operation 45: HISTORY

(sorry if you're getting a bit bored of non-stop paper adventuring, but i am THRILLED to be ticking these off m'list! take heart, card fans: tomorrow there's a brand new CAARDVARKS challenge & a very silly, whimsical card to go with it!)

another paper adventure topic, another digi-page to support it. (when i've got a lot to say, it's just easier!) this time we're talkin' history. as soon as i read the prompt, i knew what i'd write about. watergate made an indelible impression on me at a very young age, and continues to influence the way i see the world and our political system.

(software: broderbund printshop; photo of richard nixon from t'internet, reversed & printed on kodak premium photo paper; font: arial...just for stef...)

text reads, "A few years ago, during an argument, I was accused of being unremittingly cynical on the topic of politics & politicians. It's a charge I can't deny, but in the process of considering how that had happened, it occurred to me that the first really big news story I remember following avidly was Watergate. I was nine when the story broke. We had just learned about Presidential politics in school by studying the 1972 election in depth. (Already a staunch Democrat, for months I lobbied every adult with whom I came in contact to vote for McGovern!) As each new allegation was revealed I began to realize that even my parents and teachers did not fully understand the implications of what was happening, or know where they would lead. The whole summer of '73 was spent watching the hearings on television. Even while it was going on, even from the perspective of a child, it was totally apparent that we were watching history unfold, and that no matter the outcome, America would never again see the office of the President in quite the same way."

operation 50: WINTER

moving right along with a simple digital page for paper adventure. i realize that where we live (central new jersey) the winters are fairly mild, especially compared to canada, or siberia, or the arctic. nevertheless, i hate them anyway, and moan unceasingly for every moment the tempertature is below 32 degrees. just because.

(page made in broderbund printshop; photo from t'internet; fonts: mistral, polaroid 22, arial)

text reads,

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,

Chilled this room for twenty-four days,

Evergreens, sparkling snow

Get this winter over with!
(The Waitresses sum up my feelings admirably)

operation 40: STYLE

weirdly enough, this paper adventure topic stumped me for quite a while. even though--or, me being ME, maybe because--the brief was incredibly simple: "what's your style?" elise asked. to tell the truth, i'm not sure i HAVE a style! but certainly, when it comes to clothing, i definitely have some very strong preferences...so i went with that!

(once again, i apologize for a badly lit photo which also makes my page look crooked; but i've had more than one go at this now, and frankly, it isn't worth more time & trouble to assay what the divine tracy calls, "the uber-scan"!!!)

(patterned paper: dcwv; clothing pics from t'internet; text formatted & printed in broderbund printshop; fonts: ck typewriter & bleeding cowboys)

text reads: "style? maybe...comfort, for sure!"

"95% of the time i am in blue jeans and a black top. if it's summer we are probably talking capris; in winter cashmere sweaters are a must. on formal occasions the jeans might be black velvet & a pair of grown-up shoes could conceivably be dusted off & endured."

lolz...i makes dem!

ever since the summer, when i see a particularly funny uncaptioned photo on i can has cheezburger or i has a hotdog i've been having a go at writing my own and submitting it, confident each time in the expectation that of course said websites will print the result.

so far, nuthin'.

i assume this is because my own captions are SO VERY FUNNY that they fear the other contestants would become disheartened.

yeah.

that's probably it! :)

anyway, having tired of waiting for my BIG BREAK in pet photo comedy, i thought i might start posting them here, as a sort of public service; and not because i have only five minutes to blog, and nothing new to show, and zero in the way of original ideas...no sirree bob...

