Unforgettable...Day 6 of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning

Memories are a powerful thing.  They're one of the reasons why I scrapbook.  I'm not great at keeping a journal, and my scrabooking is a little bit of here, there, and everywhere.  But I want to keep those memories alive and front and center if I can.

Last month I went back to Missouri for my Grandpa's wedding.  My grandpa and grandma lived near us for most of my childhood, and so much of my growing-up memories include them.  Last year, after a long time in the hospital with my grandpa staying with her every day, my grandma passed away.  I was honored and humbled to be there when the Lord took her in His arms.  It's so hard to say good-bye, even though it's only for a while.

While I was in Missouri I went through some of Grandma's sewing things and grabbed a pack of needles, a thimble, crochet thread, and some buttons.  These are things that were never far from Grandma's hands, since she was an avid quilter and sewer, and created beautiful quilts and made clothes for herself, too. 

I wanted to take these things and include them in a little shadowbox to remind me of my grandma, so I painted a wooden box that I'd gotten at a garage sale for a quarter, measured out the spaces, and basically made some mini scrapbook pages to fit them.  I added a picture of Grandma and Grandpa in front of their house that I stayed with them in for a few months before I got married.  I stayed away from too much pink, even though it was Grandma's favorite, and signature, color, just because I wanted something still muted but a little bit brighter like the oranges, blues, and greens.

Here's a picture in progress.  I can't find the other camera where I took the pictures of the plain box, though!

Some things that I will always associate with my grandma are the TV shows Dallas and The Dukes of Hazard, and Nat King Cole.  I would play her Nat King Cole albums on the record player and sing along.  That's the reason for the title "Unforgettable".  And the smudged up, dripped on,  much used recipe for Toffee Bars is the one she made every year for the holidays.  It just wasn't Christmas Eve without Toffee Bars.

The finished product. 

 See the 3D elements?  That little thing on the green ribbon is an old fashioned black sewing machine.

 And with a grunge filter...

The reason that I wanted to do 31 Days of Creating with Meaning is so I could create things that are functional, or preserve memories, or maybe do both.