New Year Manifesto

Hello all, I'm so glad you've found the time to drop in today.  I'm sharing my New Year Manifesto... no, not resolutions, as I'm generally useless at keeping them, and they're so often couched in the negative - 'stop doing this', 'give up that'.  So my manifesto is based on positivity, with an aim to ensure that each day includes some of each of the bullet points.  But bullet points are no fun, so mine are bunting points!

This garland also forms one of my Design Team projects for eclectic Paperie, making the most of some of the lovely things on offer at the eclectic Paperie store.  It was really easy to make, and such fun too.  You can find the links to most of what I've used at the foot of the post.

Exciting news... early in the New Year, we'll be starting a couple of monthly challenges over at eP, with great prizes.  There's an Altered Art challenge which will kick off next week, and then each month there'll also be a challenge set by a member of the DT - the first one is hosted by the amazing Marjie Kemper, so you won't want to miss that.  If you join up over at the eP blog, you'll be sure not to miss anything.

 

But back to the bunting...  The flags are created using some of the lovely alterable coasters eP stocks, which came in my goodie box from them.

They're probably not something I'd necessarily have thought of getting myself, but I'm so glad they turned up.  I'd been enjoying Carol Fox's beermat creations, now finally all garlanded together, so I thought I'd have a go at something along those lines with these coasters.







The papers are the Fair Skies collection by the Farmhouse Paper Company - I love the colour combinations.

I've used four different papers and mixed them together in various ways.










So the balloons which are the base for the dream flag also put in an appearance as the large heart (trimmed a little) on the love flag.

The rest of the hearts were created using a small punch from my stash.  I backed some of the paper onto thicker card, before punching, to give them a bit more sturdiness.

After sticking the paper to the coasters using the Inkssentials collage glue stick (it really does work better than most glue sticks I've tried), I sanded the edges, and then brushed light coloured acrylic paint around them too, mixed to match the the pale colours within the papers, for extra shabby chic effect.

All the cut and punched paper elements have also had a little shabby paint added to their edges.

As well as helping the shabby chic look, it gives some texture and movement to the piece.

The bunting flags on the play flag were easy to make.  All I had to do was simply cut them out from the paper left over from the background on the laugh flag.













The lettering is the fabulous Idea-ology Alphaparts Newsprint set, which I love using.  This time I've given it a couple of coats of acrylic paint, the same mixture as was used for all the edging.

Since the words were getting a little lost against the busier backgrounds, I used some of the gingham papers to back them onto, so that they would stand out more clearly on those two flags.

There are added embellishments from my stash: some mulberry paper roses...










... the wooden ornament behind the dream heart...








 ... the little buttons ...









... and then I used some off-white paper ribbon, also from my supplies, to tie the linking bows, and as the string to attach the garland at the ends.  It's lovely stuff, as once you've threaded it through, you can spread it out to get a great dimensional bow.

I'm very pleased with the end result and - although it will mean some red infiltrating my otherwise bluesy room - I will enjoy having it on the noticeboard to remind me to keep having fun through the (inevitably) stressful time ahead as we sort through 40 years of clutter and prepare to move out of the family home.   It will be important to remember it's not just an ending, but also the beginning of a whole new set of adventures... and what better time for that than the beginning of a brand new year?!

I suspect this will probably be my last post before tomorrow, so I'd like to wish all of you out there in Craftyblogland a very happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful 2013.  Thank you so much for your support on this journey so far, and I can't wait to see what the New Year brings for us all...

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve.  Middle age is when you're forced to.
Bill Vaughn

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot, from "Little Gidding"

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.
Hal Borland

Find all these at eclectic Paperie; just click on the item to go straight there... and don't forget the great challenges starting soon at eP - it would be great to have you play along!

Chipboard Coasters - 10-pack - 4"x4" Square - Medium

Farmhouse Paper Company - Fair Skies 6x6 Paper Pad

Findings - Alpha Parts, Newsprint

Inkssentials - Collage Glue Stick

Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber - Sandal

I'm entering this in the following:
Simon Says Stamp are playing Anything Goes this week
Live and Love Crafts would like to see Anything But A Card
Anything But a Card are playing Anything Goes (or your favourite piece from last year)
At Pile It On, they are still looking for us to Pile on the Embellishments