Eyes of War

Nothing moves me the way ANZAC Day does. The dawn service commemmorating the doomed beach landing at Gallipoli, the prayers and hymns, the riderless horse, the solemn parade of service men and women. The stories of loss, of sacrifice, of honour, of travesty. The horrors of war combine with the poignant resolve of human spirit and always the tears come.

Tears for the lost. Tears for the families. Tears for the human condition that cannot solve disputes without bloodshed.

I brought our firstborn baby home from hospital as the Gulf War erupted. As I sat before the news reports and nursed him, I couldn't help but pray that he had been born for something more than to be cannon fodder. Behind every set of soldier's eyes are the eyes of loved ones - hearts that break and pray and worry. Through those war weary eyes are also stories too profound to tell and too haunting to recall.



The eyes featured here belong to an unknown WW1 Australian soldier. I found his portrait on the Australian War Memorial website. Always a worthwhile site to visit. If you are not familiar with ANZAC Day I encourage you to have a closer look here and learn of the events that many believe gave 'birth' to the Australian nation.

My mother's second husband served in the Korean conflict. He did not like the TV show M*A*S*H at all, and does not speak of his experiences. When he and my mom visited us in Canberra in 1994, I urged him to visit the Australian War Memorial. He was reluctant, but went. To this day he continues to rave about how it moved him. It is not a place that glorifies war. It does not try to instil a form of patriotism. It simply honours the soldiers by telling their stories and helps us to understand their experience. I think it is fitting that the Prime Minister's office is situated so that the view from the office window is that of the War Memorial. The AWM is worth a trip to Canberra all on its own.



The walkways pictured above (which lead to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) are paneled with the names of fallen soldiers and peppered with red poppies of remembrance. An interactive display like none other. May the names reduce in numbers in future years.

Layout product info:
Background paper and tire tracks: Fishbowl Designs 'Eco Earth'
Overlay & photo frames: Creative Memories freebies

Words of Wisdom

Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

Jeremiah 18:3,4

Gratitude is the Memory of the Heart

I am dancing with excitement that I was invited this week to join the Creative Teams of two of my favourite designers: Janet Carr's Little Feet Digital Designs and Macy Goode Designs! A relentless migraine and other challenges couldn't even spoil it - keeping me in the clouds all week long! I look forward to showcasing their beautiful kits on my layouts posted here, along with the pages I also create for Anne Quade at Fishbowl Designs. From a design perspective life is good ... very good!

But it's been one of those weeks with just enough worry to keep me on my toes, just enough challenge to keep me learning, and just enough fun to keep me smiling. OK, I am trying to be positive. While it wasn't a horrible week, it was more challenging than I found comfortable. I got through it, though, and some fun memories helped.



This week launched with a play with Anne's fun Just Greens bundle as I completed a more recent page for the 2010 family album and reflected on how much joy our little dog has added to our home.






When I saw Macy Goode's newest kit, Hoo Loves You?, with her cute little owls and alpha set, this layout immediately sprang to mind. It was a joy to work on a page that brought back happy and silly memories.







In a completely different way, as I started to use Janet Carr and Macy Goode's sweet collaborative freebie mini kit, available from Janet and Macy's blogs, I began walking down a different memory pathway of finding beauty in unexpected places.


Each memory added value to my week and tempered the difficulties I faced. Both made me thankful for my blessings as each layout became reminders of good days, good times, good family and friends, and good thoughts of our good God. No wonder so many say that scrapbooking is good therapy!

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart" said Jean Baptiste Massiu. I couldn't agree more.

Need More White Space?

Take a deep breath. Ahhh! Feels good, doesn't it! In layout design, as in life, one of the essential elements for balance is the use of white space.

'White' in the design sense is the area left empty of text or graphics. This space is necessary to allow your work to 'breathe'. When a layout is too full it can suffocate much like cramming into a phone booth with a bunch of friends. It may seem like fun at the time, but it isn't a place you'd want to linger in for long!

I know it can be difficult to choose what embellishment to use, what typeface font to employ and how many photos to display. And then after those choices are made, arranging them so that they look pleasing is just as challenging. One trick is to be sure the layouts have some balance with your use of white space. Look at your layout and ask yourself:

1. Where does my eye go first?
2. Does it move around the page?
3. If not, where does it get stuck?

Ideally, your eye should notice everything on the page - but not at once! You will need to decide a hierarchy. What is the main drawing point (what will bring interest to your page - the title, the photos, the colours, the embellishments?). Then arrange and size the elements accordingly until your eye flows easily (like effortless breathing) around the page...lingering the most on the most important things in your design.

