Finger Pointing – December 24th- {Holiday Edition-Part 2}

Good Day to all!!! Hope everyone is as well as it is possible to be right now, I know for many (many!!!!) of us it is disappointing to put it lightly, but if you are part of some of the wonderful communities in our industry, I know we are ones to find silver linings, so I know we are making the best of our time right now. In the name of all of us at the GSO team, we wish you the best time possible for the Holidays, I know some have been already celebrated/observed, some will be from today onward. No matter if this is Eid, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Kwanza and, if I recall well, there is Yalda and another on the 26th for Zoroastrians and Yule for Wiccans, I imagine there are more, and to all the different groups that celebrate Christmas, to ALL, we would like to wish you the very best for the end of this year and that the new one brings us in a more together, compassionate, understanding and loving attitude, regardless of any of our differences. 🙂

If you just arrived here today, please, do have a read to the start of the {Part 1} HERE in which I explained a bit more about the wonderful, though sometimes very hard, work we do here as a team, and why I’m here to celebrate my sisters of this amazing team, one I am so, so very proud to belong to.

Once again : Remember : you can get to the original galleries by clicking in the highlighted name of the page and author, it will open in another window or tab, please take a minute or two to leave them some love, we all know how good it feels and how much it can change a gray day into a brighter one!!!!  Now, I don’t want to take the attention from my task for much longer, so, in no particular order, here are the pages of the rest of our team (and I hope my impaired brain has not forgotten any of you! LOL)

I’m gonna start with ~Tough-Times~ by kewl_jive. a very fitting all together page in these so very difficult times for the whole world… Beth happens to be also one of my most favorite people in our community, not just an amazing artist but one who I used to talk a lot at a point in which I most needed, she guided me and gave me the confidence to keep going. She is part of my Queens of the Blank Space, gifted on the art of making family record with supreme elegance, and it is so amazingly well portrayed in this page. The photo is amazing, the strength that a brilliant crop gives to the context of the whole thing, the amazing text written over it captures the attention even more, a written few words that have so much truth as do the ones in the journal spot, and, as much as I complain lately about the generalized quotes and phrases, the bits of word strips here have truthfulness and hope, and give the heart more energy to keep going. The composition is so beautiful, the soft blue of the background is given more of a punch with the black and white piece of pattern on the top and the smaller one in the bottom, the amazing impact of the yellow and the couple of red spots with the buttons, all together work to perfection. Love the detail of another written statement, one we may even go without noticing: the “life is not always easy” which I know for many of us is a constant, is a reminder to give even more strength to the whole page . So, lets hear Beth in the beauty and wisdom of her page: Yes, let’s be strong. The human race had gone through extremely harder times, we will get over this one too. 🙂

Another super amazing talent of our team, Amanesefe with Merry Gus-mas, here I have had such a hard time choosing… it is the case in every post I make, how hard it is to keep just one to be highlighted when, like in Jenny’s case here, the gallery is an exhibition of perfect mastering in any style. I think I’m choosing this one because the general light that comes out of it, full of golden, the smile and stars, the beauty of this young lady and the perfection of those clusters that all together make the light invade every bit of the page… a wonderful celebration that, at least to me, give the hope that, as said by Beth above, this too shall pass. But I think you should really have a look at her whole gallery, there are so many pieces in so many different styles, all keeping Jenny’s elegance and gift to storytelling, there is a magnificent page (a marriage proposal in the family!!!) that gives enough happy and hope to lift our spirits and have the certainty of good times coming… her whole gallery is an absolute delight!!!

Another absolute talent, wonderful creative, one that has lived in my heart now for a few years, is Ga_L with Don’t Fill Your Head with Worries, another super appropriate title, and one that it is really so well translated. One of the things that makes me love this girls’ creations so much is the fact that I have seen her growing onto this fabulous dominion of mixed media for telling every day stories as well as the more undefined art journal pages, she has a gift for pocket pages that also, like in Jenny’s case, I would suggest you have a look at her inspiring gallery. I decided to go a bit back in her gallery to feature this particular one even though all pages more recently posted are beyond amazing, because I think is the perfect ensemble of memory keeping with the fabulous art of mixed media. The photo is brilliant (love when she gets in the picture!) the angle makes it stand out as is the treatment given. The base for it being a perfect continuity of nature, from the photo to the background paper, an attention to detail that makes the page even richer, and the fabulous shadows plus the creation of light with elements like the sequins give the whole thing the handmade, paper page feeling, which I love with all my heart (which sings with every page of hers!)

