Catalyst One Hundred and Thirty

Catalyst One Hundred and Thirty

April 13, 2011, 5:00 am
Filed under: catalyst

 

As always, thank you to all of our visitors and all the encouraging comments you left for us. For those of you who did, thank you for playing along with us.

 

Ok! Here’s catalyst number one hundred and thirty:

 

Tell us about a favorite or special piece of clothing.

 

We’re thrilled to have Stacy Cohen as this week’s Guest Artist.

 

Here’s a quickie self-bio for Stacy:

 

I live in Los Angeles, California with my loving husband and our two wonderful little daughters. My girls are the inspiration for all my creative projects . . . I call them my little muses. I work part-time as a health insurance agent. It’s the perfect part-time career because my hours are flexible and I have plenty of time to spend with my family with enough extra time for scrapping.

 

I started scrapbooking in September of 2004 and I have been hooked ever since. Scrapbooking is my hobby, passion and creative outlet. I always say, “It’s cheaper than therapy!” I’m a very slow scrapper, often spending several nights on one layout. I love to fuss over all the little details and get everything just right. I would define my scrapping style as romantic with a touch of shabby chic, and my pages just don’t feel complete without a flower (or two, or three or four). My work has been published in Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc., Scrapbook Trends, Memory Makers, Somerset Memories, Cards, Simply Handmade, Scrapbook Inspirations, and Scrapbooking m.m. I am currently on the design teams for Creating Keepsakes Magazine, Prima and Shimmerz.

 

Make sure to check out Stacy’s her blog.

 

 

 

Here is Stacy’s art with this week’s catalyst. You can click on it to see a larger version and a lot more detail.

 

 

 

Stacy’s Journaling Says:

Nothing signifies comfort to me more than my soft and cozy Dearfoams slippers. I wear them at all times when I’m at home. The first thing I do when I walk in the house is take off my shoes and put on my slippers. They are the last thing I take off when I go to bed at night and the first thing I put on when I wake up in the morning. I’ve been wearing this same style and color of Dearfoams slippers for almost a decade, and I’ve worn out quite a few pairs over the years. I usually buy two pairs at a time so that I’ll always have an extra pair should one pair wear out. Combined with a thick pair of white socks, my feet are very happy inside these cushiony slippers, even in the hot summer months. They are on me all the time — while preparing meals for my family, while talking to clients on the phone, while cleaning the house, and of course while I’m scrapbooking. I never thought about it until now, but they are like a trusty old friend, always providing me comfort. I’d wear them everywhere if I could, even out to public places (and I’ve actually done that a couple times by accident). If you’re listening, Dearfoams Corporation, thank you for making such comfortable slippers. Please don’t ever stop making style number DF672, color black. They are my hands down favorite thing to wear.

 

Technique Highlight:

One simple technique I can share is my process for carving out a spot in a journaling block for a photo or other object. Many people probably already know how to do this, but some others might not. It took me a long time to figure it out! To carve out a spot in the journaling block for my photo, I first cut my photo into a circle and matted it. Then I typed my journaling in a straight column. After I finished typing, I made sure my screen view was set to 100%. I placed the photo circle on my computer screen exactly where I wanted it to overlap the journaling column. Using the space and enter bars, I manually adjusted the margins so that the words fit around my circle. Voila! A perfect fit!

 

 

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Here are some interpretations of the catalyst from members of our team.

 

Amy:

 

Amy Says:

I considered doing a drawing that shows a piece of clothing that fits what I “wish” was my reality and embodies the softness I hope to someday settle into. But in the end, I stuck with reality, which means “basic,” “classic,” “everyday,” and “functional.” It’s pretty easy to describe what I wear day in and day out, and there are several “staple” items in my wardrobe, items that I have in many colors. For example, I have the same button-up cardigan in several colors. I also have the same down vest in several colors, but the black one, shown here, is the one I wear most often

 

 

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Anna:

 

Anna Says:

My favorite piece of clothing are my shoes… maybe it is funny but almost all of my shoes are one brand: El Naturalista. After I bought my first pair – I fell in love: they are very comfortable, made with natural skin – and all the designs are just simply cool. The second important thing is they really care both for customers and their workers… well, the unly bad side is the price, which is relativley high – but on the other hand they are really durable and well made 🙂 I’ve got 7 pairs of them now. I wear them everyday… they are just perfect for me:).