Here are some pages I created with Janet Carr's bright pastel colors and strong graphics in her "The Bunny Trail" kit. (These layouts fell together so quickly - it is a delightful kit!) Hopefully you will see that the white space (empty space) in these layouts allow for balance and movement.




Of course the more information your layouts include the trickier this is, so here is a 2page spread I did using the bold colors and patterns of Anne Quade's "Daffodil Dreams" kit from Fishbowl Designs. I hope you can see how the white space not only frames the page but allows movement between the pages. Of course there are other design elements at play, but the white space (especially the margins) helps to keep what could have been a very busy layout more inviting. Or at least that what I hoped to accomplish here! :)



In a similar way, I am realising that my life needs more white space, too! It's too easy to add and add and add. It isn't always tangible 'stuff' either. Some of it is emotional stress stuff. Some is just busyness. So, in addition to scrapping for fun (my last post) I am starting to cut loose from some of the things that have filled my heart and mind too much and have strangled some of the joy.

Like in a layout, it isn't just about emptying, purging, tossing out (although it may involve some of that). It is about adding room so that the chosen elements of life can be arranged and sized to to work together ... making room to breathe.

White space isn't as empty as we might think ... maybe it is where the real creativity happens! Creative White Space - I want more of that.

Redefining Rainbows and Reflections

Autumn is arriving in Australia - a naturally reflective time of year. As I watched the first leaves fall from our trees last week and the colours change around town it is easy to begin to wonder what in life is truly lasting.

Perhaps one of the attractions to scrapbooking is the notion that we are creating something that will outlive us. Not in the same way as a sculpture or a major scientific discovery, but more on track with the concept of family. As we raise children we hope that something of value is instilled from us to them, extending our influence beyond our years. In a way, at its most noble, a scrapbook attempts to capture some of that essence of what we believe valuable and worth remembering. Whether frivolous or deeply insightful, we record what we want to remember and pass on.

At my workshop this past weekend, though, we were stunned by a different perspective. As we were chatting casually about why we make albums, Karen stated quite firmly that she makes them for herself and if her children value them then that is an added bonus. She continued to challenge us with her thoughts and I had to admit that it is easy to take this wonderful hobby and make it into more than it should be. To make it into an obsession or a burden that can interfere with the very celebration of life that we are trying to capture.

That night my son and I watched the movie Julie and Julia on dvd, and once again I was struck by this notion of how a good dream can become an obsessive and destructive force if not kept in check. When Julie realises that she had replaced her joy of cooking with an obsessive (and potentially destructive) need to make it her reason to live I got it. I really got it.



So how do we keep a balance? That would have to be a very personal answer for each of us based on all the minute details that make each of our lives unique. For me, though, it will have to begin with a few well defined goals and some well defined time slots to achieve them which is quite separate from the life I am living.

The kids will not be home with us much longer and I do worry that I have let too many years slip past as I have focussed on other things. This is not to say that children should be the only focus of a mother's life (that is yet another topic). However, as it relates to this hobby/obsession of scrapping, I will try to take on more of Karen's attitude of doing it for myself - for the pleasure of it - not out of obligation or guilt.



Now, here is the eye candy for this post. I created this layout in response to a Facebook challenge in the Creative Memories Go Digital group just because I wanted to 'play'. It is a photo that I just LOVE! It was taken as we were ducking back into the car during a beach holiday that didn't give us as much sunshine as we had hoped for. I had been testing the boys' patience that day with the camera - taking candids and making them pose more than they wanted. How embarrassing can a mother of teenaged boys be! Well, I couldn't resist teasing my son through the window of the car with the camera and then I noticed the wonderful overlay of reflections on the car window as the raindrops began to fall. My son looked up just as I snapped it. I believe his look is actually one of exasperation, but somehow the photo has a dreamy quality which suited the message I wanted to convey.

A message of the joy of riding rainbows rather than obsessively searching for a pot of gold at the journey's end.

So as April rolls in here in Australia and we welcome the reflective time of Autumn as well as the renewal themes of the Ressurection, I find myself redefining the rainbows I want to ride.

Words of Faith

Faith is courage; it is creative while despair is always destructive.
David S. Muzzey