April 18,2007 BALANCE... What does it mean to be balanced in today's world?
I finally started practicing with making stencils again. I have attempted cutting stencils
with
an exact-o knife but my hand cramps. I could cut out bigger designs. But I am not capable of cutting fine details. So I bought a stencil cutter at Joanne Fabrics. I need a great deal more practice to get beautiful smooth edges. But it is allot easy with this electric tool. The hot knife really does glide through the plastic like butter. I guess there are two drawbacks with this method. The first is the tool is very hot. The second 
drawback is the smell of the burning plastic. But I hope to get better with practice. Plus I believe the messages on both these pages relate to living a balanced life. It is important to learn to let go and fly with love as our guide.
Books I am currently reading.
- Lenedra J. Carroll: The Architecture of All Abundance
Georgeanne Brennan: A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France
Books waiting to be read.
Spiritual reading list
- Gunilla Norris: Inviting Silence: Universal Principles of Meditation
- Sharon Salzberg: Lovingkindness Meditation
- Sam Keen: Hymns to an Unknown God: Awakening The Spirit In Everyday Life
- Esther De Waal: Lost in Wonder: Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness
- Esther De Waal: To Pause at the Threshold: Reflections on Living on the Border
- Elizabeth Lesser: The Seeker's Guide (previously published as The New American Spirituality)
- Dean Sluyter: The Zen Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a Life of Inner Freedom.
- Elizabeth Lesser: Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
The pages look great! I know what you mean about the smell....I alter my breathing so that when the knife is in the plastic, I am bnlowing the smell away from my face. LOL What we do for art... :) Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Julie Prichard | April 19, 2008 at 05:29 PM
Susan - great pages! I think it's cool that you tried the exacto first so you would know how awesome it is to use the heat tool. I like how you painted over the letters twice. Thanks for sharing with the team!
Posted by: michelle ward | April 23, 2008 at 04:22 PM
I don't know what I am more wowed by - your stencil designs themselves (esp. the top one), or the beautiful journal pages you made with them.
I know what you mean about the hand cramps with hand cutting with a knife :)
My hot stencil cutter arrived in the mail this morning, so I will have a play with it tonight - I have the burning plastic smell to look forward to :)
Posted by: Flo | April 24, 2008 at 11:37 AM
Great stencils, they look good on your pages, too! You might want to try some different kinds of plastic, some smell worse than others when heated. I didn't think the mylar I had was too bad, but take my word for it and don't try styrene - awful! :)
Posted by: ArtKat | April 24, 2008 at 03:39 PM
this is beautiful.
I use knife to cut the stencil. This is my first time heard about the hot stencil cutter. It's must be a great tools except the 2 drawbacks that you described.
Posted by: Lay hoon | April 24, 2008 at 08:25 PM
That 'Let Go' is brilliant - your pages look great :-)
Posted by: Cath S | April 25, 2008 at 03:54 AM
Your post is pretty neat Susan! I agree living a balanced life is super important and just might be one of the major keys to life! Might be the Libra in me too...
Have a great hair day! Becci
Posted by: Becci | April 26, 2008 at 09:15 PM
Love the stencils and your pages look fantastic! I especially love the first one, and that green is a great colour.
Posted by: Ursula C | April 28, 2008 at 11:35 PM