The Anatomy of a Cry

Middle-child syndrome anyone? My daughter, Sarah, sandwiched between the acknowledged leader Kuya Diego and the feisty "can-do" Kahlo is quite the sensitive child. She cries at the least provocation and at the most unexpected times. One minute we would all be laughing and the next Sarah would be crying her little heart out. She bawls if she is hurt - real or imagined. And she doesn't just cry, she wails. I try to be patient but many times it just drives me insane.

One time I took photos of her (which just made her cry more) so I can show her what she looks like when she cries. It didn't help. But I thought the photos would make a good LO. The title and journaling had been brewing in my mind since last year and yesterday, I finally scrapped those photos.

I used a Becky Fleck Page Map, which made it easy, and I was in the company of good friends, which made it fun. So here it is, the LO from our Holy Crop Thursday.


Materials Used: Basic Grey Aged & Confused Sublime Colletion - Confused and Cinnamon Stripe; black DCWV CS; orange Fabriano CS (Au's scrap); green DMC embroidery thread; black and white ribbon (courtesy of Nita); Making Memories Magnetic Stamps; Mini Pop-Up Dots; metal heart-shaped tag.

Journaling Reads:
muscle-clenching
eye-popping
heart-stopping
ear-piercing
gut-wrenching
head-splitting
nerve-wracking

The Process: I used the BG papers because it reflected the color orange in my photos, and I liked the word CONFUSED in the pattern. I immediately cut the paper, otherwise I would have wasted time moving things around and second-guessing myself. I tried to borrow zig-zag scissors from Au but she suggested that I stitch instead of cut. So she lent me her thread and needle, and using the Simply Scrappy stitch guide, I started stitching. Four holes in and I started to remember that I hate sewing as much as cooking! I was never good in the so-called Home Economics classes. I spent alot of time in the sewing so there was no time for other LOs. My fellow scrappers got an earful of complaints while I hemmed and hawed. Hahaha.

I used Symbelly's Big Shot to cut the Cherish and Round-a-Bout alpha dies. Wow! That was quick and fast. (I wish my Sizzix orders would arrive soon...) Nita shared her ribbon and it was the perfect finishing touch. She even knotted it for me. I was all done except for the journaling. Au suggested we use her Making Memories Magnetic Stamps. So she demo-ed the product to me and Mai, and actually ended stamping all the words herself. Thanks, Au! If it's any consolation, expect orders for those stamps from me and Mai soon. They're really very versatile. A fortuitous thing - Au initially stamped heart-stopping using q's, not p's. So to cover the mistake, we stamped the word on another CS. We did the same to three more words, and it actually added dimension to the LO. All's well, that ends well.

When I got home, I showed the LO to Sarah, and as expected, she cried.