Monday 25 July 2011

Going Postal: Scrapbooking 'Out of This World'

Hello.

Quick survey for you. Does this sound familiar?
  • you stumble across something you haven't used for a while in your supplies;
  • you think to yourself "I've had those for years, I really ought to use them up";
  • you begin to use them; you see them depleting ... this should be a good thing;
  • But ... you begin to think "I've almost run out of those ... I'll have to get some more soon". 
Because, recently, with all these postal projects I've been working on ... that's how I've begun to feel about those postage stamps I was initially intending to 'use up'!

I mean, look ... there's at least 5 of them squeezed into this one close-up of my latest project .. at this rate I'm not going to have any left ...

And again, as I did with the page I shared last week, the stamps I chose were selected mainly for  their colour and texture, but this time some of them co-ordinated [all be it loosely] with the theme of sculpture and 'other worldliness' too:

If you're a regular reader here [awww, thanks!] you'll probably remember my visit to the Jaume Plensa exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture park a couple of weeks back - it's where I met the curtain of poetry I scrapped about here.
My first attempts at using correction tape to journal on to. As discovered on Pinterest!
Well, in a gallery space just beyond the dangling poetry we came across Plensa's Alabster Heads:
They we're amazing. Completely.
  • The luminosity of the stone gave the impression that these strange entities weren't really there under your nose, but that they were holograms or projections instead;
  • Their serene faces looked as if they were in suspended animation ... but that they could wake up at any given moment ... and ask to speak to your leader; 
  • Plus, their elongated shape totally confused the brain. Even though you were standing dead-set in front of them, your brain was screaming that you must be looking at them from an odd angle! 
Thanks to an old pamphlet on astronomy for the perfect caption and that Indian postage stamp was a great match too!
At one point - although the room was in a hushed, awed silence - I heard an elderly man jokingly say "Oh good ... I thought it must have been my glasses"!
Also while we were in there, while I sat on a bench directly opposite the head in the photo - watchful that it may blink at any given moment ... a man entered the room with a little boy of 5 or 6 whose initial reactions was 'Wowwww'. 
A wonderfully appropriate phrase cut from in a vintage comic book.

But then ... after one or two steps further into the space, getting nearer to the heads, he stopped moving, slid his hand up to his Dad's arm and gently but persistantly began tugging on his sleeve, apprehensive about fully entering the room with these magnificent - if a little spooky - creatures.

What was he thinking? That despite knowing it probably couldn't be true ... they might move? That they'd open their eyes? That they were somehow alive? That they were visitors from another world? 

Is it that why you hesitated little boy? Because if it is, let me just say ... 

Me too kid, me too.

Julie 

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 p.s: 
  • Check back tomorrow for another giveaway;
  • Don't forget there's a full list of Going Postal posts in the right-hand sidebar >>, in case you missed anything;
  • And the Going Postal Pinterest board [which is filling up nicely] is here
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Supplies: 
I used lots of my Design Team goodies from 3DJean on this one, including: the Studio2Mers 'Cities' paper, from which the city-scape is cut; the chipboard stars; rose cabochon; tiny alphabets and the vintage comic book.
The backing paper and the butterfly are from the Crafty Templates' Quirky Kit I guest designed with last month.

11 comments:

  1. On my, those heads do have a look about them - and must be even more so in the flesh (so as to speak!). Love how you're using the stamps - that first page especially just wowed me.

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  2. An awesome layout with so many different alphas and vintage scraps - it ties in so nicely with the subject. I went to the WYSP after reading your last post on it, sadly the display was over but we had a fab day and enjoyed taking lots of pics.

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  3. Ooh, they do look spooky. Fabulous page, you've managed to find so many words that fit really well! Do you store up phrases cut from comic books and astronomy leaflets, waiting for the right project, or do you spend ages looking for the right phrase when you start the project? Or do you just luckily turn to the correct page? Kudos to you whichever it is! X

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  4. Stunning layout. I'm going to have to pull out some stamps myself.

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  5. Thanks ladies - I'm so pleased you're enjoying my postal experiments.

    @Jennifer ... funny you should ask but ... I'm sort of planning a class on just that subject right now! Watch this space ... :-D

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  6. I live the LO really fits the mood of the story behind the pictures. I did wonder if the boy watches Dr Who mind...... They may not look like the Weeping Angels but 'don't blink' surely has an effect on any statue. First thing I thought when saw pic anyway!!!!!!! :)

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  7. Hi Natalie I am not sure if I am doing this right but http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7517777645412276489&postID=3477220360060770031here is the link to my post on my blog

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  8. It's funny you should mention about getting panicky about using things up as that's a bit how I've felt using up scraps of fabric recently but as you say it should be a good thing.

    Love the feel of your layout and I really hope to getting around to going postal soon.

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  9. You have such a knack with your layouts. This one looks uh-mazing! And, I always love a little 'overheard' when you have the chance to pop them into your stories :)

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  10. Hi Julie! Thanks so much for sharing this gorgeous layout with us, as well as for including such wonderful contextual background info and details about supplies and techniques! I'm very inspired by your style of layering and collage, and I think it's something I've been subconsciously emulating in the course of creating an altered book!

    Speaking of the book, thanks so much for stopping by my blog and sharing such sweet, supportive remarks! It's such an honor to receive such positives about my work, and to be encouraged to participate in the Going Postal project! I think it'd be great fun!

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  11. I used to love visiting YSP when I lived in Barnsley, sadly it has not yet made it onto a scrapbook LO. (So much inspiration, so little time). I thought of YSP when I read one of your earlier posts - I remember seeing in one of the little shops, jewellery made from stamps. Earrings set in clear resin I think.
    Are they still there?

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Thanks for leaving me a comment, asking me a question, sharing your own story or just randomly saying hello.