carving with great effort

oh my carving goodness! traci and her 30 days of carving have brought my x-acto knife out of retirement and a new hobby to my hands. i needed this mindset switch. for me writing and drawing are matters of what to add to the paper, but carving requires thinking about what to take away. it is not easy to get a precise cut, but it doesn't matter; hand cut stamps have a really nifty effect no matter how they're done so it really encourages experimentation. and it doesn't have to take a lot of time, which is essential around here because we keep incurring snow days and holidays. with the kids home, my creating minutes have been scarce.

traci sent me to dollar tree for the erasers, which was a generous and risky thing to do, because we shop at the same one and i have a tendency to buy in bulk. indeed there they were, all with messages of positive reinforcement so i felt downright good about myself even when my first ones turned into the great rubber massacre. the larger oval erasers, though less effusive in their praise than the smaller ones, are better -- they are firmer, cut more easily and don't crumble. so if you have a dollar tree near you, those are the ones i'd recommend, along with the armful of feather dusters and self-adhesive hooks and valentine window clings and puzzles and gift bags and storage containers and all of those other dollar items i didn't know i needed.

thanks to everyone for being so gracious about list it tuesday -- sally has offered to assume the helm for now. i have to admit that i haven't quit making treasuries yet, though, so swing by and share an imaginary snow day with me if you'd like! have a great weekend!