Safe Harbor {CSI Case File No. 10}

Before I share the current Case File and my layout, I just wanted to remind any readers of my blog that we're having a design team call at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

You can read all about the details here.

We have a dramatic image inspiring our Case File and colors this week:

I wanted to do something dramatic (for me) with my layout this week, and here's what I came up with:

Clues I used:
Evidence: cloud accents, fabric, metal, create light and shadow, use contrasting textures.
Testimony: story about mother hood, compare/contrast people, shed light, and all three inspiration words.

My background paper is BasicGrey, from one of their original collections. The lighthouse came from a Webster's Page paper from their Yacht Club collection. There was a sailboat in front of the lighthouse that I had to cut out because it had happy words celebrating summer which didnt' go with my story. So I had a big gap where I had cut it off and scratched my head trying to figure out how to hide it. I was so happy to find a paper by Little Yellow Bicycle that had a sailboat I could use to do the trick. The seagull and sand dollar stickers are by October Afternoon. I used Distress Stickles to outline the sand dollars because I thought they have a rough, sandy texture.

I had been admiring how Brit Sviggum, who's on my design team, was using cheesecloth on her layouts and decided to give it a try. It was tricky trying to get just the right green, and it wasn't perfect but I managed to get it pretty close to the green in the palette. I first rubbed green distress ink on it, but it was not the right shade, so I tried putting the cheesecloth in a plastic bag, adding a couple of different spray ink, and smushing it around in the bag, and this is what I came up with. I also added a hand-stitched circle, which is something I rarely do--I generally use my sewing machine. The letters are old Heidi Swapp chipboard and old BasicGrey letters that perfectly match the colors.

I was using a sketch from the Creative Scrappers e-book, Creating With Sketches, which is a FANTASTIC book (I used the sketch on the bottom of page 24), and I knew I wouldn't have enough space on my 8 x 8 page to tell my story, so I added hidden journaling on the back, and let the reader know in the bottom corner to turn the page over. The "tell your story" bit is a piece trimmed off of a Webster's Page letter sticker sheet.

My hidden journaling reads:  Throughout the tumult and turmoil of my childhood, Gram was always our safe harbor. She was the solid rock that gave us refuge and protection from the storms of Mom's turbulent marriage to Jose. When the conditions of our defective family  turned stormy, we'd head to the calm and stability of Gram's safe haven. She was always there to welcome us with open arms. Countless times we'd pile into the car in the black of night to head to the light and calm of Gram's home. Three times we moved to Bolivia, and thankfully three times Gram brought us back. More than a dozen years we endured unhappiness and fighting and alienation and abuse but always we knew we could flee and return to Gram's safe harbor. In the midst of the turmoil and sadness, there was always that light of hope that one day, it would all be over.  

In the end, I was lucky enough to provide safe harbor for Mom when finally she left the source of her misery for good. After she came to see with clear eyes the evil he was, Mom stayed with Farzad and me until she could get on her feet. And I am so proud that she finally left him and worked hard to turn her life to light and happiness. Mom is now a rock of stability in our family. And now, in the gentle storms Gram's aging, Mom is Gram's safe harbor. It's not always easy for Mom to have Gram living with her and Ed, but Mom has always had a loving and generous spirit, and Gram is so lucky to have Mom to protect her. It warms my heart to belong to a family where we will always be there for each other no matter what storms may blow in.

The clouds were trimmed from a We R Memory Keepers paper. I outlined them with a very fine pen and added some Stickles. That compass came from the same Little Yellow Bicycle paper as the boat, and I just added a brad to the center. That pink was very hard to find in my stash, but I found the perfect match (even though the photo doesn't show it's a perfect match) in an old SEI Penelope's Potpourri paper, and as a bonus, it was velvet, to go with the fabric clue of the challenge.

Our Detectives, once again, did a phenomanl job with this Case File, and our members are already adding gorgeous work to the gallery for this challenge, so I hope you'll come check out what we made! And you will definitely want to play for a chance to win a prize from our sponsor, Words or Whatever, or if you're interested in applying for the design team.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading about my page today!