enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

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Whole

This is a bit of a personal topic for me. I need to stay whole. Last fall, I spent five weeks in Sacramento with my parents because Paul was on rotation out in San Diego. I left our apartment, my stuff and my part time job. Before I went, it made a lot of sense – there was no point in rattling around the house by myself. But after I had been gone a few weeks I realized that it felt like I had put my life on hold. It felt like a time out. I loved visiting with the fam but didn't like that I had stopped making stuff, cooking dinner, going into work, living on my own.

We are looking at a lot of time apart over the next fifteen years. I want to remember to stay whole through it. Ultimately, we'll both be better off.

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I made the book above with a few thoughts but mostly just pretty papers. When I make books like this I first decide on size and then what the cover will be. In this case, I wrapped up thick 5×3.5 inch pieces of chipboard in pages from an Anthropologie catalog.

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Next, I make the pages of the book, back and front. I keep a huge drawer of paper scraps and little boxes of embellishments like the lace and star above. I cut the papers down to size and decorate as needed. Then I figure out an order for the pages to go, come up with text and finally, punch holes
and add book rings.

This last GOventure day, I went back to paper and books. It's what I am most comfortable with which means I didn't have to think too outside the box. But sometimes that's good.

Thanks for following along this past week. KAL, I know it's been busy but I am glad we made time for this. You + your art are awesome. Thank you.

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15 responses to “GOventure : whole.”

  1. sonya audrey Avatar

    It’s one of the hardest parts, and amazing that you get it so quickly. It’s why I’m in school for what I love. So important to remain YOU no matter how many titles you add on to your name. Love the book and the sentiment behind it. Great job Elise!

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  2. Stephanie Howell Avatar

    elise, i love this. both the project and the idea behind it.
    for what it’s worth, i agree with you 100 percent.
    many families leave their homes with children and move home to be with their family during deployments.
    if that works for your family, i think it’s wonderful. but i always want to stay in OUR home and make it a home. proud of you, you are going to be so good at this military wife thing. xoxo

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  3. Kal Barteski Avatar

    Elise. This is my favourite solution of yours. It’s beautiful. It has a delicate and ethereal feel that is just so darn pretty and genuine.
    GREAT. LOVE IT. Thank you for getting me to play again – because I needed it.

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  4. Nikki Avatar

    I completely agree with you on this. It’s easy to lose yourself in your husband’s identity when he’s in the military. Keeping your mind set on who you are before you even enter into all that mess is an excellent idea.
    Here’s to being whole.

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  5. Robyn Avatar

    this is great! I love the page that says “I have to stay me”.
    I took your art journaling class last fall and I keep meaning to check in here and say I just made another art journal. I had a doozie of a holiday season and a lot of processing to do. It was so cathartic and therapeutic to use art journaling to make sense of a hard time. So, thanks Elise. Such a useful tool!

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  6. Polka Dot Robot Avatar

    this little book is so beautiful.

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  7. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    I love this mini and the reason behind creating it. Staying you is so important. I loved seeing all the GOventure projects from everyone! I hope you do it again soon. 🙂

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  8. Ali Edwards Avatar

    Um seriously, this made my HEART BEAT FASTER. I must make something now.

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  9. Amy Tan Avatar

    this is beautiful.
    and so full of truth. love it.

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  10. REnay Avatar

    You can do this! I can understand where you come from. For 15 months I was deployed with my Mr. Fantastic, then we were back here for a year. This last year though, he deployed and I stayed here in the states as I had just gotten out of the military. Staying whole is not always easy, but surrounding yourself with positive influences helps. When you do this, even the days that you don’t feel quite whole without him, you will be strong enough to get through! Beautiful project!

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  11. Vee Avatar

    Beautiful work to end the GO project `=) I think I might work on the creativity prompt words since I’ll be stuck in this big snow storm this weekend. Have a great weekend!

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  12. Brandy Ink Avatar

    My god. I thought Kal was talented. But she’s also got a talented little blog community. Good for you guys! I love your solutions this week.

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  13. Jenn Avatar

    My husband and I lived apart for two and a half years while we were dating. We hadn’t planned it that way, it was supposed to be for 6 months while I started grad school in the US and he finished his teaching degree. He came down in the summer to look for a job, and actually got hired, before he was told that there was no way he could get a work visa as a teacher unless he taught a foreign language. And so we ended up apart until I got enough data that I could move home to write my thesis.
    As much as it sucked at the time I think it was actually good for us. It’s so hard to put in words, but it helped put our relationship and the time that we did get to spend together in perspective, and made us each more solidly who we are.
    Long story short… long distance is never fun, but it has its own strange rewards. I am sure you will figure out how to make it work for the two of you.

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  14. Leslie Avatar

    Hi Elise,
    I have really enjoyed following along with the go-venture this week. Thanks so much for sharing. Also, it is soo smart of you to figure out your need for wholeness NOW before you and Paul are into the thick of it (in the coming years when he is in practice) and you’re wondering why you’re not happy. I think sometimes I just muddle through life not really recognizing stuff like that. Brilliant. You’re awesome. Thanks for sharing not just your art, but yourself.

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  15. giuseppina Avatar

    thanks so much for doing this! it has been awesome and inspiring 🙂

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