An Attitude of Gratitude

This challenge blog will remain available indefinitely. The linky tool is now closed and the comments box removed. However if you wish to share your work the Facebook group is still open. There is a link on each blog post to the step by step journal pages on my personal blog.

Monday 26 November 2012

Day 26: Dreams Guest Post

Our final guest post is from Hels Sheridan



What dreams or wishes do you have for the future?  
I dream that one day I will wake up and be pain free, realistically I know that will never happen but it is good to have a dream, to have a focal point, to have something to aim for, to give one a reason to hang on in there.

What dreams or wishes have you had in the past that have come to fruition? Which of these are you most thankful for?
I have always been a dreamer, I think that is the one thing that has given me the strength to get through some very dark times.  Sometimes it is so easy to say “I wish this would happen or that would happen”.  I do truly think that we are masters of our own destiny and I am a firm believer in trying to see the positive in all things, to see the good in every situation.  I may not always employ this adage when things are feeling bleak but I do get there eventually.  One of my biggest wishes of my life was that I would get through a year of selection processes and be accepted to be a trainee train driver; that dream came true.  

That is the one I am most thankful for. A door opened in my life and behind it was the best thing in the world; Graham, my husband. He is my dream come true, my other half, the one who makes me feel complete. Pretty lucky for me!


My art:
I started with an old photo frame, painting the outside edge and inside the frame edge with black paint.  Once dry, I glued pattered paper over the frame and sanded the edges to neaten them up and add a little distress to the look. 

Using the Sizzix Alterations Tattered Florals die, I cut three large flowers from patterned paper and cut and layered them to form a 3d rose. More papers were cut using the Sizzix Alterations Tattered Leaves die, making scrumpled leaves to go with the flower.  

Next came the butterflies; cutting these straight from another pattered paper sheet, curling the wings and popping them onto the frame with strong glue. Adding a few rusty wire twirls and some metal embellishments finished the frame. 


For the insert, I chose a nice font and printed off the quotation (which I think is perfect!) and coloured the card I had printed onto with Distress Inks so it toned in with the rest of the frame.  The word in the Label Pull is cut from the fancy papers – I wanted to have a word that complemented the theme but wasn’t dream as that was already used in the quotation.

Discover is a very strong word to use and it goes perfectly with the theme of dreams and wishes... without the discovery, we will never fulfil our dreams and wishes.



You can find out more about Hels and her art on her blog, Ink on my Fingers.