I admit, I was reaching.

My long distance friend Holly (BEST PENPAL EVER) asked me if I would be the first to work in a collaborative journal she was starting.  Of course I jumped all over that and said I didn't mind at all being first.  Then the book arrived and I stared at it for a couple of weeks, just waiting for inspiration to strike.  After all, anything I did in the book would have to be EPIC!!!  Right?  (no pressure...)  I did a couple of pages, and wasn't that excited with what I'd produced, and then I ran out of ideas altogether and started recycling.  Recycling's good, right? 

I went through some of my old stuff and collected a bunch of the bits and pieces I'd doodled, mostly while on the phone. 

I added a fold-out.  I love hiding places and interactive bits in my journals. 

Some close-ups:

As far as the finished page, the only thing I'm not crazy about is the lack of colour.  Surprisingly, the monotony of cutting and pasting totally fired my creativity, confirming my theory that if you just keep at it, the good stuff will definitely kick in. 

I attacked the next few pages with an explosion of different colours.  Stay tuned - especially if you like pink. 

Love Shelley!

In Which I Reveal My Dark Side

Taking a risk here:

I debated a lot before I decided to post this one.  It's not because of the gratuitous use of the f-word... it's probably because I was really seriously pissed off when I did this page and I know that the emotion comes through loud and clear. 

And I've spent years and years trying to keep people from being able to see what I'm really thinking.  I'm like the emotion ninja - no matter what's going on in my head, I can usually paste a pleasant smile on my face and carry on like nothing's wrong.

And now here I go just putting it right out there. 

Hope I don't regret this.

Love Shelley

Bad News... and Good News!

This is where I annoy you by finding the bright side in an otherwise-completely-irritating situation:

Next week, postal rates are going up again. 

A letter sent within Canada goes up 2 cents, from $0.57 to $0.59.

A letter to the US goes up 3 cents, from $1.00 to $1.03.

And finally, letters sent internationally go up 5 cents, from $1.70 to $1.75.

The silver lining is that Canada Post has come out with some new low-value stamps, so you can top up the value of the stamps you already presumably have hanging around in your wallet, purse or a glassine envelope prominently placed on your desktop.  (That last one might be just me.)

I was at the post office the other day and picked up a few of each - look!

I know my crappy pictures don't do them justice, but they are really pretty.  Gorgeous bright colours, black edging to make them show up on your envelopes, and of course, they now come in every domination from 1 to 10 cents!!! 

This one's my favourite:

From Canada Post's website:  "In this latest tribute to beneficial insects, five more tiny helpers squirm onto the scene in the form of low-value definitives: the paper wasp, the assassin bug, the large milkweed bug, the margined leatherwing and the dogbane beetle. In 2007, Canada Post celebrated five other beneficial insects that roam Canada’s gardens and marshes: the golden-eyed lacewing, the cecropia moth, the convergent lady beetle, the northern bumblebee and the Canada darner. "

I'm partial to the 9-cent stamp too.  Tiny art to add to envelopes... for PENNIES!!  What could be better?!

Love Shelley!



My 2011 Resolution

Happy new year, everyone!

So do you guys make new year's resolutions?  I used to make massive ambitious lists of stuff I wanted to accomplish for the coming year, and while it was fun to dream about actually doing all those things over the course of a year... well, the reality was that it was really disappointing to look back at the END of the year and realize how few things I'd finished.  And this went on year, after year, after year...

So last year I finally wised up and made a different kind of resolution; one that I knew I could keep.  One that would make me feel good at the end of the year,  not like I'd failed.  That resolution was "Keep Being Awesome" and I totally rocked it!

It turned out so great, that I decided to go that route again this year.  I present to you, my resolution for 2011!!!

I'll let you know how it goes... but I'm not gonna lie, I think it's going to be pretty great.

Love Shelley!

A Little Rusty But Still In The Game

Hi you guys!

LOOK!



So you may have noticed, I completely lost my mojo for a while there.  Thankfully, (and I mean, I am REALLY grateful) it's coming back... at first just a trickle, but now I seem to back to my standard "barrage of ideas, not enough time to execute them because my pesky kids keep wanting supper.  EVERY NIGHT."

At any rate, I knew I was getting back in the groove when I started looking at used envelopes at work with lust in my eye.  Suddenly, throwing out all those vast expanses of pristine, beautiful kraft paper seemed so WASTEFUL!  NO!  It must not be allowed to happen!  I could MAKE something with that!  My nostrils may have flared.

Of course, I'm limited at work, both in time and materials, but I tore up one big envelope and folded it into this accordion to glue into my journal.  The winter tent photo I found in a trade magazine at work, and since the colours were totally irresistible, I ripped it out to add to my inspiration file.  Yes, I'm a big garbage picker, don't judge.

Once I got home, I glued the photo onto the envelope and set out to see if I could duplicate it with pencil crayons.  I find that trying to copy something is always a good learning experience.  Not just for my future career in counterfeiting or forgery if I ever get bored of the financial services sector... but also because once I figure out HOW something is done, then I can go ahead and adapt it to my own style.  You know, once I figure out exactly what "my own style" is. 

Then on the back, I went back to my other true love: making lists.  (Wait, maybe THAT'S my style...?)

Nothing soothes the soul like a good numbered list.  Plus it's nice to get all that clutter out of my head and down on paper.  Now my head is completely empty, save for the sound of the wind whistling through.

I wish.

No, my head is full of a new jumble of to-dos, thoughts, plans, worries and ideas.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Love Shelley!

Blaque Jaque Shellaque

Guess who kept me company this morning while I was getting ready for work?

He's probably cooking up a dastardly plot right now. 

I don't even know what I mean

Okay!  I'm back.  Sorry for the long break - I could regale you with excuses or I could show you some pictures.... which would you like?

I KNEW IT!  Okay, let's go! 

Last month I had the opportunity to work in a themed traveling journal.  Our assignment was to do a "sign-in" page that said a little about ourself, then one or two pages on the theme of "LOVE".   Once it's finished, it will be sold to raise money for charity. 

For the sign-in page, I kept right on with my circles-and-rays obsession:

And then for the themed page I did, this is what happened:

There's a coat of crackle on the page, which adds an amazing amount of texture, I think I'll have to try that again soon!

As for what I wrote, well.  I'm sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with that, but I don't really know why I wrote it or where it came from.  It just sort of... spilled out onto the page.  I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually but in the meantime, I've sent the journal off on its way to Minnesota for the next person to make her mark.

Stay tuned; there's more to come!

Love Shelley!