Tuesday, August 7, 2012

monochrome madness!

this week at shopping our stash we are madly manifesting our monochromatic magnificence! what do i mean? let's consult the official SOS brief, shall we? 

Challenge 63: Monochromatic
Use your favorite color and make a monochrome project; or any monochrome color will do even if it's not your fave (we won't tell!)

(vintage: fairy godmother image (backed with index stock); patterned paper: basic grey, making memories, doodlebug, fancy pants, sandylion, cosmo cricket;  floral: prima; heart bling: queen and co; rhinestone swirl: want2scrap; swirl stamp: rhonna farrer/autumn leaves; other: sparkly pink bow... NO IDEA where this came from... but it's supercute IRL! :) adhesives: staples permanent glue tape, 3m foam tape, glue dots, sewing machine)

this card features my favorite color (♥PINK♥*); my favorite "ingredients" (vintage cut-out, swirls, bling, cupcake); and some of my favorite papers (bg, fancy pants, etc)... and yet, somehow, i just don't really love it and i'm not sure why. but sometimes you've got time for a "remake" and sometimes you don't; and when the latter happens you just roll with it, right? (i've also found that a not-well-loved card will sometimes grow on me over time!)

one thing this card will most admirably allow me to do, however, is show you the kind of books i mean when i say, "i've cut something out of a book". i know that this concept** is worrying to some people, and frankly, as a reader, collector and lover of books, the idea of wanton destruction is not something i take lightly, either. the books i use in my artwork and in my ephemera packs and other etsy items are bought at book sales, where i am specifically looking for things which are NOT pristine and perfect collectible copies, but rather a bit more like this:


ok, yeah, i know books are meant to provide "food for thought" but this is ridiculous, lol! :) most people at book sales walk right by a copy like this. understandably, serious spine-chewage puts them off; but just look at the illustrations:


wait, it gets better: about half are full color, and the rest are greyscale + pink; plus the text is in a nice font, and the pages, though of a thinnish/cheapish paper, have not even yellowed much!


and, ok, yes, a few pages do also have a bit of scribbling on them or are torn or whatever... which makes this copy's old life AS A BOOK for someone's treasured collection pretty much over; but when i am lucky enough to find something as lovely as this-- despite it's shortcomings-- i feel like its happy new life as a source of "art ingredients" has just begun. which is awesome, don't you think?

in the meantime, there are monochromatic creations to be made, so let me ask you this: so what's ♥YOUR♥ favorite color? or your least favorite? or just a color that you think needs to be featured in a card? we can't wait to find out, so why not hop over to SOS and check out the design team's gorgeous work, whilst plotting your bid for single-shade supremacy?! 

*i feel like i should mention, at least in the fine print, that although ♥PINK♥ is my favorite color for creative endeavors, there are not, for example, any pink rooms in my home; nor is there any pink clothing in my wardrobe; though i will cop to a few cute pink totebags and i'm sort of eyeing a pink i-phone case! not that i'm defensive, but i've found that if you are a 48-year-old childless woman who publicly claims ♥PINK♥ as her favorite color, eventually you start GETTING LOOKS... :) 

**some time ago, i wrote what i think is quite a good-- and much more detailled-- post on this subject, and it is here, if you'd like to read it!

11 comments:

  1. I do exactly the same thing with books I've found - the rougher-looking the outside, the better it feels to repurpose what's inside. My kids definitely consumed a few books when they were small ;)
    The sparkly pink bow is awesome layered on top of the image - it makes it really pop!

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  2. So I was at SOS and read the prompt and said to myself,"I'll bet Lauren made a pink card." I scrolled down, and BAM! A pink card full of Lauren-y goodness: up cycle children's book art, bling, flower, stitching, sparkly bow, scallops (almost missed those, but knew they had to be here!), and doodles (cupcake?) Yep, a perfect Lauren card.

    In your note to self...you omitted the fab Christmas tree!

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  3. Personally, I think it's ok to recycle things. It's like giving them a new life :-)

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  4. Lauren - This is absolutely adorable! I never would have thought of using the illustrations in old books for my projects!! The beautiful pictures you showed (especially the carriage) are charming and inspiring! Just lovely!!
    Blessings,
    Michelle

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  5. Of COURSE you used pink, and THANK YOU from saving me from using it. :D

    Also, I expected one of your footnotes to say, "Yeah, I'm lookin' at YOU!" about the used book thing. I still can't bring myself to do it. :(

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  6. You crack me up. I love what you did with your brother's photo. His girls will love it! So cute. Adult childless woman gets looks who openly admits she likes pink? lol. You are so funny. Now if you openly wore pink and leopard print at the same time with a little doggie in a purse...well I might turn my head to look. Otherwise, all good. :)

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  7. Crud just realized I posted a comment for technically two different posts in one. Duh! Oh well. You get what I was saying I hope! lol

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  8. Your creativity never ceases to amaze and delight! Love this cleverly designed card! Oh to be a fly on the wall in your craft room!

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  9. When I saw the title to your post (even before I read the "favourite colour part) I said to myself, "Gee, I bet it's not pink." tee hee

    Love it! Any little girl (or 48 year old childless woman) would be totally thrilled to get a card like this.

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