Behind the Art with Felecia

Brave - what is brave?  What do we do that could be classified as brave and courageous.

To me, choosing to raise another human being is brave thing...small people...huge responsibility.

In all honestly, choosing NOT to raise another human being is just as brave, but for completely different reasons.

For my life, my husband and I chose to raise not just one, but two human beings. As luck or fate or blessings...or God's very wry sense of humor...would have it, they are both male.

If you have boy children in your life...or have ever been someplace where they are allowed to be themselves...you will note that it is a chaotic, energy-filled experience filled with baffling things like the love of bodily noises (mine seemed to be born thinking they were funny) and baseball hats.

My first project for the Brave Kit was to document this crazy beautiful choice and what it means to my life now.

I used two photos that are far from perfect, blurry and in motion, but well show my smiley little men. I also chose to distress the edges of all my pieces, cross the pieces in a somewhat haphazard way, scatter my embellishments across the layout (kind of the same way I find things scattered all over my floor!)

The final embellie I chose was the "you amaze me" button...partly because THEY amaze me and the experience of raising them amazes me.  But also because I amaze me...mothering them is the toughest job I have and the most rewarding. It carries with it my biggest challenges and more love than I ever imagined! Its hugely risky - more risk that I would normally take - and full to overflowing with joy and laughter.

For me, definitely a very BRAVE choice.

Behind the Art with Jen

Jen here with one of my December pages using the "Authentic" kit!  When I thought about the word "authentic", I had to think of this photo of me reflected in the window of a building from the early 1900's.  There is a historic collection of buildings in Hamilton, NY that I visit each year while at a scrapbooking crop at White Eagle Conference Center.  It's sad and gorgeous all at once.  The buildings have been moved here and they are arranged in a town-like setting.  It's like a piece of history that has been abandoned. Remnants of life is still present... curtains, wallpaper, kitchen items, toilets, carved initials and other items left in the buildings. It like when our bodies become older with all their cracks and chipped paint but with traces of our lives left behind.

 The word authentic means: true to one's personality, spirit, or character.   I think that is why I love old buildings ... they still have their character and personality even when restored they hold all the charm they held so many years ago (unless the restoration was more like a renovation).

 I used some watered down Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos on a craft mat and pressed the woodgrain cardstock into the puddles for a background.    The pen was used on the mat too with water added and flicked on the page for droplets.

 I think we are a lot like buildings who age.. maybe we should look past the cracked paint and see the story of the life lived and character of the person within.  Judging something based on how we look is deceiving. I try to be as authentic as possible but it's strange to see changes in my looks as I age and each line tells a story in my journey of life. 

 What does your facade say about you?  What stories do hold within?