Saturday 8 March 2014

Travels...

Hello, hello!

How are we all?!  I'm sorry I've been away so long, but I have a fairly reasonable excuse... :)  I started a new job on Monday and isn't it always the way that everything else gets super busy at the same time?!  My DOH had a lot of admin bits that he needed doing this week too (it's not that I'd left them until now, it's that they cropped up this week just because I was busier than usual!) so in actual fact I've been going to work for a rest!!  I still have a pile of washing to do too...I need a fairy!  ;)

I'm just scraping in for the deadline for this one!  I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the winners at Catered Crop for last month's birthday card challenge with this card.  That means I get to join the fabulous DT as a Guest Designer for this months' challenge!  Whoop whoop!  The challenge this time is 'Safe Travels'.  

I'm not going to lie, when I saw this theme I thought 'this is definitely going to be a challenge!' because I don't have anything in my stash that's particularly travel-related.  But that's when things get interesting, right?!  So I had a little brainstorm and started thinking of things that are related to travel, which I like because you end up coming up with something that's less obvious than the theme.  My first thoughts were of maps and forms of transport, that sort of thing...but then I thought more about the emotional side of travel.  To travel means to leave the place you are in and head off somewhere new - which is exciting and can be sad all at the same time!  There's also a sense of freedom associated with taking yourself out of your familiar surroundings and knowing that you can go anywhere you want...I think that's fantastic!!  So, I went along these lines...  Then things got a bit profound - I think it's been one of those weeks!  I was thinking about how all of us are on a great big journey every day - the journey of life.  As Darnell tells us at the end of every one of her amazing posts - Life Is Too Short.  It's certainly too short to be doing something you hate - we should enjoy everything, no matter how small and change the things we don't like - simple right?!!

So, I know I got a bit off track with the whole travel thing, but those are the thoughts it invoked in me, so there!!

Anyway, enough babbling...the card...


I chose the Distress Ink colours - Broken China and Crushed Olive - because they remind me of when you look at an image of the globe - green for land and blue for ocean.  Again, maybe another tenuous link, but it's a link all the same!  I really like this sentiment - I think it's just perfect :)

I'm also entering this card for the current CAS-ual Fridays challenge which is '2 Shades of Grey' - I'm so glad they didn't go with 50!  ;)  They've updated the rules over there so you should definitely check it out if you haven't already :)





Thank you so much for coming back to see me after my absence!  ;)










Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Grey, Sky Grey
Stamps: Clear Impressions - Cherry Blossom
Ink:        Ranger - Perfect Medium; Distress Ink - Broken China, Crushed Olive
Other:    WOW! - Ebony e/p; pearls

7 comments:

  1. OMG - this is absolutely stunning! Love the pop of colour and the use of the different panels for this layout! Thanks for joining us at CAS-ual Fridays!

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  2. Oh, I love that card, the colors, the saying and your thought process! Good luck with you new job! Hope you enjoy it!

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  3. This is gorgeous...love the inking!
    Thanks for joining us at CAS-ual Fridays!

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  4. What a cool sentiment and lovely inking.
    Thank you so much for sharing with us at CAS-ual Fridays!

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  5. Congratulations on the Guest Designer gig, Sian! And well-done on your vision for the travel prompt and your well-spoken and profound thoughts on the subject! Your choice of that wonderful sediment and how you designed your card around it is absoperfect!!

    Oh, and thank you for the lovely shoutout, too! It's so weird to be reading along and see one's own name and then blush just sitting in front of the computer all alone!

    Good luck with the new job and the new adventure you are experiencing on your journey! If you can embody the wisdom of "life is too short" at your young age, you will have a happy and deeply moving life indeed!! Big hugs! Darnell

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  6. No 'tenuous links' here whatsoever, Sian; only scintillating thoughts translated into a most lovely, profound card! Your interpretation of 'travel' is fresh, unique, brilliant, communicated with your signature flair and style. I thoroughly enjoy - and am impressed by - your thought processes! Your creativity shines through all you do: works of art, and words of art!! with a new job beginning (all the best with that - may it be marvelously wonderful!), you've heeded your interpretation of travel: moving beyond familiar realms, embracing the unknown, experiencing the 'freedom' of new adventure and discovery. Yes...profound, indeed! Hugs!c

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  7. Welcome back...and thank you so much for your sweet comments on my blog! It really means a lot to me!

    Congrats on your Guest DT spot! I love how you blended the colors on this card, and the sentiment is fabulous! Perfect, in fact and a great interpretation of the challenge!

    I sure hope if there's a 'fairy' out there, that she stops by to help you out ♥

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