When I was a toddler, my mom gave me a laminated picture of my daddy to help me remember him when he was out at sea. I carried it all over the place. On December 15, 2013 Daddy left for his final cruise. I combined my picture with some other mementos to make the shadowbox above to honor him.
The picture of him holding me has always been my favorite of the two of us. Judging from its condition, Mom was wise to laminate my keepsake picture. Although I distressed some of this project's other elements with Cashmere ink, this photo needed no distressing. I made no attempt to flatten it, attaching it with just a bit of removable adhesive in some key spots.
I have always had trouble with journaling because my handwriting is not the best (which is one of the reasons why I love Studio J so much). I prefer to use the computer when I have to write more than a few words on a pieced page. When using Word with the magnification set at 90%, the text on my moniter appears the same size that it will print. This allows me to make sure that what I am typing will fit the way I want it to. I am particularly pleased with the journaling on the circular piece. To make it fit the curve, I first drew a template on lightweight copier paper. Next I typed out the text. Then I attached the copier paper to my moniter using a Post-it note and, looking through the template, used the space bar to position the beginning of the text on the left edge and the enter key to break the text where needed on the right edge, continuing line by line until the text fit within the template. After printing the text on cardstock, I cut out the copier paper template, laid it over the text, traced the shape, and cut it out.
I have to thank my brother-in-law for picking up some of the shell casings from the gun salute after the funeral. Yes, Daddy was given full military honors. I should also mention that my layout was inspired by this one from Stuck on Us Sketches:
The only 12 inch square shadowboxes I could find had black or white frames. When I have time I will paint the frame of this one a warmer white and maybe distress it a bit. I plan to enter this in the first December Heart 2 Heart Challenge, the theme of which is "All Framed Up." It has been a while since I played a challenge or even played in my craft room for that matter. Isn't it funny how when you most need paper therapy, you don't have the time for it? Thank you for stopping by! Until next time, Hansi
Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:
Paper: Tommy (soon to be retired), Outdoor Denim, Colonial White and Cashmere cardstock
Ink: Cashmere
Embellishments: metallic stars by Jolee's Boutique bought at Michael's