Fe-Fe's World Of Craft, Creations and Kids.

This blog was started mainly for my crafting, however I also find myself writing about my family life too and in particular about my son Josh. Josh is just Josh to us and we're used to his quirky behaviour. As I don't want to have to mention Josh's autism every time I post about him, I thought I'd mention it here. Hopefully you will bear this in mind as you read and it may give you a little insight into the wonderful world of the autisic child in a very gentle way!

Thursday, 5 February 2009

Magnolia Vs Sampavie

I wanted to make a card for the Magnolia Vs Sampavie challenge - it's a colour challenge and the colours to use for it are just a great combination.

I also needed to make a card for my mum as she auditioned for a part in the play "Brassed Off" last week and has been given the part of Vera. I thought the chosen colours and a Magnolia stamp would make an excellent Congratulations card.

I used "Retro" papers by Hot Of the Press which matched the brown, blue, pink and white colours of the challenge. I did paper piecing on the stamped Magnolia image so that the colours would match exactly.

I decided I would decorate the inside too.

Stamps: Magnolia ~ Rhonna Farrah
Papers and Embellishments: Retro Paper Pack by Hot Of the Press
Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Embossing Folders ~ White Gel Pen

7 comments:

Nicki said...: Gorgeous card Fe-Fe, everything is so beautifully co-ordinated.; 5 February 2009 at 13:16
ScrapMomOf2 said...: Congratulations to your mom! That's wonderful!! I'm proud of her too! Does she act in a lot of plays? That's very impressive! I know she's going to love this card! The color scheme is so pretty! I love the dusty colors! Excellent coloring of the image too!; 5 February 2009 at 16:56
Unknown said...: Lovely card Fiona and congratulations to your mum, you must be very proud of her.

Barbaraxx; 5 February 2009 at 21:26
Heather P. said...: Aww, what a sweet card! Love it!; 5 February 2009 at 21:46
Dee said...: Yes, its even better in the flesh, so to speak. LOL

Very clever how its been done, the colours are lovely and the 'so proud' is dry embossed - is this a bought one Fe or have you done it??

Thank you love, its great :-) and thanks too to Scrapmumof2 and Barbara for your congratulations. :-)

Lots of love from Mum XXXXX; 6 February 2009 at 00:02
Lauren said...: Great cards. The colors are fabulous!; 6 February 2009 at 14:51
Nicki said...: Hi Fe - just a note to let you know that next time you visit, there's a little something for you on my blog, here.; 6 February 2009 at 21:08

Ode to Special Mums

Ode to Special Moms(by Erma Bombeck)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew.
Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia.
"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

"Welcome to Holland"

"Welcome to Holland" By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.