Using Older Supplies / Speechless

Hey, friends!  I'm back today with another layout using up some older supplies.  I like browsing my shelves of hoarded supplies (haha) and picking something fun to use.  This particular bag of goodies was full of some Pebbles papers and stickers from 2013.  I believe this collection is called From Me to You.  I was drawn to a paper full of speech bubbles.  That inspired me to create a layout that I've been wanting to do for a while but have been kind of scared to make. 

With both of my daughters being autistic and nonverbal, I've shied away from making pages about anything related to speech.  It's a tough subject for me to talk about or even scrap about.  I decided to just kind of let my feelings out and go for it.  It wound up being a page that symbolizes my hopes for the future of my girls.  One day they will talk, and we have some amazing conversations :)  I chose this photo to scrap because it's real life.  Trying to get a selfie with both girls is not easy, so I've learned to embrace these real life moments.

Okay, so onto the page.  I fussy cut the speech bubbles from patterned paper. I also used the Speech Bubble Background cut file by Paige Evans.  I cut them into individual shapes and layered them with the speech bubbles.  I used white cardstock as my base, and I used clear gesso and watercolors to create the messy color effect.

I added some adhesive foam under some of the speech bubbles and glued some of them flat.  I really love the dimension here and all of the watercolor peeking through. 

I love these fun colors and the simple sayings on the speech bubbles.  These are things I can't wait to hear my girls say!

I layered some patterned paper, chipboard, floral stickers and a small acetate frame under the photo.  All of these are from Pebbles.  I also added in some tangled thread for more color and texture.

I used some older white foam Thickers for my title.  I honestly took a while to decide on the title.  "Speechless" seemed appropriate for a few reasons.  The obvious one is that my girls are literally speechless.  I, too, am often speechless at how awesome and smart they are.  I'm speechless at this whole situation and often wonder how both of my children aren't able to speak.  I used some Prima mini inks to smudge some color on the bottom of the letters.  I love the ombre look it created.

I created a cluster over on the upper left side of the layout using more of the floral stickers, speech bubbles, cut file and thread.

Here are a couple more close-ups of the details...

I hope this inspires you to dive into something that's difficult to scrap and make a layout about it.  Or journal about it.  It feels really good to get some of those feelings out on paper.  Embrace those imperfections and accept that they are okay.  Our life "is what it is" and we do our best to make things the best they can be for our girls.  They are happy, and that's the most important thing.

I hope you enjoyed this page...it was very therapeutic to put it together.  I do have a video here if you'd like to check it out:

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great weekend!