Art Journal Challenge - Week 2: Gifts

Hi, hi, hi.

In my post yesterday I shared you my response to the weekly art journaling challenge over on the UKStampers blog and teased you about why the theme of 'Gifts' for this week was especially apt ... more on that in a moment but first ... here's Week 2:

One of the ingredients we had to include this week was 'recycled packaging' so my first layer was a striped paper bag I'd had saved for months from one of my favourite shops plus ... a snippet of wrapping paper torn from an early birthday gift a friend gave me on Saturday.

Then I softened the rest of the page with my latest favourite colour acrylic paint [DOCrats' Artiste in 'Tea Rose' and 'Canary Yellow'] before adding bits from my bit bag, stamped images and a definition of 'gift' from an old children's dictionary:

How could I not use a snippet from a dictionary that involves 'Bill' and 'Ted'? [If you don't see the significance of Bill & Ted then firstly - shame on you! It's the only film I've ever seen twice at the cinema! And secondly - take a look here if you're still none the wiser.]

As for the significance of the 'best gifts' I've journalled about well ...

1. the blackbird was my amazing Christmas gift last year from James [as blogged here];
2. the chocolate buttons were an unexpected gift from a grateful student a few years back. I'd supported him while he took a summer class at Uni and on his last day, over our lunch of sandwiches and gentle conversation, he produced a packet of large chocolate buttons from his plastic carrier bag and told me he couldn't have done it without me. I thanked him, held it together for the afternoon ... then cried on the way home. That packet remains one of my most precious gifts ever. Ever.
3. Lastly the 'card with sunshine' ... that's another one of the triumphs-of-James ...

For years he'd heard my tale of the hardships of being a January baby ... - never having the time, after the Christmas deluge, to work out what you'd actually like as a birthday gift. No time to even want anything to put on a 'birthday list'. Often getting something - anything at all - that people had simply found in the post-Christmas sales and bought as a 'made do' a present. But ...

... but ... most especially he'd heard, time and time again the tale of woe over how I'd never in my life had one single outdoor party due to the lack of sunshine!

So one year ... he gave me a card with a big sunshine on it. To make up for all those sun-free birthdays! I still have it in a box somewhere. But more importantly ... I still remember opening that envelope, and how it felt to know he'd not only listened to my ridiculous complaints ... he'd actually tried to remedy them!

And by the time you read this ... he'll have given me yet another year's birthday card ... and I'll let you know if today's card manages to top his past success!

Have a great day yourself,

Julie x