generosity

generosity is giving and expecting nothing in return. gratitude is thanking - no matter what, no matter who. today.....express both. tomorrow, do it again. repeat.

i wonder....

who is footing the bill for the inauguration?? and, how much does it cost to put on the big party for the elite*?

on another note...i really hate it when hollywood and others have awards ceremonies broadcast for the world to see. tooting the horn...by the elite* for the elite*.

*elite is my working definition of the already-rich who have been recognized for their accomplishments.

if that money could be used to elevate the needy instead of the status of a few individuals, that money could be put toward good use by going to charities or the national debt (depending on your idea of "good use"). charities: the red cross is in the red, the shelves at the food bank are bare, etc.

now, don't get me started on the "bail-outs" where good money is shoved after bad. the intention of the bail-out was to keep the elite* companies from sinking in a negative economy and avoiding bankruptcy. now, the money has been misused, because there were no stipulations in place. WHAT??? they didn't see it coming??? how did those elite* companies get there in the first place? misuse of FUNDS, perhaps????

"La Regina di Cuori" ("The Queen of Hearts")

this atc was done before the ones below. it is for a WTA x 2 (winner takes all x 2 winners) in the atc_world yahoo group. the request from one of the winners was "hearts", i think. i am very pleased with this one, and i plan to make more. this is what i came up with:

"Mona Mia"

before adding the elements to the lower right, i thought that the card was finished and still do. i added the elements to conform to spoken "rules": 1 image, 1 embellishment and one something else. i felt that the atc was finished with the image of mona and the embossed gold filigree. i think i pushed too hard. the one embellishment on the right one detracts from the image because it is too bright; the embellishment on the left one is more subtle but very circular and could have been torned in order to incorporate it less intrusively.

i like this one better than the ones above, so i made four similar ones - 1 to keep, and 3 to trade. i love the way the filigree caresses her face, and the heart is subtle so as not to draw the eye too much away from mona's face.

i had been working on these cards for far too long trying to figure out what last little element i could add to make it more "complete". i finally made a decision and just did SOMETHING to complete the project.

on another note, i was too concerned with how someone else might view this card. would i want something so plain and simple as just an image and the filigree? i believe that it was finished at that point.

it is very early in the morning. i am tired. i am rambling.

more "kitten showers"

katie made more atc's: "kitten showers". this was a big hit with the folks in the snagging stampers yahoo group:

http://tinyurl.com/83zy5d

"kitten showers"

in a yahoo group i belong to, snaggingstampers, we trade art supplies. currently, we are having a new year game. for 12 days, for the 12 months of the year, there is a theme and a sponsor. for every person listing items for that month/theme, his/her name is put into a hat for a random drawing and will receive a small gift from the sponsor. these games are fun and just what we need to kick-start the activity again. anyway...the reason that i am explaining this is that one of the sponsors for april posted this:

theme for the day: anything Easter related: eggs, bunnies, candy, Christian, baskets, dressing up, Kitten Showers

kitten showers? huh?! i thought that she made a mistake and meant to write something else. thinking it was a mistake, i took it literally. with me egging her on, my girlfriend, katie, was inspired to make these atc's. take a bow, katie!

by the way, what the sponsor listed is exactly what she meant - a twist on "april showers". i was way off.... i don't know what the sponsor had in mind by posting this, but we ran with it! thank you karen!


notice the single fish...my girlfriend, "the fish girl". see her blog - there is a link on the left.