 

 

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Carole:

 

Carole Says:

These booties are so very special, these were the very first purchase I made once I had found out that I was pregnant with my first Child Sarah. I have kept them all these years. I remember the day I bought them, I was so excited to find them and I thought they were so adorable, at the time I didn’t know if I was having a boy or girl, but it didn’t matter I had to have them and now I have created this 8 x 8 layout which I will frame.

 

 

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Fran:

 

Fran Says:

My most prized possession are my comfortable jeans – Lucky Brand jeans. I have two pair and I wash them and wear one pair almost every day. One of the best things is that I bought them at a second-hand store! They’re comfortable, worn in, and they’re the smallest size I’ve been since I was in college!

 

 

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Julie:

 

Julie Says:

Three Muses: These are the three aprons that I wear when creating. You can find me in them most hours of most days. They are my uniform. I made all three of them, so when painting them I was very aware of the unique shape and details of each. I had a lot of fun re-creating the patterned fabric of each apron. I showed the painting to my Mother who immediately said, “It’s your aprons!” I love that this painting is now sitting in my studio and my three muses are watching over me!

 

 

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Karen:

 

Karen Says:

I have saved this pair of jeans for 21 years. They traveled with me from Turkey to Pittsburgh to New York to San Diego and to the Bay Area. People told me to throw them out several times. “You can never fit the jeans you wore at 17.” I heard again and again. But I couldn’t bear to give up. And now that I am finally losing all this weight, I can finally fit into them once again (they don’t close just yet but still.) miracles do happen.

 

 

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Larissa:

 

Larissa Says:

I wanted to create art inspired by Pierrot collars. I created a canvas as part of an inspiration journal thinking that, no matter what I wear, I always look like the sad clown. Unmasked. To create it I transfered a vintage image onto my canvas and painted my background using stencils, glimmermists and distress ink. After that I aded some embellishments as chipboards, blings and flowers.

 

 

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Opal:

 

Opal Says:

My favorite thing to wear?….my Lucky jeans, of course! The piece is built around the back label and loosely woven with bits of my favorite color I wear with my favorite jeans. “Lucky You” is the label from the fly, The strips of Lucky are stitched with little X’s in orange thread.

 

 

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Shelley:

 

Shelley Says:

My piece of favorite clothing would have to be my slippers. I can not endure having cold feet. So I did a quick layout featuring them. The title is “there’s nothing like a good pair of slippers”! And the journaling reads “Here in the Midwest the Winter seems to last forever! Even though I have lived here most of my life I still am not use to the cold! That being said, I LOVE my cozy slippers! They are my go-to footwear when the temps begin to drop. And if I have to run errands that don’t require me to get out of my car…you can find them on me! They stay with me From September until April. During that time you can always find me in my favorite slippers.” I actually have them on as I am typing this and my feet are nice and cozy and warm! 🙂

 

 

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Wendela:

 

Wendela Says:

Here’s my fav piece of clothing. It’s my apron! Made this specially for crafting and/or housekeeping. I love to wear a beautiful handmade and romantic apron instead of a boring ugly one. I does the laundry with a big smile…lol…!

 

 

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Now it’s your turn: show us your therapeutic art around “Tell us about a favorite or special piece of clothing.” I urge you to give it a try. It can be any form of art as long as it speaks to you.

 

Leave us comments with your work so we can share in your creative therapy, too. If you don’t have a community or blog where you upload photos, you can upload them on our flickr group.

 

 

Remember, this is not a competition. If your art makes you feel even a bit better at the end, you’ve won.

 

Until next month, enjoy each and every moment.

 

 

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