All Grown Up

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My beautiful youngest daughter Angel graduated from Cape Fear Community College this past weekend with an associates degree in science. Her goal is to become a marine biologist and to further that goal she is applying to the Coast Guard. She plans on serving in the Guard while getting on-the-job training in areas of her specialization and, when her term is up, returning to finish up her higher education with the tuition benefits offered by the military. Such an ambitious and intelligent individual deserves a card as special as she is so I created this Twisted Easel Graduation Card based on a tutorial by Lyn Bernatovich on Paper Craft Planet . The link for this great project came in my email just at the nick of time because I was stumped as to what I was going to make for my daughter. Lyn's tutorial made it easy and was a great inspiration for my own creativity.

As you can see, I matched the color of the card to the color of the graduation gown. The tassel color is different because my daughter is a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and is given the honor of wearing not only a gold tassel but a blue and gold  honor cord around her neck. Oh well, she doesn't mind that little detail being a bit off. At least I had gold stars on her card to capture her honor color.

Next month my son also graduates from community college. The challenge now is what card am I going to create for him.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

So Much to Tell...

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Where do I start? There is so much to say.

First let me say that I completed the six large paper flower arrangements for my daughter's high school graduation and they looked magnificent. Here's a picture of how they looked across the front of the auditorium stage. They are approximately three feet from top to bottom and two and a half feet across.

While I was in the midst of paper flower frenzy, I received a call to create another project of a totally different sort, one that requires my skills as a seamstress. I'll be recreating a monitoring vest used in the medical field for an Alzheimer's research project. I haven't even begun that project yet and I'm being contracted by yet another client who needs invitations designed for her annual client appreciation event. I had hoped to dedicate my summer to doing business research and creating a business plan but it appears I'll be too busy being in business to do any research about being in business. Not a bad problem to have.

In addition, I have been asked to become a design team member for About Art Accents, the rubber stamp company that sponsors Oriental Stamp Art, the Yahoo group I belong to. I accepted and have received my first set of rubber stamps with which to create cards and other works of art.

As if all this isn't enough, there is more. I have just received notification from my favorite crafts supply store, A. C. Moore, that I have won their sweepstakes for a trip for two to the biggest crafts show in the country, the Craft and Hobby Association Supershow in Rosemont, Illinois taking place during the last weekend in July. I am waiting to hear from a sweepstakes official so I can satisfy myself that this is not a hoax. Then I'm going to start packing my bags.

In the middle of all of this activity on my part, I've had to deal with:
- my youngest daughter's graduation and all the attendant social engagements that go along with it,
- hosting my oldest daughter and family who came up from North Carolina for the graduation
- Father's Day
- my husband's birthday
- doctor and dentist appointments
- preparing my new graduate to move to North Carolina with her sister to attend college.

Brother, I think I need a rest.


Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Paper Flowers for a Green School Graduation

This June marks a couple of milestones. First, my youngest daughter is graduating from high school and going off to college. Second, she is a member of the very first graduating class for The Green School, An Academy for Environmental Careers, a new high school here in Brooklyn that first opened its doors to students in September 2007. As its name implies, The Green School's focus is environmental responsibility and sustainability so, of course, its graduation exercises has to promote that mission. Also of concern is the budget so the event must be organized on a shoestring. To that end, I volunteered to create large floral arrangements with which to decorate the auditorium during the ceremony. The paper for these flowers was salvaged surplus that was previously printed with school notices, flyers, etc. and was designated for the recycling bin. Never mind that I have no floral experience and have never done anything like this before. I just jumped in, learned what I could as I went long and whatever I didn't learn, I made up on the fly.

The photos here were taken at the school one day when one of the art teachers volunteered all his art classes one day solely for the purpose of helping me cut the massive amounts of paper petals and leaves required for this project. In addition, the students also pre-assembled many of the flowers and the paper bows. Here is also a photo of three completed arrangements. All told, there will be a total of six arrangements that will be placed side by side across the front of the auditorium stage. I have already completed four of them. Two more and I am done. Phew! I had no idea how large a project this would be but I'm so glad I took the chance and did it. It has been a great learning experience and has yielded a very satisfying result.

Next time perhaps I'll actually get some floral training so I'll know what I'm doing.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva