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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Zen and embracing Life

“There is nothing either good or bad,but thinking makes it so.”

- William Shakespeare, “Hamlet”

Adapted from a Post written by Leo Babauta.

One of the greatest sources of unhappiness, is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are.

Without judgment, without wishing for otherwise.

When we see something we don’t like, we wish it could be different —

The root of the unhappiness, according to Buddhists, is Desire. Desire to have things different, desire for something we dont have, desire for something the way it was.....

This means accepting it as the way the world works — as the way things actually are. And try to understand why that is, and embrace it. As it is. Embrace Life, as it is!

This can be applied to whatever you do: whether it be how other people act at work, how your mate acts or reacts to situations, the way the weather is, politics or the way your dinner turned out.

Accept these things as they are, and try to understand why they’re that way.

It’ll save you a lot of grief, because you’ll no longer say, “Oh, I wish things were better"

Does it mean you can never change things? Not at all. But change things not because you can’t accept things as they are, but because you enjoy the process of change, of learning and growing.

Can we make this world a better place? Again, that’s assuming that it’s a bad place right now. But instead, you could say the world is just what it is — and that’s neither good nor bad. You can say that you’ll continue to try to do things to help others, to grow as a person, to make a difference in this world — not because you’re such a bad person now, or the world sucks, but because that’s the path you choose to take, because you enjoy that path.

As you catch yourself judging, and wishing for different — and we all do it — try a different approach: accept, and understand. It might lead to some interesting results.



“Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” - Lao Tzu


I thought the embrace life set was perfect for this concept. Accept things the way they are, embrace them as they are right now at this very moment....


The first card uses Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Dusty Durango. I embossed the plants first, used the brayer to color the card and stamped the sentiment with staz on, last.

The second card, I stamped and embossed the flowers in the background, I used my brayer and Rich Razzleberry (dont you love that color?) on top of the embossed flowers, stamped in clear embossing ink. I then stamped and embossed the flower outlines, sponged on the color, added some white ink and some crystal effects, added the pearl after cutting them out and adhering them to the card. I used the Scallop Oval sizzix die to add something to the center (as much as I love razzelberry, it was too much), I water colored the scalloped part of the oval with razzelberry and glued the flowers to the frame. I also distressed teh oval a little bit. Eh, I am not really happy with how it came out, its not the look I was going for, but, It is what it is, I embrace it ;)


Want a good laugh?

If you haven't read my other blog yet, and you want a good laugh, be sure to check it out.... My kids always do something to make me laugh!~http://angi-mylifewiththreeboys.blogspot.com

Watering Can SVG

Cathy from Cathy's corner created this fantastic file and allows free sharing, click on the can to download and be sure to check out Cathy's corner for more great files!

Unmounting your Stampin Up Wheels


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I found this post on one of my favorite blogs today. Michelle Zindorf is the best brayer artist I have ever seen.

If you have ever seen her work, she has a style that is undeniably hers and is easily recognizable!
Michelle is extremely generous with sharing her work and tutorials and travels the country to do brayer workshops that sell out across the country.

Michelle doesnt like to use the wheels (kind of funny since she uses the brayer all the time, they kind of do the same thing, he he) So, she unmounts them and uses acrylic blocks to use them as regular stamps.... Hmm, what a concept that is, dont ya think?

Here is how it is done. First, take an Exacto Knife and cut right through the seam of the stamp when it is on the wheel. Next peel the stamp off of the wheel. (they come off very easily, accordint to Michelle) If there is glue stuck to the back of the stamp, peel it off. Michellle reports that she just rolled the glue off with her finger.

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Next, she took a permanent marker “Sharpie” and wrote the name on the back of the stamp.

Next, she applied a thin coat of Aleene’s Tack it Over & Over Glue on the back of the stamp with a small paint brush, right over the name she wrote on. The glue dries clear so you can still see the name.

Let this glue dry for about 1 hour, at least. The Glue stays tacky so your stamps will now stick to an acrylic block (I use a 4.5″ x 7″ block) and you can take them on and off. You will not have to apply this tacky glue to the stamp again until you have used this stamp about 50 times.

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She stores them in a large zip lock baggie. They stick right to the inside of the bag. You can clearly see the name of the stamp through the baggie. She also puts a reference sheet in the bag with them and a reference sheet in her stamp binder.

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If you unmount a bunch at one time you can stamp a few at one time on plain paper to make your reference sheets.

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this is photo of her Current Stampin’ Up Stamp binder. This binder holds a reference sheet for all of her Stampin’ Up stamps. When she gets a new set of Stampin’ Up stamps I copy the sticker sheet before I assemble my stamps to the blocks and the copy gets put in my binder. Takes very little time. The binder is so nice to have to flip through to see what she has. :) (this is a great idea that I have seen several demos use. Since I didnt start out that way, I took the old catalog and tore out the pages to put inside the lid of the stamp sets to easily see what stamps go in what case, you could just as easily put another sheet in a binder for easy reference of all your stamps without having to dig through them all!

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I hope you have found this tool time tip helpful. I certainly have! I am not sure yet, if I will unmount my wheels....... but I am thinking about it, it really is a good idea if you dont like the wheels. Also, if you dont have a stamp a ma jig, it probably makes it a lot easier to keep a straight line with these long images, rather than wheeling a crooked image....

Thanks Michelle for sharing this awesome idea!

Here is a link to all of Michelle's Tool Time posts: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/category/tools/

Finding Happiness in nature

I have started exploring a new way of looking at the world and thinking (or not thinking)
I am exploring Buddhism and I find it fascinating! Many people think Buddhism
is a religion, when in fact, it is simply a way of life, a different way of seeing things
finding that all things have a beginning and an end.

I am learning to just be still and feel the moment at hand. Memories of the past
do not serve me in this moment, right here. Worries of the future also do not
have any impact on this part of my life, right here, today, right, now.

One of my favorite lessons so far: To the catterpillar it is the end, to the butterfly, it is just the beggining.

It really shows us that the death of something brings about the life of something else and if we just be still and let the world unfold, life will be so much easier.

So, I have been on a lil butterfly kick lately and I am trying to use up my retired DSP. The stamps are from the Simple Friendship set and happen to be some of my favorites at this junction in life.

As my life changes so much recently, it is hard not to concentrate on the end of things. My relationship recently ended, I am moving and I am changing positionsat work. Its a lot of change...... Buddha teaches us that the death that occurs in
the fall, is the mulch that makes way for the beauty of spring. Again, the death
of the flowers and leaves on the trees and the frozen earth make way for the new life that Spring brings to us.

Every year, dont you feel as though Spring comes and there is a new day. The frozen, hazy days of winter turn into warmth and renewed beauty. I chose Spring Song to signify, that not only are certain phases of my life ending, but these changes are fertilizing and making way for something new and beautiful.

I didnt write down where I got the sentiment from and I just cant seem to remember where it came from, but, I just thought it was appropriate....

When life gets tough..... Just take a deep breath...... and its all good.

While Studying the life of Buddha, I have been reading a lot of Eastern history and learning how Buddhism found its way to China and Japan from India and transformed into the Zen movement many associate with Buddhism, which is actually one school of Buddhism thought..... As I was contemplating the Eastern Influence on Buddhism and thinking of the fresh renewal of spring, I thought the set Eastern Influence would be appropriate. This card is for no occassion in particular, but I thought of the Buddhist thinking of compassion and the sadness that comes from the death of something, be it a relationship, a good day, a life, the day, the night, a star, a tree, a flower..... With Sympathy from Teeny Tiny Wishes seemed appropriate.

Happy Stamping!
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