Cased sera sera...

I am so stoked to be writing this post, the beautiful and talented Becca Cruger asked me to be her Featured Friday girl and case one of my first pieces... am feeling so totally honoured... and a little bit terrified ;)

The piece Becca selected to case is this one,

And my new project...

I cant wait to see what Becca, Damsel of  Disressinkyness has created when she cased this!!!
I really enjoyed reading Beccas other Featured Fridays and in particular the one letting us get to know Darnell, she of all things NBUS, better.

I loved the fact they asked questions of each other and that we got to know them both better through this post.  I consider Becca a true bloggy friend, we met when we made the DT over at Eclectic Ellapu together, although she hasn't been blogging for long she has been creating since a little and is happy to share that knowledge with warmth, kindness... and always her special kind of humour.  I wanted to get to know her better, I am nosy, and thought you would too and the lovely lady was kind enough to let us into her inky mind a little further ;)

What part of the world am I from and what's it like here? 

I am from that frigid, mystical land called North Dakota (USA). It is flat, barren, and all things brrrrrrr. Trees have long since fled and the local tourist attraction is "the hill" because there is exactly one. Why do I live here? Some would say because I like pain, but mostly it's because I'm crazy. I moved here 3 years ago for a job I adore. 

How do you decorate your home, does it reflect your crafting in any way?

I'd say so. My crafting is messy with lots of layers - much like my house! :) I haven't made any art for my house, although I did pick up my first canvases 2 months back and am trying to amp up the bravery to try my hand and mixed media collage. 

What hobbies do you enjoy outside of crafting?

From the time I was 16, I've worked two jobs on purpose. It's only been recently that I quit the second and have started to do volunteering for my local battered women's shelter. Domestic violence awareness is something I'm very passionate about. I also love to read and am a very amateur poet/writer. 

What is my favourite film and book?

I'm a big kid at heart and I'd have to say my favorite film is Wall-E. If you haven't watched it we can't be friends. Beyond the adorableness of the title character, it is an homage to true cinematography. There are few words spoken, but so much genuine inflection. My favorite book is "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen (I love her stuff!) I'm also currently reading an amazing science fiction book by Patrick Rothfuss called "Name of the Wind". 

What did you want to be when you were younger?

A princess, duh! Actually, I wanted to be a famous writer. I do write quite a lot, mostly poetry as aforementioned. I have an English degree (because nobody talked me out of it - come on parents!) and worked as a magazine editor before moving to the frigid wasteland. 

What is my favourite dinner?

We have a local restaurant called Blue Moose that makes this amazing baked mac and cheese. In general I hate mac and cheese, but that gets me every time. It is divine. 

Do I snack when I craft?

Never. My hands are so full of ink that I would have all sorts of colors in my mouth. I do drink... ahem... water of course. It sometimes leads to great ideas and other times leads to me cursing the day I decided to put a glass of... ahem... water... next to a pile of designer papers.

Lol, Becca always makes me laugh and I am grateful to her for sharing.... now on with the show ;)

I  made the original for my Dad, it is quite a personal piece for me as I wanted to embellish it with things that mean stuff to my Dad and I.  When it came to casing this myself I again wanted to keep it personal, my children were the inspiration for me and I used clarity stamps "Wee Folks" to symbolise them.

This is the first Canvas I have made and I wish I had started with one that I gessoed and then added colour too rather than trying to add colour from the beginning... I did find it quite tricky to get the blending that I achieved on the original card.

That said I will most definitely try canvas again and am hugely grateful to Becca to making me feel so good about my creations :)  If you haven't been to Becca's yet..get on over there and big thanks for hanging on in there with me til the very end x

Take Care

Tracey :)

PS: I am scheduling this to try and post at the same time as Becca, now this meant I had to try work out the time difference across the pond (I am going with 2am saturday morning here is 8om there)... even with google I often mess this up, and then I have to use the schedule function properly Th first time I tried this I forgot to press publish and just saved it... Oh dear... fingers crossed that I wake up to a gold star!!!

Pls.... I only went and got it wtong... Thanks Monica for your lovely comment and making me realize I messed up on the time difference ;)