OK, that was probably a bit light-headed (and with a hoarse voice,
followed by a huge coughing fit) but I’m soooo glad the virus I had
is decreasing. I have more energy every day!
I even dared to plan a trip to the scrapbook store in Heesch 
this Sunday to spend my birthday money.

 
On to business
’cause it’s
Friday and the
new Lotus Paperie
challenge #146
is up.
As you may
have noticed, 
the challenges
variate from 
random challenges
to sketches
every other week.

This week Vanessa
provided us with 
this sketch.

 
I don’t often scrap with a lot of photo’s, I’m not the “floral type” and
my head was fuzzy, but once I got the idea for the layout and started
working on it, I had a fun time!

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Let me tell you about my son’s hidden talent….
’cause I got my (belated) birthday present from him this week.
And you know what?

He knows exactly what you always wanted to have but just never knew
yourself that you wanted…. but HE knows, and he buys it for you
and when you get it you go like: “how did you know I wanted this?
I didn’t know myself but now that I see this, it was my wish to have this!”

I got the “Book of longing” from him!
It’s written by Leonard Cohen and it collects Cohen’s
poetry written between the 1980s and the present.
“It also includes his wonderfully witty and sensuous
illustrations, including numerous playful self-portraits.
The illustrations interact with, and complement, the poetry
in unexpected and fascinating ways.”

 
This is such an inspiring book – it’s almost like an art journal!
Thank you Nout, for giving me this. I love you 1.000 kisses deep!

OK then, on to bussiness ’cause it’s Friday, and you know what’s
happening on Fridays, don’t you?

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…you were the loveliest thing that ever happened to us.
And you still are”

Ain’t this the sweetest words to hear when it’s your birthday?
My parents wrote this on the birthday card I got from them!

YESSSSS, I told you I would wear a birthday hat today!

 
So here I am!
Older.
Wiser.
Happy.
Spoiled…

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So you were all waiting for the other half of my layout?
Good! Love that.
There’s nothing wrong with a little patience…

This week’s challenge over at Lotus Paperie is to use a piece of notepaper.
Feel it coming…?

(Vivian thought so – see her comment on Friday 18th – good thinking Viv!
And when Denise mentioned that she thought the first half of the layout was
“peaceful yet lonely” without even reading the message on todays other half,
I knew I’d succeeded in bringing the exact feeling onto the layout!)

So take a look, here it is… the other half (and the complete spread)

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Sorry I haven’t blogged in almost a week but I was busy, busy, busy….
(With what??? I’ll write a post about that soon – with photo’s.)

But I did get some scrapping done and as of today, I’m back in business!

 
And because
it’s Friday,
I start with
the new
Lotus Paperie
challenge.

Vanessa made
this sketch
for you all
to work with…

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Maybe you remember what I wrote in a post a few days ago:

“I am reflecting and thinking over the art I made up ’till now.
What I like, what I don’t like (anymore) and which way I want my art to go… ”

One of the things I was not happy with was the shallowness of my art lately.
Not the ideas behind the layouts were shallow, not at all, but in the back of
my mind I always knew “I keep something behind”. 
I don’t do that when it comes to scrapping “general matters” (like this layout)
but when it comes to personal, very personal journaling, I like to keep it
in general. I don’t speak my true mind easily – I’m always aware of the fact
that I put my works on the Internet and a lot of people can see and read it.
Although most people find me very open, there has always been some
reticence in the way I express myself…

Up ’till now that is, because I decided to (try to) let that go, and show
(more of) myself. To go a little further and be a bit more personal in doing that.

To prevent myself from chickening out at the last moment, I made this page
for the Lotus Paperie challenge. That way I would be forced to put it here
on my blog (after all, it is on the Lotus blog too!)

OK, no further delay… I opened up and spit something out.
Something to myself. Something I must tell myself more often.
Something I must face…

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Friday again, weeks go faster and faster it seems…
and Summer is almost over.
It’s Autumn (at least the weather is) overhere in the Netherlands –
dark clouds rush through the sky. There’s a strong wind blowing.
Sometimes the low sun shines through a hole in the clouds,
and shines on the trees in the park – the leaves still green
but it won’t take long until the park colours yellow, red and gold. 
I can already smell it in the air…
my favourite season is about to start! 

Why am I telling this?
Well, I always turn a bit
melancholic in the Fall,
and this Lotus sketch
inspired me to make
a melancholic layout…

(How does it
inspire you?
Play along at
Lotus Paperie
and show us!) 

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