Thursday, May 7, 2020

Celebrating the End of a Very Weird Semester

Wow. That was weird. I learned so much transferring instruction from face-to-face to online. Mostly, I learned I don't like online teaching.

So that's something.

A few weeks ago, in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, I made a series of three cards using distress inks: peacock feathers and mermaid lagoon, with a little mowed lawn thrown in for good measure. (At least, I think those were the colors...it was a few weeks ago and very late at night.)

The three cards are very different, but I adore them all because this color combo makes me incredibly happy...sort of like turning in final grades made me happy! Yay!

First up, I created a background for the first two cards using the watercolor technique. Then, I punched confetti using an EK Success confetti punch (of course) and assembled this pretty mosaic with sequins.


The sentiment seemed deeply appropriate.

As you can see, I snapped the photo before the glue dried.


The second card used a smallish rectangle of the background for, well, a background.



The dandelion die is from Tim Holtz.


The final card has a totally different vibe...very crisp and clean. I used the MISTI to repeat stamp to get a dense color from the distress inks, and I adore how fun and colorful the results are!





So let's celebrate! I'm celebrating turning in final grades...and the wonderful success of many of my students in an incredibly stressful time. What do you want to celebrate right now? Because we need to share our joys, even if they are small or perhaps hard to spot in the quarantine we're in. We need to share our sorrows, too, but let's save that for another post.

What do you want to celebrate?

(And which card is your favorite of the three? Inquiring minds, and all that.)

Mercy, grace, peace, love, and health,
Susan



21 comments:

  1. I like the last one best. Love the color combination on all three. I think I would like the second one if the dandelion was smaller. Do like the angled presentation. Congratulations on your new found 'freedom' :) I pray your boys are both doing well. I miss hearing about them. Hope you and the family have something fun planned for the summer. If we manage to be let free for summer. :]
    Lu C

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  2. the spread joy sentiment with the confetti is perfect!! love all of these. my celebration is a little odd. I lost most of my sense of smell and taste gradually over the past few years. yesterday, i could smell an onion as I cut it and could smell and taste dinner really well!!!!! Beyond strange but who cares why!!

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    1. Yay for the first return of smell! Wish it would have been something more pleasant, though.

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  3. The colour combination of all three is fantastic but it's the circles card the speaks to me. Like you I'm not embracing online learning but for now it's the best we can do in our attempts to keep safe. Liz

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    1. Online learning has been around for a while, and plenty of people love it. But moving abruptly from face to face to online disrupted hundreds of thousands of learners in Ohio alone. We are all doing our best, with varied results. We will move forward. Safely!

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  4. Weird doesn't come close to covering what we've been dealing with. Anyway, I like all 3 cards, but I like the first one the best followed by the 3rd one. Color combo on all 3 is great!

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  5. And I really love the color combo and background on #2...it just seems soothing with the single flower. My immediate reaction to the first card was fragmentation...sort of an analogy of the world situation. A bit dreary, I know...but that's what I see...6 ft apart and all that.
    Congrats on getting those final grades in!

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    1. Wow, I didn't even think about card one as a metaphor for social distancing, but there it is!

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  6. Lovely colors. Card #1 is my favorite...spread joy like confetti...with sequins! Take good care.

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  7. I love all three, in the order in which you’ve posted. Love the lightness and idea of the first.
    I’m celebrating being back in Mauritius, even though I have at least one more week of quarantine.

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  8. I am having a hard time deciding between #1 and #3but leaning slightly more towards #3. I have a "thing" for circles.

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    1. I love circles, too. My circle cards don't always turn out that well, though!

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  9. I, too, have a thing for circles or geometric shapes, so the third one is my favorite.
    Celebrations: oldest got married in March despite having to cancel the ceremonies as planned. He also graduated with his mechanical engineering degree and technically should be marching in a couple of weeks (which he is NOT sad about missing, lol!). Youngest and DH have had the opportunity to bond even more at this time with a punishing training program they are doing together. If things were “normal” Kiddo would have been away at college at this time.

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    1. Congratulations on the wedding...photos looked so fun! I'm so glad your son isn't disappointed to miss the grad ceremony.

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  10. You asked...I'll tell...#2 is your style which I like, I like the color combo but the die cut seems a bit heavy. Why I have no idea! #1 looks like someone threw up (most of the time I have that feeling with jumbled images) and #3 reminds me of life right now, going in circles...not sure where I start or finish the day and much of life is overlapping and confusing to me!
    I'll go with #2.
    I will celebrate my husband who has spent hours and hours, days and weeks at this point trying to uncover the DNA results I got the end of March that shows the name on my birth certificate is not my father! At 62 years of age this is a shock and there's more to the story! But Don wins celebration for time invested...he hasn't answered the question yet but he hasn't quit either!
    Faye

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    1. Oh. my. gosh. DNA testing is shaking up lives right now. I am avoiding it because odds are there are some surprises, given one particular family member's unfaithfulness. Bless Don and his sleuthing skills!

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  11. My favourite is card 1 and 3. Love the mosaic look and a great idea to use your scraps if you don't have the punch.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!