.here's to you.

the best mate's birthday was earlier this week, and for her present i decided to experiment with paint mediums this time round :) mind you, i've never exactly possessed an affinity with paint (not to mention i consistently get my fingers all inky and grubby). as such, i was positively sucking my breath in with every few swipes of the brush, as if to anticipate the abrupt occurence of one of those distressing, "un-salveagable" (for lack of a better word) mistakes.

much to my delight, the project (i opted to work on a plain wooden frame) eventually turned out decent, and somehow i managed to achieve the rustic theme i was hoping to pull off. i've long known that i am my harshest critic, so despite the relief, i still casually toyed around with a barrage of alluring "what-ifs" (what if i added an embellishment here instead? what if i embossed too much? what if...). thanks to the affirming words lent by a wonderful colleague though, the snare was quickly dismissed, and i found a greater satisfaction in realizing that my new creation was beginning to grow on me. 

p.s. my only regret is the picture was too small to fit the frame nicely :)

mediums used: tattered angels glimmer glaze (indian summer)
                       tattered angels glimmer glam (be positive, bordeux, tutu pink, rustic)
                       ranger embossing powder (queen's gold)
                       ranger distress crackle paint (clear rock candy, my personal favourite)

and a close-up for your further reference :)

because a few of us had prepared a surprise for the best mate, i spontaneously decided i'd work on a scrappy layout for her as well. admittedly, this was more of a glue-and-slap-on endeavour, but inevitably, it was accompanied with substantially lesser anxiety (and plenty more fun! :D) as well.

used the versatile "random" collection from crate paper for this. hurray for die-cut embellies!

 have yourselves a blessed sunday!