In the Eye of the Creative Storm

I'm in the eye of the perfect creative storm. (And if you're reading this post, it means I've completed one of my To Do items - redesigning this blog.)

It's totally self-imposed and it's not a bad thing. In fact, I'm energized but exhausted. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do - sewing projects, genealogy, paper crafts and more.  Craft season, as my husband calls it, doesn't follow the calendar. It kicks off in late October when I begin the mad scramble of Christmas creativity.

I love old ephemera - handwritten letters, bills and invoices, ledger pages, cdv and cabinet card photos. I've adopted hundreds of Instant Ancestors - bought on eBay, purchased from baskets in antique stores. This year, my craft gift was created using my stockpile of photos, paper and trinkets - altered art shadowboxes.

Since each was made for a specific person, I wanted them to represent something about the recipient. It meant finding the right photo, the right accents, the right background paper and the best tag line to pull it all together.

   

A droll girl atop a vintage laxative was perfect for my sister, who can be a real pill (but I love her anyway).  "Loyal Subject" was built around an old dog tag and given to my dog loving sister-in-law. And for my younger sister, who works in finance, a girl in a plaid dress sitting on a brass scale for a piece I titled "Check and Balances".

I made 10 shadowboxes for family and friends. I had such a great time creating them, it was hard to give some of them away! And now, I need to find the time to finish my stays!