Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Happy Tuesday y'all

Good morning and happy Tuesday!
Rereading my post from last week and I realize what a downer it was and I apologize for that! Today is a new day and this morning while on my morning bus route, I had an epiphany. And that epiphany was this--I became too complacent with my place in life over the last months and when the inevitable ripples came I was thrown off balance. Life happens, people, and that is just the way things are. So our family is in the process of going through some changes but life is still good and although it's going to be a rather large adjustment, life goes on and let me say again life is good!

And now that we have that out of the way, how about those scrapbook layouts I promised you all? :)

A couple of these, you'll notice, are rather simple and maybe even "plain". But I really am pleased with each of them in their own right.

First, I'm going to share the first layout I've ever done sans photo. After all, scrapbooking IS all about the preservation of memories and this particular memory is a very special one to me and one that I remember frequently throughout the entire year, not only at Christmastime.


SO much love for Ranger's diamond Stickles!!
What a difference they made to the Jillibean die cuts!
I filled in Santa's beard twice to make sure it was extra full and sparkly :)

I used Stampendous Fran'tage scarlet embossing powder
for my title. I cut the letters on my Expression and then
embossed them individually before adhering them to the
white cardstock and using scissors to cut around each letter.
If you love embossing powder and you have not tried this brand
then let me assure you that you will *love* this stuff. It's amazing
and gives such a wonderful color and texture to your projects.
And YES the gold is already mixed into the powder to get this incredible
effect. 

Got the old sewing machine out for some sewing on this one :)

popdots and Stickles :)

Here is simple layout about when my son, Garrett, had mono. Not the most pleasant of topics but a memory deserving of preservation. Nothing fancy here...just photos, a few stickers placed on popdots and a uniball pen.



I have always loved this photo of my son, Chris. Those blue eyes and a smattering of freckles--ahhh, be still my heart <3
Nothing too fancy here either. I used a glass jar dipped in acrylic paint for the circle effect.
The title was one I fell in love with on a layout posted at Scrapbook.com and the creator of the layout was gracious enough to share where she got it. Turns out, it was a design from the Silhouette Design Studio. I absolutely love it.

Buttons, filmstrip washi tape (Paper Studio), acrylic paint


There's those eyes and freckles I mentioned :)



I like this layout because it's bright and happy :)
I used a couple of punches, stickles, gold leafing, texture paste
rub-ons, stickers, my Expression,...all kinds of yumminess here!

Ribbon that I've had forEVER, flowers made with a couple of punches,
The felt "time for love" is something I've had for ages and I
have been racking my brain trying to remember where it came from
but the memory eludes me.

Here you can see the effects of the texture paste using the Tim Holtz
burlap stencil. Once the texture paste was dry I used a sponge
and dotted the glue on in random spots and then applied the
gold leafing. I really love the way it turned out and I will probably use
this technique again before too long.

Another title from The Silhouette Design Studio. I used diamone
Stickles to make the title POP a little more.


I hope you enjoyed the layouts I shared today and will come back again. The holiday season is here and I have several projects to get started and finished in the coming weeks and of course I'll be sharing them here with you all.

Have a great day and I'll see you soon!

Rhonda

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Worry is an ugly thing

For as long as I can remember I have been a worrier. And I do mean, literally as long as I can remember. Well before I was in school I worried about all sorts of things. Looking back, I believe it was the empath in me (oh, you didn't know I was an empath? Well, I don't shout that out because most people think I'm crazy when I tell them). Anyway, I think the empath part of me was picking up on the worry around me. Mama always worried about everything, which in turn, caused me to worry about everything.
Unfortunately, the worry has never lessened. There have been times in my life when worry absolutely consumed me to the point that I became suicidal. It was only by God's grace that I was able to overcome that dark part of my past.

Sadly, many of the things I worry about can be considered silly worries. And yet, I can't control it and the worry creeps in and tries to take control of me--of my mind and even my life. It is a great effort at times to keep things in perspective and realize that I'm being irrational. It's a struggle but I have learned for the most part not to let it control me.
I worry incessantly about the kids...all of them. For example, if I hear a siren my mind goes crazy and I am frantic until I hear from the kids that they're safe. It's completely irrational and I know that. Doesn't stop the fear or worry.

I worry about the past, about the future, and boy, do I worry about the present.
And that brings me to the real purpose of today's post.
The worries of today...and let me assure you that today is chock full of worry.

Worry for my oldest son and his family.
Worry for my 2nd oldest son and his family.
Both are situations I have no control of and yet I find myself thinking about them and worrying continually...going over the million and one "what if's" that are irrelevant because their issues are theirs to worry about and I have no control over them or the outcomes.
My youngest son is struggling with an asthma attack and that is always worrisome. He has his medication and I'm thankful but asthma can be a vicious and terrifying predator.
And today, like many days over the past few years, I'm worried for my nephew--the little boy that nobody wants. I probably shouldn't post that publicly, but public or private, it's no less true. This child has been shuffled back and forth between his parents several times. Each time they tire of "dealing" with him and send him back to live with the other. He spent about a year in foster care before being returned to his dad. He has some issues...behavioral, emotional and psychological.  This poor child is on the verge of reentering the foster care system and my heart is absolutely broken at the prospect and yet I'm powerless. My husband, whom I love and respect, are having a difference of opinion on whether we should take my nephew into our home. And I am left wondering how I will be able to sleep at night if we don't try and give him a stable home and the love and care he deserves.

And that, my friends and followers, is what I am worried about today. Technically, there is a laundry list of things I could add that I'm worried about but those are the biggies for today.

When you say your prayers tonight, please send up a prayer for my family. And if you don't pray, then good thoughts are always appreciated as well. I'm a firm believer in the power of positive energy.

I hope I haven't put anyone off with such a dreary post...I just needed to get those things off my chest and this seemed like a good venue.

I hope you'll check back later this week because I do have several scrapbook layouts ready to share with you.

Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Rhonda