TTT 2014: Meditation

Trash To Treasure cards seem to be the newest variation of my card-making hobby.  Over the years, I've collected a wide range of bits and pieces, odds and ends, trinkets and tidbits, scraps and souvenirs.  Some of them have been languishing in storage for over a decade!  It's been a fun challenge finding ways to incorporate them into meaningful cards.

Meditation

Design: original
Materials: weathered seashell, black and grey embroidery floss, various beads; brown cardbase, patterned cardboard, craft tape, silver and gold markers, fine black marker, double-stick tape
Recipient/Occasion: Coworker, for promotion and farewell
Comments: Sometimes, when I start a card, I have a very clear idea of the overall theme.  Other times.. well.  Not so much.  This was one of the not-so-much ones.  I picked the shell just because I liked it, with no theme in mind at all; the entire look and feel of the card was centered around that shell as the relatively unadorned focal point, and it wasn't until the very end that I figured out what kind of a quote I needed to tie it all together.  Now, when I make cards for coworkers, I consider it an added bonus if I can include something that originated from work in the design.  In this case, it was the cardboard quote backers on the front, which were scraps from some of the large signs that went up a while ago.  The camera flash washed it out a bit, but they had a lovely pattern of mottled tans that brought out the lighter parts of the shell's spiral.  As is often the case with my focal cards, the focal piece is removable if desired and comes with a reasonably lengthy cord for hanging.  I was very pleased with how the whole thing turned out, even if it was a bit too three-dimensional to fit properly into an envelope.  It was also nice to finally find a use for that particular roll of craft tape!
Quotes:
"The secret of success is to be in harmony with existence; to be always calm, to let each wave of life wash us a little farther up the shore." --Cyril Connelly
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." --John Quincy Adams
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Trash To Treasure 2014
Meditation: [current]
Motivation: [link]
Parentals: [link]