Sooooo, I wrote and not only was confusing but also had 1600 and something words, so I tried to make it shorter and
still there were 996 words...

which I tried to fit, but before printing I will make this into a double pager so the journaling can be read-
In my page, mainly
Little Butterfly Wings : I Choose You {Kit}
https://the-lilypad.com/store/I-Choose-You-Kit.html
also from
Little Butterfly Wings :
the camera with flowers is from
Life is : An Adventure {Kit} collab with Studio Basic
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Life-is-an-adventure-kit.html
All You Need is Ice Cream -stars-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/All-you-need-is-ice-cream-Elements.html
Butterfly Basics : Love Edition -white crochet flower- white string heart & red paper with gold dots
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Butterfly-Basics-Love-Edition-bundle.html
Artsy Papers {Add ON}M3 August 2020
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Artsy-Papers-add-on-M3-August-2020.html
& Away we Go collab with Allison Pennington -red plastic flower-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Away-We-Go.html
From the January 2021 BYOC
background paper from
Rachel Jefferies : Pocket Art Signature Kit 8
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Pocket-Art-Signature-Kit-8.html
Pink Reptile Designs : Listed Alpha
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Listed-Alpha.html
Scrapping with Liz : Small Packages Templates
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Small-Packages-Templates.html
Just Jaimee : Storyteller BYOC 2021 January Your Story Kit
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Storyteller-BYOC-2021-January-Your-Story.html
also by Just Jaimee : Storyteller June 2018 -couple of leaves-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Storyteller-2018-June-Element-Pack.html
From
Forever Joy : Hello Hello page Kit -red crochet flower-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/HELLO-HELLO-PAGE-KIT.html
My Type -typewriter-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/MY-TYPE-PAGE-KIT.html
& Living Color -leaves-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/LIVING-COLOR.html
Rebecca McMeen : WaterColor Background People Halloween Edition
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Watercolor-Background-People-Halloween-Edition.html
Pink Reptile Designs : Scrap Fever (crossed staples)
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Scrap-Fever-Elements.html
Designed by Soco : Music to my Ears collab with ninigoesdigi -big red flower-
https://the-lilypad.com/store/Music-To-My-Ears-Kit.html
journaling reads:
In the early 90s my husband (British) was also a keen photographer & a performer, he did stunts too, so together we documented almost every day. When Sarita was born, we took so many photos, this was 96, no digital then, but I started putting them in photo albums. WE spent some time traveling, and at some point, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Things were a struggle from then on, he was reluctant to accept and assume the condition and didn’t allow any of us to help him, his situation declined, long story here too- involving alcohol abuse, he was at some point diagnosed with dementia. (there are very long stories on this) When Sarita was 5, 2001, we had to come back to London (after spending about 3 years in a fisherman village turn high class tourism point in north east Brazil) and we moved in just the two of us, To this day, he is in a facility and his little sister deals with his care, long story too. In 2005, I was blogging in a site called Vox, an early example of social media, I met some people who are still friends, but the scrapbooking came from one of the most amazing friends there, she was the leader of her church choir, had MS too, we had so much to talk about. One day she said: I know you like doing things with photos, I found you this. One was Smilebox, which was cool, but little involved creativity, the other one was an online program called Scrapblog, which was in beta testing meaning the first year
was all free…. I had found my calling and so started the most amazing journey. I made her life from birth to 8 years old in 7 books, printed in hard cover leather with an image I composed in the cover, these books were made with paper photos of which I took photos with my Nikon D-40, I realized it gave a bigger file than scanning, so it was a labor of love. Scrapblog didn’t deliver printed books to the UK, but, to my luck, one of the team, Rebecca, was willing to get them delivered to her place and she sent them to me, I payed for the delivery….in the middle of my making the pages for the books, the program started to come out of beta testing so some stuff we started paying for…then one of the most amazing people in that community, Jessica (the owl lover I love the most) taught me about PNG files, how to get freebies and how to get them inside Scrapblog. I was so so amazed by it all, because not only it had come to help me keep the memories, but to me it was vital to leave a record for Sarita that her dad was so amazing in the first 2 or 3 years of her life, and an amazing man/husband for many years before that…he was an amazing man, artist, musician, friend, husband and the best father
a girl could ever hope for..until he got very ill. Sarita got to see a not so good side of him on those last few months, and then he suddenly wasn’t in her life, at all. It was imperious that she knew the kind of father he was, and how she was created out of the most powerful love…Once I found Craft Artist, I was scrapping for quiet a while with freebies, but it comes to a point in which you want to choose or want to go to a next level, I bought my first kit at the extinct Gotta Pixel,and the rest is history….
There is another side of the scrapping that makes it my passion… It has been the BEST pain relief therapy I have. I had a few operations from 2003 to 05 that were supposed to get me back to full time work, instead left me with chronic pain 24/7 plus collateral conditions including Heart Failure and I almost died because of my kidneys…
so the scrapping allows me to go into a world in which thought is about color and emotion… there is also that, HUGELY IMPORTANT- I have made some
of my best friends in the scrapbooking world. Some of you have (literally) saved my life. I love some of you like I love my friends of 45 years of friendship or more, the way we understand each other and the way the scrapbooking communities connect have something that cannot be put into words. Many of you who were at Gotta Pixel those 10 or 11 years ago) are now here, many of you I got to know along the way, many of you were in Its with me before The Pad…which, by the way, was where I found HOME. had the honor of being in so many creative teams, with the most amazing designers, I owe some of you my life. I have met the most amazing people in person too, and have in my dreams a list of other of you I want to meet in
person, but even if we will never meet in person, the love I found in scrapbooking communities, the creativity and amazing beauty and amazing stories I found…that compares to nothing…..so, YOU are huge part of my being here. the communities
Last month also I completed 5 years as a Polly, which was a huge dream that I never thought would come true, and I am SO grateful to you all who come make this a family, in the gallery,
chats, challenges, events…. you are the heart of The Pad and I love you, no kidding. Also people who are not permanent in this family, but we have created a friendship during MOCs or reaching out the GSO blog…. THANK YOU, because even though memory keeping its my main aim, the magic of the community is key of what keeps me alive, literally.
TFL!!!