Scrap Around The World September 2015 Challenge

I have decided to join in this month at the new challenge at Scrap Around the World. The moodboard is absolutely delicious!!! I just love the elegance and beauty of it, so inspirational, very poetic!!

Here is this month's board:

You will find the link to this month's challenge HERE.

I decided to create a layout based upon my Mother's letters and writing equipment. As you will see, I was inspired by the middle lower photo of the pen nib with the writing. I also took inspiration from the books, book pages, and wooden elements, and the pink rose.

Here is my layout:

I have so many letters from my Mother! They are all in a box, waiting!! Throughout the years, Mom and I corresponded with pen and paper frequently, a thing of the past, I'm afraid. When my Mother passed away, her writing equipment found a new home with me. How I treasure it!! She liked to collect old desk sets, pens, inkwells, etc. And she used them! She had a most distinctive handwriting, as you can see by the bits of the letters I put on the layout. The photo shows some of her writing equipment, now on my desk. On the layout I have embellished with one of her pens (left hand side, by photo), and also used some fabric lace that was once a dress of hers. The keyhole surrounds also were part of her "collections."

I began by using molding pastes and various inks, and stamping, to work on the background paper. Layered under and around the photo are tags and old book pages, drywall tape, and various cut out roses. I thought that I would be able to use a lot of pieces of her letters, but ended up finding one piece that fit right in the space I had in mind, which was not an easy task! The sealing wax blob is a gift from my friend Patty (thank you!)

Many thanks to all who may look at my page, or leave a comment. I hope you enjoy it!

Scrap Around The World January 2015

I am playing along this month at Scrap Around The World. The mood board is just so romantically shabby and beautiful!! So I had to give it a try!!

This is the wonderful moodboard, and here is the link to this month's challenge.

I was inspired by the general shabby mood of the board, the bucket of flowers in the upper right photo, the collection of frames and the time elements.

Here is my entry:

The title of my layout is "Holding On to Memories of You"

Six years ago I had to let go of my dear Mother. That is her photograph in the tiny frame on the right. And although I miss her every day, and our times together, I have my memories to hold on to. And I have saved precious items that were a part of her. In the large photo you see roses and peonies that Mom patiently dried in her spacious attic. I like to display them at certain times of the year on various tables throughout my home. They remind me of our happy times together in the garden, and the effort Mom made to save her flowers.

I used various framing elements - some I whitewashed with gesso, other I left alone in their metallic gold state, as they already had a nice, aged patina. I applied molding paste through various stencils. Then I made a "shabby" frame for my larger photo with layers of distressed papers. I applied my frames over a distressed and gessoed piece of corrugated cardboard, applied spray inks and from there built up the elements, using cheesecloth, torn papers, bits of fabric, flowers and fussy cut elements. Lastly I added beads and paint splatters. Then I applied paint to the floral elements and added the little key. Also I used twine to tie the arrangement together.

Some close ups:

For whatever reasons, I had a very difficult time pulling this layout together. I suppose my brain just stopped functioning after the intense holiday work load, and perhaps I needed to let it rest a bit, LOL! Although it was not funny trying to get this page into some kind of order. Anyway, I hope you like my layout, and let's hope my brain cells are more cooperative next time around! Best wishes to all for a great new year!

November Scrap Around The World

Because I was so inspired by the November mood board at Scrap Around The World, I created a second layout for this challenge!

Once again, HERE is the link to the challenge, and here is the vintage, nostalgic, beautiful mood board:

For this entry I decided to create a masculine layout. The source of my inspiration was the image in the upper left corner of the sheet music stacks, and also the doilies in the window, the image in the center bottom. Seems I can't get enough of these two images!!

Here is my entry:

The photograph is my Grandfather, who indeed was very elusive for the longest time!! It took many,many years of searching, untold hours of research and painful discovery, to finally find this man and learn his tragic story.

