What Can We Learn from a Cactus?

I made a mini album to house a poem and some photos of cacti. Certainly an unusual theme to scrap but I find the poem very meaningful and I want to remember the lesson the cactus teaches us. First, here's the poem by Ramendra Kumar

Of all the plants I know

Cactus is the best

It can pass easily

Even the toughest test.

It has neither fragrance

And very rarely a pretty flower

Of several sharp thorns

It wears a prickly cover.



In the arid desert sands

Where no flower can bloom

The cactus grows in glory

And dispels the traveler’s gloom.



A braver creation of Mother Nature

One can hardly ever find

The cactus teaches us a lesson

We should forever keep in mind.



When life is easy and smooth

Almost anyone can succeed
But surviving when the going is bumpy

Is a great feat indeed!



Let us try to be like the cactus

Battling every adversity

And with courage turn every calamity

Into a glorious opportunity.

I used the following from Sizzix:
Frame Back Ornate #2 656577 and Flower Vine Border 656509.





The ornate frame was too big for the mini album so I printed the poem on shrink plastic and shrank it to a perfect size. You can stamp, print or colour on the rough side of the shrunk plastic. If you want the smooth side to face up, you'll need to print the text mirrored (you can find this printing option in most word processors).




I also inked the edges with Stazon and added blings to the top and bottom of each frame.
The pages are papered in white on one side and painted gold on the other. I embossed the white cardstock with the Flower Vine border, staggering the position so that each page does not look repetitive. The embossed vines are then painted gold and the flowers given bling centres.





Each letter of the title is on a different page. I coated the letters with Rock Candy crackle paint and painted different shades of brown when dried.




The twine around the letters and pages are dyed with distress ink in Forest Moss. By diluting the ink into different strengths I achieved different shades using the same ink colour.

Camera filter apps are all the rage among iPhone users. I created a similar effect using black Stazon on photos printed 4-up on my photo printer.




I had fun making the album. The embossed edges make light work of decorating the pages and the die-cut blinged-up frames unify the inside pages and lend a touch of luxury to contrast with photos of the rugged cactus.

Here's the finished album:




I hope you now see the prickly cactus in a different light. Now go make a mini for a quote or a poem to encourage yourself or someone else!