Reflections ...

What do you know ... it will officially be December in a few hours. It hit me this morning while i was taking a stroll around the garden. It certainly smells like December, the prevailing coolness (even if it was nearly noon), the cloudly overcasts skies, the wet green grass growing in great abundance. December has always been a fairly rainy season - at least in my part of the world. Its never going to be a white Christmas where I am (unless the earth flips over on its axis the equator becomes the north/south pole) but its 'that time of the year' - one both filled with festivities and lately of some reserved reflection.

I guess I say that mainly because December is also a birthday month for yours truly. I have to admit that the older I get, the more I learn to dread the day I officially turn a year older. They say a year older, a year wiser ... but usually I don't feel that much wiser, just OLDER. :P I know its all in the mind ... but still the month of December -especially in the last few years, pose as a reminder that time is getting on and you know, there have been many occassions where I let time fritter away senselessly, not really achieving much.

Which brings me to the next point of December ... achievements. The last month of the year and what have I achieved? That thought, I think runs through everyone's mind ... and sometimes the struggle to show for at least some kind of achievement(s) can leave one somewhat weary to the bone.

I daresay, scrapping, card making is all a coping mechanism for this percept of time and achievements. Everyone needs a hobby. Something that thoroughly enjoy. Something in which they can lose themselves, their cares and tortuous afflictionse of time. And I glad I've discovered that bits of paper can be both engrossing and entertaining. At guess in my instance, I can very well say, a year older - a year worth of knowledge of knowing what works for me and what doesnt ...

Christmas cards and its various stages of completeness

I've been indulging myself most evenings. Making cards. It really helps - at least to forget how bad the market is out there. And how bad it will be.

Admittedly, I have been fairly anxious. This heavy hearted-ness that doesn't seem to go away - even after session of strenuous workout. Usually that gets the endorphins running and one feels good about oneself. Having achieved some physical mini-goal. But recently its been a prolonged feeling 'BLAHs' ... except of course when I apply myself to scrapping.

So here it is, my bid to bring some joy to the world. My trying to see the silver lining behind that very dark and gloomy cloud of recession. At least in my own small way, there's still something to be happy and cheerful about. :)

The depressing credit crunch ...and scrap we go...

It's confirmed. Recession is here. Apparently, this unwelcome phenomenon has been giving the world markets hints of its pending 'arrival'. The subprime crisis was a HUGE hint. But did we listen ...or take note? Maybe, for some. But most of us were living in a kind of denial - hoping, just hoping, to make that ONE dollar more and so the market we stayed and dabbled some more .... happily wheeling and dealing ...until some major banks and security firms started insolvency proceedings. While, (this is the ridiculous bit) the various authorities - the business media, market leaders, institutions, businesses, salary earners, research analysts sat about debating on the 'definitions of recession', the effects of the subprime and most of all, denying the looming prospects of recession round the VERY NEAR corner.

It's like developing symptoms of a bad cold - the sneezing, the running nose the watery eyes, the works and yet denying that you're going to fall ill any time soon.

We're all affected. In one way or another, to a lesser or larger extent. Admittedly it's anxious, stressful, scary times. No one spared!

And its important to properly de-stress just to stay sane. Because each morning all that's on the news and daily updates are but more gloom and doom. Enough bad news I fear, to send many reeling and fleeing or suffer a heart attack - under the worst circumstances.

And so we scrap. At least I do. To forget the great miserable plague of gloom and doom. All that absorping moments of cutting, pasting and tweaking. In those moments of simple pleasures, dreams thrive, creativity flows and the satisfaction of watching paper bits 'come to life'. A perfect panacea for a such maddening times.

As for the card I got the other day (see picture), I found myself laughing inspite of the stressful circumstances.

Sketches

Found myself sketching again. Did that cursory sketch of Snoopy the Basset Hound in about 20 minutes (?). All I know is that it didn't feel like a long time ... time can be a relative thing ...

Picked up some printed bits of scrap pictures that I couldn't bear throw out (hoarder instincts am afraid! Might come in handy someday and it did!) and I thought I'd put them to good use by reproducing them in sketches. They were photos of dog(s) took a while back and losing the LOT them when my old laptop heaved and died. Alas, inspite of the conveniences and the wonders of technology, one could still loss the entire lot of bits and bytes if one was foolish enough not to have them backed up!

Not wanting to go down that path of deep regret (all those years of stored data!), I've been busy making christmas cards. Must send them out soon before Christmas arrives, that is!

Here's a sneak peek of the cards I've been putting together ...they are a combination card of paper and felt and a mish-mash of embellishments - from buttons, to ribbons, to die-cut paper. I've got different versions but I've not gotten around taking photos yet. :)

Caleb's card

This be the card made to welcome my newest nephew - Caleb.

Materials used :-
1) A4 dark blue corrugated paper

2) Blue cardstock like paper cut out to strips

3) 6 mini wooden pegs

4) gold string

5) 2 blue brads

6) White felt - cut out to fashion baby outfits and accented with glitter glue and grosgrain ribbons

7) round epoxy font stickers to form Caleb's name and date of birth