The layout is composed of many heavily distressed and torn layers. Various ink sprays and inks were applied through a stencil. Then with molding paste applied through a stencil another layer of texture was added. Seven layers of torn and distressed papers were used to frame up the photograph. All of these layers allude to the many layered journey to discovery of this man. Ink drips and mica flakes were added to the page. I added pieces of vintage window doilies, as I always like to have something old on my heritage layouts. And I had 2 old lock surrounds that belonged to my Mother, (his daughter), which I used as embellishment to anchor two corners of the photograph stack. It is important to me to use items that actually belonged to the person if possible, and in this case I was able to use something that belonged to his daughter. Because I did not want to use any flowers, I added a couple more pieces of metal, and an old, screen washer. I tied up the page, reminiscent of the photo on the moodboard, with twine, and also added some thread. Then went in with more ink, lightly washing in areas for an old, worn look.

From what I have been able to piece together, I believe the photograph was taken about 1895.

I have followed the ten golden rules for the Scrap Around The World entry requirements. Thank you for looking, and I hope you like my page!

Altered Book

Throughout the past several months I've been working on a little altered book project that I intend to give as a Christmas gift to my cousin. It's been a lot of fun! As the book is quite small, only 7 x 5 inches, it is like working in miniature. Not having to stress out about filling up a 12 x 12 space frees up my mind a bit and relaxes me in a way that making layouts does not! And I get to use up little bitty scraps that I can't seem to throw away.

The theme of this book is the family history, and it is titled "Portraits." Since my cousin and I naturally have the same ancestral family, and she very much enjoys our joint history, I wanted to make something special for her so she could record her thoughts, etc.  I left the "journaling" spaces blank in some cases so that she could write in her own words and handwriting.

I found the most difficult part to be the cover, and I can't say I am entirely happy with it! It was a huge learning experience - lots of pulling things off, wiping ink off, starting over - but at least I got something! It is my first ever book cover! Hopefully I will improve the more I do!

To make the cover I first gessoed the entire book. Then I applied molding paste through a stencil. After this I sprayed the whole cover with inks, many times, building up layers of transparency. I then positioned my title and main floral element (which was first colored with inks) and laid that down over lace scraps. Everything was secured using mat gel medium. Through much trial and error I proceeded to add more ink, spraying on and wiping off, to achieve the look I was after. I must have wasted a ton of spray ink doing this, and have now learned that applying the ink with a brush is the best way to go as I can slowly build up color intensity without wasting a lot of product. I finally secured the buttons and the roman numeral, with gel medium. The button serves as a wrap -around for a piece of twine which secures the book closed.

Grandfather

First entry is our illusive Grandfather, whom we never knew, and our parents did not know him either. He died when his children were very young, and his story is a tragic one, which I will not get into here. The individual pages were first given a coat of gesso, then modeling paste was applied through different stencils. The page was inked and elements glued down, and various touches of spray were applied, along with thread and ribbon.

Grandmother

This page, done in the same manner with gesso, laces and wallpaper is about our Grandmother. It also includes a photo of her tea set, as the page alludes to a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, "A woman never knows how strong she is until she gets into hot water." Our poor Grandmother was in hot water an awful lot, and she was very strong indeed!!

Now we go back to the old country, to this lost place in Poland, and some of my Grandmother's family. The old woman on the blanket is my Grandmother's Mother, and the woman kneeling is one of her sisters. Those are her children alongside her. Again, the same technique, layering strips, gesso, inking through a stencil, applying paper strips and fabrics, some stamping.

Another page featuring Grandmother's family in Poland. I wanted to keep some of these early pages similar in feeling, so I stuck with a neutral, earthy palette, as I felt it suited the place and time.

This page features my cousin's Father as a little boy. He was my Grandmother's 4th son. He and my Mother were very close.

And this is my Mother. She was my Grandmother's 5th daughter, her 9th child.

Here we have my Mother with my cousin's Father, together in their first communion photo. Can you see how close they were?!!

That's it for now, more to come!!

Scrap Around the World September 2014 Challenge

This is the delightful moodboard for the month of September 2014 at "Scrap Around The World", a wonderful challenge site. I am playing along in the challenge this month after a too long break away from scrapping! Here is the link to this month's challenge at Scrap Around The World.

I was inspired by the image in the upper left corner of the moodboard of the gossamer winged fairy in her lovely draped dress, and by the fairy tale quotation in the upper right corner of the moodboard. Also, the whole magically charming atmosphere of the board and its sweet pinks and blues really captured me!!

