Upcycling and Old Maids

I've been following the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog for a while now, but didn't feel ready to participate in their challenges quite yet. However, I couldn't resist their "Old Wives' Tale" challenge.

My favorite Old Wives' Tale is "Don't take the last piece or you'll be an Old Maid." By favorite I mean I've been married for over 6 years and I still hesitate on taking the last piece. I've stood over the last sad piece of cake with many a woman with that saying in her head...

So I used the concept to create the front cover of my multi-media art journal for the current theme at the Stampin' Dymonz Scrap Shack Off the Page group. For the flower pattern on the platter, I was inspired by the Cowslip pattern on my Grandma's Spode dishes. The colors are bright and interesting, and I definitely went outside my comfort zone to imitate the painting (sometimes not coloring inside the lines is a good thing!).

Above is my blank journal, which I made with cardboard scrap from our Sarah-Cynthia-Sylvia-Stout-esque recycling bin. The pages are sanded and distressed with Mustard ink.
...and I even made a matching bookmark! The fortune cookies are stamped onto polymer clay, baked, and then shaded with copics.

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp and Show an Old Wives' Tale

Supplies: Asian by Design & Asian Influences stamp sets by Inkadinkado, sentiment from Regal Greetings set by {ippity} Stamps, Recollections cardstock, Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Martha Stewart detailing scissors and chalk ink, Fiskars papercutter and deckle scissors, Stampendous clear embossing powder, Marvy heat tool, stash twine, polymer clay

Copics: E33, E11, E35, FY1, E08, FB2, R59, G02