On its surface, this sounds so playful and fun.
But as we, and by we, I mean I, know, fairytales are dark, horrid little nightmares.
I know that the purpose of these awful stories is to keep kids from toddling off into the woods. But really? Telling them a witch is going to cook and eat them? Melodramatic, your table is ready!
I'm scarred by every fairytale my parents ever read to me.
Most of the books that they read to me I went on to read to myself many times. But not these hideous stories. Those books belong in the freezer where they can't get me.
One in particular terrified me. Correction - terrifies me.
It's by that sick, twisted freak Hans Christian Andersen. What in the world happened to this psychopath when he was little?
Anyhoo... I hate to even type the name of it and infect you with its terror, but in order to explain my card, I must.
It's called The Snow Queen. I will not pay for your therapy should you choose to read this. Also, I'm sorry.
The only positive thing I can say about this story is that it had very beautiful and haunting imagery. I pictured the entire book in that deep blue light you get at night in snowy places.
So that's what I used as my inspiration.
The glittery xoxo is NOT for Mr. Andersen. It's because the Snow Queen's kiss is her weapon. *shudder*
I made the background by scraping little pools of yellow, turquoise and white paint around some Whisper White Cardstock with a credit card. Then I stamped the snowflakes from Snowflake Soiree in Versamark and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. I used silver glimmer paper and the Labels Thinlits for the greeting. I thought about using "Yay" and then writing "Mr. Anderson is dead" but I thought that might be a little over the top. :)
Please don't read that story.
Please.
Loveyameanitbye.
oh GASP--this is SOOOOOO beautiful!
ReplyDeletei am so captivated by your continued journey into more and different expressions and outlets for your creativity. you have MAD SKILLS, girl!
if you could bear to part with it, i'd be willing to pay for it. seriously, this is a STUNNER.
Love the colours you achieved dear friend!
ReplyDeleteYou have left me giggling although I can tell that this story is no laughing matter. I think I am very glad I have never read this story since I am a happy ending kind of girl! From what you have just told us I LOVE that your sentiment is XOXO. Glorious color on your bg. I MUST try this technique soon!
ReplyDeletewowzers!! so pretty!! what a great card!!
ReplyDeletejennik
Stunning. Truly. Your card is absolutely stunning.
ReplyDeleteand your blog is hysterical.
At first, I was like, "oh, what a beautiful card"...then I read the part about the glittery Snow Queen kisses, and it suddenly became the creepiest beautiful snow flurry card I have ever seen :-O And I haven't even read the story, your account was chilling in and of itself! (I won't read the story, I won't read the story, I won't read the story...I will resist the urge to click the link...)
ReplyDeleteGORGEOUS inking and imagery, Lydia! BEAUTIFUL card! Interesting how, as a child, this story frightened you, as well as, I'm sure many children. From my readings on Andersen and the Grimm's, it seems as though few, if any, of their "fairy tales" were intended for children. The "revised" or "enhanced" versions were obviously edited to become child-friendly. Still, there are many that are twisted. One must wonder about the men behind the original stories, many of which were dark, perverse and often pornographic.
ReplyDeleteLydia, what a beautiful card!! I must admit that story crossed my mind, but I could never have made a card as gorgeous as this. That background really captures the icy blue coldness.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh my, I hear you on the fairy stories. Grim{m} is it. But it's odd - I don't remember finding them so disturbing when I was really young, only when I re-read them towards my teens. Two of the guys in work (my Breaking Bad guys, LOL) are both quite into Angela Carter, but modern fairytales aren't for me any more than the old ones.