Her theme is shabby/inspirational quotes. Let me tell you, her book is an inspiration; Elena used old book covers and bound beautiful art papers inside, using a lovely exposed spine binding technique. The book is fabulous just as it is.
As my mailing partner is Mary-Beth in Canada, I wanted to get this done and on its way before I leave for Keys4Art (more on that later), and luckily my mojo and my deadline didn't fight with each other for a change.
This isn't the greatest photo in the world (I tried to improve upon it too many times to count), but I think you'll get the idea.
The backgrounds are gelli plate prints done on deli wrap, using many Stencil Girl stencils. If you look closely enough, you'll see stamps from Tim Holtz, Wendy Vecchi, Dina Wakely, Graphic 45, Claudine Hellmuth, and Stampin' Up.
The flowers are Tim's idea-ology foliage collection, all colored with his new distress paints. I LOVE the way these paints color metal!
The silhouette stamp on the lower left (Dina's) was stamped with clear ink and embossed with faded jeans distress embossing powder.
The inspirational quote is a Wendy stamp, stamped onto white tissue paper and glued to the background. In case you have trouble reading it, it says:
The purpose of life is
To be useful
To be responsible.
To be compassionate.
Is above all, to matter,
To count. To love.
To stand for something,
To have made a difference
In this wonderful world.
You know that old hair dye ad that says, "don't hate me because I'm beautiful?" I think I should entitle this portion Don't Hate Me Because I'm Lucky. On Sunday I head out to LaGuardia to meet up with Pat and Teri for the start of the fourth (!) annual Keys4Art retreat in Key Largo. It's always a memorable (and fun) experience, but this year is going to be extra special. We've outgrown Elena's wonderful home, so she went ahead and rented this waterfront party house for us! I'll even have my own bedroom! There's a pool too. I think a few photos are in order.
Did I mention that I'm lucky? Add blessed, happy, excited, and grateful. I get to spend a week in paradise with some of the best, most talented women on earth. And yes, in between laps in the pool and mojito breaks we WILL make art!
