Scrapping reality

I bet we would all like our layouts to be perfect, with perfect photos of perfect times. But life just isn't like that, we don't feel pretty all the time, our families can be jolly hard work, and our lives are not always rosey.

So do we scrap the not so perfect and the tough times? Oh yes, we certainly do!

Two layouts that I spied a few weeks back, really caught my eye for their very real content.

The first is by Mel.

OK so this isn't your typical LO, it isn't all lovely and nice and it took me a while to decide whether to scrap it or not but I really kept feeling an urge to scrap what has been a very big turning point in my life.

I had a work accident in November 2008 that has left me with a little finger that has no feeling and does not move and alot of pain in my right wrist (my writing hand) which seemed like the end of the world for me and scrapbooking.

It took me 4 months to even sit down with the intention of trying to scrapbook and after some very simple pages and a month passing by, I finally printed a photo that was taken of my wrist, 3 days after I left hospital. I stared at it for a long time and then at my wrist and finger now. The hideous scar on my wrist and a finger standing straighter and remaining more motionless than 1 of the Queen's loyal guards. This was me now, not something I had chosen to do, not something I wanted, but something that I had to live with. Isn't this what scrapbooking is about? Documenting life's stories? The moments that make up the fabric of memories in our life. But how do I make this look pretty? The answer was simple, you don't. You document what happened, as a record of a life event. It doesn't need to have pretty flowers or lovely pearls to be a LO, it just needs to be a moment in life that you are documenting.

Once I put the blank CS down in front of me the first inspiration that hit me was of the blood that was everywhere so erratic red paint had to be the answer. I had never done this on a LO before as I love PP so much but there was no PP that could convey the emotion of what had happened so I set to spreading red paint, as soon as I had done that and watched it dry, the rest was simple. The journalling under the photo was the hardest because I not only wanted to document what had happened but also remember the people that were there for me, that saved my life.

The journaling under the photo says:

"The moral of the story is simple: Don't carry 2 glasses upstairs!" joked the paramedic. It was lucky for me that they arrived in 5 minutes! Only 5 minutes had passed since I tripped whilst walking upstairs with 2 glasses, since one glass smashed, slicing my artery and 2/3rds through my little finger. Only 5 minutes had passed since I saw my blood spurt from my wrist as I tried to hold the wound together whilst screaming for help. Only 5 minutes had passed since Amy was by my side wrapping my wrist in t-shirts to stem the bleeding whilst ignoring my pleas for her to call David. Only 5 minutes had passed since Phil whipped off his belt to use as a torniquet in a move that would make any stripper proud! Only 5 minutes had passed since John held my arm high above my head and started telling me jokes to take my mind off what was happening (it didn't work!) Only 5 minutes had passed since David walked through the door with a concerned look and a forced smile on his face, from him reaching out and holding my hand and telling me I was going to be OK and to stay strong. Only 5 minutes had pased from when Lauren called 999 to the paramedics walking through the door. They say that your life flashes before your eyes when you are going to die. It wasn't until the surgeon had removed the glass from my wrist and hand and put 19 stitches there in its place that she said it is the opposite. Your brain slows everything down so you have time to think and make decisions, it is our last survival mechanism. Those 5 minutes were the longest I have ever experienced in my life but to all the wonderful people who unwittingly saved my life that day in November, it was the fastest 5 minutes that they will ever know."

Once the LO was completed I immediately felt relief. The next question was whether to share it with people and after much consideration I decided to. I am sure that there are other people who have faced life challenges and want to document them, I only hope that by sharing my story that it will inspire somebody else to document an event it their life that has made a big difference.

The second is by Shaulean.

About me – married for over 21 years to Ian, we have 3 children and my family are always the subject for my scrapping, but I am what I have termed an “emotional scrapper”, so whenever I have something bothering me I find it fantastic therapy to scrap the situation or feeling, I also have pages where I just make a lo just for the sake of cutting up paper, and sticking it down, not quite sure how long I’ve been scrapping, approx 5 years.

 

The inspiration for the lo “Run”, this lo is about a day when I had to just get in my car and drive away from my family for a couple of hours.

The journaling reads:-  A typical Sunday, getting ready for Monday, uniforms, etc, that's how it started, had made Ian a small shopping list earlier that day, and even though I didn't want to cook that evening, I needed to (because there wasn't much shopping in), and discovered (that evening), that Ian hadn't bought the chicken because "I didn't read the list", Nathan (the teenager), was being his usual sarcastic self, and the final straw was when I asked Elliott for his football kit, as I was doing the final load (after washing, and drying all day), and he said "can I give it to you in a minute mummy, I’m just watching a game (football), and I screamed "NO", he looked like a deer caught in headlights, and looked so hurt as he went for his kit, I put the last load on, left my phone, took my keys and.......DROVE, didn’t know where I was going, or how long I was going to be gone, ended up at my brothers house, had 1/2 a glass of red wine, and spent over a hour with him, talking about the grind of being a mum (even though I love my family to death), and that SHAULEAN (who I am before I was wife and mother) needed some space, after that I went and picked up some Chinese, and went home, everyone apologised, and were extremely quiet, I felt so guilty (as women always do), and I explained my actions, and apologised to Elliott.

 

every now and again, I have to remind myself that I am HUMAN, not SUPERHUMAN, (lol)

 

I posed the pictures for the lo.

Thanks so much to both of these lovely ladies for sharing their work with us!

And finally my little contribution. This layout was done using the prompt of a UKS weekly challenge and one of the criteria was:
We've got the thing about letters so, use handwritten / hidden journalling maybe in the form of a letter ( 10 points)

 

So I thought I would scrap this photo of my Gram in Edinburgh, a city she left many many years ago with my grandfather and their 3 children to start a new live in South Africa.
She passed away in 2005, and I miss her terribly. So my letter was to my Gram. To tell her how much I miss her and how much I would have loved to have visited Edinburgh with her.

Once I sat down to write, and I think this is the toughest bit, it was surprising how easy the words came, and I could have written much more.

Scrapping the not so nice things, isn't easy but it's a part of our lives and if we are leaving these albums for future generations to know about us, it's important we tell the truth.

haPPy scraPPing and don't forget to link us back to your work, cause we love to have a nosey :)

Caz
xx

Comments

[Eleanor]

Oh my goodness, this is such a powerful post, all three of you have made me feel quite emotional. Wonderful work, all of the layouts are striking, in different ways. Very moving.
E
xx

[Diana]

Ditto - it is all so raw and yes powerful. Well done Ladies and thank you for sharing this with us.
Di XXX

[Anne Evans]

Wonderful LOs. I don't do vey much scrapbooking myself and I thought these were great - as you say scrapping moments in life. Thanks for sharing them.
Anne :)

[Scrapdolly]

I have been so moved reading these.
I too scrap the awful and the difficult, though I don't always share them Now I feel I should.
Wonderful inspiring post ladies xxx