Gift

Gift shows my son. It took me a while to get pregnant. And when I finally did, I went through a difficult pregnancy. My husband and I were so happy that we named our son, Gonzalo which means "saved from battle." His nickname, Galo, is also short for "regalo" or gift. There are times however, that I forget that things can happen for such a precious gift to be lost. Good thing that God really meant this gift to be ours.

For this LO, I printed Galo's photo in B&W on a 81/2" x 11" transparency and stuck that to the 12x12 journaling paper. Hence, the designs of the journaling paper showed through the transparency and created very interesting designs, as if rubons were placed at random!

Journal reads: Mother’s Day, 2007. I almost lost you that day! You cried that morning because daddy left without you and you wanted to ride your kart beside him. After a few minutes, you stopped crying. I left you alone, thinking you’re all right. You followed me upstairs after 5 minutes. When daddy returned home, he saw your kart outside the open gate! Apparently, you brought your kart out with the intention of following daddy! I cried that morning, in both fear and gratitude. I cried in fear because I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if something happened to you. And I cried in gratitude to the guardian angel who stopped you that day. That miracle is the best gift I’ve ever received on Mother’s Day.

Materials: Plain chipboard for backing, Creative Imaginations Narratives Journaling Panels by Karen Russell, Transparency of photo in B&W, Creative Imaginations Narratives Chipboard Alphas, mm Attachments Sky photo turns & brads, Bo Bunny bella Journee lace, Kotex Thread silver, Fancy Pants Dapper Rub-Ons, Autumn Leaves Epiphany Rub-On Flourishes, Rhonna Farrer Keyword Rub-Ons, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Merlot, Tsukineko Walnut Ink. Font used: Mistral 12pts. Adhesives: UHU Bastel Kleber, 3M Spray Mount.

Techniques used: Using 12x12 journaling sheet (with 6 journal-design) as background paper; Printing a B&W photo on transparency to go on top of journaling paper; Inking sides of LO with walnut ink, then with glimmer mist spray; Painting alphas with glimmer mist spray; Hand blade cutting on background paper to insert photo; Sewing sides for interest; Using rub-ons on alphas & transparency.