A tribute page to one we love

Good morning peoples!  Its Monday morning and it sure was a crazy busy week last week.  On Wednesday, I got terribly sick with the flu and slept 37 hours in 3 days!  That's more sleep than I've had all year!!!  I'm not totally better today, but definitely better than I was last week! 

As most of you know, my father in law passed away on Friday, April 16.  In March of 2009, he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and mouth.  The doctors told him they could get rid of it and he underwent chemo and radiation, then in October, he had surgery to get rid of the last little bit.  Well, six weeks later he had 2 tumors again and this time the doctors didn't know what to do.  They tried a couple of different treatments of chemo, but in March, they stopped all treatment since it wasn't helping and called in Hospice.  He was a Vietnam Vet and they think the cancer could've been a result of Agent Orange, so he was sent out with a Military style funeral, a great honor to a wonderful man.  He will be missed terribly!

I did the following LO as a tribute to him and entered it into Estee's Home Sweet Home challenge at scrapbook.com.  My take on what home is, is our eternal home with Jesus Christ our Savior.  He has gone to prepare a place for us.  I can just imagine living in those beautiful mansions and walking on the streets of gold.  I am assured of my father-in-law's salvation, and I know he is up there in his eternal home.  Someday, we will be reunited with him.

I used K & Company Blue Awning patterned paper on this.  I distressed all the edges, inked the larger shaped paper with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  The bling I created myself and you can find some like it in my Etsy Shop.    The title was cut on my silhouette and I inked both pieces in Walnut Stain, the bottom one very lightly and the top one real dark. 

The paper roses (also in my Etsy shop) I glimmer misted with Tattered Leather, Slate, and Walnut Gold.  The acrylic flower spray came in one of my Swirlydoos Kits back when I subscribed to it.  The 3 other flowers are Prima.

I cut the tag on my silhouette.  The journaling was part of a poem that I found online, auther unknown.  I did the journaling in Microsoft Word.  The bottom tag is glimmer misted with tattered leather, the middle with slate.  I tied 4 different colors of ribbon on to it.

Already 12 years old

My latest layout is of my daughter, Shelby, who just turned 12 this year.  On her birthday, Feb 15, her and I went and got highlights put in our hair and a trim.  I took this picture when we got home.  She was so very proud of her hair that day, felt all grown up! 

The paper is Basic Grey Bittersweet.  I cut the heart mat on my silhouette...I love that machine!!  The flowers I just made a little bouquet out of and applied with glue dots to the LO.  I have some of these flowers for sale in my etsy shop.  The ribbon technique I learned from GabrielleP, she does beautiful LOs, you should check out her blog sometime.  I made all of the bling myself, I have some sheets of it for sale at my etsy shop also.  The butterflies along the bottom I inked with two different colors of ink (staz on cherry pink and colorbox).  Then I stickled with Frosted Lace and Black Diamond.  The 2 butterflies on the left I inked with light pink then stickled with glitz ruby slippers.

Scrap Therapy & My challenge Entry

So...last week, I was dealing with some really negative emotions to some people in my life, and I couldn't figure out a way to get rid of them without totally going off on the people I was upset with.  I was also dealing with the sadness of losing my FIL....so....I decided to try scrap therapy.  I loved it!!!!  I took a plain white 12 X 12 piece of cardstock and I journalled all of my feelings, thoughts, emotions onto it, around and around and around.  Then, I took that white piece of cardboard and I inked it and inked it some more, distressed it, tore it, painted it....just messed it alllll up!!!!  I wanted everyone to be able to see my thoughts and feelings (you can still read bits and pieces, but nothing telling), but not to be able to know them.  Then I took a pic of me, ripped it (so much fun...lol) and stitched it back together.  I used the new BoBunny lines of papers mama-razzi, because I just love them!!!  I put some border punched pieces of CS behind my tears and rips. 

The title letters and the mat for them, I cut on my sil...love that machine.  I made the bling myself, which you can see in an earlier post or visit my etsy shop.  The chipboard hearts and "me" I painted with navy blue and linen paint, the cheap stuff found at Walmart.  I sanded the "me" after painting it.  Then, I added some flowers and roses.

This LO shows what I feel like inside.  There are some rough edges and some rips and tears, but I try as best I can to put myself back together and fill the gaps and holes with as much positive stuff as I can.  The flowers and hearts represent the fact that I try to be kind, I try to be giving and honest. 

I also was able to finish my layout last night for the numbers challenge by Estee over at Scrapbook.com.  I wanted a unique idea rather than a birthday or a school grade.  I was happy with my idea.  This is my sweet little boy, Elias.  He is 1 1/2 here and was copying things Paul was doing when he was remodeling our bathroom.  Paper is by K & Company Hopscotch collection - boy. The ruler, title letters, and bolts I cut on my sil. The title letters I embossed with zing metallic copper. The bolts I embossed with zing metallic pewter. The ruler is inked with Antique Linen and a darker brown piece of paper behind it. The clock is a stamp on transparency embossed with Zing black. The two journal blocks were made in Microsoft Word. The tool diecuts I've had forever and a day...lol.

Creature of Bling!

So...I love bling...but I don't love paying $3-$5 for the brand name bling.  As most of you know...I stocked up on liquid pearls and puff paint and entered the world of do it yourself...or myself!  I wanted to show off a few of my latest creations.  A friend of mine who had bought some of...wait...all of my bling that was in my etsy shop asked me to make her some more...we decided to bypass Etsy saving me 20 cents a listing!  Yippee!  Which...will also save her shipping, b/c I won't have to list a shipping price for each one.  She hasn't yet told me which ones of the following she wants...but...if you are interested in some bling of your own...just give me a holler and we can determine how many sheets and what colors!

Only the few, the brave

Good morning!  I've been threatened to get my blog linked for others to follow me...which is scarier...me having a blog or people being brave enough to follow it???  Not only do they want to follow my blog....they want me to actually post stuff!!  Oh NO!!!!

So...I've told them, this blog will be like my head....scary....and only the few, the brave will dare to enter!! LOL

OK...off to think about what I should be putting on my blog...never done this before...so hang on tight...it may be a bumpy ride!!