Sunday 14 February 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!




I love Valentine's day! It's cute!! Today I sat at Kuaui {Health Food Restaurant Chain} with Chelsea {we were having a late lunch as we'd been busy running around doing chores all morning} & we "people watched". Couples were out in full-force...the way people pair up is very interesting to me...often couples look mismatched {as hubs & I probably do!} & one wonders what their history is. Almost every man we saw out & about was carrying a bouquet of flowers or a beautifully {store} wrapped parcel. Some men really do make an effort & personally I think men in general have an unneccessarily bad rep - maybe that's just because I'm blessed to be married to one of the keepers!

This is my Valentine's Layout for Journaling Junkie Challenge 73. We were required to NOT use conventional Valentine's colours {ie: no red} & non-conventional embellishments {ie: steer clear of hearts!} & to write a letter to a loved one. I decided to write a letter to my loved-ones - all 5 of them! I love this {not very good} impromptu photo I took of all my sweethearts - on our way up from the beach when we were holidaying on the South Coast just after Christmas. I literally called out to them {me always being last up the hill you know...} & snapped quickly before they had time to put on their camera faces {hate those...}

I used a turquoise bazzill cardstock as my base {Turquoise being the official colour of 2010 you know...heehee...true as that actually is I used it because it matched best ;-D} & an October Afternoon stripe {gotta love it...} & another OA offcut strip along the bottom {the pink one underneath the title "Listen up! My Peeps". I devoted a paragraph to each family member & typed it out in a separate colour. This works well visually for interest & definition & it's best to "block" your text so that it stretches out to fit the text box & to get each paragraph to be the same number of lines. This required juggling what I had to say a bit but was worth it.

My embellishments are no-name brand "cheapies" from CNA {big newsagent chain here} but they are cute & pretty, mixed with 7 Gypsies sentiment stickers & Prima floral wonders of course. The brown spotty cardstock is an absolutely ancient Paper Salon print. I am using old with new on almost every layout this year, because that way it works fine. It's like wardrobe updating - as long as you have something fresh & fashionable you're still fine with your old basics.

Yes that's a little piece of Prima's famous packaging I've used there {under the "My Peeps" sticker} cut to shape to show off the little family of birdies on the branch, aswell as behind the photo of ME. The 7G stickers came with my latest Cocoa Daisy kit & were perfect for this family/love theme. I printed my journaling out onto good weight photographic paper & my photo onto cardstock - so it has a nice texture that is impossible to convey here via photograph. I have cut & pasted the journaling from Word into Blogger & as you can see it is not spacing the way it appears on the layout - sorry for that but I don't have the time to type it all out again!

Shane – you make a great father – I know you know this already but never doubt your abilities & try to overcome your reserve if I am not around for those one-on-one chats that aren’t really your “thing” – you know that communication is key & that I believe in 100% honesty when it comes to the kids questions – no matter how awkward they may be. Remember we don’t want them to grow up with any hang-ups. The best we can do for them is send them out into the world with a clean slate – ready to face life head-on without any disadvantages. I want you to be happy & don’t expect you to mope around – I need you to be strong for the kids. Make time for yourself too – you deserve it & would be a real catch – go for it – if I’m not around one day I don’t expect you to mourn me forever. You have my blessing!


Chellie – you are the eldest – of course you know that & I realise that you resent it at times, but I am counting on you to keep everyone together & not let anyone stray. I want you all to remain friends forever, it’s not too much to ask, you need to keep the lines of communication open & forgive if necessary. Remember that this is the way God wants it to be. Never lose your Faith or question God argumentatively – just accept that he knows what is best for you.Try to live out of his will & you will bear the consequences–please pray for that not to happen – please! Keep your gentle nature & be patient with your younger siblings. Trust your heart & find your happiness – keep searching & you will find your passion. I know we fight at times but I utterly adore you & have always loved you to bits & pieces!


Jackie Boy – I know that you are dying to spread your wings & get out there & live your life! I hope I get to see it all & experience at least some of it with you. You know your Dad & I have great hopes for your future & the Lord does too. Just remember to stay in God’s will & he will make all your paths straight & open up all the right doors for you if your heart is right with him. Be good to Chel & Bing & Cam, even though they exasperate you at times.You are great in a crisis & always handle things so competently. At times you may need to take charge & be the man of the house – I have 100% faith in your abilities & am counting on you to keep everyone on the straight & narrow – including yourself! Know that you have filled me with so much pride & joy so far that at times my heart has felt close to bursting!


