Role Model {CSI Case File No. 21}

We have our last Case File open for Gifts of the Garden Month at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

Michele created a fabulous set of printables for us again this week. I especially love the elements for the two perspectives journaling (e.g., he said/she said).

I wanted to do the two-perspective thing, but wound up deciding to scrap this photo of my mom and me, which went with the colors well. I desaturated the photo. (I digitally added a black frame around the layout so the edges of my layout wouldn't disappear.)

Clues I used to solve this Case File...Evidence: doilies, flowers, lacy borders, layers, stripes, icing, fabric; Testimony: Journal about a relationship.

I found this quote and decided I would journal on the back. In case you can't read the quote, it says: "And mothers are their daughters' role model, their biological and emotional road map."  Here's what my journaling says:

Mom, you are my role model. I can only wish to be as good and kind and generous and smart as you are. You are all the things I wish I could be...strong and wise and generous and funny. You have the biggest heart. You are charismatic and people instantly love you. 

Is it true that you are my road map? I hope I can reach the destination that is you. Emotionally, we are so different, I think. I am overly sensitive and wear my heart on my sleeve, where you hold all your troubles inside--to protect others, I believe. I'm a total mush-ball, and you are strong. 

Biologically, my road map matches yours for sure. I've inherited so much from you--your chubby gene, your teeth, your feet, your hot flashes. But you've also given me the good part of your biological road map--everyone says I look like you, which makes me happy. And we age pretty well, don't we? (I just wish you had given me your legs.)

I love you, Mom. I hope to keep traveling that road map so that I can be as good a person as you are.

Here are a few details. This flower is a silk flower from the craft store and matches the cranberry pretty well, even though it looks more red in the photo. The green in the palette was a little tricky, but I found a DCWV paper with these leaves that was pretty close. I added some gauze under the flower, which is kind of like fabric, right? I chose fabric-covered brads as part of my evidence. I love these pretty K&Co. fabric brads.

This heart came from a really old Cristine Adolph paper by Creative Imaginations. I thought the gilding was sort of like icing.

This border is a die-cut  by Cheery Lynn Designs. The little flag that says "and then she said" is from the CSI Coordinates. I often have to hide my story because I scrap 8 x 8 and it's hard to fit it all if I do any lengthy journaling.  My pages aren't in albums. I'm in search of some boxes that will accommodate my 8 x 8 apges, so if you know of any, please let me know! I like to be able to pick up individual layouts and see and touch all the little bits, you know?

The pretty green quatrefoil patterned paper is in the CSI Coordinates. The gray paper I used is by Teresa Collins and the other papers are by BasicGrey, from the old Perhaps collection. The doily die-cut is also by Cheery Lynn.

Please come by and see the beautiful work by the CSI Detectives and all of our guest designers. And you'll definitely want to play this week if you haven't yet played in May because this gorgeous kit from C'est Magnifique, our May sponsor, is up for grabs:

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