Memory journal

I finally figured out what should become of the amazingly beautiful leatherbound, handmade journal that Carrie gave me for our anniversary last year...I am going to use it to collect memories and stories told by/about my dad. As we are coming up on the 5th anniversary of his passing, I find that more and more stories run through my mind, and I wanted a way that I could remember them as the years fly past.

I am hoping that as I create more and more pages, I can post pictures of them here to share with those who would care to see them and share the memories with me. This is a labor of love, and as such, I think it will be even more meaningful if I can share it with those who mean so much to me.

For all who are interested, the journal was special ordered by Carrie for our anniversary. She found it from this lady http://ionahandcraftedbooks.com/, who makes the most amazing handcrafted journals and photo albums I have ever seen. We have met her in person, and she is the sweetest thing ever. We will be purchasing from her again!

The outside of my journal. The pictures don't even do it justice, the color is amazing, and the  leather is so soft. 

The front cover. You can get a better idea of the color here, and see the amazing handcrafted paper.

Ok, I can see I need to rotate this one and reupload, but not now. This is the dedication page of the journal.

An in progress page. Going to add a picture of my dad in the center, and add the other wing. 

Letter to my daddy. 

No memory journal of my dad would be complete without a page or two on Dad's Coke addiction. 

And of course, there was the unfortunate "New Coke" incident. 

This has already been such an amazing project, and I am so glad I decided to start it. It is so therapeutic to be able to just sit and reminisce about my dad. And I get to share my memories of him with people who never got to know him, but can meet him through me!

I promise you that this will be one project I will have no problem completing. Even as I sit here and type this up, my mind is just racing with things I want to write down in here, and pictures I want to include and drawings I want to add. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Happy Anniversary!

Since today would have been my parents 40th, I thought I would share the painting I did for my mom the year after we lost dad.

I had the most amazing picture of mom and dad from my wedding. I couldn't find the printed one, but knew that I had the negatives. I had always wanted to try scanning a negative and using it, so I figure this was a great one to start with. It came out a little lighter than I was hoping, but I was able to tweak the scan and print it out in a usable way. I then used a combination of paint and medium paste to build up around the picture.

The painting didn't quite come out the way I envisioned it, but I liked the result in the end anyway.

 In the top picture, you can see the picture better. In the bottom picture, you can see the color of the painting better.

Happy Anniversary mom and dad! I love you both, and wish we were all together to celebrate today!

A change in purpose...

You will probably notice that I haven't exactly been good about posting pictures like I said I was going to. What can I say, sometimes life gets in the way. In the time that has passed, there have been a lot of changes in my life, that have made me decide to change the direction this blog is going.

One of my new dance/fitness instructors has suggested that I should start writing about the hardships that I have been through the last couple of years, and how I got through them. She thinks that I could really help other people who may be having problems of their own. I'm not entirely sure that I can be any good at this, but I decided that I would try a little something.

I am going to start working on an art piece, that is also my little way of dealing with the down parts of my life, and I will post pictures of my progress. Hopefully, at least one person out there will be inspired to follow in my footsteps and do their own healing piece. I think it is so much better to get things out of you, and dealt with, rather than holding them in until you explode. I hope you guys enjoy this. I will also be adding some general talk blogs from time to time, as I am inspired to share my thoughts.