Friday 16 March 2012

Dollar Store Do Over - Come On Get Happy!

I have been feeling a little down in the dumps lately, and I really don't know why. I have been set on making changes to get happy again but didn't know how. As things usually turn out the answer found me. I was browsing through the books at Wal-Mart (after I hit the craft section first of course) as I need something till I replace my reader. I picked up a book called 'The Magic' (yeah that's what I thought too) by the same author of 'The Secret'. I admit I read 'The Secret' but it had little lasting effect on me, but 'The Magic' offers a 28 day program of being grateful. I am a polite person and always say thank you, so on and so forth, but this is different. I thought okay lets give it a try, it's way cheaper than illegal narcotics. After day one I knew I needed to get a note book. For 28 days I need to 'count my blessing' and each day write ten things I'm grateful for on top of other daily activities. Off to the dollar store I go, to find a shelf of ugly note books. I grabbed the one with a cardboard cover knowing I could make improvements. I'm on day five, feeling better and in the mood to do-over this book. I have wanted to cut this octopus from Art Nouveau the instant I saw this cartridge and today found my opportunity. I pop-dotted some of the tentacles to add a bit more and I also stuck on a label I usually use on home-made envelopes. I am no longer embarrassed to carry this thing around. Below is my before and after, I hope you enjoy. I am at this point not recommending this book as it does have it's flaws but the general concept I do like and I think getting in the practice of being grateful for all the little things is a good one.

Before


After

 

















Courtesy of Wikipedia here is some general information on octopus:

The octopus (traditionally, plural: octopuses) is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms. Octopuses have no internal or external skeleton (although some species have a vestigial remnant of a shell inside their mantle), allowing them to squeeze through tight places. Octopuses are among the most intelligent and behaviorally flexible of all invertebrates.
The octopus inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, pelagic waters, and the ocean floor. They have numerous strategies for defending themselves against predators, including the expulsion of ink, the use of camouflage and deimatic displays, their ability to jet quickly through the water, and their ability to hide. An octopus trails its eight arms behind it as it swims. All octopuses are venomous, but only one group, the blue-ringed octopuses, is known to be deadly to humans
There are around 300 recognized octopus species, which is over one-third of the total number of known cephalopod species. The term octopus may also be used to refer only to those creatures in the genus Octopus.

I am grateful for you all, thank you,

Colin


66 comments:

  1. You did great on your altered composition book! We really do need to be more grateful, gives me something to think about through out the day!

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  2. Great altered book!! I think we all need to count our blessing and be more thankful for our them. I'm glad to her you are feeling better! :)

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  3. What an awesome thing you are doing counting your blessings!! It's so easy to get caught up sometimes in what we don't have that we forget to be thankful for what we do have!!

    I love how you altered the notebook!! The octopus is so cool!! What a great cut...and the colors are fabulous :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

    ReplyDelete
  4. This looks awesome. Love the altered notebook. Have a great weekend.

    Hugs,
    Kate

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  5. Glad your feeling better, been there. I love the octopus on the cover of your notebook! It came out so nice, nice and simple, (as in clean ;). I found you at Inspire Me Fridays

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  6. Too cute Colin!!!!

    Visit my blog today! I have an award for you there :D Its today's post!!!

    Crafty Hugs,
    Jessica
    www.craftinandstampin.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wanted to let you know I am sharing an award with you. Come stop by!

    Georgiana
    Carson's Creations

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Colin! I'm so glad you used this octopus cut, its one of my favorites and I never see it used! nice job! Thanks for stopping by my blog, did you see that you won one of the $20 Babapuff gift cards? Hopefully that will give you a head start on images to use with your future Silhouette Cameo : ). I totally recommend it. Its worth every penny. I still love my Cricuts but the Silhouette has opened up a whole new world of possibilities!

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh, and e-mail me at rebekah@tanglestreasures.com to claim your prize : )

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  10. Hey Colin!

    Kuddos to you for feeling down and taking steps to feel better. That is something you need to be grateful for, many people don't have that ability and they live with horrible pain. I think it's such a good idea what you are doing. Keep me updated, I might have to get that book. The way you created the cover for the notebook is sooo kewl. (I know, it's cool but I have to spell it kewl to be,well,cool! lol!

    I had no idea that there is an octopus that can kill you with venom, yikes. They kind of freak me out with all those arms, that beak thing and they spit ink. Ewww. But yours looks like the kind I would like. Oh, hey! Did you see the new Art Deco cartridge?!?!? I must own it soon!!! Creative Cutter Room had a post on it, really kewl! Hope your feeling better soon Colin. :)

    Susan
    cricutandgrasshopper.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you Colin for joining Lu's blog, I very much appreciate it. That being said...you are entered anyway! ;) lol! Hope your having a great weekend!

    Susan
    cricutandgrasshopper.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
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