Noël sans Papa

As much as I would love having a happy Christmas, this year's is going to be a difficult one. As some of you know, I lost my Father on March 30th of this year. My dear Papa was a very important reference in my family, and all of us, his children, sought for his blessing for any life changing decisions we were making... right 'til the end. Papa was the kind of person who helped you weigh the pros and cons of everything, with a very critical eye. It was not always easy to deal with him and his recommendations, but whenever we did, we were so grateful for his wise advises, whether we admitted it or not.

So this year marks my first Christmas, my first 'everything' in fact, without him. And this is hard. I am dreading this upcoming Christmas, especially knowing that Christmas was one of his favourite holidays. Papa was 'Un bon vivant' like we say in French, someone who enjoys a good time with good company! This year will have to be about celebrating his life, and everything he brought to us, rather that mourning our loss. He wouldn't want us to be sad... so with everything my Dad brought to our family, we owe him to be strong, united, and happy.

A couple of months ago, I felt the need to create a nice 'decor' for the most recent and last picture I have of Papa. Using a Creative Memories display frame I had for a while, I used paper from the beautiful paper collection Generations (Simple Stories) to create a layout for this special picture, taken last Christmas.

So here is what I did:

Choosing colours that he particularly liked (his favourite season was fall), I created a background that talks about generations, memories, and the comfort of raw materials (burlap, metal, crackle paint, texture).

I know he would have liked this special layout for his picture. Papa and I shared this love for intricate art, aged metal, old trinkets, textures and burlap, and earthy colours. I loved our Sunday mornings' excursion to the flea market together...we did this for years. These fond memories will stay with me for the rest of my life, just as much as the happy Christmas we spent with him over the years. This probably explains my love for vintage looking layouts and altered art....

Je t'aime Papa. Joyeux Noël, et s'il te plait, viens nous rejoindre pour célébrer...