges using the flame on the gas stove (NOT recommended, but I didn't have any other form of flame!).  They then melted and curled.  I added some fibers and a rose to complete it.  I had to add a photo of myself somewhere on the project as it is all about myself.  So I stamped the bubble bath from a Papermania Tulip stamp set and cut off Tulip's head.  I coloured it and added sparkle to the bubbles with a Sakura clear stardust pen, and attached my head.  The best place to be, submerged in a warm bubble bath with a glass of bubbly!

I have to admit it, I really struggled with the nine circles in a grid challenge.  They just wouldn't work on this project.  I tried pearls but they ended up in a heart shape.  I tried flowers and they ended up in the bin!  So I left the idea behind completely and just had fun.  This project now sits where I can see it (and admire it LOL) and remember all of the inner thinking I have done this week.

I LOVE this class and can't wait to see what happens next week.

Happy crafting,
Chipper