Unconditional Love

I did this page Saturday about my Grandma and Uncle Richard. They share such an unconditional love as mother and son that it is just precious. You see, my uncle has Down Syndrome and has always needed her for most everything. She still lovingly tends to his needs daily. They are such buddies. Once my Grandpa died, Richard changed a lot and deals with anxiety and a child-like regression as he ages. He will be 50 on August 1st and Grandma will be 88 in September! Wow! I just loved this picture of them and wanted to really create a pretty page to remember this moment at Julie's rehearsal this past June. *click on the pic for a closer look*

Without a doubt, I knew this was the perfect title. I used the Making Memories tiny letter stickers. They were already a tan color, but I rubbed some creamy brown chalk ink over them to age them a bit. My mom literally gave me the eyelet ribbon as I was creating this page and it adds a perfect detail I think. Thanks, Mom! You can barely see it, but there is a transparency frame overlay on the photo. That was my third "red" thing on the page....Grandma's jacket, the red flower and finally the transparency. I try to do the "in threes" rule sometimes.

I used a "naked" chipboard flourish for the stem and just rubbed some chalk ink on it to define the swirls. The smallest flower has a unique print on it. I grabbed it at my local scrapbook store and am happy it added another "old-feeling" touch to this page. I think I am going to go back and rub some brown ink on the red flower petals to tone it down a bit. In these pics it seems overpowering, but the page really is prettier in person.

Ok, now I have to tell you about one of my fav things to make/bring to family get-togethers....my chopped salad. I don't know how I got started on this, but everyone likes it and it makes me happy to prepare it for them. I make a general garden salad loaded with whatever veggies, but the secret is to chop everything into bite-sized pieces. Yum!

My mouth just watered after I chopped the tomato, celery and cucumber Sunday afternoon. Doesn't that just scream summer to you? OH, my! Love chopped salad! I vary the mix, but the one I made Sunday contained iceberg lettuce, tomato, celery, cucumber, shredded cheddar, parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds, salty and sante fe tortilla strips, croutons, and onion. Whew! Add a dab of dressing and let the party in your mouth begin!!!!!

I have other projects to show this week, but I am also in the process of purging my entire scrapbooking area to prepare for this weekend's garage sale at my mom's. I am cleaning this place out! I am just overwhelmed with goodies and can't wait for some cash in hand. I will then be taking what doesn't sell to the local scrapbook store's garage sale where I will earn store credit from my goodies sold. I price it however I want, they display and sell it for me, then I'll be a happy shopper soon! Win win, I say! So....what I meant to get out was that I'll try to be good about posting regularly this week. If not, you'll know I've suffocated on paper dust and glitter. Ugh. LOL! I already about fainted when I found a dead spider in my one drawer! I do NOT like critters!