Flying Unicorn In the Pink Challenge - February

The challenge was for 75% pink on the page; the only problem is that with four son's, four daughter's in law who never wear pink and one little granddaughter who is rarely dressed in pink it left the field a little tight and I had very little paper with pink in it! I will have to submit with 75% pink flowers!

I used to work with this young ladies' Dad; he is extremely proud of his long awaited daughter and was always showing us photos of her. When I became a DT member for my local scrap store they would often challenge me with feminine colours and I would 'borrow' photos of his little girl to scrap. When I stepped down from the Design Team I gifted all my layouts and off the page pieces to the family. Several years have passed and my colleague moved on to another company; a few weeks ago I received an email with his daughters' graduation photos attached under the title "my little girl is growing up'. Indeed she has, she is a beautiful young lady and a credit to her parents; their long awaited dream is a reality. I thank them for entrusting me with this and several other photos that just may appear over the next several months.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, kind regards

 

 

ScrapFriends - February Sketch Challenge

These photos of our fourth grandson were taken two weeks ago. We had just been given his surgery date and wanted to spend some time with him prior to his hospitalisation. It was a really hot day but he really loves the sandpit his Dad had made so we went and spent some time playing in the sand; I was shovelling sand into the funnel and he was fascinated by the result.

The surgery was required to fix a problem in his stomach that went undiagnosed for 19 months because all the previous doctors wouldn't listen to his mother; she finally found one that took the time to run the tests and a specialist team was put together quickly to repair an anomaly before it became critical; the type of surgery required was a first in our state. When I last saw him two days ago he was laying listlessly in his Dad's arms with tubes everywhere; only his eyes were moving, looking around the room at each person. I would love to know what he was thinking. He continues to improve though and we are praying for a full and complete recovery.
I am not happy about how the photo turned out; for some reason it has a blue tinge!

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

Once Upon A Sketch - February Challenge

I have never doubted that our sons would be awesome Dads; they have a wonderful Dad as a role model. I love to see them with their children, how they interact with them, how they teach them new things and how they are not afraid to show their love for them.

This is our second son, the biggest of the four, my diamond in the rough. He is holding his youngest little boy; the smallest and youngest of our grandchildren born five weeks early. Both have been the subject of previous posts: Daring you to Scrap - July and The Color Room #142. This photo shows the enormous love he has for his little boy and it melts your heart just to look at it. My letter to my son is tucked into the tiny envelope behind the flowers.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, kind regards

Let's Get Shabby Challenge - January

I can't take credit for the photo, it is from Google images but important to this piece; willy wagtails are very quick little birds and difficult to photograph by an amateur.

This piece was inspired by a conversation with a young friend who had a near death experience within a year of our eldest son's accident. Their lives were running in parallel and both accidents happened at about the same time in their lives. When waking from a coma, one of the first questions he asked of his mother was why he had been fortunate to live and our son did not; he struggled with this for some time before we were able to visit him a year after our sons accident. I like to think that we were able to help him in some way to come to terms with his question.

He has now moved back to our home state and we caught up with him last weekend, nearly three years since his accident. He still struggles a little but we talked at length about both our sons death and his own accident. He told us that he has seen a willy wagtail when he has been at his lowest and feels that it is his much loved grandmother telling him she is watching over him. We feel the same way about wanderer butterflies; I often see a single one when I am thinking of my son. Our connection to our loved ones that get us through the bumpy bits of life.

I have made a card the same as this layout to send to our young friend; Believe and Live Life Beautifully.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

 

ScrapFriends Sketch Challenge - January 2013

I have not often had the opportunity to go to the theatre or live shows; a lack of finances and the need to be with my family as they were all growing up just part of the reason I guess. I have never been one to get excited about celebrities, to follow a particular songster, actor or sport star and have the worst memory for names and details if the person is not connected to me in some important way.  I need to see an advert or be recommended by family and friends before considering going to see a performance. My middle sister is entirely different; she is an avid fan of many celebrities, performers and athletes and attends all forms of theatre and sport as often as possible. It was she who told me about Madame Butterfly coming to Perth and asked if I wished to attend with another mutual friend.

I didn't know a lot about the story line, just a general outline so I made sure I read up on it prior to the performance. Theatre aficionados may have disliked the idea but I found that having English subtitles displayed on a screen was particularly beneficial. It was a beautiful moving story with a very sad end; the opening night performance was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

The Color Room #142

Our youngest grandson; I have written of him and his older brothers in a previous post - As We Whisper his Name.

This photo was taken in hospital by the official photographer and is by far the best of him to date, my humble efforts pale in comparison.

Here he is five days old but not actually due for another 4 weeks having arrived 5 weeks early; all the tubes and monitors had been removed and the slight rash left by the tapes holding everything in place have either faded or been photo shopped away leaving this beautiful tiny little face, another little miracle.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes

 

 

Bird is the Word, January 2013 - Whisper

Our youngest grandson decided he wasn't going to miss out on the family Christmas and arrived five weeks early on the 6th of December.

He is our second son's fourth son; sadly his third son was arrived 20 weeks early and was born sleeping in May 2011. This little one was conceived about a year later and the pregnancy was monitored very carefully. We were overjoyed to get him so close to full term but were worried for a little while as he was not doing as well as we had hoped and was kept in the special care nursery under the watchful eye of the wonderful nursing staff until he was able to hold his own in the world.

His special care meant he didn't get to meet his two older brothers until he was four days old. The boys had been to see their Mum over the previous four days and had rushed into the room and straight to her, unaware that their tiny brother was also there. This photo was taken by their Dad a few minutes later. We allowed the family time to get to know one another before meeting him for the first time. He was home with the family for Christmas and continues to grow with all the love and care we can provide.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, kind regards