Here is my layout, entitled "Their Own Special Fairy Tale":

THEIR OWN SPECIAL FAIRY TALE

I took a vintage photo of my Mom and her little sister from 1930 and placed it in a little Fairy Garden I created. The photo was taken during the height of the Great Depression. Mom and her sister were the youngest in a family of 10. They were very poor, and their mother was a Polish immigrant, so there were no toys and no luxuries. But they created their own little world that sustained them. They were children of the meadows and forests that surrounded their hometown, and their childhood was spent outdoors. The private world they created included lots of "make believe" amongst the streams and flowers and trees. They loved to make up fairy stories with themselves as the main characters, and were free to spend untold hours outside in the summertime, playing and dreaming.

I found a poem that was written by my Mom when she was in her late 70's. It is so clearly nostalgic and filled with yearning for the lost days of her childhood. So I carefully altered this fragile bit of paper to fit into my design by tearing and distressing the edges, inking it, and tracing over her own handwriting (which was written in pencil) in ink. So what you see is truly a piece of her!

After I applied molding pastes and sprayed various inks, I layered on pieces of an old, vintage bureau scarf and a piece of old lace, along with the chipboard piece, which was inked and applied with crackle paste. Then I built up the "fairy garden" with lots of fussy cut elements. I tried to include some of the favorite flowers of my Mom's, especially ones she may have encountered on her walks all those years ago. Along with the gossamer flowers there are also dried elements, pods, dried flowers and a stalk of a pressed weed, which seemed fitting!

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of my family story. And even though my Mom and her sister had nothing and lived in poverty as children, their "fairy tale" dreams eventually came true! They made beautifully satisfying lives for themselves as adults, married handsome "princes", had lovely homes, many children, made some money, traveled and lived to old age. So......fairy tales can come true!!

I believe I have followed the 10 golden rules of The Scrap Around The World challenge site, and I hope you like my layout.

 

Scrap Around The World June Challenge

I am joining in this month's challenge at the Scrap Around The World site. Here is the challenge mood board, used for inspiration.......

I was inspired by the images in the upper left and the lower right. I loved the worn, soft brownish/golden tones of the old suitcases, books, cameras and the grasses. I thought of a sweet little photo of my Mother that was taken when she went to school. It is the earliest photograph I have of her. And she is giving a hesitant, yet dear little smile for the camera!

Roughly based on the sketch, I put my Mom's little photo over to the right. Substituted the clock and the drips, and the berry vine for the banners. Then along the bottom of my page I added elements that had special meaning to my Mother's life when she was a little girl. I also added some mementos, the little tag with the basket was actually made by my Mother. She made the most incredible dried floral arrangements on paper. And she grew and pressed her own herbs and flowers. On this adorable little tag you can see the tiny little johnny jump ups that she featured in the center of her basket, and on the handle. The body of the basket was made out of little bits of herbs, and decorated with tiny vetch swirls. There is also a little basket made out of an apricot pit! This was made by my Dad, it was something he learned to do when he was in WW2 over in Europe!

When Mom was a little girl, she was always outside in the fields, meadows and woods that surrounded her home. Gathering berries, fruits, mushrooms, flowers and all manner of wild things, was a very big part of her life. She went with her immigrant Mother often to collect things for the family use. And they always used baskets to collect their treasure. Thus the many baskets on this page. Mom also was an avid recorder of the natural world, she sketched and drew and observed all manner of wild things, loving especially birds and wildflowers. Looking back on her early years, she always recalled with great fondness how lovely and simple and poetic life was back then. (1920's)
So I incorporated the torn poetry scrap as part of the title, and then added the "my childhood" pieces. This page, filled with wildflowers, grasses, and other objects from the natural world, reflects the innocence and wonder of a childhood unfettered by modern technology. It is my way of honoring her youth.


A closeup of the upper right corner.

And the lower left corner.

OUAS May Entry Challenge

                                                          GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES

This is my entry for the May challenge, which requires a visible number on the layout. I based my page upon the sketch, but decided to use only one photograph.

The photograph is of my Mother, on her First Communion Day, in 1929. As I do not actually know the exact date, I am only able to use the year it took place.

If one pulls on the tiny chain attached to the little cross in the upper left, the full journaling will be revealed. The chain and cross belonged to my Mom.

