Clear Scraps Project Post

Hello all my Clear Scraps Friends!! Misty @Mommyofkidz here with you one last time for May!! Can you believe that it is almost JUNE?? Oh My goodness where does the time go!?
I will tell you…we get busy living life and it flies right past us! But don’t blink or you will miss it! And… if we aren’t careful, we forget all the best moments and most amazing people. This is why I scrapbook…so that I won’t forget, but most importantly, so that my kids and grandkids don’t forget me when I am gone. My project today is a scrapbook layout using lots of items from Clear Scraps! If you haven’t taken a trip through the store, you should! There are so many wonderful items in there to get crafty with!
For this project, I chose to use the Palm tree/Vacation combo. I know it is meant to be used with a frame…but y’all know me…I don’t follow rules! I wanted these on my layout!! I also added the Flip~Flop Shaker Tag that I shared last week. To remind you…I shared this tag…

I loved it so much that I used it on my scrapbook layout that I am sharing with you today! Since my son passed away in 2016, my kids and I have taken at least one cruise a year (except covid years) for our family vacation. It started out as our need for a complete “life reset” for all of us after my oldest son died. We had spent a year and a half in a “fog” from our loss and we could not figure out how to move forward. In 2017, I took my 4 kids on a cruise for the 5 of us to heal. My intent to be out in the middle of the ocean and let the power of the water heal us. We all stood on the aft together and “tossed” all of our hurt and pain and despair out into the ocean and asked God to take it all from our hearts so that we could learn to live again. Y’all, it worked. That day, we all felt lighter, less weighed down, we even felt a little bit of happiness once we were able to start enjoying the cruise. I have been a very vocal advocate for scrapbooking, or at bare minimum printing your pictures and documenting your memories for over 30 years. Since my son died, I feel that it is my mission to encourage people to document their memories. I would have nothing left of my son if not for photos, mementos, and all the memories that I wrote down. And this i just one more layout to add to that. Everything I just mentioned above is in my hidden journaling in the layout that I am sharing with you today.

Anyway…back to the layout….
The Palm tree/Vacation combo were perfect for documenting a few photos from one of our cruises! Instead of painting the pieces, I chose to use patterned paper to cover them.I will admit…NOT as easy as I had hoped! LOL But eventually, I did get them covered and trimmed to an acceptable level. You can see them in the photo below… the palm on the left and Vacation under the photo. The edges are a little more jagged than I prefer, but I do love how these turned out!
They paired perfectly with the tag that I had made…so I added it to my layout also! It fit perfectly and made this layot come together so easily! I love the aquas and greens so much! I think my favorite part, though, is the Salty Kisses and Mermaid Wishes that I doodled at the bottom of the tag. And I loved that you can see it so much better against the water on the background page!

I actually love how this layout turned out. I mean…I LOVE all the pieces individually…but together…they are GORGEOUS! This is definitely way too bulky to go into an album…that is certain. However, not everything has to be tucked away in an album! This layout will make it’s way to a shadow frame and onto the wall in my craft room. And when I need an escape, I will just look at my beachy vacation layout and remember how HAPPY the beach and our family cruises make me!

I hope you feel the beachy vibes that this layout is sending out. I truly believe that there is a healing power in water and it cleanses your soul. I love to go stand by the ocean and toss all my worries and problems out in to the ocean and ask God to keep them. I never did that before my son died…but I do it often now. It is the best form of therapy that I have ever found. When I can’t do that…I craft!!!! HA HA HA! And of course, the Clear Scraps store and family help me to do that to my heart’s content!
Thank you all for stopping by today and for allowing me to ramble. If you have a vacation to document, the Clear Scraps store can help with that! Or, if you just need some crafty therapy, they will help with that too! Head on over and check it out for yourself!
Have a great day and Stay Crafty My Friends!