Rachel and Lynn's Hear My Voice Challenge No. 23

IntenseMagic

Some grannies cuss a lot. I'm some grannies.
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Hi everyone! So happy to be here hosting a new Hear My Voice themed Mixed Media Challenge. I hope you’ll join me!

Not familiar with Hear My Voice? It’s a monthly collaboration by Rachel Jefferies and Lynn Grieveson Designs. Every month, they create rich textures and unique digital artistry using a variety of mediums, giving you everything you need to express your thoughts and feelings through art journaling or mixed media scrapbooking. This challenge is a special space for collectors of Hear My Voice Digital Art to dive into their stash, spark creativity, and connect through shared inspiration.

First, let’s congratulate last month’s random winner of the HMV collection - @AnneofAlamo :cheer

This month, we’re exploring the theme of Celebrating. Celebrating is about pausing to recognize the moments—big or small—that bring joy, growth, and connection into our lives. It can be as grand as a milestone achievement or as simple as appreciating a quiet win at the end of a long day. Through celebration, we honor progress, strengthen relationships, and create memories that remind us what matters most. It’s a way of saying, “This moment is worth noticing,” and allowing ourselves to feel gratitude, pride, and happiness in the present.

It’s time to break out the confetti and capture what makes life worth celebrating! This challenge is all about honoring the moments—big or small—that bring you joy.

Here are some ideas that may spark your creativity:
“Little Wins” Layout
Document everyday victories—finishing a tough week, trying something new, or even just getting through a hard day. Use small icons like stars, checkmarks, or mini trophies.

Birthday Timeline Page
Create a layout that shows birthdays through the years—photos, favorite memories, and how celebrations have changed over time.

Celebration Collage
Mix different types of celebrations (holidays, achievements, reunions) into one vibrant page. Use layered photos, confetti embellishments, and bright colors.

“Reasons to Celebrate” List Page
Make a journaling-focused layout listing all the things worth celebrating in your

Confetti Explosion Design
Use punched paper, sequins, or splatter techniques to mimic confetti bursting across the page—perfect for high-energy celebration vibes.

And here's my page! This is my youngest son graduating High School in all his glory haha. I used Hear My Voice 38: Celebrating
Jan-_HMVChallenge23_RJ.jpg



HMV_38_Celebrating_bundle_preview.jpg




Challenge Requirements and Prize:
  • Create a new scrapbook layout that meets the criteria listed above and ensure your layout is made up of at least 75% of 'Hear My Voice' Products (You may choose to create with backgrounds and elements from one, or a combination of Hear My Voice Products). The other allowable 25% must contain product from either Rachel's or Lynn's shop.
  • Upload your layout to the Rachel Jefferies Designs Gallery at TLP or Lynn Grieveson Designs Gallery at TLP and make sure to tag both #racheljefferiesdesigns and #lynngrievesondesigns. Please also list the products used in your credits.
  • For your challenge entry to be counted, you MUST upload your finished layout to this thread.
  • Please link your thread to your gallery image as it helps us leave love on your layout (and validate your project).
  • No double-dipping…your layout must be created for this challenge only, no others. You must create a NEW layout for this challenge.
  • This challenge will remain open until June 8, 2026.
  • Don’t hesitate to tag me if you have any questions, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
  • One lucky creative will be drawn at random to win our Hear My Voice Collection!!
  • Can't wait to see what you create!
 
Hi Everyone...Who doesn't love celebrating? There are so many interpretations to this challenge of "celebrating"...It reminds me of the many milestones that I have achieved , through my own perseverance...As many of you now know, my life has been nothing but interesting and chaotic, but mostly for the wrong reasons...I wish I could say otherwise...Eventhough, through all of the downs I have experienced these last 2 years...It has a way of making you realize a lot of things...While I cannot explain a lot of the terrible things I have survived...Yes!, survived...I am a survivor because I have chosen to keep going and keep trying to at least move forward...