*HAPPY FRIDAY, DARLINGS!!!*

operation 43: MUSIC

hooray for moving right along on the paper adventure front!

can i just say (AGAIN) that i am so pleased that i did not give in to my inner critic's nasty little voice; you know, the one that was trying to tell me that being behind by 10 or so weeks, and actually out of the year we were documenting meant that i should forget all about trying to catch up, and mark up another unfinished item on my mental tally. i mention this only because--and i'm a bit embarrassed to admit it--i have, in the past, actually let that voice influence me...and missed out on *GOOD STUFF*!

duh!!!!!!!!!

this time, theme is music, and i decided to go uber-simple and just list the songs that were my particular i-pod faves right before xmas. (i always love seeing other people's lists...and i think someday this will be a cool thing to look back on!)

ok, so the page. you know that magic ingredient in crafting which suddenly transforms a few ordinary items into so much more than the sum of their parts? yeah...well...this thing has the antidote! i love everything that's on it...and i had fun making it...but the result does not fill me with aesthetic pleasure. am i gonna keep working and obsessing and tinkering until i get something that's perfect and FABULOUS??! nope. it says what i wanted to say, and thus i declare it officially finished!

(vintage: endpaper from an old olllllld songbook & illustrations from another music book; glossy cardstock: ranger; music patterned paper: scrapbook wizard; rub-ons: ki, lil davis, autumn leaves; other: colorbox inks, uniball signo pen)

a couple of years ago i read something cathy zielske wrote, in which she described a similar sensation of being not entirely satisfied, but needing at that point to just be done with a project. and she summed up by saying, "sometimes 'good enough'...is good enough"! words to live by, folks! words to live by!

operation 41: WORRY

yes, it is still paper adventure week here at the old blogstead; trying to finish up my book now that i have a little more time. (isn't it amazing how just taking away the holiday stuff makes a regular amount of time...which seemed quite inadequate in november...suddenly seem like "extra"?! niiiiiiiice, i say!)

ok, so this one was worry--something i have struggled with for most of my life. (i come by it honestly...my mother is a figure of some repute in this field!) it realllllllly bothers me that i continue, from time to time, to fall into this habit; since i *KNOW* it costs me dearly in energy & peace of mind...and for absolutely no good reason!

(raccoon from a vintage children's book; kraft cardstock: unknown; patterned paper: crafty secrets; alpha stamps: brenda walton & provocraft; stickers: creative imaginations, 7 gypsies, hello kitty; rub-ons: royal langnickel & polar bear press; tag: rebecca sower; other: dymo labeller, foam tape, uniball signo pen, colorbox inks)

the text, which is a little reminder of the speech i've given myself for years reads, "one more time...repeat after me: WORRY IS POINTLESS! because while you are busy freaking out about stuff that never happens, something you could not possibly have anticipated is getting ready to blindside you. SAVE. YOUR. ENERGY."

yes, as a matter of fact that *IS* a blue raccoon onna surfboard. what's that??! you didn't recognize him as the universal harbinger of stresslessness & a worry-free existence??!???! how very odd! ok, ok: before you ask, i have absolutely no idea why he makes perfect sense to me in this context, but somehow he just does. i really like that little guy and i am pleased he agreed to be on m'page!!!

operation 48: TRADITION

seeing as how i hardly ever did the paper adventure pages in order even when i was (more or less) on schedule, i figure: why change now??!

(i tend to do them as the ideas come to me...also, in this case, i knew i needed to print pictures for "WORK" and "TRADITION"...and it seemed better to use one sheet of photo paper than waste two half sheets!)

ok, so for this one elise asked us to relate a tradition--holiday or otherwise--that means something to us. since jeff and i had had an entirely relevant conversation about this no more than ten days ago, i knew exactly what i would use!

(picture from internet printed on kodak premium photo paper; heidi swapp chipboard heart; rub-on letters in various fonts from: making memories & american crafts)

yes, that *IS* a big mac. and yes, the text says,

"EVEN THE PICKLES ARE NICE!"

this pertains to a scene from our favorite christmas movie bernard and the genie and is a bit of a catchphrase in our house. the journaling (below) essplains the rest.

(sheet of notebook paper glued to back of the photo & cut to size; epoxy heart: cloud nine designs; xmas sticker & rub-on: creative imaginations)

text reads, "the other day we were enjoying a (very rare) big mac and one of us naturally came out with one of our favorite lines from "bernard and the genie" (the line about the pickles) which made us both laugh. a few minutes later jeff said, "we should really have these when we watch next year...wanna make it part of the tradition?!" ...oh yeah...big macs & bernard...starting next christmas eve. (even the pickles *ARE* nice!) ...and thus a new tradition is born!"