Giving New Meaning to Use Your Words! -Guest Blog!

My name is Jennifer Marie. I felt honored to be asked to Guest Post on Paint Under My Nail's blog and to share my story.

Last year I started completing the Documented Life Project 2014, but life got in the way. My fiance and I got married, moved into a house, my brother graduated high school, my sister-in-law had a baby, and more. I just kept putting it to the side. My goal this year is to complete every week on time. 
I am 24 years old, and don't truly consider myself an artist, I always gave that label to my sister who is also doing this project. I considered myself a reader and a scrapbooker. I have re-considered what the word "artist" means and anyone can really be an artist if you have the courage to play around and experiment! During the day I am an educator which is extremely rewarding, but it comes with the price of stress. Crafting is something I like to do because it is fun and a stress-reliever. 
When I got the challenge of being your own goal keeper, and to involve book paper my brain went blank. Book paper? Goal keeper? I had no idea where I would go with this. Then I thought... I love books, and writing! Then my brain thought, TREE! I had two copies of one of my favorite books from middle school (The Hound of Baskervilles) and started ripping pages out. When I thought of what I wanted to do I drew on a piece of scrap paper my idea. Shown below.

Then I knew since I am my own goal keeper. I needed to be sitting under the tree, and with what better than a book!
Then I wanted to use both, so I made a shadow version of me and then tinted the paper around the tree and me with antique spray. 

The page looked empty and I knew I didn't want to add paper on top to take away from the antique look so I started cutting pieces of the book out and arranging them on the page. Then I added a fence and filled in the fence with parts of the book as well.

After the first picture was completed I sat there, texted it to my mom, and thought "Eh.. something is missing." So then I added leaves, and white squiggles. I wanted to add to it, without overpowering. In keeping with my cover theme, I added a "G" and a "&" and then I thought, YES!

Jennifer Marie (Fairfield, Ohio)