* Personal : Serious! Observations about trauma,grief,survival *** [ If you want to stop reading here ]

When yet another difficult thing has now come my way again...I am frankly tired of the downs happening in my life...I choose to look at the wins! and the positives in my life...Surviving a terrible accident, tripping up stairs in the apartment building I was living in with my beloved husband , who has now passed away with terminal brain cancer...I went hurling forward,head first, into a brick wall in fast speed...No one seems to know why or how I have survived such a terrible trauma , with no permanent brain traumas...and not ending up disabled in a wheelchair for the rest of my life...The doctors,EMT's and nurses at the hospital , called me a "living miracle"...All I remember is that I was in severe shock and apparently, screaming at the stop of my lungs,when I opened my eyes , on the banister, after surviving my fall or hurling...I remember seeing my husband just standing there white as a sheet,crying and being held up by one of his close friends,whom one of our neighbors, called right away after calling 911 for me { I was told} ... I still have flashbacks of that fateful day,even still now, almost 3 years later, after everything I have accomplished in my recovery...I guess they call that trauma or perhaps a form of PTSD...Understanding and unpacking my traumas related to my grief and the 2 serious falls, including this one, that almost took my life...The previous collapse,when I fell in the bathroom and hit the doorknob with my head,nose,face and chin, before I collapsed on the bathroom floor...My husband came home early, Thank God! , and found me collapsed on the floor and tried to revive me...I awoke for mere minutes and he tried to get me up off the floor...I couldn't move and I had no voice...I thought I had a stroke, like my Mom, before she died...I thought i was gonna die just like my Mom did...Then I passed out again...It took me almost 2 years to even remember all of these details...The EMT's rushed to my side and saved my life and brought me back from the brink of death...I flat-lined 2 more times while bring operated on,upon arrival at the hospital...Almost 4 hours later, I ,once again, somehow survived it all and was brought into the Intensive Care unit of the hospital...I was there for a long time...It was caused by blood clots in my leg that travelled through and up and burst into my throat...My eyes were swollen shut for 3 days, before I could open them fully , again and I was bloated up from the meds and I was completely purple from my head , down to my legs and parts of my feet...These 2 terrible accidents or falls, took up the last 5 years of my life, going on 6 years now and losing my husband in the meantime...I mean,how much can one person bear? I often ask myself...

It has been a challenge to keep going at times...I still struggle with the residual effects of both falls accidents on a daily basis...But I will keep going and even now without my beloved Ray by my side on this earth...He walks with me each day and I know he will always be there as long as I keep his love and memories alive...Celebrating milestones has become a big part of my recovery process...So, for this challenge and layout, I am celebrating the first time I was able to go outside my apartment and finally walk, by myself, with the help of my beloved red cane...The photo in the layout,I have been waiting for the right time to create this layout as a permanent reminder of how much I endured and how much time that has gone by, now, a year later...Where I live now, it is hard to find places to go walk on my own, as I live closer to a highway and it gives me pause to walk alone , with all that ongoing traffic beside me... So,I have taken it upon myself to start walking the stairs in my building...All 7 floors... [ not all at once, of course ]...I have accomplished so far, 4 flights and repeated 2 floors at a time several times...When I get tired, I just go to the elevator and go back to my apartment...But, for me , I am not good at being isolated and understand that walking and just getting outside, even if it just means sitting outside on our little patio deck, reading, doing puzzles or listening to a podcast or music...Now that the nicer weather is here, I am hoping to do more of the outdoor part stuff...So, eventhough I have reached a year later, walking with my " red cane of defiance " ... I must stay steadfast and keep going, despite my new health struggles...

Thanks!!! For Listening everyone...or reading...and for all of your support!

*My "Red Cane Of Defiance " layout , Celebrating my first walk all by myself , out of a wheelchair...last Spring 2025...

 
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This challenge is now closed!! Thank you for all your gorgoeus pages and if I haven't been around to comment, I will shortly!! Looking forward to seeing you all for the next one!!
 
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