You Make Me....

It's reveal time over at CSI this week.  Debbi has come up with a beautiful fresh case file for us!! Are you ready for some fabulousness?  Here we go then!

 

I used the following evidence:

Bicycle - A wonderful metal bicycle element I found in clearance at Michaels

Circles - my photos are cut into circles

Birds:  I used a Hero Art stamp and stamped my bird in Scarlet onto vellum.  I also used some bird washi tape

Music Notes:  I used papers by Teresa Collins "Vintage Finds"

Twine:  I wrapped my journal tags with twine

Vellum:  I stamped "Happy" onto vellum for my title

 

My testimony, I took the ques for "Song Title/Lyrics" for inspiration.   "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood, Sweat & Tears.. and tweek it a bit "You Make me.."   And from there built my journaling around it and these photo's of my youngest daughter.

Sarah is just so content to pick dandelions and blow, completely unaware I was there taking pictures. 
My papers include Authentique, Teresa Collins, MME.  Stamps are by Hero Arts and Stampabilities.

Dream

 Dream... sometimes I'd like to just hide in my bed, pull up the covers and dream.  Especially of late.  But you can't dream your life away.  So I'm shaking off these funky feelings.  Letting go of recent events, especially those I have zero control of or say about.  It is what it is.  Being creative is always a solution to let my mind wander freely without expectations..what will I create?

Sarah is what she is... it's an appropriate saying.  She's constant motion usually.  So when a rare chance or opportunity to capture at rest, I do!  Here she is from January 2012.  Long exhausting day at school (Jan - March are just her "off" months) she surprised me with a power nap.  Loving this photo, I turned it to sepia and felt it suited the current case file over at CSI.  The colors names are:
Tangerine Dreams, Sunshine Hopes, White Wishes, Gray Aspirations and Obsidian Goals.  Lovely colors.  Yet, as I look at them on the screen, photography isn't doing my layout justice.

I used papers from Prima, and Pink Paislee.  Inks are by Tim Holtz Ranger, like Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Pumice Stone and Black Soot.

 My evidence for this case file includes:
Butterflies:  I fussy cut butterfly images from G45 "Botanicabella Collection"  (FAVORITE), Tim Holtz Paper Stash Kraft Resist, and my Sizzix butterfly die.
Something Dangling:  My little TH Ideaology key brad
Rub-Ons:  I took clear acrylic alphas and covered them with rub-ons to create the word "dream".  These are ANCIENT Heidi Swapp alphas and some of the rub-on are even older.  Fun way to use up the stash!
Gold Accents:  gold metallic clock faces
Pleating:  I took white muslin and pleated it, using machine stitching to hold it in place.
String:  Just a little scrap thread dropped in wet adhesive

 

My journaling prompt used a site called:  Daydreaming on Paper.  The question posed: Do You Remember Your Dreams?

Absolutely, my dreams have always been very vivid and sometimes vibrant.  My dreams ranged from obscure to de ja vu and sometimes cryptic.  But staring at my daughters photograph, it made me wonder "Does she remember her dreams?"  And the inspiration word, Dream had me thinking of Shakespeare's quote "To Sleep, perchance to dream..."  so my journaling reads:

"To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there's the rub.  For that sleep of death, what dreams to come..."

Sarah is in constant perpetual motion.  So to see her sleep, so peaceful it made my heart sigh.  What does she dream?  Who does she dream about?  Are her dreams in color?  Or frantic?  

You are a different child when you sleep.  One that allows me to cuddle and hold you.  One that allows me to be tender and quiet.  When you sleep, life is calm and tranquil, the opposite of your wakeful hours full of motion and action.  A window of opportunity for reflection, for serenity.

Dream my little one, dream and rest   ~ Love Mom

 So there you have it.... Dream.  Until later my readers, take care of yourselves and be kind.  :D

Cranking out Christmas

With little time left before the holidays, all my "free" time is spent working on my Christmas Cards.  I can not tell you how I've enjoyed the creative process... it's like free style time for me.  Last week my dd  Erin stayed home with the stomach crudes.  So I pulled her into the creative process, she was my design consultant.  (She spent most of the day in bed, her input was like, "Yes that looks good together, no those colors suck, now good night".) 
The "Master Card" has been created and now it's mass production time.  So I thought I'd share a little sampling of what I'm up to.

