Challenging Times (and a challenge)

After my challenge earlier in the week to work outside your comfort zone, I went about my week and didn't get very far with any kind of creative work. It was all about full time work (at the hospital), home-type work (laundry, meals, groceries, you know the drill), plain old homework (I just started a college class!), and no creative play!

Our Lady of Angels Cathedral, Los Angeles

Finally the weekend arrived and I went to Chinatown with girlfriends for Dim Sum, and a walk to Our Lady of Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. Dim Sum was delicious, as always, and the cathedral was fascinating - interesting to see such a modern house of worship after all the ancient ones in Europe (we appreciated the cool, air-conditioned calm after hiking up the very hot hill). On the way home my friend Ann and I stopped at a printer's fair - wow, lots of old printing presses, luscious hand-made and specialty papers, and tons of very cool letterpress projects from cards to books and bookbinding - lots of fun, but still no crafting time for me!

The bells at Our Lady of Angels Cathedral, Los Angeles

Today I'm at home, and in addition to homework, laundry and all the usual tasks to be completed before the work and school week starts (the kiddos are back to school this week - DS at high school, DD starting college) I was reminded of a challenge posted at Darkroom Door - create something using DD products and using only red, black and white. I love that color combo, but do you know hard it is not to add MORE colors?? I was strong, not even the tiniest bit of tan or brown to age the project! Check out the details of the challenge at the Darkroom Door Blog.

Stamps and Wordstrips: Darkroom Door
Ranger Distress Inks, Stickles & Distress Stickles

I'm adding one of these ATCs to my Blog Candy package, and pages from some of these vintage books that I found on my travels, take a look at this post for details on how to win it.

The books were so fun to hunt down in little shops and flea markets in Zurich, including a two volume set of Victor Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" in French - I don't think I'll be tearing pages out of the Hunchback books :)

Smoke from the wildfires in the mountains behind LA,
Chinatown Temple, Los Angeles

It's SO very hot here right now, we had local fire scares earlier in the week, the fires in the Angeles National Forrest are still burning. Everyone is hoping things will cool down soon. I need to focus and get my homework done for this class I'm taking, now that's a challenge!!