Hello again, I’m back with another layout for LOAD522 Build Your Story, this time as a Featured Designer. Woot! Woot!
Our architectural inspiration for this prompt is Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. I don’t know exactly what Alice will be talking about but I know she will touch on the devastating fire that destroyed a lot of the cathedral in 2019. We visited Paris in 2017 as a side-jaunt to our UK holiday. We didn’t take the time to go into the Cathedral, which I subsequently regretted, but here is a photo of us outside. We were on our way to dinner and stopped to grab some selfies in front of Notre Dame as we passed it.
It would have been easy for me to scrapbook this and other photos we took for my featured designer layout, but I will save that for the actual day. I decided to lean heavily into the prompts she gave which was to talk about a time we “rose from the ashes”.
For those of you who know me, you know my story. I’ve scrapbooked about my parents before but I don’t think I’ve ever scrapbooked about my journey from almost dead, to thriving. Get ready!
That’s me, at 14, standing on my own for the first time after having my spine fractured in the same car accident that killed my parents. I was horribly injured – beyond the whole broken back thing. At first, they really weren’t sure I was going to make it at all. When it became obvious that I was, they started talking about my mobility and the likelihood I’d never walk without assistance again. I’m a stubborn wee thing and determined early on to prove all my doctors wrong. Which I did. In spades.
I filmed this layout coming together with all it’s complications and indecisions. LOL!
As you saw, I had difficulty embellishing this one. My normal style tends to include a lot of little bits and pieces tucked in behind other elements on the page. But everything I tried took away from that gorgeous phoenix.
In the end, I kept it really simple and added one of the die cut lace border pieces from my 49th & Market Spectrum Sherbet stash, to the top left and bottom right corners of the layout. One little tab, one word strip and some of their baubles (enamel-ish dots) was all it needed.
I admit to not being happy about the placement of the baubles in this photo. I feel like that large blue one draws too much attention to itself but … I’m not about to rip about the entire layout for one mis-placed sticker. And they are stuck pretty good!
In the video I end by asking if you have any questions about my journey or about how to take an image off the internet and create a cut file like this. Feel free to ask them in the comments below, over on YouTube or DM me on Circle (or any of the other places I hang out). Nothing is off limits. I’m an open book! Once you’ve been through what I’ve been through, you understand that talking about it is actually more awkward for the person asking the questions than yourself. I lived it. I fought through it. I have risen from my own ashes to build a family I love, a business I’m proud of, and a life I’m happy with. That saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is so true. Sometimes that strength takes time to manifest, but it’s there. If you’re going through your own trial by fire right now, I’d love to listen. Please reach out.
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