that time should be
So rich yet fugitive a pageantry.

forsake it then and with us fly
Into the past where nothing now can die:
Where even the young and lovely, old and staid
Live on unchanged - of purest fantasy made.

Prologue - W. de la Mare

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Scrap Around The World September Challenge 2013

I am joining in this month at the Scrap Around The World Challenge site. The moodboard this month is dramatic, bold, and quite open to various interpretation!





Here is the moodboard for this month's challenge!


The moodboard seems to me to be all about feelings and emotions. I was inspired by the more somber aspects of the board - the image in the lower left with all of the thoughts radiating from the head, and the image of the face in the lower right, that look! I thought of my Grandmother, and her usually sad face.......


                                   
                                                              "Tesknota"  -  (Melancholy)

Here is my layout. My Grandmother, the photograph taken about 1935. The photo captures her sad face perfectly. She seldom smiled, and always had a handkerchief in her hand to wipe away the tears that seemed to fall on a regular basis. She exuded a certain melancholy - "tesknota" - a specific kind of Polish melancholy which for an outsider is hard to understand. It roughly translates as a nostalgic yearning or longing with tonalities of sadness, precipitated by a "forever parting", in which life figures as a river of pain and suffering.

My Grandmother was an immigrant from Poland, she was never really "happy" here in America. Here life was difficult and she never overcame the social, cultural and language barriers.

I hoped to create a layout which presents this sort of particular feeling of sadness. I wanted the page to be "moody", using the monochromatic palette with subdued "sad" purple/blue colors, along with black. I added some personal objects in the form of two medallions taken from old Polish rosary beads. One is of "Our Lady of Czestochowa", a special image beloved by Poles. A framed image hung on the wall in my Grandma's bedroom. I used two old keys that belonged to my Grandma, and also two vintage "jet" buttons. In keeping with the inspiration from the image of the head with radiating thoughts (on the moodboard), I used mists, inks and torn papers, but in a "downward" pattern, as down always seems to signify sadness. There are also tear drops falling on the lower part of the page, but they are difficult to see in this photograph.







Friday, June 21, 2013

Scrap Around The World June Challenge

I am joining in this month's challenge at the Scrap Around The World site. Here is the challenge mood board, used for inspiration.......




I was inspired by the images in the upper left and the lower right. I loved the worn, soft brownish/golden tones of the old suitcases, books, cameras and the grasses. I thought of a sweet little photo of my Mother that was taken when she went to school. It is the earliest photograph I have of her. And she is giving a hesitant, yet dear little smile for the camera!




Roughly based on the sketch, I put my Mom's little photo over to the right. Substituted the clock and the drips, and the berry vine for the banners. Then along the bottom of my page I added elements that had special meaning to my Mother's life when she was a little girl. I also added some mementos, the little tag with the basket was actually made by my Mother. She made the most incredible dried floral arrangements on paper. And she grew and pressed her own herbs and flowers. On this adorable little tag you can see the tiny little johnny jump ups that she featured in the center of her basket, and on the handle. The body of the basket was made out of little bits of herbs, and decorated with tiny vetch swirls. There is also a little basket made out of an apricot pit! This was made by my Dad, it was something he learned to do when he was in WW2 over in Europe!

When Mom was a little girl, she was always outside in the fields, meadows and woods that surrounded her home. Gathering berries, fruits, mushrooms, flowers and all manner of wild things, was a very big part of her life. She went with her immigrant Mother often to collect things for the family use. And they always used baskets to collect their treasure. Thus the many baskets on this page. Mom also was an avid recorder of the natural world, she sketched and drew and observed all manner of wild things, loving especially birds and wildflowers. Looking back on her early years, she always recalled with great fondness how lovely and simple and poetic life was back then. (1920's)
So I incorporated the torn poetry scrap as part of the title, and then added the "my childhood" pieces. This page, filled with wildflowers, grasses, and other objects from the natural world, reflects the innocence and wonder of a childhood unfettered by modern technology. It is my way of honoring her youth.


A closeup of the upper right corner.







