Fan Letter Layout

Hello everyone!

     So it seems that winter has finally come to my little corner of California- not the bone chilling, snow laden, wind chill below zero weather we experienced while we were living in Ohio, but winter here nontheless...  with it has come mine and my son Miles annual cold and Miles' ear infection... it was for that reason that I missed the Color Stories Inspiration Challenge last week, but did get an entry in for this week...


          As always, the challenge was to use all the colors in the scheme, 2 evidence items, and 1 testimony item...  I used flowers, swirls, frames and a doily pattern for my "evidence", and for my "testimony"  I used the fan mail format, and inspiration words "sunny" and "cheerful".

I just love this picture!!

I started this layout with lots of distressing... mostly on the edges of the main patterned paper, and the photo.  After the edges were distressed, I applied embossing ink and Stampendous Shabby Embossing Enamel in aqua.. this is my new favorite embossing powder!  It comes in a bunch of colors (which I ordered last week!) and has nice chunks of stuff in it that gives it a totally shabby look... love it!

 

Color Stories Inspiration usually provides a wonderful sheet of digital printables

that coodinates with the current challenge... I took advantage of that this week and fussy cut

the big black and white flowers (which I watercolored... pretty, huh?), and used the

quotes that had to do with the subject I was writing about.

The journaling was extremely important in this challenge....

I had an idea of what I wanted this layout to look like, and was having a really hard time coming up with an idea to incorporate everything I wanted to write about the picture and still keep all the embellishments I had laid out for the layout.  The first 5 or 6 tries was very frustrating... the page looked very overwhelmingly busy to me, so I put it away for a couple of days  Sometimes that really helps!

Anyway, I finally decided to do my fan letter as individual words and sentences, which

added to the playfulness of the layout, and allowed for more freedom in spacing and laying out the journaling.

 

Here is what I wrote:

 

Dear Miles,
I am your biggest fan... you came into this world with so much against you- your first surgery when you were only four hours old.. a rare genetic syndrome, epilepsy, Cerebral Palsy and Autism. You can't speak, have fine motor issues, and you are losing your ability to walk. But in spite of it all, you have the heart of a lion... you are always so happy... you light up everything around you. Miles, you have such a good attitude about your life and such a sunny dispostition that it is hard for anyone to believe you had such a rough start. I remember when you were still in the Neonatal Unit you would smile in your sleep... the nurses nicknamed you "Miles of Smiles", and the name stuck! We should all have as good an outlook in our lives as you do, my son!

I AM your BIGGEST FAN!!

Love, Mah-Mah-Mah

(Mah-Mah-Mah is the only word my boy can speak!)
This layout is colorful, just like my Miles is !!

 

I hope you have enjoyed this layout... I am having such a good time with my blog,

and also on the forums...

 

Have a great day!

 

                                    Shelley