 

I've taken white card stock and cut 25 scalloped ovals with my Big Shot and Spellbinder dies.  Then I embossed half with my Tim Holtz snowflake embossing folder and embossed the other half with my Basic Gray fern embossing folder.   

I am now taking my TH Distress Inks and shading the edges in either Antique Linen or Bundled Sage.  I putting the techniques Nanci taught us over at Cat's during our Tag Classes... Once I finish inking and shading these panels, I'll take my dry Perfect Pearls in Biscotti & Green Patina and dry brush the entire panel.  This will give it a nice pearl shimmer effect.

Stay tuned and see what I do next!  Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas Season.  Stay safe on your travels, hold your loved ones close and may everyone be filled with the Spirit of Christmas now and thru out the years to come.

9 Sarah's Journey

I'm a little late getting my "reveal" up for CSI  this week.  But it's been a bit busy is my excuse.  This was a fun case file and it's still early enough for you to play along! 

Last week we had so many of our members play along with Case File No. 8 and one stood out for me.  And lent inspiration to THIS weeks layout for me.  Michelle Grant, Design Team member for Dusty Attic, created this awesome layout, and then posted a tutorial for her technique on her blog, For the Love Art.  So I had to try it and I did on a very small scale.

Hmmm blogger keeps rotating this picture!  This isn't right!

For my mask I used a Dusty Attic Wrought Iron Fence, and the only thing different I did, was seal my Dusty Attic piece with some Super Seal.  It waterproofs the chipboard so it doesn't absorb my medium.  I also mix my thick gesso w/ texturing gel, which created a great marble effect once it all dried.  This was my interpretation of striped paper for evidence.

I framed Sarah's picture with an Art Deco clipart frame I found on the net.  I went back and colored with my Faber-Castell pencils and then misted the whole thing with Tattered Angels Glimmer mist for some shimmer and sparkle.

Lastly I took a Teresa Collins tag and covered it with some 7 Gypsies papers, and a scrap of muslin, splattered with some more Tattered Angles and some old rub-ons.  I printed my journaling onto a transparency, and covered the edges with some torn dictionary scraps and then stapled it to the tag.

Journey of Special Ed.

"Since Sarah is in Special Education classes, we are required to have annual meetings, called ARD's.  It's meant to discuss and figure out the game plan for Sarah's education next year.  but you have to be a bit Thick Skinned when you walk into these meetings.  They've run tests and evaluations and their findings I'm not always in agreement with or even thing they are valid.  To be told her IQ is grossly below average...you really have to let it roll off your back, like water off a duck.  But you sit down, roll up your sleeves, and prepare for 'battle', going back and forth fighting for her needs and abilities.  Both sides are stubborn like goats but in the end, we all shake hands and leave the room.  Content, knowing I've stood up for my daughter and her continuing journey thru school."

I hope you like it.  Please visit Michelle for her tutorial on texture as it's FABULOUS.  Thanks again for stopping by.

Attitude

It's week three over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration, so it's time for a new CHALLENGE!  Continuing with our nod to Lewis Carrol and everything Wonderland... Debbie found us inspiration with this BEAUTIFUL photo (tea cups!) and "drink me" tags.

This week we had lovely colors of lilac, cream, dusty pink brown and a pinkish grey... all beautiful and Alice-like.  Last week Debbi submitted a layout with NINE pictures on an 8x8 page..this inspired me to use four pictures from a series of pictures I took of my dd over Thanksgiving weekend.  We visited a nature reserve in McKinney, TX, where she and her brother posed for various shots.  These were her "out takes" but in my opinion, a truer reflection of her everyday self...

My evidence included: tags, sheer ribbon, gold details, & circular elements.  From the testimony I drew upon the prompt of "repetition" with the title Attitude on my layout.  I also used it thru out my journaling.  I'm not sure my journaling is from a second person point of view but I tried to journal "outside" of myself.  Not so much a mother to a daughter but from another perspective..

95% of this layout has a Tim Holtz/Ranger product on it.  I used Distress Inks, Grungeboard, embossing powders, tapes and techniques.  My gold touches are shown on the bicycle and on the sheer ribbon.  While my unknowing "doily" was reflected in the punch I used to create some borders.  It wasn't until I was finished and had photographed this did I notice!

