O Karma, Darma

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O Karma, Darma, pudding and pie,

gimme a break before I die:

grant me wisdom, will and wit,

purity, probity, pluck and grit.

Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind,

gimme great abs and

a steel-trap mind, and forgive,

Ye Gods, some humble advice--

these little blessings would suffice

to beget an earthly paradise:

make the bad people good--

and the good people nice;

and before our world goes over the brink,

teach the believers how to think. 

This poem, by Philip Appleman, is what I inscribed on my journal page (in case you can't read my handwriting).

I started the background by using a variety of paint colors with a stencil by Simon Says Stamp called Gingham/Pure Sunshine. I added the bird cage, tree, bird and people then started filling-in blank areas with a variety of stencils and stamps.

I often use poetry as inspiration for a journal page. Sometimes I start with the poem and sometimes (as in this case) the poem comes at the end.

As I printed the lines on the page, I was thinking about how our schools no longer believe it necessary to teach penmanship and wondered when poetry will meet the same fate.

I'm linking to this week's challenge at SSS where the theme is "the letter O" which is the first word of this poem (from New and Selected Poems, 1956-1996, University of Arkansas Press).

White Orchids

A daguerreotype was my inspiration for this tag which combines an image transfer and stamping over some Tim Holtz tissue paper and glazing with acrylic paints.

A fair amount of masking was required to accomplish this task and I painted behind the transfer to prevent the background from showing through the photo.

I also filled in the orchid stamp (Stampendous) with paint and couldn't have done it without my favorite paint brush, a number 0 sable. It was a pricey investment but this brush is several years old and has lasted much longer than any other tiny paint brush I have ever owned.

I'm linking to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where this week's theme is the letter "O" and I just have to say--the alphabet challenges are my favorite!

Nevermore...

Here's my contribution for the link-up to Tim's October tag. I used the standard techniques: stamping, masking, embossing and inking, and Tim's Lost and Found stamp set, which is kind of "edgy" and suitable for this occasion. The raven is one of my own, hand-carved stamps.

The frame was made with texture paste and a homemade stencil but an error in stamp alignment forced me to do a cut and paste instead of applying the texture directly on the tag. Oh well!

However, I did make a useful discovery that I'd like to share.

I rubbed a dryer sheet over the paper prior to embossing (it's supposed to keep the powder from sticking where it shouldn't).

I ripped a corner off the sheet and discovered that the loose fibers make a rather authentic looking cobweb.

Nothing beats a typewriter for creating text, so I rolled the tag into the platen and was sure I felt Mr. Poe looking over my shoulder as I typed the word nevermore...