Nature Walk Dream Sign

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  For Every Action, There Is An Equal And Opposite Reaction

It is known as Newton's 3rd Law and it came to my attention when I decided to watch an episode of Oprah's Lifeclass while eating lunch the other day.  I hadn't even heard of the show, so I'm not sure what led me to watch it, but I'm glad that I did.  It's a lesson that I need to be reminded of every so often - that what we put out, comes back to us.  That the energy and emotion we release into the universe has a way of finding its way back to us.  I wonder how this impacts the things that I create.  If I get frustrated and angry as I'm creating, it is likely the piece will resist me as well.  It makes me pause to consider the energy I take into the craft room - trying to ensure that as I pass through the threshold and into the room, I take with me the intention to express my soul - to share the love for creativity that pulses through my veins.  This does not mean that every piece I create will be "beautiful" by everyone's standards or that I cannot express difficult emotions in my work.  What it does mean is that I just need to show up and be honest in my creating and the honesty I put out will bring honesty in return from the piece.  If you do not like the reaction you are receiving from the universe, ask yourself, "What am I putting out that is encouraging this to come back to me?"
I made this sign as a gift for my niece.  Butterflies hold a very special place for her and I and I try to incorporate them as a message to her in the gifts I make for her.  Here I began with a piece of clay-coated masonite.  I stamped the letters from a retired SU alphabet set.  The butterfly also came from a retired set - the letters and the butterfly just seemed to be the perfect size for the sign.  The flowers are from the Nature Walk stamp set.  All the images were stamped with Staz-On (although that's not necessary when working with this clay surface).  I sponged around the edges and into the center with ink.  I then wound some q-tip cotton on the end of a small skewer to create a tool to apply ink with to the very small spaces on the images.  I would dab the end of the skewer onto an ink pad and then dab the skewer onto the image.  It worked perfectly!  I added some crystal effects and dazzling diamonds to the flowers and some gold smooch ink to the butterfly.  I made the holes in the board with my crop-a-dile and then added a wire with beads as the hanger.  My last step was to spray seal the piece with a matte acrylic sealer.  I hope you like it! :)  Here is a close up of the flowers and butterfly: