This Blessing Rocks

Looking back over the recent blog posts, there’s a common theme running through them…music. I didn’t really intend it that way; music just plays a significant role in our lives. I don’t think I realized just how significant it was until we spent the day being entertained by a genre we’ve seldom heard. Live or recorded, home or away…music touches us every day.

Music was a major part of life growing up. My grandparents, mother and brothers all played in bands of one kind or another, turning a rewarding hobby into a part-time or full-time profession. Me…I learned enough to play for my own amusement but I’m a dedicated listener. Whether it’s a concert of the 1812 Overture or the mellow sounds of smooth jazz floating out of the XM radio next to the computer, I’m never far from a melody.

There’s an amazing power in music. Just a few notes of a familiar tune can trigger a flood of memories and suddenly you’re transported back to the places and people you associate with that song. Actually, you don’t even have to hear them…just the mention of Turkey in the Straw or Waltzing Matildastarts a movie reel in my mind where I’m sitting in Grandpa Hedrick’s living room and he’s playing those songs on his fiddle. There are so many more instances just like that, and those are movies I enjoy “seeing” over and over again. While I love how music can influence your mood, I love even more how it can instantly bring back so many memories.

Music makes my life richer in so many ways, making it an obvious blessing…this week and every week. Here’s the layout I created:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
Patterned paper: Chatterbox, Scenic Route Paper
Punches: EK Success and Fiskars
Brads: Queen & Co.
Rub-ons: American Crafts
Chipboard letters: Maya Road
Paint: Making Memories
Pen: Staedtler
Font: Zurich BT, Bitstream
Other: Sheet music

Green, black and white is one of my favorite color combinations but I gave it a different twist on this page with just a little turquoise. The curved edge on the page and circular accents soften all the lines that appear in the grid background paper, the sheet music and even the keys of the piano in the photo.

The design is basically four quadrants with a center “waist.” I was standing in one of the scrapbook stores in Memphis looking at some Creative Imagination’s trim when it occurred to me I could probably create something similar from cardstock and the Fiskars Threading Waters punch. Here how I did it.

I cut my cardstock about 7/8” wide and punched one side the same as you would if you wanted the decorative border on the edge of the paper.

Then I turned the strip around to punch the other edge. Rather than butting the edge of the paper against the "backstop" on the punch, I lined up the holes with the marks on the punch. I held it in place with my left hand and punched with the right.

Move down the second edge of the strip matching the holes and punching the edge until you’re done. Maybe with practice I could punch a full 12” but I liked seeing the holes on both sides of the punch to be sure things were lined up right so there are unpunched areas at both ends. I didn't need the full length for this layout anyway. It’s just another way to get a different design out of your punch.

Whether it's rock and roll, show tunes or smooth jazz, music is important to me. I can’t imagine my life without it.

***Each Friday's post is part of my 52 Blessing project...an effort in 2009 to be more aware of and grateful for the blessings in my life.

Comments

[Pat]

Thanks, Brenda, for giving me another way to use Threading Waters. I'm going to wear that punch out!

Another great blessing. I spend a lot of time with ear buds. Gotta have my tunes!

[Terri]

LOVE your music page, Brenda! The Threading Waters punch is one of my favorites and I can't wait to try this technique with it. I kept thinking, "Now why didn't I think of that?" So glad you did!

[Bev Wilding]

Brenda:

As always your blog is so entertaining!! Thank you for showing us how to use that punch and get that result. I Love It!

Bev

[Donna]

Hi Brenda...I love this page...love how you placed your title, love the colors, love the great idea for this punch (and many others). Blessings may rock...but your pages rock too!!!

P.S. I (sort of) tagged you on my blog if you care to play along.

Welcome home.

[Angie]

Thanks for sharing how you made your trim. I love seeing another way to use a tool that I already have. Makes me want to try my other border tools in the same way and see the new results. Thanks for the creative push. :)