More Poetry Month fun

Well, April certainly has been good to me... this blog is at 27 followers! That's pretty amazing. Thank you everyone; if I'm not already a follower of your blog, be sure to leave your addy so I can see your work as well.

I also had the chance to finally stop by Stampin' Dymonz Scrap Shack's physical location; many thanks to my Baby for driving us across the city in that ever-intensifying rainstorm. Baltimore works well in the rain, however, especially with the cherry blossoms still holding on to their branches. Dymonz gave me some of the blog candy I'd won through her site, and BOY was it difficult to go grocery shopping and not stay to craft! Dymonz, did you know you gave me "diamond" Stickles‽ Made me smile, and ended up being just what I needed for the final touch on these Easter Ornaments/Teacups.

I about lost my mind when I saw these precious Plastic Egg Teacups by Sunghee, and I just had to try to make them. This would have made slightly more sense if I actually some kids to play with, but I figured I'd make them ornaments that could become a tea party when my niece comes to visit again. She knows how to throw a tea party!

For some reason, I decided that I had to stamp on the eggs. Why O why do I keep trying to stamp on round things‽ It never works out well for me. But I had to. It did not go well (thanks to StazOn Ink Remover, I was able to clean off my mistakes & reuse the eggs), at least until I got a small Stampin' Up rubber clear-mount stamp. Between the size and the soft cushion, I was able to get some fairly clean images.

Then I decided that I had to heat-emboss the stamps, to give them texture. The key to this seemed to be to get the entire egg piece to the right temp, let it all emboss at once in a second, and then take the heat away. This is certainly a project I need to revisit, it was too much fun.

And because I can't pass up an opportunity to include a little poetry, I printed out some haiku I wrote last Spring, cut out the 1.5 inch circles, and glued them into the top piece. For extra strength, I edged it with the "diamond" glitter glue I mentioned earlier. Originally, I was going to put the poem into the teacup part, but then I remembered my niece, who taught me how to have a proper tea party, and could just hear her saying, A poem in the tea‽ You silly goose! and I realized that having the poem as part of the hanging portion was even better. At age 3 she's already helping me design!


Speaking of poetry, Meredith Purvis is having a poetry challenge through the end of April. Anyone is eligible, and it's not so much a contest as a prompt to write and share:

"Pay attention to the things you do each day, whether they are routine or unusual. Then turn that into a poem."

I hope you'll take up the challenge! She's also offering prizes:

1. Your poem made into a book by Christina Gay (hey that's me!)
2. A blank journal handmade by Jenny O'Grady
3. A photo inspired by your poem by Avelino Maestas
4. A $15 gift certificate to Powell’s Books

You can read the full rules here. And hey, if you write a poem I'd love to make a book from it no matter what. I'm always looking for new work to play with! Email me at cgsayssomethingloudly [at] gmail[ dot] com, and be sure to enter Meredith's Poetry Out of Nothing challenge.