Believe - CSI Case File #145

Hi everyone! I did another challenge this week over at CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration. For  this challenge I named the layout Believe for the quote "Believe in the Power and Beauty of Your Dreams!" This layout is different for me. It is grungy yet not. The layout tells a story that reflects the story behind it. The mixed media background represents the long nights and hard times I went through while going to college and getting my degree. The chipboard bingo card collage in the bottom right corner represents the time while I was going to college and then the butterflies fluttering up to the flowers and the end of one journey (getting my degree) and the beginning of another (what the degree can do for the future). I made a pocket out of the chipboard bingo card. The journaling tag says:
You never know what someone has gone through to get what they have. I went to college in my forties after my divorce. Now talk about scary but once I got started it was rather fun and I enjoyed it for the most part. Don't get me wrong, it was hard also not just because of the classes but I worked both a full-time and part-time job. Then the hardest part was in my 3rd and 4th years because I lost both my mom and dad just six months apart. I also lost all of my mothers siblings and my next door neighbor. It was a very tough time and it would have been easy to quit. But my mom was so proud of me for going to school and I know she would have been very upset if I had quit. That is what kept me going. I know she would be very proud that I stuck with it. And she is probably smiling down from heaven right now.

The challenge states you have to use light aqua, ivory, black, deep red and chartreuse. You have to use two items from the evidence list so I used a mixed media background, flowers, stamps, transparent elements, stencil, pocket and a quote. I stamped a quote and I stamped rings in coffee bean ink to represent long nights and trying to stay awake. Both the clock face and the "Believe" quote a transparent elements. I used a Heidi Swapp stencil for the background and the journaling is in a pocket. The flowers and quote are obvious of course. Most of the elements represent something like I used two different keys; the one in the collage to represent the key to have success in most things is the found in the quote on the transparency which is where I got my title and then the second key which is under the picture of my diploma represents the key to a brighter future.

 From the testimony list I used journaling in a pocket since it is rather long but it documents the struggle I went through and yet still managed to achieve my dream. It all represents a struggle and how if you work hard and believe in yourself and your dreams you can accomplish anything you want. So here is to everyone's dreams...Don't ever, ever give up!!!