And the lower left corner.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

OUAS May Entry Challenge


                                                          GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES

This is my entry for the May challenge, which requires a visible number on the layout. I based my page upon the sketch, but decided to use only one photograph.

The photograph is of my Mother, on her First Communion Day, in 1929. As I do not actually know the exact date, I am only able to use the year it took place.

If one pulls on the tiny chain attached to the little cross in the upper left, the full journaling will be revealed. The chain and cross belonged to my Mom.

Journaling reads: " How special this day must have been for you!! Every little girl dreams of wearing a beautiful white dress, feeling like a little princess! Although I am sure the dress was a 'hand me down' from your older sisters, it did not matter, you were still the most lovely girl, so poised and elegant looking, even at the tender age of 8!! "

May CSI entry, such a beautiful Spring palette!!

Norah Through The Appleblossoms #70

INorah Through The Appleblossoms  #70
#70, used all colors
Evidence: flowers, wood, something woven, circles, distressing
Testimony: Documented Spring with the poem excerpt on the page. Then I chose to use the "roll-role-the roles you play" prompt. With this I've written about the role of women in the garden throughout time, and then about my role as a gardener. I wrote my words on the little "sc-rolls" and tucked them into the little basket.

The photo shows my garden "mascot" Norah, named after an inspirational woman gardener. Photo shows her through the frame of the blossoming apple trees.

Testimony: "Throughout the ages, gardening has always been an accepted form of self expression for women. From the humblest cottage gardens to the grandest estates of splendor, women have left their mark!
Oftentimes, the garden offered the only delight in the lives of hardworking poor women. And conversely offered solitude and peace to the ladies of the upper classes. Gardens fed the soul.
Over the years, many women recorded, painted, designed,stitched, and wrote about their private paradise. So many remain unknown to us. And then there are the more famous women who courageously established their place and made a name and a career for themselves. The greats such as Gertrude Jekyll, the illusive Norah Lindsay, the bold and quirky Vita Sackville-West, the sweet and earthy Elizabeth Lawrence, the refined Edith Wharton, and many, many more, still inspire and instruct.
My role as a gardener began at a very young age, poking around in the dirt as a child! When I finally had a piece of land to call my own, the real work began! I read as much as I could, learning about plant lore, design, soil and site conditions, organic methods,etc.,....so much to learn. I drew inspiration from the greats as well as the humble. I dug, planted, hauled barrows of manure, built walls, carved out paths...learning as I went along, editing as needed, always learning from my mistakes, there were plenty of those! To use the words of Miss Jekyll - " a garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness, it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust."
So I am the gardener, I have the calluses, the broken fingernails and cranky knees to prove it. But I am also the recipient of much delight, and every year when the fresh and lovely Spring makes its eternal reappearance, I feel blessed beyond measure."

CSI Week Three, April Special Investigator

Organic Girl   #68

Organic Girl
CSI #68
Used all five colors
Evidence: clouds, polka dots,stripes (last paper layer),flowers, owl
Testimony: Wrote 3 important things and 5 less important things about my subject in the scalloped journal spot, which are the clouds in the upper right.

The layout shows my oldest daughter so many years ago, more than I care to remember, oh dear!!! The photos are not the best quality, they were taken before digital cameras etc., probably with an old Kodak Brownie or something like that. But I love them because they show her spirit and personality so very well!!
She looks like part of the landscape, like she is growing out of the grasses, and that's why I named this page "Organic Girl."

"Brave
Smart
Strong willed
Wise
Free Spirit
Out Spoken
Strong
Sassy
and for good measure:
Red Curls
Too Cute
That's my organic girl!!!!!"

Lots of molding paste on this page, inking, fussy cutting and some dried items from my garden.

Guest Investigator CSI April, week two

Grandmother's Box   #67

Grandmother's Box   #67
Used all five colors
Evidence: stars, bird, lots of fussy cutting
Testimony: I hand wrote a question on the front of the layout, in which I used the inspiration word, chaos. In the full journaling I asked a series of questions. (on opposite page of layout in book)

This is a layout about my Grandmother's box, and it is also a layout about her life.

