1st and Last {CSI Case File No. 50}

We have a lovely monochromatic palette in our Case File this week at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration.

I was trying to wait for appropriate weather to retake the photo of my layout, but that never happened, so that's why I'm sharing this so late. I REALLY need to figure out a way to take good pictures indoors. Anyone who has any tips on this--please let me know!

So here's my page. This is my sweet little cat Maggie who died last month. She loved Christmas trees. She never bothered the ornaments--just liked to lay underneath the tree nestled among the presents. Last Christmas, we had just moved and we weren't up to putting up a tree. Farzad found this cheesy little tree and bought it as a joke. Well, Maggie of course found it. It was her first and last Christmas at our new house. :(

Clues I used to solve the case: Evidence: ribbon, wood, fabric, something that melts, transparent element. stitching, stripes (sort of), metal, shiny/shimmery things. Testimony: I documented a holiday tradition.

Here are a few details. Just about everything on this page is really old. Those letter stickers are by Foofala--the package was labeled 2004. I chose the corrugated ampersand because it was sort of striped. I added the little punched heart and pearl at the last minute. My journaling reads: It was Maggie's first and last Christmas in our new house. Maggie-Doo always loved to get under the tree and nestle amongst the presents. That Christmas, there was no tree since we had just moved, but Farzad bought this ugly, cheesy little silver tree, which I dubbed the "Toilet Brush Tree." Maggie found it right away and snuggled up beside it anyway. Sweet Maggie. I will forever remember you under the Christmas tree. {December 2011}

I made my layout before I received the CSI Coordinates, but when I saw these two quotes, I thought they were perfect for my page. The Doodlebug brads are glittery. That transparent element on my page is by Glitz, and the designs are a shiny silver. That snowflake paper is ANCIENT, and so is the embossed textured paper. I added silver embossing powder to the edges.

The one new thing on my page--the little wooden Studio Calico speech bubble was perfect for this page. I added a Jolee's snowflake sticker to the top of my tree. The brown polka dot paper is by My Mind's Eye.

As I was looking for something fabric, I came across this mesh that sort of looks like it has snow on it. I thought mesh is sort of like fabric. The checkered paper is by Fancy Pants.

I've had these laser-cut snowflakes in my stash for about a decade. I never liked them because they had the burn marks from the lase, but I thought the touches of brown looked okay with this palette, so I was happy to finally use them. 

We have amazing layouts, as always, by the design team and guest designers, so come by and take a peek, and I hope you'll play with us! This month, Noel Mignon is our sponsor, and one of their awesome, jam-packed kits is up for grabs!

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