This is the start of an inspiration patch, where I hope that fellow scrappers and creators will come and find some inspiration, or even leave some inspiration for me.

Monday 14 July 2014

My Life - Scrap Around the world July Challenge

Hello Everyone

Sorry I have been missing in action for a few days, but life has been so hectic.  I have had a house full and also been creating, but unfortunately I will only be able to share it with you later in the week.

But for now, I have finished a page for Scrap Around the World - July Challenge here.
This is the super mood board.



I took the inspiration from the bluey greens in the mood board, as well as the sentiment about life.
Sometimes I forget that life is about exactly that, loving oneself and being joyful and happy! Life gets so hectic, that it just becomes a day in and day out survival, without actually remembering and enjoying the moments. So my page is a reminder to myself, to sometimes just sit down and breathe, enjoy the moment and remember that this is a beautiful life. So thanks to Tusia for this little reminder.

Here is my page.


I used the gorgeous Enchanted Garden collection from BoBunny. It's whimsical and beautiful!
There is a gorgeous sentiment on one of the papers that I really wanted to use, but it was just a little too big and it says "Live your own Fairy Tale"...which certainly ties in with my sentiment.


I made my own flowers using a diecut from Olba and love how these turned out,


I really loved this image of the dragonfly and so wanted to use it. It really did catch my eye. Only today I thought I should go and look up the symbolism of a dragonfly and wow....you must have a little read of this.  I know it's a little long, but it was so poignant.

Symbolisms of the Dragonfly
  • Maturity and a Depth of character
    The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life. 

    The traditional association of Dragonflies with water also gives rise to this meaning to this amazing insect. The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life.
  • Power and Poise
    The dragonfly’s agile flight and its ability to move in all six directions exude a sense of power and poise - something that comes only with age and maturity. 
    The dragonfly can move at an amazing 45 miles an hour,  hover like a helicopter fly backwards like a hummingbird, fly straight up, down and on either side. What is mind blowing is the fact that it can do this while flapping its wings a mere 30 times a minute while mosquitoes and houseflies need to flap their wings 600 and 1000 times a minute respectively. 

    The awe inspiring aspect is how the dragonfly accomplishes its objectives with utmost simplicity, effectiveness and well, if you look at proportions, with 20 times as much power in each of its wing strokes when compared to the other insects.  The best part is that the dragonfly does it with elegance and grace that can be compared to a veteran ballet dancer. If this is not a brazen, lazy, overkill in terms of display of raw power, what is?
  • Defeat of Self Created Illusions
    The dragonfly exhibits iridescence both on its wings as well as on its body. Iridescence is the property of an object to show itself in different colors depending on the angle and polarization of light falling on it. 

    This property is seen and believed as the end of one’s self created illusions and a clear vision into the realities of life. The magical property of iridescence is also associated with the discovery of one’s own abilities by unmasking the real self and removing the doubts one casts on his/her own sense of identity. This again indirectly means self discovery and removal of inhibitions.
  • Focus on living ‘IN’ the moment
    The dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life and usually not more than a few months. This adult dragonfly does it all in these few months and leaves nothing to be desired. This style of life symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living IN the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t and make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis. 

    This ability lets you live your life without regrets like the great dragonfly.
  • The opening of one’s eyes
    The eyes of the dragonfly are one of the most amazing and awe inspiring sights. Given almost 80% of the insect’s brain power is dedicated to its sight and the fact that it can see in all 360 degrees around it, it symbolizes the uninhibited vision of the mind and the ability to see beyond the limitations of the human self. It also in a manner of speaking symbolizes a man/woman’s rising from materialism to be able to see beyond the mundane into the vastness that is really our Universe, and our own minds.

Quite interesting...isn't it!!!!


Here is a close-up of the other flower cluster, and some of my stamping, which says: The Good Stuff!
Some of the other stamped phrases are: "Life is worth it" and "What Matters".

Thanks so much for stopping by!
I really do appreciate your visits and comments!
Have a super evening!
Denise x 

17 comments:

  1. Denise, it's a great LO! Love your work with background!

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  2. Love your layout! The Enchanted Garden is so beautiful here and I really enjoyed your share about the dragonfly. Who knew?!

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  3. Lovely layout and photo where your peace of mind shows! Thanks for sharing thise facts and symbolism of the dragonflies. No wonder that we find them so fascinating!

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  4. OH! WOW! this is GORGEOUS... those dragonflies looks GREAT....THANK you for playing along over @ SATW this month! :)

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  5. Amazing layout Denise! Love your background work mad the dragonfly!! The colours are awesome too!!!

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  6. A soft and serene page to enhance your beautiful photo. Love the texture work and the hand made flowers. Thanks for sharing the info about the dragonfly; I found it enlightening and uplifting :D

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  7. WOW! Stunning layout! Great textures and those dragonflies are awesome!
    Thank you for joining at SATW!

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  8. Amazing page Denise! I love love your background and I looooove dragonflies! !!!
    Bravo ! :)

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  9. Fabulous! I did NOT know all that about the humble dragon fly.....but it's really apt for your page! LOOOOVE those blooms you've made, too:):)

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  10. Great! Beautiful background, photo, details! Thank you for playing along with us at SATW this month.

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  11. Wow this is a gorgeous page! I love the color choices you made and the way you did your masking! The dragonfly is beautiful and thank-you for including a little info on the symbolism that was thoughtful and educational! You did a fabulous job with the Mood Board! and I hear you on having a house full mine is usually like that all summer long because I live in a tourist resort area so everyone wants to holiday here! Thanks for playing along! All the best from SATW! :)

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  12. A beautiful photo of you and your design is just awesome. You are are so creative.
    Hugs
    Desíre
    {Doing Life – my personal blog}

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  13. This is a gorgeous photo of you Denise. I love the mixed media on your background and the pretty colour scheme.

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  14. I am so happy my mood board inspired you and reminded you the importance of joy in life <3 Thank you for playing along with us at SATW this month.

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  15. Oh, fabulous layout! Love that picture :) thank you for playing with us at SATW :)

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  16. Denise your layout is amazing I really enjoyed ready about the Dragonfly it's one of my fav insects!! Did you ever see that movie Dragonfly it's very touching! Thank you so much for taking the time to play with our mood board this month at Scrap Around the World hugs Amy :-)

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