My heart keeps singing with these amazing galleries, getting festive again with Christmas Cookies | December 2020 by Heidi Nicole. Another super fabulous gallery, another gifted creative, almost minimalist with a gift for storytelling, which here bring us back to us, all of us, adapting with the most amazing energy to these difficult times… what best than cookies baking?  The kitchen is the favorite place to almost all women in my family, including my almost 25 years old daughter (whom, by the way, is demanding we bake these as soon as we can!!!)  The whole composition is lead by that happy feeling, the way she took the disappointing fact of not being able to get out to see family and turned it into the most beautiful page, one that, instead of  complaining and giving us a gloom look, it is telling us, as did Beth, that this too shall pass, we may as well enjoy our time until then…. I do know there are people to whom this is not an option, but to many of us, this attitude is encouraging and powerful in bringing us together…and Heidi Nicole more than perfectly does it. The beautiful elegance of the blank space, together with the richness of the elements, bits of paper and word arts chosen, the wonderful way in which she added to the template to give it her always elegant touch… loving every little addition! the tiny Santa in the right hand side, the thread with the overlapped buttons, and, though I know we concentrate in the scrapper rather than the designer…I have to admit, as this is a passion of mine, every piece of different kits from Mirjam, aka Pink Reptile Designs…. all makes my heart sing loud! A perfect combination of kits, a perfect designer and a perfect artist!

Another one of these talented ladies who keeps me wowed with her pages, is Barbara Unzen with Thessaloniki The Umbrellas by Zongolopoulus. here again, her whole gallery is one gem after another, that kind of mastering the art that allows us to connect as we almost feel the family emotions, live the events, and, here too, I had a hard time choosing one to share with you. The memory record of the times we are living is marvelously presented in her gallery, there is seriousness and humor, lots of beauty and amazing color play. Love it that she includes herself in some pages, this is something I make a point, I know the pages will live on, and I so wish my grandparents and great grand parents had kept a record, so I know the generations to come will want to know who the awesome creator of these pages is. There is perfect balance in her gallery too, some pocket pages with beautiful out of the box twists, some beautiful double pagers, a talent for (again) color play and the title creating from her delights me…. it wasn’t easy to pick just one, but this one, I think, not just amazed me in the way the page was built, the gorgeous photos that presents us with a wonderful work of art and another, a more personal work of art of hers, her daughter, here captured in the happiest way, a beautiful happy moment caught in time, that also gives movement to the page, and the one part that touches my heart and makes me be there… the journaling of a proud mother, in which I think even if you are not a mum, you can feel the beauty of this emotion. The choices of paper and the title, all perfect to shine on it’s own and let the photos shine, all together a more than awesome stand out!

One more brilliant artist and memory keeper, beatricemi with Trim the Tree, a most beautiful, warm and amazingly composed page, with elegance and translating the season’s feeling in a most wonderful way, another super impressive gallery which is more than worth spending some time to get inspired and get that warmth and beauty of family life into our hearts. Here again, I was torn by so many amazing pages into having to choose just one, love Bea’s gift for journaling, there are so many brilliant pieces of life written both with words and paired with images that speak too, the amazing beauty of the children and the way she translates moments and feelings is marvelous, like in this one, where words aren’t even needed, so beautiful the combination of photos with the most amazing choices of papers, the clean cut elements and the way they are placed, all combined have a strong power of painting the moments, I see these photos like picked from a glossy magazine, the children wearing the same pjs, every choice here is gorgeous and all together have the perfect balance! Love the papers choice, the very subtle border, the different degrees of brown, some with even the feel of texture  and different light, the fabulous combination of patterns in the bottom left that houses the awesome cluster there…. I’m not sure if the photos were taken from outside a window, or the impression is given by adding the divisions to the image, but either way, it all comes with the power of giving us a glimpse into these children’s happiness in putting the tree together, the dynamic of the photos in different sizes and the tilt in the middle right one, the beautiful flowers chosen for the other two clusters and the elegance that the other two trees, in a simple and modern cut as with the bottom one, all play with elegance and the light keeps flowing…. especially love the type (of light) that is achieved in the bottom right, all with subtle, beautiful shadows to match! More music for my heart!!!

