A few of my favorite things in a pot of positivity

This is round 4 of the blog hop with Eileen Hull and her fabulous Sizzix scoreboard dies. Read below how you can win a cool prize just for commenting.

This particular project is utilizing the cake shape, but I was feeling a bit springy (despite the once again snowy weather in my backyard) so instead I turned the cake into a flower pot.

I’m particularly proud of this piece because…

1. All graphics I created myself and actually used. I created a few patterns and some stand alone images that I cut out and pieced together. I tend to make a lot of things for other people to use but rarely have the opportunity or think of how to use it myself.
2. I really love the style. The vintage, grunge, steam punk, weathered styles I see, but rarely have an opportunity to work on myself. I’ve created a number of art pieces using this style, but don’t often have anywhere to show them off. The color schemes and idea of combining old and new has always been a favorite.
3. I love to share ideas about happy things. The “challenge” this time was “my favorite…” which I suggested to Eileen a few weeks ago and she actually liked the idea and decided to use it. Then my  struggle was deciding on a “favorite” to include. I couldn’t – so I combined ideas… thus the idea of a “pot of positivity”.
4. I incorporated a number of things I particularly like – which again, I don’t do as often as I’d like. Some of the things I included are: daisies, swirly lines, the color scheme, some hand doodling (using a real ink pen vs a computer pen), various textures and materials combined in one project (wood, fabric, paper), and concepts.I love to include things that one can ponder over and over so I included the words “love”, “family”, “fun”, “learning” and “creativity” as ideas that can spark a thought at any time . Similar to the idea of a little wishing stone, each flower can become a focal point for an idea.More things to think about: The front says “Happiness” and there are 3 dangling charms that read “imagine”, “inspire” and “laugh”.
5. There’s a purpose to it. This is something tangible that can be handled, inspiring ideas – each flower is removable and can be held, thought about, moved around. Even the pinwheel really moves.

I had no idea what I was going to do when I started this project, I’m excited to have this turn out from allowing myself to just create without planning ahead.

Some other fun things I included…

• Chalk. While at the CHA winter show I picked up some neat craft chalk from Craft-t. I used it for the first time with this project for tinting the popsicle sticks, and large flower. I LOVE IT! Some of the chalks even has a fun bit of sparkle to them, very fun.
• Buttons. I love the look of buttons – but never have a reason to use them. Over the weekend I found an entire bag of brown buttons I forgot I had, so here they are.
• I still used hot glue and mod podge – something amazine will have to come along to replace both if I’m every going to stop using either.

Take a moment to check out what the other designers have done with this fun Sizzix cake die. There is crazy cool creativity going on around here! (plus you could be the randomly selected winner for a neat prize if you leave a comment on Eileen’s blog!)

Ann Butler

Bonnie Bruns
Candice Windham
Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Debra Quartermain
Eileen Hull
Einat Kessler

Just a Thought or Two
Karen Burniston
Laura Bray
Life in the Craft Lane
Lisa Rojas, Stampin’ Queen Creations
Modern Surrealist Marisa Pawelko
Niki Meiners

Roann Mathias Calligraphy
Sandy Laipply