In Loving Memory of Nita

Nita was my Hubby's Grandmother, grand indeed. She was loving, caring and selfless. She lived her life according to God's word and seemed to always know what to say and how to handle things. Every time I saw her she always had a beautiful smile and peaceful heart. I only had the pleasure of knowing her for about five years and I sadly did not have a lot of opportunities to spend with her. The time I did spend with her she always was a good example of how I would want to live my life. She will always be remembered for many things and will always live in the hearts of her family.
Nita passed away a couple of years ago this past March. Last Christmas I created this as a shadow box for my Mother-in-law. The picture is of Nita in front of her house holding my daughter Trinity when she was 5 months old. It is one of the most beautiful pictures I have of Nita and I love the reminder, within the content of this photo, that life goes on.
Though this was created in December of last year I have not blogged about it yet. It still is one of my favorite pages. It just recently was published in Scrapbook News and Review. This is the Layout that led to me becoming a staff member for that wonderful E-zine. Now for the Details... if I can remember them...lol.

Details:
Upper Left: I this shot you can see the many layers that I used to create this shadowbox. Every thing is pop dotted the piece is about 1" thick. The background is simply a sage tone on tone paper that I cut large 1" scallops around. I lightly distressed the edges with versa mark and chalk. Within each scallop I too and punched out of scraps little flowers and glued them down. The next layer is the light purple. On this layer I printed Nita's favorite Hymn. You can see this better in the over all pic.
The hardware I used in this layout is an antique brass. This door plate was filled with a cream cardstock with a stamped image that has been heat embossed with an antique gold embossing powder. This same technique is found in the hand drawn and cut flourishes you can see here and throughout this page. The fabric flowers are all prima and the paper ones were all hand made. I used a lot of pearls to accent this layout and the flower clusters are no acception for this. On top of the purple paper is the photo backed with a cream card sock slightly distressed. The photo has an overlay on it creating that scalloped edge around the photo. The buttons here are just glued on however I love details and every button on this page had gold thread laced though them to make them appear that they have been sewn on. The last thing in this upper left detail shot would be the woven ribbon that I have used. It is a simple cotton crocheted ribbon that has a brown grosgrain ribbon woven though it every couple of inches.
Bottom Left: There is not much new here accept that one of the flowers I used in this large flower stack is a distressed chipboard flower.
Bottom Right: Here is the title of the layout. I used these wonderful letters from Joann's in an antique brass. The letters are stuck on with tacky tape. All of this title is popped up about 1/2" from the backing. It is sported with several layers of card stock. The only new element here is the ear ring. This is a vintage clip on earring that I broke off the clip part. I love how this is a suspended element on this page. The ribbons are the same type that go up the left side of the layout, however they are not woven together.
Not shown in the detail pics: There is a circular elements. The lighter patterned paper has Nita's favorite scripture. The edges have been distressed on this piece and little flowers were added around the edge. The darker brown circle was cut with fiskars decorative scissors. Inked with a cream pigment ink and doodled on. Then pearls were added.

Thanks for taking the time to look through the details with me. I hope that you too can find ways to honor those in your life that mean the most to you. Treasure all the moments you have with each and every one of your loved ones and let them know how much you care. If the events of these past two years have thought me anything it is that we need to be careful of how we live our lives and how our lives touch others.
An Inspirational Poem
Live…laugh…and Love
By John McLeod

Live well dear friends
In all you do,
Tho' paths be old
Or paths be new,
But to yourself
Be ever true,

Live well!

Laugh often friends
Tho' passing years
Bring, sometimes, smiles
And, sometimes, tears,
For mirth forever
Warms and cheers

Laugh often!

Love much dear friends
For love will bring
The healing joy
And hope of Spring,
Where pain and fear may never dwell
Nor anguish touch….

And so Live well,
Laugh often too,
And more, dear friends,

Love much!