Keeping on the Christmas cheer, another super gorgeous piece of art on the festive craft, Crafty Christmas by kabra 1207, a delightful composition with so many beautiful pieces, all shining on their own and even more so in coming together in the page!  As I mention before, though we have the goal of shining a light on the scraper/artist rather than the designer or product, this is another one of my most favorite creative designers, Karen Schulz. Not just she is talented, but also was the very first designer I spent money in, a bit over 10 years ago, and one who opened the doors to the  main stream scrapping “scene” inviting me to her team and becoming one of the most influential people in my life. Here the the pairing of Karen’s wonderful products by the talented hand and vision of Kabra make a wonderful display of holiday cheer. Love the way the card is framed, first by the tone on tone and tilt of the patterned piece, then by the beautiful wooden frame, itself framed by amazing clusters. Love especially the Santa’s element, the impact of the color with the star above, the trail of ripped/torn pieces of printed paper, taking us to the top cluster in the frame, such a beautiful mix with the metal of the scissors, the different greens and teals of the leaves, the gorgeous neutral but impressively crafted flowers, and then that amazing heart,  the beautiful, refreshing green that finds the balance in the detail of the right hand side composition cluster, the stripped ribbon keeping the red present and the gorgeous heart again, with the poinsettia shining and a beautiful gingham bow, both hearts shadowed with a depth that gives a gorgeous dimension to the page!!!!

Last, but not the in the slightest least, I give you one of the jewels by our newest addition to the team, Claire Grantham with Photography: December 2020 – Wonderland. This marvel of a woman is not just the newest addition to us here, but to the whole industry and communities, one of those silver linings this pandemic has given us, because, even though it may seem impossible by looking at her gallery, because she so awesomely ROCKS…. she discovered scrapbooking because of the pandemic. I fell in love with her from the very first page back in the end of March, and have seen more and more and the love keeps growing…. she is full of energy, fearless in every sense of the word, fun and, once again, so amazingly talented, I know she has won the heart of so many of us, and now we are proud to have her as part of this team. I have been going backwards and forward in her gallery trying to decide which page to bring you, there is so much in so many ways showing all her energy, her marvelous way of going for life, of making fun of herself even (something only truly amazing people can do) loving who she is and loving getting in her pages, which makes us feel that amazing energy, she is a treat in these dreadful times. Like with every other member of our team, I suggest you spend at least a bit of time in their galleries, in Claire’s you will find some huge motivation and some amazing statements in her (absolutely awesome  no matter what she is talking about) journaling. Like, for example, something that confirms I was so very right in loving her from day one:  in another one of her pages, she talks about how she has to deal with lots of negative energy in her position at work… and she goes on to say that “in my real life, I choose positivity and happiness over the bad stuff, even when life is hard. I just grab my hubby and dance the sh!t out.”  That attitude is present in every page…. I don’t think one page can give the total idea of the magnitude in which she is refreshing, inspiring, fun, talented…. so I will give you a page as big and fresh and happy as she is, with that pride of her own person, the beauty of speaking out her mind, and the impact of the whole passion for life 🙂 But you should check her gallery too!

This is all from me today, though I will be back before our hiatus end, as I have another special edition to share with you guys. Before I go… once again:

Please, (pretty please?) this week more than any other time of the year, I ask you PLEASE, please, to take a minute or two to click on the highlighted names of the pages and authors to get to their original galleries, and thank these AWESOME, talented women for the love and dedication they keep all year in highlighting yours 🙂

See you in the news few days  with another Special Edition!