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Friday, August 30, 2013

A sympathy card and a memories album

Whoa, it has been A LONG TIME since I have blogged. I have missed it and especially Unity's Friends With Flair so much! Life has become VERY busy with the arrival of my 3rd baby over the summer and what little free time I can squeeze in goes to crafting but I often forget to take pics and certainly don't even come close to having the time to blog my creations recently. Last week I remembered that I have a Growing In Unity spot coming up in September so I tried super hard today to make a little chunk of time to get back on the blogging horse.  Hiya!

My project that I am sharing today was one I put together last month for a friend who lost her precious 2 year old daughter to her lifelong illness.  My heart was breaking for her and her family and I wanted to do something/anything to try to help them heal.  She has 2 older girls as well (6 & 8) and all I could think of was how horrible it would be to mourn one baby and still try to do your best to put on your mom face and be strong to comfort your other children. 

I used to be an avid scrapbooker until I ran out of time to do it.  Now I am an avid Project Lifer because I can record so many precious memories in much less time.  I thought that it would be great if there were a way for my friends daughters to record their memories of their beloved sister and thought that a Project Life Mini Album would be something that was doable for them.  I got them each their own albums and then went through my stash of PL cards as well as made many of my own cards from Unity stamps. 

Unity had just released this beautiful angel stamp from Phyllis Harris and it was perfect.  I was very inspired by Angie Blom's gorgeous coloring on her canvas and used the same colors on my card.  I kept it super simple and added some sparkle to the wings with a gold sparkle gel pen.  Both of the papers have a beautiful shimmer to them and on the inside of the card I used the stamp There is no footprint too small to leave an imprint on this Earth.

 I used one of the butterflies from Unity's Butterfly Beauty to make an insert for the front of the album.  Her sisters said that green was Gabby's favorite color so coloring them in with my green copics was a no brainer.
 I made a title card with stamps from a few different SMAK kits and used my neglected Big Shot machine to die cut some letters.
 Here are some of the cards I made using so many of my Unity stamps from kits, itty bitties, SMAK and KOTM. 



Getting ready to wrap the albums up and drop it in the mail.  My thoughts and prayers are with this family every day.  I hope that these albums help the girls through some of their grief and healing as well as record their precious memories in an album they can cherish forever.

If you've stuck with me this long, thank you!  It has been a long post and most surprisingly of all my 2 month old has napped through the entire time!  Hoping to get back to blogging somewhat frequently but right now I am cherishing the time spent with my babies and what little creative time I have.  Happy Friday and Labor Day Weekend!

17 comments:

Noelle Reese said...

Goodness, you post made me cry! Your PL cards and the albums and the card and butterfly are all just beautiful and moving! I'll be praying for everyone who loved Gabby.

Paula-Scrap Addict said...

What a thoughtful thing for you to do!

Rachel B said...

What an amazing gift! You are so amazing! I love the album and all the inserts. I think I may have to make something similar for my family. Simple way to keep track of us, with everything ready to go, without investing in all the PL stuff out there!

Ruby said...

OH MY! Where do I begin. My heart is breaking with your sad story. What a wonderful project that you decided to make. I know it will be treasured many many years. You are so kind to embark on this project. I love all the journaling cards that you made. This is a plan that I want to get done too using Unity stamps. Thanks for telling your story and I will look forward to seeing you posting soon again.

Kary said...

Oh, Crystal, I'm so sorry for your friend,and I can't imagine how heartbreaking it is. But, what you have made for them is Amazing!! I love everything you did, and what a wonderful blessing it will be for the family. Bless you!! And, we have missed you at FWF. Take care and have a great weekend!!

Chris Dring said...

This is stunning. My prayers go out to our friend. What you've done here is absolutely wonderful! I'm positive that your friend and her two older children will cherish this gift for all their lives!

Julie Odil said...

What a wonderful, love filled project for a family that needs to heal. Your gift will surely aid them in their memories. It is wonderful.

Angeline Choo said...

This is so lovely for Gabby. I am sure she is dearly missed and am definite that she will love all of these.

Kris said...

What an amazing tribute to such a short life. You and your albums are awesome

Rachel said...

oh my gosh my heart is breaking for your dear friend. it is so nice that she has an amazing friend like you. a pl album is such a great idea, and your journal cards are gorgeous. they will love it!
-Rachel w k
rwkrafts.com

JPScraps said...

These are WONDERFUL! I'm sure the girls will create a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to their sister. Prayers for Gabby's family.

Mary Anne / MA54K said...

This will be such a treasure for this family. Much thought and love was put into this. We are never too busy to comfort each other, right?

Scrapper Myra said...

First of all, congrats on your 3rd baby. Being a mother is a blessing. I did not have that gift but you don't have to eat the cake to appreciate how sweet it is. Secondly, Please don't you ever forget to take pictures. Better to be a freak wanting to take pictures of everything possible than to forget taking them... and mostly if you are a scrapbooker. Thirdly, I don't necessarily make Project LIfe as the concept everybody does, but love to make my own journaling cards to use in the pages as embellishments or unique elements. Fourthly, so glad you will be featured in Growing up with Unity. That must be awesome. Lastly, what a kind and nice gesture from you for this family suffering such a tragedy. I hope God gives them comfort and have the strength to continue enjoying life knowing God's timing is perfect. Tks for sharing.

Miwa said...

What a beautiful and thoughtful gift you created! I am sure the whole family will treasure it and their memories of Gabby.

angie/shuggy said...

your card is amazing. and the project life cards are awesome. what a nice gesture.

Rachel said...

hi crystal... you have been randomly picked as the winner of the Fiber Natural stack from my blog post! I can't find a contact email for you... so please email me at rwkrafts(at)gmail.com so I can send out your prize! Congrats!
-Rachel w k
www.rwkrafts.com

Pryn said...

Congratulations on the birth of your child! I am glad to "see" you back in blogland...your posts and creations are always so inspiring :)

I am so sorry to hear of your friend's loss. I cannot even image the pain of losing a child. Your album is gorgeous and I am sure that it will bring great comfort. I will keep your friend in my prayers.