The Butterfly Project . . .

The Lime Light, a blog I follow, is contributing to the Butterfly Project. They are also asking for help from everyone, and I am doing my part. Here is a link to the original post from The Lime Light: http://limelightscrappers.blogspot.com

In a nutshell, they are supporting the Holocaust Museum of Houston's Butterfly Project, which is honoring the 1,500,000 children who perished in the Holocaust. The exhibition, which is currently scheduled for Spring 2012, will display 1,500,000 handmade butterflies. As of Summer 2008, they have already collected an estimated 400,000 butterflies.

Details from the Lime Light:

The Lime Light, has a goal of submitting 1,000 handmade butterflies for the display by the end of February 2009. One of our team members will even hand deliver these to the Holocaust Museum in Houston.

I am submitting the butterflies below (and maybe more later). I hope some of you out there can help too! It should be a great display, helping people to visualize the staggering number of children 1.5 million really is!

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Butterflies 1, 2, 3, & 4 were made with the Sizzix Build a Butterfly Set. It's hard to photograph, but I used thick iridescent papers and sparkly papers. I also used Stickles as highlights (not technically glitter since it is embedded completely in the glaze).

Butterflies 5 & 6 (and 7 below) have the addition of 'gem stones,' 'Skittles,' and Interference Paints. The butterflies were cut out on my Cricut using patterns from Dan (found here - thanks Dan!) and another person who I forgot (sorry, if you email me I will insert your name and blog here!).

Butterfly 8 & 9 were embossed with Cuttlebug folders, covered with iridescent inks, stamped "Remember," & gel pen highlighted. Butterfly 9 also has a flocked body.



Butterfly 10 was stamped and wet embossed with sparkly embossing powder (again not technically glitter since it is melted in). Antennae are copper wire.

Butterfly 11 was made like the ones above.

Butterfly 12 was extra hard to photograph. It was made using the same materials as above (with a pearl brad) and sponged with Brilliance inks. Then the entire thing was embossed with clear embossing powder so it has a cool semi-shiny appearance and a pocked leathery texture. Very cool in person. I took a closeup pic too but I don't think it captured the effect very well.

Making the butterflies was fun but a bit time consuming - now I have to doubletime on Christmas stuff! I probably should have waited until after the holidays, but I couldn't resist this project and the chance to help. I hope you like them!

Mom's Birthday Card . . .

I made this card for Mom's latest birthday (Sorry it's late Mom, I am terrible at getting these things out on time!). I used some new stamps I bought from Pink Persimmon - they have such cute stamps! I only have 3 sets, but I'm sure I'll be getting more at a later date . . .

I made the card with stamps, inks, chalks, embossing, a sizzix die (the branch with leaves), thread, and Stardust Gelly Roll pens. I hope she likes it.

(Sorry the first picture below came out so over saturated - weird effect of lights and background probably).






So once again, happy birthday Mom, and I hope you like the card and gift!

Cards made for Chris Durnan's Challenge . . .

I've been very busy with Thanksgiving and Christmas cards, so sorry for the lack of updates lately. :) I thought I would post some cards I made for Chris Durnan's Challenge. This was the October challenge. I used her cut files to make a few fun cards. :)

Halloween card was made with her Jack o' Lantern file, someone else's cut out card (sorry I forgot who made this originally - please let me know if this is your file so I can give you credit here), stickers, glitter, and colored with my favorite pens - Stardust Gelly Pens.

This card was made with Chris' Scalloped Mat that I made into a card in Sure Cuts A Lot. I also used my favorite stickers - Anita's Outline Stickers in gold, pretty multicolored ribbon, and a stamp. One of you is getting this card at Christmas time. :) I hope you like it!



These small cards were made with Chris' Ribbon Threading mat that I made into a card. I also made a matching paper 'ribbon' to go through the slots. The first card uses the design inside, the second uses it on the front cover. I also used rub-ons, Anita's outline stickers, stamps (colored with Stardust Gelly Pens), and Spellbinder Cut/Embossed Mat. Two of you will be getting these cards. :) I hope you like them.

This was a fun challenge and I thank Chris for the awesome cut files. If you get a chance to check out her blog, it's here: http://visualdesignsbychris.blogspot.com/ she sells really nice cut files too.

I have recently been on a House Mouse and Stampscapes kick, having got a bunch of them on sale online. I'll be posting those cards later as I make them. The House Mouse ones are soooo cute!

Please feel free to leave comments by clicking on the 'comments' link below. I love to read other's opinions.

