Saturday, January 15, 2011

For My Love!!

Well, I had intended to enter several challenges this week.  It started with Emma's Throwback Thursday, always one of my favorites, in which the challenge was to use a heart from any older cartridge.  So the wheels started turning.  Then I saw that 365 Cards was having a "Romance" themed challenge.  Hmmmmmmmm..... And then I saw that the Crafty Ho's were having a monochromatic color challenge.  The Cuttlebug Spot was having a book inspiration challenge, and Stuck On You Sketches was having a sketch challenge.  My mind was spinning, and I had what I thought was a great idea--which I didn't get finished for the Cuttlebug Spot challenge, but I did enter it into the others.  I really liked the difficulty of making one project work for many challenges.  This did not completely meet my expectations, but it does express the sentiment I wanted it to.

You see, my husband is amazing.  He is 18 years older than me, and he has two sons from a prior marriage.  About 11 years into our marriage, I decided that I wanted to have children, and he, bless his heart, agreed, and we now have our beautiful Phillip and Nina.  Not only did he agree, at age 48, to have two more children, but he also left his job to stay home and care for them while I work.  He is an awesome dad and an incredible husband, and I feel so blessed.



My "book" inspiration is actually a poem--Elizabeth Barret Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?"  The explosion box is filled with different things that I love about my hubby.  I used several Cricut cartridges, including Everyday Paper Dolls, Create a Critter, Accent Essentials, and Doodlecharms.




I used my Sizzix Textured Impressions and a Cuttlebug folder, though I am not sure which one it is.  I also made my own red "shimmer" mist from water, food coloring, and perfect pearls.  I used this to spray the outside of the box and some of the interior labels.  I used K and Company Stickers.  The inner square is blank because I will fill the box with candy before giving it to my honey!


This is only my second attempt at an explosion box, and it is rectangular rather than square.  I feel "ok" about the result, but I would love ANY suggestions about how I could make it better!


Jen

11 comments:

  1. Oh wow!! How absolutely and wonderfuly creative..Thanks for joining us girls over at SOUS..
    Hugs
    Nanné

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  2. Great project and so full of love.

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  3. Love your explosion box! This is certainly the season for LOve, so how appropriate! Thanks for joining in the fun at Stuck on U Sketches. Hope to see you back. MY brother lives in Highlands Ranch and I own property outside of Trinidad. Where is Tinyville? I'll have to look it up.

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  4. Love your interpretation of the sketch Jen - quite inspirational - and an explosion box that isn't a square - LOVE it..... Hugs xx

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  5. Well what a story and that's some project!!!!!
    Thank you so much for sharing it and you did the best job at combining those challenges!!!!
    Super glad you joined in over at SOUS!!!!!

    Leah

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  6. Very nice. You did a great job getting all the challenges in there!!! TFS, your new follower Cathryn67 <3
    inthepinkcathryn.blogspot.com

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  7. WOW, this is fantastic and what a perfect for gift for you DH!! I think it's amazing just the way it is!! Thanks for playing along with us over at Stuck On U Sketches!!! Hugs!!

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  8. This is so clever! Love how you took the sketch and used it for your beautiful explosion box! Thanks for joining us at Stuck On U Sketches!

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  9. this is SOOOO SUPER SWEET!!!!
    gypsy hugs,
    emma;)

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  10. Hi, Jennifer, Just came back to say it's a small world! My parents moved to Stonewall in 1968. My brother and I inherited their home when my mom died last year. (We lost my dad a few years before that.) It's south going over La Veta Pass past Monument Lake. I love it there but my hubby doesn't like cold weather. So, I'm a Texas girl for now. Hope you can join us again this week at Stuck on U!

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I really love to read your comments! Thanks for the love!