Scrapbooking the Hard Time/Events

Hi everyone it's Pam here sharing a post idea that I think pertains to everyone. I know that scrapbooking is great for capturing the good times.  All those good memories with happy titles, smiles, and fun is what you see mostly in the scrapword, especially in my gallery... you would think everything was great all of the time.  But of course it's not, like every other person in the world. I really wanted to do a post on scrapbooking those hard time and events, because they are so important to look back on and remember what happened. I know I don't do enough of this, because sometimes it can be painful, but consider doing a page once in a while.  I have gotten help from the contributors today for ideas on how capture those hard times. Each layout is very special to each person as you will see..

I am sharing a page about losing my dog, Daphne, who was a wonderful part of our family. Rather than using dark colors I chose the palette of soft colors to represent her beautiful personality (or dogonality).  This page was hard to do, but I wanted to finally get it done and I like how it turned out. I surrounded her in sewn heart and went with the title, "In Our Hearts". Here is my page.

Heather's page is an excellant example of scrapping the hard time. This is a page about her daughter and the struggles that she has. I am so proud of Heather for capturing this and scrapbooking,  as it so important to document those hard time. Seeing this page makes my heart go out to her family. The journaling reads, "Seeing you so down and depressed breaks my heart. When we're out in public you put on a different face. You smile and pretend to be happy, but when we're home you feel safe enough to let it all out. Sometimes your mood swings disrupt the whole house. We try to understand that it's your bipolar disorder that makes you act this way."

Vicky created a beautiful layout in remembering the passing of her grandmother. This photo was the last photo taken before her grandmother passed away. As you can see, this layout is scrapped with love and affection and really reflects the love she had for her grandmother!

Marlene created a page about when she visited Oklahoma City and took photo remembering the events that happened here.  Again another hard page to scrapbook, but Marlene did such a great job of capturing those hard times. Notice her color palette and the use of the pink rose on her page. Here is what Marlene had to say about the event,"P. Murrah Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK. There is engraving over the entry that says "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, peace, hope and serenity". My journaling reads: This monument marks the place where 168 people (including 19 children) were killed by domestic terrorists on April 19, 1995. The strength and honor of this site is moving, unforgettable and a fitting tribute to the loss of so many innocent lives. For the Old Page Maps 26 challenge Sketch #1"

Cathy is sharing another hard event with us. Her page is about losing her job and how it affected not only her but the small company she worked for. I think not using photos is a great way to go about scrapping this page. This is what Cathy had to say about her layout, "I seriously threw this page together. I needed to create, to help me feel good about myself, to document and to begin to move on.  I packed a whole lot of symbolism into this page. It's made on an old piece of cardboard, (probably one that scrapbook supplies came on!) I distressed the cardboard and inked it.... but you'll see that I used some green ink over the "torn" spots to represent healing. There had to be lots of green on the page since that is my fav color and means "life" to me. The trees represent strength, growth and consistency, the little button with the new tree is like starting over, the owl is my higher power keeping watch over me and my family. And the journal paper is actually from a pad that we used at work for marketing projects. I crumpled it up and inked it to distress it, then purposely placed it behind the trees.  The tree with the fruit on it has the 3 things that I can not function without; Faith, Family and Spirit. I journaled about each of these on the page and placed a small brad next to those words to be like a seed to sprout new growth. Spirit got a green one to show how that is a major force in allowing me to move forward. And the forest is representative that I am not alone. There are many in this boat with me. Not a good thing, bad for the economy and bad for all of those trying to find a job, but I do realize that while I am unique, I am not alone. The journaling reads:
Changes in life, sometimes we find ourselves on a path we did not select... it is those times that the strengths in our lives will help see us through. Faith gives me hope and the belief that there will be an open window. Family is my whole reason. There is nothing more important. Spirit - no matter what life brings me, I will get through it. I will be smarter, I will be stronger. I may have lost my job, but I did not lose my spirit. I truly believe I am right where I am supposed to be."

Last but not least there is a layout by Cindy dealing with when her husband's workplace burned down. She did an amazing job of capturing the terrible event with photos! I also like how she ties her hard time into a blessing in disguise! This is what Cindy had to say about her page, "Here's a layout I made in 2006.  My husband's workplace burned to the ground.  When he returned to his office after the ATF investigators left, he recovered a few charred quarters and nothing else.  The fire was devastating, but there was a silver lining for us.  Steve was able to work from home full time while the company rebuilt.  Trevor was an infant, so Steve was there when he learned to sit up, learned tp crawl, learned to walk- all things he might have missed if he'd been gone 10+ hours a day like before.  It turned out that the blessing in disguise was short-lived, as the company struggled significantly after the fire and ended up laying him off about 9 months later."

Do you have hard times pages that you would like this share? Send them to me at scrappingpam73@yahoo.com and I will feature them.