Journaling reads: " How special this day must have been for you!! Every little girl dreams of wearing a beautiful white dress, feeling like a little princess! Although I am sure the dress was a 'hand me down' from your older sisters, it did not matter, you were still the most lovely girl, so poised and elegant looking, even at the tender age of 8!! "

Guest Investigator CSI April, week two

Grandmother's Box   #67

Used all five colors
Evidence: stars, bird, lots of fussy cutting
Testimony: I hand wrote a question on the front of the layout, in which I used the inspiration word, chaos. In the full journaling I asked a series of questions. (on opposite page of layout in book)

This is a layout about my Grandmother's box, and it is also a layout about her life.

When I saw the inspiration picture, all I could think of was the story of "Pandora's Box", all those elements flying out of it. Then I thought of my Grandmother's box, which is now mine. And this is how this layout was born. And also how the story of Pandora's Box translates to her (my Grandmother's) story.

My journaling as a series of questions:

- Amidst the chaos did hope remain?

- What caused you to run away from the safety of your older sister's lodgings?

- Why did you reject the job she arranged for you?

- Where did you run to?

- Were you dreadfully unhappy?

- Were you impetuous?

- Were you just plain stubborn??

- What kind of courage did you possess after you unleashed the "evils" of the world upon yourself???

- Did HOPE remain strong in your soul????

CSI Guest Special Investigator, Week One for the month of April

Two Jokers 1947 #66

I have used all five colors
Evidence: buttons, arrows, something fuzzy (flocked paper), ribbon, hearts (large metal heart), holes (washers)
Testimony: A layout about my parents on their honeymoon in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1947.
I have handwritten the journaling as a postcard. This is on the back of the actual postcard seen on the left side of the layout, the postcard can be slipped out by pulling on the attached string, (which is not visible in the photo). I wrote something funny as I imagined my Mom might have written it, (she was a very good writer). I used the inspiration word point.

"Hello Everyone! Well here we are, and wouldn't you know it, married life is not what it's cracked up to be!!! Case in point: we got hitched and look what happened, we were immediately thrown into the stocks!!! Marriage has made us laughingstocks, bound and jailed for the rest of our days!! Why didn't anyone tell us this???!! Sue & Ernie
p.s. just kidding, loving every minute!!!!"

The photo is actually 2 separate photos pieced together. I used a lot of personal items on this page. The large tarnished heart is a bookmark that belonged to Mom. The silver button and the red small crystal buttons were hers. As well as the postcard, which came from her collection of old postcards. The joker card belonged to Dad, as did all of the many washers on the layout. The key and lock surround also belonged to him, and the watch face is set into an old watch back of his.

OUAS February Challenge

Peonies Perfect Petticoats

My entry for OUAS February challenge, the topic being LOVE, whichever way you choose to interpret it. I have chosen my love for the garden and specifically for my peonies.

I also made this layout for CSI #57, and used the five colors: teal green, light celadon green,  white, ballet slipper pink and dark pink. I documented a love story, and used as my evidence flowers, leaves, vines, birds, solid background and 10 layers.

There are snippets of the journal directly on the layout, and the full journaling is tucked under the photograph.

My full journaling reads:  "I fell in love with peonies, those overblown, luscious "roses of Spring," when I was a little girl. I must admit my love affair had as much to do with the fascination of watching the ants that crawled all over them, as it did with the huge deliciously colored strawberry ice cream blooms!
    When I grew up and finally had a garden of my own, the longed for peonies were brought to me by my Mother. Together, we planted a border, digging deeply and enriching the earth, setting the "eyes" exactly one inch below soil level. Planted properly, peonies are said to be immortal!
    Thirty years have passed. Every June I fall in love again with these faithful friends! I cut armloads of flowers for the house, but now I shake off those pesky ants! And then I arrange them into many vases to grace various tables. I continue to delight in peonies luscious layers, so like ladies petticoats! I reflect on their raspberry cream deliciousness until the morning I wake up to discover they have cast their petals all of a fell swoop onto the polished tabletops! And then I cut more....
    Mom is gone now, but her gift of peonies to satisfy my heart's desire, remains a lasting legacy......peonies truly are immortal!"

Of course I have used the beautiful sketch provided by Nadia!      

Prelude in G Major  1947

The second layout in the series of my parents wedding photos.

