life is like a song… and sometimes it goes out of key

I thought that I should introduce myself again since I’ve been on hiatus for almost a year. (I always think of television shows when I hear the word “hiatus.” Wish I made Julianna Margulies’ salary without her early morning calls.)

Without going into details, my family went through some sad times last summer and my words just seemed to dry up. Although I did not feel like blogging, I still continued to paper craft, making cards,

trying my hand at art journaling,

putting together December Dailies for my nieces and their families to complete,

girlie version for my great-nieces

guy version for my great-nephews

unexpectedly completing my own December Daily, and

making my 2012 gratitude journal.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about returning to my blog, but wasn’t quite sure where to begin. I wanted to get back into it a little bit at a time, just like the way I get into a pool. Knowing how tortuous that approach is, I decided to jump right in. So for my return post, I’m joining the 5 for $5 Challenge in the Moxie Fab World.

The challenge is to create “a paper crafted card ensemble that includes 5 different cards and costs $5 or less to assemble.” The words “card ensemble” stood out to me, so I wanted there to be at least one common design element. The final set ended up with four shared elements:  a pennant banner, which was the initial element I considered using; the patterned paper, which came from a 6x6 pad; the sentiment stamp; and birds, which were part of the patterned paper collection and complemented the sentiment.

Expenses:

$2.00            patterned paper (50% off coupon at AC Moore)

$0.54            cardstock (3 sheets at 18¢ each)

$1.00            stamp (multi-person split of set)

$0.20            floss (on sale)

$0.50            buttons (Michael’s dollar bin half-price clearance)

$4.24

Apparently, my words have not all returned because I cannot come up with a segue from my expense report to my close. Hopefully, my second return post will be better.

My wish for you is that the song of your life is harmonious, with all parts blending together gracefully.

nancy

supplies:

paper:  rustic white c/s (PTI); Fine and Dandy Girl (My Mind’s Eye)

stamps:  Birds of a Feather (PTI)

ink:  rich cocoa dye (Memento)

extras:  floss #922 (DMC); buttons (Michael’s)

sketches: http://skippingstonesdesign.com/skipping-stones-designs-sketch-challenge-109/; http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/projects/challenges/1806476-saturday-card-sketch-challenge-with-kimber-3312/; http://www.sketchsupport.com/2011/10/card-week-part-1_31.html