This is a card I made for my friend, Julie.  She and I and another “J” friend, Johnna, will be having lunch soon to celebrate Julie’s birthday.  So, I dug around in my personal archives for a photo of the three of us and found this one -- taken in May 1981 during our senior picnic at Mayberry High School.  I combined it with scraps of paper from a variety of sources, along with a little leftover velvet ribbon.  The sentiment is computer-generated.  My printer isn’t feeding properly and you can see that “old friends” smudged.  I used it anyway, figuring it was apropos for a friendship that has weathered nearly four decades of ups and downs.  In case you’re wondering if my camera lens was fogged, the haze on this card is a painted glaze, intended to soften the edges of the collage and give it an aged look.  (Lord knows we’ve aged.)

Next I made a journal cover for my own use.

While I was sick, the refrain from the Rolling Stones’ song “Time is on my side” kept running through my head.  And all I could think is -- no it’s not!  Time is definitely not on my side.  So, I conceived the idea for this little journal to store my personal “To Do” list.  I used the same photo from Julie’s card, taken when I was 18 and had no idea just how cruel time could be, especially to a working mother.

Finally, I created this “card” for my friend Kayla.

As all true friendships inevitably do, ours recently hit a rough patch.  I used the same sentiment from Julie’s birthday card -- “Old friends endure” -- and three shipping labels to create a booklet that features a collage (and one word of the sentiment) on each label.  I used a photo of her former home in Mayberry on the “old” page to remind her how much I miss that she no longer lives here.  I used a photo of my home on the “friends” page to encourage her to visit often.  And I used an image of a vintage clock on the “endure” page to remind us both that time -- though it is not on my side -- does heal all wounds.  Finally, I bound all three pages together with a scrap of old ribbon and a button, and fabricated an envelope from a piece of paper, some glue, and a little more leftover ribbon.  The gold scroll design on the envelope is rubber stamped, and the initial button is from a package of scrapbook supplies.

I finished these projects amazed that such ephemeral scraps of my life could come together and be something more enduring.  I realize a card is rather transitory (unless, like me, you save most greeting cards) . . . but sentiments are not.  They remain with us, like ghosts hovering around the edges of our lives whispering words that sustain us .

I’d love to hear about your creative endeavors -- both your sources of inspiration and your outlets for expressing that inspiration.  If you have a creative passion, please share!