The “5 Item Challenge” has had *just* the effect I have needed. Thanks to the pressure of improvisation, I have felt inspired to get down to shrining. Kate’s challenge items were responsible for shrines 266 and 270. And in round 3 of the challenge, which was opened to new participants, I received an envelope with goodies from Pam.
Pam went easy on me. She chose items that were easy to combine, colour-wise. Up there you can see lots of flower stickers, a tie, a sparkly butterfly embellishment, a postcard with blue jays, some golden tissue paper and her included card with a purple flower motif. That was what I had to work with. And with the obvious colour scheme in mind, I had the perfect tin at the ready.
There is that little bit of purple in Margaret’s dress. (It might actually be a trick of the light – or did she *really* wear a purple dress in the mini series?). The tin was actually designed and gifted to me by Young, so it is a very special tin that has not been mass-produced but was only ever made in limited edition.
However, for the purposes of a shrine, the lid of the (mint) tins always become the *bottom* of the RAPS, so I had to create a new “cover”.
Here I already ticked off the first of my five items – the “Thoughts of You” sticker came from Pam’s stash. Let’s tick off the next items:
The background of the scene is fabric from the tie which Pam included. I ruthlessly cut it into pieces and fitted it into the shrine. And continuing the “thoughts” theme, I used another sticker from the challenge items. Yes, I have taken liberties with the iconic scene from NS. Of course, Mr Thornton is sticking his proboscis into a humble, yellow dog rose. (Did you know that the dog rose is a symbol of purity, marriage and love?) Well, my theme was purple, so it had to be Lavender. Keep calm 😉.
And now it becomes clear why I switched to Lavender. The phrase “the Lavender Vibe of Loneliness” was coined by fellow fan Maria/Wolverine, so credit to her. It somehow is such an evocative phrase, and of course it came to my mind as soon as I had settled on a purple/lavender scheme. 
No candles in this shrine because I did not want to deface and ruin the beautiful lid with the holes for the candlesticks. But I did include Pam’s postcard as a background design and used the sparkly butterfly for a bit of bling. Do you think I should add a few drops of Lavender essential oil for the olfactory experience? 👃🏻 Fun fact: I had to order in the lavender stems specifically in order to create this shrine. They are artificial, of course, because I did not want to risk crumbling dried Lavender bits all over this shrine. And to conclude the challenge, from Pam’s items I chose 2 stickers, part of the tie, the postcard and the butterfly gem. Challenge done ✔️ 💜
So, in effect I was doubly inspired with this RAPS – by Pam’s challenge items, and by Maria’s beautiful phrase. A RAPS as a group effort? Bring it on. I really look forward to seeing what the other participants of the 5 Item Challenge have got up their sleeve. Just to reiterate here that both Kate and I are happy to offer our blogs for guest posts where the participants can reveal their creative execution of the challenge – in case they don’t have a blog or other Social Media presence. No pressure – you don’t *have to* show the results. But if you need a platform, you can ask either Kate or me. Here’s to more creative expression!!!
Guylty Pleasure 
Feel so honored you created this lovely from bits and bobs I sent—including an old sink tie of my dad’s! My social media acumen still rather low; I was trawling links to old RAPs and posts, was reading your notes on Old Vic interview with RA you attended; then it got lost and cannot find again. So I don’t know how it ended… Did you girls wind up taking Richard Armitage home with you?? lol.
All of us glued to Father Quart push-ups GIF today: Get back to work! Leave your house and get some fresh air!
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Well, many thanks for going easy on me, Pam. You chose the items in such a way that I immediately saw a theme emerging.
As for the continuation of the 2014 saga, do you mean this post? https://guylty.net/2014/09/12/collectively-deranged-part-5-fan-meets-galore/
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Gorgeous RAPS, and thanks to Pam for inspiring it!
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Thank you, Michaela 🙂
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I thought about a delicate scent of lavender as soon as I saw Mr. Thornton sticking his nose into the lavender.
Nice to see how something new and lovely is created out of the inspiring stuff sent by Pam.
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It just goes to show that you can create something nice with *anything*, even if you haven’t chosen the items yourself. Sometimes it is even easier to work with pre-set items…
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Such a nice result!!! And so romantic…
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I initially thought I’d make a Proctor shrine with a lavender theme. But then that tin crossed my path…
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WOW thise are really beautiful 🙂 I especially love the detail of John sniffing the flower
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Hehe, I had to change the flower, but it worked out well 😉
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That’s beautiful, S! Well done.
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Thank you, Lady ❤️
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absolutely gorgeous!!!!!
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Thank you, Zee 💜
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What inspiration! The shrine is lovely.
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Thornton in a less vintage-y vibe than in my recent shrines…
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In’t this just perfect! and there really should have been some lavender in NS; love how the items coordinate
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It really worked out so well. I love being set these challenges because they always bring out surprising ideas.
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Wow, what a great collection of crafting supplies Pam provided. And of course you combined them into a lovely work of art. “The Lavender Vibe of Loneliness” is such a cool phrase. And very apt to describe Thornton before he completes his journey to love and happiness. I give this shrine 👍🏻👍🏻 and 💜💜💜💜💜.
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Yep, despite the wrong flower, I also thought that the connection with loneliness was somewhat fitting for early Thornton. Or even Thornton three-quarters where he thinks he has lost Margaret forever.
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HOW STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL IS THAT?!! 💜💜💜
Definitely the muse has been spoiling you rotten lately!
Now that’s what I call to rise to the challenge. From the delicate tin embellishment to the clever combination of Pam’s goodies, all make for the most perfect shrine. By blending the “5 Item Challenge” with that unique tin, you killed two birds with one stone, as they say. And not only that, you managed to customize the tin without spoiling its gorgeous lid, which shows a great deal of creativity and adaptability, constantly coming up with new ways to improve and enhance the final result.
I thank you for being so kind to me but, in all honesty, I must say that your credit is quite misplaced, my friend. It wasn’t me who coined the “lavender vibe of loneliness” phrase but yourself. I did mention those keywords but it was actually you who combined them in that particular way. So credit where credit is due.
I also appreciate all your “behind the scenes” posts and videos that allow us to see your progress while crafting. It’s most entertaining and fun! Thank you 🙂
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You are dead-on, Maria. I really was killing two birds with one stone. I had left Young’s NS tin out on my desk when I last perused my tin collection, hoping I would remember to make a Thornton shrine, soon. And then this whole purple thing happened. Meanwhile you were reminding me of the “Lavender” phrase in our conversation BTS. It all came together. And I find it really neat how there are influences from other fans in the shrine – even if you don’t want the credit 😉
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I really do love the idea of a RAPS as a group effort. So many thanks to you, Young and Pam for all your influences and contributions to this lovely shrine.
And I will gladly take my share of credit as the instigator of this fine creation of yours. 😉
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I am definitely going to keep the group RAPS idea at the back of my mind. Could be really fun!
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Absolutely lovely!
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Thanks, Esther 🙂
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