When I saw the inspiration picture, all I could think of was the story of "Pandora's Box", all those elements flying out of it. Then I thought of my Grandmother's box, which is now mine. And this is how this layout was born. And also how the story of Pandora's Box translates to her (my Grandmother's) story.

My journaling as a series of questions:

- Amidst the chaos did hope remain?

- What caused you to run away from the safety of your older sister's lodgings?

- Why did you reject the job she arranged for you?

- Where did you run to?

- Were you dreadfully unhappy?

- Were you impetuous?

- Were you just plain stubborn??

- What kind of courage did you possess after you unleashed the "evils" of the world upon yourself???

- Did HOPE remain strong in your soul????

CSI Guest Special Investigator, Week One for the month of April

Two Jokers 1947 #66

Two Jokers  1947   #66
I have used all five colors
Evidence: buttons, arrows, something fuzzy (flocked paper), ribbon, hearts (large metal heart), holes (washers)
Testimony: A layout about my parents on their honeymoon in Williamsburg, Virginia, 1947.
I have handwritten the journaling as a postcard. This is on the back of the actual postcard seen on the left side of the layout, the postcard can be slipped out by pulling on the attached string, (which is not visible in the photo). I wrote something funny as I imagined my Mom might have written it, (she was a very good writer). I used the inspiration word point.

"Hello Everyone! Well here we are, and wouldn't you know it, married life is not what it's cracked up to be!!! Case in point: we got hitched and look what happened, we were immediately thrown into the stocks!!! Marriage has made us laughingstocks, bound and jailed for the rest of our days!! Why didn't anyone tell us this???!! Sue & Ernie
p.s. just kidding, loving every minute!!!!"

The photo is actually 2 separate photos pieced together. I used a lot of personal items on this page. The large tarnished heart is a bookmark that belonged to Mom. The silver button and the red small crystal buttons were hers. As well as the postcard, which came from her collection of old postcards. The joker card belonged to Dad, as did all of the many washers on the layout. The key and lock surround also belonged to him, and the watch face is set into an old watch back of his.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

True Confessions

I'll be the first to admit it, I'm the world's worst blogger!!!!

Oh, I had all these glorious ideas about how beautiful everything would look, how wonderful my writing would be. But my thoughts could not just jive with my actions - or is it the other way around??! Truth be told, I'm so technology challenged, that everything becomes overwhelming.

Now, if I would have the common sense and decency to post more often, I'd say that sooner or later (probably later), it would come together, be much easier. But I'd rather be digging in my garden or even (gasp) scrapping, than sitting at a computer struggling with cyber space!! So it all falls by the wayside.

And then, every so often when I decide to post - frustration sets in and I have to call in reinforcements. That would be my son, when he is willing. And I suffer severe embarrassment  when he says with disbelief in his voice "I just showed you how to do that last week!!" I wince, and say "well -  yes -  but - huh - I can't".......whilst looking frantically for the scattered notes on scraps of paper that are willy-nilly here and there, instead of being in that special little notebook specifically made for this purpose!!

Thus, you see this mess, a blog that wants to be spectacular and has big ideas, but no will power!!!!

So now I must get serious!! I must figure out how to get followers, I must post regularly. I must post close ups, as well as full layouts. I must explain a few things......because I am a Guest Special Investigator for the month of April at the challenge site CSI. And I am quaking in my boots, which are actually my socks and beat up old slippers. Here goes......wish me luck! All very well and good, because basically I'm talking to myself. Still no followers!! And well aware of that!

And my first post will come up in a couple of days!!!!!

River Reverie

River Reverie   #58

#58, Used all 5 colors, and my interpretation of the sketch.

Evidence: wood(buttons), twine, fabric(tulle & cheesecloth), jewels(crystals & antique glass beads), jagged edges, sheer(soft gel medium & tulle)

Testimony: I documented a getaway from the past by letting my thoughts wander back, used the inspiration words escape and reverie. Full journal is found by pulling out tag attached to twine at the top of the layout.

