Hi OA fans! It's Amy here today with our Monday Challenge. Given that here in the USA we are heading into one of our most widely celebrated holidays on Thursday, Thanksgiving, I thought it appropriate to make this challenge all about thankfulness. Being thankful is something we can all relate to, at anytime of the year, however this week it seems we all wax poetic (rightfully so) a bit more than usual about what we are thankful for, because most of the time we take many things for granted.For me, my family is absolutely the key to my happiness and my thankfulness. Our small family of four is healthy, thriving, funloving, and really they are my everything. So I knew I had to make my page about them, especially my children, as being the key to everything I am thankful for.
This was my first project using the fantastic new line, Farmhouse. And to be honest, there is SO much to love in this collection, I couldn't decide what to use and what not to use. So I decided to continue on a technique I somehow gravitate to each fall, which is weaving paper strips, this time leaving frayed ends as a part of the design.
This achieved two things for me in this page. I was able to use all of my very favorite papers in one layout, and I was able to further elaborate (symbolically) on the theme of my page with my weaving. I often think of the words "the fabric of our lives" or "woven into the fabric of daily life" and the act of weaving separate threads of our lives into one whole, secure, stable, comfortable, warm piece. This to me, is the essence of what it is that makes me thankful.
I asked Marcy, to create something using this same theme, and just take a look at this fantastic mini album she created. It's stunning!
This is what Marcy had to say about her project:
I knew I wanted to create a "gratitude album" but I wanted to be able to add to it whenever I wanted so I chose to bind it with just one ring. Originally it was going to be bound and have a spine and everything! I made the cover and then decided I wanted it to be more mixed up. The rest of the pages changed shape and now it hangs from a clipboard in my room ready to be added on at any time.
Absolutely, gorgeous, Marcy! Thank you for sharing!
So what about you? Are you thinking more about what you are thankful for this week? If so, we'd love to see how you interpret those feelings into your layouts, mini albums, altered pieces or cards. Simply upload them to our Flickr pool so we can all see what inspires YOU to be thankful!