Chalkboards Galore!

I have been AWOL since my last post because I have been working in overdrive mode to make a few invitations for family members. My cousin is turning 70 in March and wanted me to come up with a cute invite to celebrate this milestone. After thinking about it for a while, I came up with the concept of a chalkboard invitation.  I surfed the Internet for ideas and found what I was looking for at one of my favorite go-to places for graphic art, www.mygrafico.com. I purchased the Chalkboard Invites from Blackleaf Studios and got to work. Here is the finished product, all print work. The font I used is called Pastel and I found that on www.dafont.com.  I paired the invitation with brown paper bag envelopes to give it the look/feel of a chalkboard.

My next invitation is still a work in progress, but I can show you a sample of what I'm making.  It is a wedding and it will take place on a beach at dusk.  All I had for inspiration was the above information, as well as the colors yellow and orange.  Again, inspired to use the chalkboard theme, I decided on a palm tree, beach chairs, and sand background.  I love to work with graphics and my program of choice, believe it or not, is always Microsoft Word. I began by looking for a palm tree image (I found one I liked in MS Word clipart), I then searched for a sand graphic that would work well on a dark chalkboard background, as well as beach chairs with the color scheme the bride-to-be requested.  I found them both here.  Below is a sample of what I've come up with so far.  I will post the finalized invitation once I'm done putting it all together.

Another Friday Afternoon

Well, I've made it to another Friday afternoon not knowing where to begin or what to do. I'm torn between being creative or just sitting back and relaxing before my weekend begins.  I don't know about you, but on Fridays I find it hard to do anything but catching up on some me time.  I find that when one is creative, ones mind tends to wander from project to project (mentally.) When that happens to me, I get this feeling of being overwhelmed and cannot make up my mind about what it is I want to do!

This afternoon was no exception. I started out with some Praise and Worship and Bible Study. This is the easy part because it requires no thought on my part -- being in God's presence has a way of setting the atmosphere and clearing the clutter from my mind. I then prepared dinner for my mom and settled down to watch a show on TV.  It was during this period of rest that I started wondering where to begin and what to do creatively.  I checked my email, saw a few emails I subscribed to with different techniques to try, but frankly, I was still not motivated.  This brought me to writing this post. I think I made up my mind to just let myself relax today and start off tomorrow fresh and with a clear mind.

I won't leave you without something to view, though.  I made the following card on Wednesday, September 26th.  It was my older sister's birthday and I decided (last minute) to bake her cake (we meet for Bible Study on Wednesday evenings at church).  Needless to say, I was stumped for a layout for the card.  I then remembered an email I received from Bird's Cards with a card she'd made.  I loved the simplicity of the card, but more than that, I loved how elegant it looked, so I tried making my own version of this card.  I made this card the old fashioned way -- cutting and pasting.  There was no e-cutter involved, just my paper cutter, scissors, a paper punch, the Cuttlebug, bling, ribbon, and a stamped sentiment. See? Simplicity and elegance.  Enjoy!