Nic had a whole lot of journalling to get down about this photo, but didn't want it to take over the whole layout. This is a photograph that Nic took of her grandmother's house when she was moved into a nursing home. This home held a lot of personal memories of Nic's childhood and she wanted to just write some of these memories down as they came to her in a free manner.
By writing freehand over the background of the layout, the writing has become part of the design, part of the patterned background.
To create resting space for the viewer's eye, Nic has accented areas with Hambly doily rub-ons and added Hambly rub-on stitches, and also some carefully placed buttons. These also add to the homely feel that Nic was going for. Further to adding these, she has printed her photo onto calico. The fabric texture again adds homeliness and texture.
It was imperative that Nic get these memories down quickly as she recently discovered that after her grandmother's passing, the house that she lived in for so long has now been demolished and a new one has been built in it's place. Without photos and details such as these, it's as if the house was never there. It's important for us all to preserve this sort of information for our future generations to look back upon.
Within a few months of the passing of Nic's grandmother, Nic's grandfather passed away as well. With the loss of them both so close together, Nic found herself re-assessing what was such a huge part of not only her extended family, but of her sense of security, family and identity. With this in mind, she was able to express some of her most painful emotion through this layout. While the information on this layout isn't particularly profound or in-depth, Nic found it said exactly how she was feeling and allowed her to purge some of her sad emotions.
Scrapbooking grief and other hardships can be exceptionally cathartic for not only the creator but also for anyone who reads the page and relates to even a small part of what is written. A scrapbook page gives us the permission to share feelings that we might have otherwise kept secret.
