Scrapping the Tough Times

I've been debating for a while about whether or not to scrap some of the memories I have of my mother. They were very unpleasant, but it was detrimental to the person I have become. Each of my decisions in my everyday life are a result of how I was treated as a child. (Like why do I refuse to drink alcohol? or why do I freak out when there's dishes in the sink? and why do I panic when the phone rings?) Everything has a cause and an affect. My life isn't perfect and I don't want my future children to look at my albums and think "Mom never had any problems growing up. She was perfect." That's just not true.

I started by looking at Bo Bunny's Timepiece Collection for inspiration. I loved the colors and the dirty look to it. I broke out the white cardstock and misted it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Cinder. I am really pleased at the look of it and it tied in nicely with the Bo Bunny papers. The letters are just regular chipboard letters that were in my stash. I painted them with Ranger's Inkssentials Enamel Accents in Black. I thought about using the Dabber instead, but I love the glossy look that the Enamel Accents gives.

I wanted my layout to have more dimension, so I attached some brads and wove some ribbon in a criss-cross pattern. The red ribbon is from a local fabric store but it was lightly sprayed with the same Tattered Angels mist. I love the dark shimmer it gave.

Because this is such a personal topic, I decided to use hidden journaling. On my photo in the middle, I adhered it on only 3 sides with Terrifically Tacky Tape. I cut a small piece of cardstock to write on and attached a tab for easy access to it. This was so therapeutic for me. It took a while for me to convince myself to do this layout. I hope by showing people my layout, others will make some of their own. Thank you for looking and I challenge you to scrap a layout about your own hard topics!