Bingy – You are the sweetest little man alive – everyone who knows you immediately picks up on your gentle spirit. Stay humble & remember our saying “Why try to fit in when you were born to stand out?” God has made you the way you are for a reason. Who cares if “the populars” don’t see your light shining? It is their loss & I know that one day you will find a wife with a beautiful heart just like yours & become a wonderful & caring father. Always stay as undemanding as you are – that way any blessings you receive will fill you with the same joy they do now. Just be a good boy & keep that soft heart! Your time to shine is still to come & I have every confidence in you & your amazing creative & mathematical abilities. You are a genius waiting to be discovered – just keep on thinking outside the box!


Cam – Remember you are the coolest little girl on earth & big things await you. Your beauty is phenomenal & it will take you far,but remember that it’s the heart that counts & true happiness comes from within. Be bold & have faith in yourself & God. You don’t need to be good at everything, just be excellent at what you do well. I am so proud that you are the best reader in the family & I love that you immerse yourself in “Princess Poppy” books almost daily & prefer to spend money on them rather than anything else. Whatever you become remember that you are loved, cherished, adored by all your family & that you have brought me more joy than I can even try to explain. Never cease to find wonder in the simple things like your love of swimming & the beach. Be good for Chel - listen to her & don’t be lazy!


I journaled my thoughts for each person, imagining that if I died this is what I'd like them each to know, then lo & behold I nearly DID die this week. I came seconds away from a terrible {& I'm sure it would have been fatal} car accident this week. I nearly wrote myself, Chelsea & Jack off on Umngeni Road one evening returning from a sporting fixture. My "near accident" involved a taxi {commuter mini-bus} that would have ploughed directly into my side of the car, that was traveling, as they do, at a speed too fast for safety. It was as close to a head-on collision as I have ever come. And IT WAS MY FAULT...I was on my cell phone...something I have done for years & will never do again.


So that's some food for thought for you...maybe it's time you also did a layout expressing your desires for your loved ones?



9 comments:

Helena said...

BEautiful layout and beautiful journaling and after having read the END of your post I'm having goose bumps all over! !!!! That was a close call. We tend to forget that EVERYTHING can change in a matter of seconds.
Mighty glad you're still around :)))))))))

Here's the link to Tim's tutorial on his blog. It's very clear and explicative with a lot of photos. I use a different flower stamp (Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 stamp) which is a little bit smaller and it seems that the petals might be slightly rounder because my roses turn out a little bit rounder or softer than those of Tim's. Any 6 petal flower stamp would do. Have fun!!!

Helena said...

Maybe I should add the link to Tim's tutorial:
http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/12-tags-of-christmasday-12.html

Jenny in Durbs said...

Lovely & thought provoking Helen. Loved your house pics too its beautiful fro your last post. I DETEST people using the phone and driving its my pet hate as it endangers you and others....hopefully you have really learned this as its so senseless.

Diana said...

You changed your blog header again!
I love the layout--the bright colours, the loads of journaling.
And wow, that was a wake up call, eh? No pun intended.

topkatnz said...

It has just become illegal to use cell-phones in cars here - I'm very glad you are still here to write this post! Great LO.

Michelle Ramsay said...

Very moving journaling. It is beautiful. Glad you are okay.

tania said...

hi helen, shweee, you gave me a rattle!!
hope you are all fine now, sure you had some aftershock?? thanks got my kit, lovely once again.i also have that cheapie chipboard set, like it very much.have a nice day!:)oh,btw, how is mercy doing??

Jessy Christopher said...

Helen, u write beautiful journaling & I can see so much love poured in the journaling. I wish I can write do well like you. Your layout is always so beautiful!! U have a good week.

Ella Swan said...

Thanks everyone! Will look into all those links Helena - thank you!! Yes I'm changing my blog header every month now - it's so easy as I just find images on the internet - nothing fancy - so I figured I'd keep changing things up a bit for interest...I think using cellphones when driving mayh be illegal here too, not sure, as almost everyone does it! Sure have learnt my lesson though ;-D Just busy on another layout now with loads of journaling too...{looks like my new trend for 2010!}