New Beginnings.... Stop and Smell the Flowers!

Hello Blog Friends!

     Oh my goodness, it's been awhile, but I promise you I have a good reason!

     My beloved son, Miles, who was born with a rare genetic syndrome which have resulted in a whole host of problems has, after 3 years of trying to see an orthopedic specialist who will be willing to work on his orthopedic defects, FINALLY had surgery on his legs!! When Miles was born, both of his hips were completely out of the sockets, and he had corrective surgery at 6 months to fix it.  Over the years, he has developed scoliosis, and his left hip has not seated well in his pelvis.  Plus, in addition to his genetic syndrome, he has CP which has contributed to him losing mobility.  Long story short, if untreated, he would lose his ability to walk within a few short months or years.  With surgery, he "stands" (LOL!) a good chance of continuing to be ambulatory for many more years.  It was a real struggle to find a doctor who was willing to take him on, since most doctors we saw would not operate on him unless they could make him "perfect".  We found a wonderful surgeon at Stanford University (a world renowned medical community) whose main goal was to give our sweet boy a better quality of life.  So... Miles had endured the first two of three, possibly four, surgeries to correct his knees, hips and feet.  Pretty major stuff, major rehab, and ALOT of work for his Mama! But, I have managed to get some projects done that I would like to share with you... So here's to new beginnings for my baby boy!

Before surgery with his favorite toy, Daddy Dog!

Never let a full leg cast get you down!! I covered Miles cast with lots of artwork!

He LOVES Wall-E, Eve and Fans!  Plus, I got all his friends to sign his cast too...

I drew the fan on the top of his foot so he could see it well... hee, hee!

 

See, I told you I had a good excuse!

 

On to the layout!

 

I found this wonderful paper line by Authentique called, "Seasons: Spring".

Even though it is not in my usual style, I fell in love with it, and knew I had the perfect

picture to use with it.

 

Isn't it adorable?! The pic is of my sister, Erika, when she was about 4 years old... our

great grandmother was a huge part of our lives growing up, and she always wore a

sunbonnet when she was outside.  She was born in 1890, and told us she never went

outside without one when she was a girl.  She made sunbonnets for all of us girls and we

happily wore them!  She also was a great gardener... even though we grew up in the Mojave

Desert, she managed to have a beautiful garden.  She loved periwinkles and marigolds, and I

always think of her when I see them somewhere. In this picture, my sister is eating a cookie

in front of Baw-Baw's house, where one of the gardens was.

I used some of the cut outs from the Authentique line as embellishments.  I distressed all the

edges, and inked them with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet.  I used a Spellbinder's

rolled flower die to cut out crinoline fabric (very inexpensive at any fabric store), and spritzed it

with Tattered Angels... then I crumpled it up and let it dry, and then rolled it and glued it with

a glue gun.  I found flower stamens in the baking department at Michael's, and glued them on afterwards.  I LOVE using crinoline to make my own fabric flowers!

The lace die is from Heartfelt Creations... it is pricey, but I find I am using it all the time!

Here, I cut it, crinkled it, and inked it... it adds an interesting distressed texture to the layout.

The flower frame is by Memory Box, and is another of my new "go to" dies.  The gate in the background is kinda interesting... I cut it with my Cricut using the Ornamental Iron cartridge and Tim Holtz grungeboard.... awhile back I discovered this really cool paint treatment from Ten Second Studio that uses metallic paint, and then a spray over it to get different patinas... verdigris, copper or aged iron.... I LOVE these paints, so I decided to use them on the gate to give it a verdigris patina.  It is fast and easy to do... just paint, dry and spritz!  Within a few minutes, the paint starts to age!

More little tags from the die cut sheet... there are so many cute items on the sheet to choose from!

I used a Spellbinder's nested die to cut my picture and mat, more of my crinoline flowers, and some stickers from the Authentique line.  I am very detail oriented, so on my smaller flowers, I used small pearls in the centers to tie colors together.

 

I have really missed sharing with you all, and have some more interesting projects to share with you in the coming weeks...  More layouts, and two mini albums that I was commissioned to do for one of my Etsy.com customers...

 

Hope you enjoyed my layout, and hope you have a blessed day!