More coming soon . . .
Raquel

The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden . . .

As you all know (or for new visitors, now know - lol), I am a Veteran. I signed up for the Navy during Gulf War I, and have nothing but respect and admiration for my fellow Veteran's and Active Service People. A great BIG shout out to all the brave Men and Women currently fighting our battles for us!

So when I see a Veteran's Memorial, I have to pull over and check it out. I found this one on the way to Klamath Falls, Oregon and it is amazing. If you get the chance, go see it in person. The landscape (with Mt. Shasta dominating the skyline) is as much a part of this artistic tribute as are the sculptures themselves! My pictures are not the greatest here - I was in a hurry to get to where I was going, so go check out the official website for much better pictures and information.

Excerpt of description from the Official Website for the Memorial:

"The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden rests upon the northwestern slope of Mt Shasta, 13 miles north of the City of Weed, on Hwy 97 in Siskiyou County, California.

It is situated on 136 acres of land provided by the USDA Forest Service, which were replanted with tens of thousands of trees by countless volunteers.

The trees are living tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives in war. The sculpture garden, a place for reflection & remembrance, healing & reconciliation.

The LMSG pays homage to all honorable veterans, in conflict and in peace.

The LMSG was founded by a group of veterans in 1988. Today, the Garden is proudly sponsored & maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Weed/Lake Shastina.

There are currently ten sculpture groups by artist Dennis Smith, with an eleventh to be dedicated in November 2007."

The website is a bit dated, but their photographs are amazing and there is a lot of great information on the Memorial and its environs. Here are some of my photos.

View of Mt. Shasta:

The Hot LZ Memorial Wall :

Gene Breceda Memorial Sponsors Wall

"Near the entrance of the LMSG, stands a small granite wall dedicated to those special people and organizations who have sponsored the LMSG with substantial contributions. The LMSG is a community based non-profit organization. Twice a year, the names of new Sponsors of the LMSG are placed upon this small wall, in memorial, as a token of our gratitude and respect for their generous efforts."

These are few of the sculptures that I photographed. They were so powerful - bigger than life and as stoic as an actual service member. My pictures do them no justice, it should be experienced in person. The official website has all the information on each sculpture, for brevity I am only posting a few of my pictures below.

To show the perspective and amazing detail, I am posting multiple angles of a couple of the most heart wrenching Sculptures. No matter what angle you view them from, you really feel like you are in the action - in the heart and soul of the captured moment.










There are so many more, along with actual graves (so please be respectful) and a Labyrinth with nearby picnic tables:


Lastly, the POW/MIA Sculpture was the most one that affected me the deepest. It is so heart-wrenchingly depicted that it's a good thing there are benches to sit down on to take it all in. In front of the Sculpture is a shrine that says everything you need to know about those that visit this Memorial . . .

Visit the Official Website here:
http://weedlmsg.org/01garden02whygroup.html

Motor Bike Acrobatics . . .

I took these photographs at a local county fair in 2005. The acrobatics started early evening and I think the dusk really accents some of the pictures. I am really pleased with how these came out, and it shows one of the coolest aspects of photography . . . the magic of the 'result' - knowing you were able to capture a split second (of insanity) forever! :)

The Lunatics - er - Performers:

This Photo gives you an idea of the speed these guys are performing at:


Basically they are flying off one ramp and landing on another, while doing their best to 'barely hold on' once they hit the air! No one crashed or was injured in the show - it was pretty amazing!

Cricut Cards . . .

I made these cards for friends and family. They were made on my Cricut with SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot) from Susan's cut files.

For one of my best friends, Michael, who likes toads :)
It was my first pop-up card, the only thing I would do differently next time is use heavier card stock for the foundation:

This one was originally made for a contest/challenge for National Ice Cream Day (It had to include ice cream in the composition) but it ended up going to a good friend. The background of the flipped front is holographic, and I used lots of iridescent chalking for sparkle all over! Wish it photographed better:

This 'Thank You' was made for a wonderful lady named Pat. I blocked the private parts of the card, I know you understand. :) It's hard to see in the pictures but there was a lot of paper piecing on the front.



Close up of inside front cover:



Another hard one to photograph is this Acetate (clear plastic) based card I made as a thank you to the great people at the V.A. for helping me out so much! I know the V.A. gets a bad rap at times, but the people at the V.A. in Oregon are all exceptional people! I have nothing but good things to say about my doctors, administrators, and case workers!

Another big thank you shout out to them!