Make a plan then...

Hello Friends -

A friend of mine recently created a facebook post about a project asking women to write a sign about what they would say to themselves the day before their first child was born.  Here is the link if you are up for a look.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taDqKWWPDAY&feature=player_embedded  It has some fun music and GREAT signs.

 I said my sign would say, "Make a plan then be prepared to change it."

I've always been the type of person to plan everything. My family laughs at the fact I can make multi-tabbed spreadsheets for the vacation grocery shopping.  One tab for everything we need to buy, a second for just the liquor store, yet another for Costco and a final one for the regular grocery store.  I make multiple copies so we I can recruit additional people to take a portion and we can get the shopping done.  This spreadsheet, however, requires an agreed upon menu for the week and so on and so on.  Now, in my defense, they laugh but they all appreciate it and rely on the fact that I won't get us out to an island without enough food for everyone.

When my son was born I was one of those people with a birth plan. I had five pages of how I wanted the birth to go.  I read everything under the sun so I could think out each and every scenario. Well, the best advice in the world came from my doctor.  She said, "Thank you for this plan, I"m glad to know how you would like things to go but I need you to be prepared to make changes if things aren't working out."  And she was correct.  I could make as many plans as I wanted but the Wonderkid has always had his own ideas and they weren't always in sync with mine.  We went from Natural Childbirth to an Emergency C-Section after induced labor.  It wasn't my plan at all but it was the best way to deal with the cards I was dealt.

Today's card was a reminder of the importance of making plans and then being prepared to scrap (no pun intended - hehehe) them whenever necessary.

I stuck to the sketch.  It is a challenge with Papercraft Star and created by Liz Chidester.

But this is what I started out with.  These were both going on the left hand side of the card.

These designs are part of the Tim Holtz Seasonal stack.  Aren't they fun?  And they are completely in keeping with my style.  They would be lovely with kraft paper.

However, this is where I ended up.  It is still Tim Holtz although I stamped this design on white paper instead of cutting out a design.

The card topper is Core'dinations Whitewash with a purple core.  I then used a Cuttlebug 5 x 7 Damask folder to emboss it and I sanded the paper to bring out the design a tad more.  The ribbon is a bit of rayon I died with my Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Milled Lavender and Concord Grape).  The button is a white button I inked with the Concord Grape Distressed Ink and the heart was cut out using the Beyond Birthdays cart.  The sentiment is also a Tim Holtz acrylic stamp.

So, the plan was fine but being flexible and willing to change as the situation dictates makes for a better life ... and a better card.  Wouldn't you agree?