Other items included scraps of Heidi Grace, a note pad from Michael's, rub on's by Making Memories and left over faux brads.  I hope you like this, as this was a layout that flowed from my heart and hope my daughter appreciates as she grows older.

Autistic Journey...

If you FaceBook, some of this may sound familiar.  But I go into more detail and move on with other thoughts.  Please bear with me.  Sarah came home yesterday, smiles and cheers.  She had a good day at school, earned more points and continues to climb her goal chart.  We hug, she hoots, we enjoy a snack and she's to the backyard to play.  Erin and Taylor come home, she shares the good news and she convinces brother and sister to play in the backyard with her.  Finally, I grab her backpack and pull out her daily notes from her teacher.  Confirmed the "good day" and catch a note, "Sarah said it hurts when she pees".  Uh oh.

Now, you have to understand something about Sarah.  She may be phobic about bleeding, hang nails (can't stand them) and needs a band aid for every little scratch, nick or bug bite.  But she's not one to let on she's not feeling well, until she throws up on your feet.  She'll display zero symptons but then poof she's SICK  Erin has been known to do this on a Friday at 6:30 pm, after our Dr. has gone home for the evening...I quickly glance at the clock.  It's 5:30pm crap.  I now keep my eyes and ears open, watching Sarah for any indication of unwellness, pain or stress.  Nothing, until she comes in to use the restroom.  Yep, that sounds like a UTI.  And of course it's also so Sarah in a manner of speaking.  She dreads using the restroom, she wants to avoid the pain, she already quickly associated drinking fluids = bathroom later....it wasn't a fun evening or night for my little one.

Friday morning, I let Sarah sleep and stay home.  Call Dr. first thing and we head out for her 10:45 appt.  Nuts, our pediatrician is on maturnity leave.  Our pediatrician rocks when it comes to strep throat, bronchitis, chronic ear infections.  She doesn't believe in letting a child suffer while confirming symptons with lots of tests.  If  95% of the kids at school suffer from strep and you think your child has it, she's presribing the RX and looking for the symptons.  If your childs throat looks like a nuclear bomb went off in there, she's not torturing your child with a swab.  Having ranted about this, we see our substitute Dr....explain Sarah's symptons, share that we suspect Sarah is suffering from a possible uti, and that I'm familiar w/ the symptons as I suffered from many as a child myself.  Okay, here have her pee in this cup.  WHHAAA?  Did I mention Sarah has a severe adversion to public and "unknown" restrooms and it HURTS to pee?  The first attempt results with Sarah nearly bolting out of the bathroom half dressed, knocking the sample cup INTO the toilet and me calming her for another 5-10 minutes.  Dr. then tells Sarah she really needs to pee in the cup otherwise she may have to go to the hospital and have a tube inserted.....Sarah shuts down.  Tunes him out.  He looks at me, quizzically.  Hmm Dr. did you read her chart?  Severe Anxiety Disorder and Autistic Spectrum.. he has the nurse bring Sarah a cup of water.  ARrghghgh.  An hour later after finally convincing Sarah to pee in the cup, he comes into the room and tells us that the sample suggests that Sarah has an UTI.  REALLY?

Sarah grabs herself a pencil AND a sticker, I get the RX and note for school and we're outta there.  You want chicken nuggets?  You got em!  M&M's no problem.

Now after all this ranting and rambling...Sarah insists she goes to school (no problem), I'm here checking email, reading my FaceBook and some favorite blogs and comments.  One blog in particular called ThePaperLife.com has recently sponsored a contest promoting Autisim Awareness this month.  There was a contest, all you had to do was leave a comment.  Today I spent time reading these comments because they were more than the typical "Great idea, hope to win your prize".  A good majority of comments were made by women with children who are somewhere on the spectrum and they shared their appreciation.  One woman referred to her daily life with her child as an "Autistic Journey".  Autistic Journey, I like that.  It made me realize that I might create a journal, a blog or something to record these moments, milestones and experiences for Sarah, for family and for people reaching out.  So I'm brainstorming right now.  Thoughts and comments are appreciated.  And I'm gonna have to steal this woman's description..Autistic Journey as we've been on this journey for sometime and I see no end in site.  But I do see adventure, heartache, thrills, joy...and there'll be so much to share.