Hope

I never thought I would put these colors together, but I've learned through CSI to never say never to a color palette!  And I'm pretty happy with the way it came together!  You can see what the rest of the design team came up with by CLICKING HERE.

 And here's my take on it.

For my evidence I chose grid/mesh, pen work and mixed media background.

Love this photo taken by my very talented photographer friend, Heather Vavra.  You can check out more of her work by CLICKING HERE. 

For "mesh" I painted a piece of burlap white, and then I used black acrylic paint and crisscrossed a grid design onto the paper with a rubber fringe-like tool thingy that I got with a Making Memories distressing kit years ago. (I'm so good at explaining things.  LOL)  I colored some glass bead gel gray and filled in some of the circles with that.

I started out with my primrose and blush Heidi Swapp mists, and then I added some Tattered Angel Plain Jane mist in baseboard (a semi-opaque mist).  The dark red is also Plain Jane mist. Then I scraped some modeling paste across the page.  To add a different texture behind the photo I layered brown jute twine and embroidery floss behind there.

The other circles modeling paste and black sharpie that I wet a bit to blend.  It was never meant to be that thick of a black border, but I had some issues...

For my journaling, I used the inspiration word "imagine."  It got pretty lengthy, so it's secured to the back of the layout on a full piece of paper.  But it all ties in to my title word "hope."  Here is what it says:

When I look at you, I often find myself trying to imagine what the world will look like when you are a grown woman, and maybe even a mom yourself.  What it will look like for your children.  There's no denying how quickly the world is changing…and although everyone seems to think it's changing more quickly than ever, I think that change has always come at warp speed.   And I truly embrace some of it.   But there are things about the direction the world is moving that I don't love; in fact there are quite a few things that terrify me and make me worry about the fate of future generations, including your generation.  There are so many children growing up without core values, without respect for themselves, the earth, and each other.  Morality has become an afterthought.  We have forgotten the beauty of interacting with one another as human beings; instead more often interacting with electronics and other inanimate objects.  We, as a people, have become detached.  Disconnected.  We've stopped caring. 

At the same time, despite the direction we have been moving, I know that we can reverse the route and take our change in a more positive direction.  And it starts with the you.  I used the Maria Montessori quote for this layout because she fundamentally believed in the ability of the child.  While many in her day saw children as empty canvases to be molded into "productive citizens," she saw children as intelligent and capable little beings from birth.  Just the way I have always seen you.  This belief, among others, is one of the reasons why we enrolled you in Montessori School.  Maria Montessori's method supports the education of the whole child, and fosters fulfillment to the highest potential – spiritually, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.  The greatest teaching that Montessori gives you is a deep understanding of the fact that we are all connected; to each other, and to our earth.  Nothing we do is without purpose and nothing is without effect.  From your youngest years we have supported what you naturally have known to do: to love, respect and take responsibility for yourself, for your community, and for this earth.  And I know that those very things are deeply ingrained in you already…right down to the deepest depths of your soul.  And that, my sweet little munchkin, gives me hope for the future.

xoxo

**side note I saw something on Facebook this afternoon about the direction our earth is going because of human greed and disregard each other and for nature, etc. Timely, because I had just finished the journaling for this layout this morning.   Let's hope that future generations do a better job of caring for this earth and for each other than we and the generations before us have. Stepping off my soapbox now!  LOL

xoxo,

Shawna