"Such a hot summer day! We longed for a cool place! We were visiting Grandma and Grandpa. We drove to the Old Mill in Arlington, and there we found our escape on the banks of the Battenkill River. Lovely cold water rushed and tumbled over smooth rock boulders, sending up spray everywhere!! There were shallow pools in the broad ledges, and we dangled our feet in the bracing water enjoying its' tonic effect. You were a bit shy of water at the time, being just 3 years old. Whilst your older sisters and brother splashed about in the riotous water, you remained apart, seemingly lost in reverie, quietly gazing off at the surrounding beauty....a most private child...."

Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not    #54

#54, used all 5 colors, sketch
. Evidence: punched circles, polka dots, text pattern, music pattern, tea cup accent.
 Testimony: journaling inspired by the quote by E. Roosevelt,used inspiration words, written on the page opposite the layout as this is going in my Grandmother's book.

"Today, Jan. 16, 2010 - After a long morning researching family history, you and I were feeling the need for a hot drink. Of course it had to be tea! And it had to be served in the precious teacups that once belonged to the woman whose life we had spent hours on trying to piece together. We cleared a space on our worktable for the tea things. It seemed necessary to place her old tea tin from Russia, that had miraculously survived through the years, next to the cups. You poured the tea. We looked at the tableau and quickly snapped photos as the steam rising from the cups was visible in the light from the window. We felt her "presence."
Today, Jan.16, 2013 - 3 years have gone by, so much learned, so much still unknown. My Grandmother truly was a strong woman. Dead infants, two husbands who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, language barriers, poverty, social stigma. Tested, she emerged from the "hot water" again and again, propelled by a strength I can barely comprehend."
The photos are of her teaset, which she purchased from a traveling peddler and paid 10 cents a week for. The set is painted with a lovely vine of pink roses, yellow daisies and blue forget me nots. And that is my Grandmother in 1937.

A Wartime Christmas Gift 1944

A Wartime Christmas Gift  1944   CSI #52
Case #52: All 5 colors

Evidence: string, paint, circles, kraft paper, newsprint paper, tag, burlap, numbers, washers.

Testimony: I documented a gift, included the inspiration words gift and remember, journaled on a tag with handwriting, and included handwritten items.

On the pull out tag which is attached to string on the right hand side of the layout (pulled out from under the paper bag), I have handwritten some of my Dad's thoughts and memories of this special Christmas gift which was presented to the 5th Signal Team. The words are simple and they are his, how they were related to me 6 years ago: "In Sete we had the most wonderful Christmas dinner, which was offered to us as a gift as an honor for being there. It was quite something, I tell you, with white tablecloths, fancy dishes, waiters and all! We were each given a special menu, and all the team members had a course named for them! Imagine that! We had the best food and the best time, and I still have that menu with my war stuff, and I remember everything about that day to this day!!! Boy, it was great!!!" (I have tucked a copy of the menu in with the tag.)

Because this layout is going into a book about my Father's war experience, I have journaled on the page opposite this layout the story about the team's assignment to Sete, France and the Christmas Party.

"In November of 1944, the Fifth Signal Center Team landed a "plum" assignment in the port city of Sete, in the South of France.

After months of traveling up into Northern France under precarious circumstances, living in bombed out cellars and make-shift shelters, the team was abruptly ordered back South to the port city of Sete. Here they were to work communications for Base 109, a French base bringing over colonial troops, Moroccan Gouhmiers, from North Africa. (At this time most of the south of France had been liberated.)

Sete was then a small port city with many canals and a very steep hill. The team was billeted half way up the hill in a former convent school called Sainte Marie des Anges. Before their arrival it had housed the German Gestapo, and the Germans had built a large concrete bunker in front of the property! The beautiful old building was large, with a center hall, sweeping staircase, salon and library with fireplaces. All rather grand!! There was a big dining room with tall windows where meals were served. Off of this was the kitchen and the servants quarters. The French had "loaned" the team 3 German prisoners of war, who were very happy to be cleaning the toilets and maintaining the furnaces, otherwise they would have been clearing the harbor area of mines that the Germans had left behind in their retreat. Also "on loan" were 3 Italian prisoners, who did the cooking and serving of meals. This was living in style!! Each man had a private room, an unheard of luxury, with a cot, chair and small bureau. The view from these top floor rooms was lovely, overlooking the town and the harbor out to the sea!

