My word for 2018 ‘Self’

Good day friends (I love how James Burke says it, always makes me smile)! For 2017 I started picking a inspirational word for the year, kinda like a new year’s resolution for me instead of a list of things to do. I thought of ‘Freedom” often and it worked for me…. Let me go through the making of my project first then I will share why I picked “Self” for 2018.

I started with a piece of 140lb watercolor paper cut to size of medium sized Etcetera Tag by Tim Holtz. I then inked up my craft sheet with distress inks in blue.

Spritzed my paper with water then dragged through the wet ink on my craft sheet. I stayed with regular Distress Inks because I was looking for transparency.

In the pools of wet ink I dipped the mini stencil THMS042 and placed down in white spots. I have recently been using this method a lot.

Once completely dry I did the same with reds….

although with the reds I used full sized THS002, using both ways.

I rough it up with some 150 grit sandpaper, I really wanted the scratches to dig in deep.

I then added the browns, same way as the other two colors, being careful to avoid colored areas. looking to really just ‘dirty’ it up a bit.

For this step, I cut the word out on my new (to me anyway, thanks Deb) original small Cricut. I used the negative space like a stencil and applied crackle paste and allowed to air dry.

I added words in numerous ways…. alpha stamps, rub ons, painted…..

Then added embellishment layers, I didn’t take step pictures of these due to add whatever is your fancy or whatever you have on hand …. here are some close ups of the finished project.

a few Idea-ology bits, mirrored heart cut from Bigz die ‘heartfelt’, chit chat saying, ink added to DIY petaldo flower, indian inked fragment.

 

I love how the inks crept up through the crackle paste and chipped in areas.

So why ‘Self’? For me this year I need to focus on myself, not in a selfish way but rebuild parts of my inner self that need work and can only be fixed by me. My self-confidence, self-love, self-acceptance, self-worth, self-expression, self-care, self-trust. To remind me to talk positively and not negatively at myself.

Thank you for viewing and be sure to share if you have a word for 2018! xo