"October 25, 1947, after exchanging vows, Mom and Dad paused at the top of the church stairs to seal their union with a kiss! This is their "Prelude", the beginning of their new life together........it lasted 61 years."

I used torn paper layering, distressing, molding paste and gels, inks, fussy cut wallpaper and other papers, bits of old lace and tatting, cheesecloth, dried flowers from my garden, jute twine, and a small piece of jewelry that had lost its setting, which I found in my Mother's jewelry box, on this composition.

The 5th Signal Center Team - 1944    CSI # 43

My entry for CSI # 43.

The colors, all 5, are taken from this week's requirements: black, white, pale green, sunny yellow, and medium green with a touch of olive.

My evidence includes:
- frame -  the large old fashioned "typewriter" print framing the whole layout
             -  three transparencies framing the photograph
- something transparent - used 3 transparencies
                                       - transparent soft gel medium
- rub ons - used 8 rub ons

My testimony:
- I used an old photograph and tied the past to the present with my journaling
- I documented a special event

My journaling:

"The group in the photograph was the 5th Signal Center Team. The photo was taken in May 1944, in Oran, Algeria, where the team was bivouacked prior to deployment to France as part of the Allied invasion of Europe from the south, in WW2.

This team was assembled and trained as a group at Camp Crowder, Missouri. All of the men were fluent in French, a necessity, as their job would be liaison between the Free French Army and the US 7th Army. They were skilled in the use of C-E equipment, enciphering and diciphering machines, radio teletype, teletype, and other communication equipment.

So here we see the team gathered together in the hot Algerian desert. That is my Dad, standing 3rd from the left, smiling broadly, looking youthful!! They were all in a strange place, a harsh climate and a foreign culture - but they all have the carefree and upbeat look of young men about to embark on an adventure!! They would later be tested in the European theatre, and their past sacrifices ensured my future well being. But for now, this is their Algerian adventure!

Dad would occasionally relate his Algerian experience, in a very simple manner and with little embellishment, and only when pressed!!! He recalled the huge tent camp as being HOT and dusty. The men wore fatigues and continued to drill despite the heat. They would get passes to go into the city, which he recalled was dirty, with flies everywhere, and many beggars. As a child of the depression era he was used to deprivation, but the city was a major shock for him. The team also had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of the French Foreign Legion.

As a child, I was always amazed and fascinated that my Father refused to eat dates! When questioned, his reply was always - "that's all I saw when I was in Algeria, dates in the marketplace covered with hundreds of flies, wouldn't eat a date if you paid me a million bucks!" To which I would express suitable repugnance and sympathy, but continue eating my date/nut bar!!"

My testimony,  because it is going into my Dad's war book, is written on the page opposite the layout.

Creating a feeling of "heat" was an important element in making the background paper for this page. I used a semi-gloss gel medium with two different masks, then misted over this with layers of glimmer mists in various shades of yellow and pale green, to try to capture the shimmery effect of heat waves and mirages in the desert and the hot Algerian sun.

Once Upon a Sketch October Challenge Entry

"Captured in a Cloud of Confetti"

Since my parents were married in the month of October I thought to scrap some of their wedding photographs this month. This is the first one I have completed. It is also my entry for OUAS, I turned the sketch a quarter turn to a horizontal presentation.

Why I chose to do an all white/cream colored page I don't know!!! It's kind of crazy making. However, I had the idea in my head and it wouldn't go away!! I used lots of fabric on this page, including satin and laces, old trims, etc. Also gesso, tulle and some inks. My Mother carried a bouquet of long stemmed white chrysanthemums, and that was my inspiration for using the layered trims to sort of look like these flowers. in opposing corners. The word captured is a journaling requirement from the quote at the OUAS site.

The fussy cut paper bouquet of flowers near the lower left of the photo pulls out to read more journaling: "A fine, yet cool early October morning, the 25th of October, 1947. Mom wore a beautiful gown of rich, creamy satin, with a scalloped neckline and long sleeves, and carried long stemmed spider chrysanthemums. After exchanging their vows, Mom and Dad left the church only to find Dad's older brothers lying in wait with bags of confetti! Which they promptly tossed onto the new couple, capturing them in a cloud of confetti!! I can see the glee in uncle Joe's attitude as he empties a bag of confetti down his younger brother's neck!! He appears to be relishing his role teasing his "baby" brother!!"