The men went into the town to work at the French Communications center. First Sergeant Brigodan was good buddies with the French military commander, and this led to "perks"!

On Christmas Day, 1944, the team was given a special gift by the French, a traditional Christmas dinner, and the Italian waiters really outdid themselves serving up with grand flourishes!
So, here in this photo we see the team assembled in the dining room, with their French hosts, the Italian waiters, the German cleaners, amazing!! It was a grand affair, all men together in a spirit of goodwill and reconciliation. (My Dad is standing third from the left in front of the windows, his head is peeking out).

My Father never forgot this gift of love and goodwill. He remembered it fondly, still excited by the whole scenario, 60 years after the fact!

A Tale of Two Sisters 1929

A Tale of Two Sisters   CSI #45
For CSI #45
Used all five colors: medium brown, cream, off white, pale gray, and grayish green
Evidence: Used woodgrain (thin veneer behind the photo), buttons, lantern, vintage text (post card), textured paper, and mostly cardstock with one pattern paper.
Testimony: I wove a tale about my ancestors in connection to a famous event in history, and tried to present the "place" of my characters in relation to their family standing, and also incorporated the inspiration words family, comfort and home.
My journaling is typed using a vintage typewriter on little strips of paper and placed in groups on the page opposite this layout, as this is going into an album about my Mother.

"A Tale of Two Sisters"

We were the youngest in our family of ten. I was known as "Tootsie", although my real name is Suzannah. Pauline, my little sister, was called "Babe". And was she ever a baby when it came to pouting and getting her own way, as you can see by that expression on her face in this picture!!

We were having our photograph taken by our oldest brother who was all grown up. He told Pauline to give a pretty smile. And even though we were wearing our brand new "best" dresses, which were pale blue voile with "Bertha" collars, she still pulled a pout! That's Pauline for you, sometimes she was just plain contrary!!

It was a real sacrifice for Ma to have these dresses made for us by Mrs. Farnum. Ma worked every day from 6 to 6 in the mill, except for Sunday. Ma is very iron willed, and maybe this is where Pauline gets her stubborn head from. Anyway, they say it is a "Great Depression" and that Ma is lucky to have this work. We don't have a Father. We did have one, but he died before Pauline was born, and I was only 2 years old. The mill gave Ma his position as a weaver so she could feed us all, and give us a place to live, a home she tried to make comfortable and pleasant for all of us.

But for us, this "depression" doesn't seem so depressing! Our days are mostly fun. Because our older brothers and sisters get work here and there, we can go to school, and have other comforts that Betty, one of my older sisters, is always reminding us she didn't have when she was our age. Betty is kind of spoiled because she is so pretty.

When we weren't in school, we liked to play "make believe house" in the deserted Holden Lumber Co. building. To make our house look pretty we swept the earthen floor in each timbered cubicle with branches. We gathered wild flowers and filled thrown away bottles and tin cans with them, and placed them along the top of flat beams that were used to hold lumber. Shiny stones were our jewels, and we put them alongside our vases of wildflowers. We wove together wreaths. Tree branches, acorns, bird feathers and nests we used for decoration in our little houses. Although we didn't have "real" dolls, we did have little tiny 5 cent celluloid dolls. Our doll babies were cradled in leaves for their naps in our house. While the babies slept, we visited with our neighbor "house" friends, usually Harriet Farnum or Janet Woldyka. We sang songs and complimented each other on how nice our houses looked. It was so much fun, until someone would say - oh, it's time to eat! And we would cast aside our vases and stones and grab our babies, and run home for our supper!!

When we were lucky enough to get 5 cents, which we had to share, we ran to "Blind Bill's" candy store. It was a serious business trying to choose the right candy. The more we got for a penny, the fuller our little brown paper bags would be! We usually got jelly beans, or boston bsked beans, because we got a lot for our nickel. But we really coveted MaryJanes, which were expensive, only 3 for a penny.

So you see how carefree and happy our days were?? What's so sad about this depression? We were loved, although sometimes it was a tough love, Ma was kind of demanding! And at the end of the day, even though I had to share a bed with Pauline, who dreamt wild dreams and tossed all over the place, she was my little sister, and I loved her the bestest, that is after Ma, of course!"

A Monumental Visit 1945

A Monumental Visit - 1945   CSI #47
A Monumental Visit 1945

CSI #47: used all five colors

My evidence: patchwork pattern, frames, foliage, gold metal accents, mesh

My testimony: I documented a visit by my Mother to our nation's home, included the words visit and welcome in my journaling, and included how this visit impacted my life:

"September, 1945, Mom and her sister Betty had taken a train to So. Carolina to meet their brother Frank at Parris Island. They wanted to be there to welcome him home from the war. Frank, a Marine sergeant who had served 2 years in the Pacific Campaign, was being transferred to Boston to await discharge from active service.

The siblings, along with 2 other Marines, would be taking a road trip in Frank's new car, back to Massachusetts. Because of time constraints, it would be a whirlwind affair. The Marines were expected to arrive expediently via the most direct route. They were given a gas mileage ration of $0.03 per mile and a meal allowance of $1.00 per meal. They were expected to "maintain decorum at all times."

The highlight of the trip would be a stop in Washington, D.C., our nation's home. Here we see the siblings posing in front of the Washington Monument. Mom and Betty both wore the wide legged loose trousers that were in fashion, carried identical "bohemian" handbags, and wore white sandals. Although it is difficult to see the Monument in these photos, it is there! This was a "monumental" visit for my Mom in so many ways. She had a great love of history, and this visit, no matter that it was a brief daylong one,was a fulfillment of a childhood yearning. The visit fanned the flames of her desire to learn and see more of our country's great landmarks. And indeed, she passed that love onto me. As a child I was taken to many "historical" sites. Mom gave me a very thorough lesson wherever we went. Of course, there were times when I most definitely did not appreciate this and was not a willing student. But today, I am so very grateful that this monumental visit also impacted my life in such a wonderful way!!"

I made the patchwork quilt pattern - "Mariner's Compass" as a backdrop for the photos and included the 4 points of direction. Of course, this page is oriented North, the way the travelers were journeying home

Saturday, February 16, 2013

OUAS February Challenge

Peonies Perfect Petticoats
My entry for OUAS February challenge, the topic being LOVE, whichever way you choose to interpret it. I have chosen my love for the garden and specifically for my peonies.

I also made this layout for CSI #57, and used the five colors: teal green, light celadon green,  white, ballet slipper pink and dark pink. I documented a love story, and used as my evidence flowers, leaves, vines, birds, solid background and 10 layers.

There are snippets of the journal directly on the layout, and the full journaling is tucked under the photograph.

My full journaling reads:  "I fell in love with peonies, those overblown, luscious "roses of Spring," when I was a little girl. I must admit my love affair had as much to do with the fascination of watching the ants that crawled all over them, as it did with the huge deliciously colored strawberry ice cream blooms!
    When I grew up and finally had a garden of my own, the longed for peonies were brought to me by my Mother. Together, we planted a border, digging deeply and enriching the earth, setting the "eyes" exactly one inch below soil level. Planted properly, peonies are said to be immortal!
    Thirty years have passed. Every June I fall in love again with these faithful friends! I cut armloads of flowers for the house, but now I shake off those pesky ants! And then I arrange them into many vases to grace various tables. I continue to delight in peonies luscious layers, so like ladies petticoats! I reflect on their raspberry cream deliciousness until the morning I wake up to discover they have cast their petals all of a fell swoop onto the polished tabletops! And then I cut more....
    Mom is gone now, but her gift of peonies to satisfy my heart's desire, remains a lasting legacy......peonies truly are immortal!"

Of course I have used the beautiful sketch provided by Nadia!