If I could Change One Thing...

 That's the title I have to think about and use for round 5 of the Ms. Scraptastic 2010 competition. When looking through my photos, I chose some photos of my son's first orthodontic consultation which center around yet another change in our lives.When I first thought about scrapbooking these photos, they were simply going to be about him getting braces. Now, using the title as a prompt, they have become a deeper exploration of how I wish he would not have had to go through so much. These braces are what will hopefully be the last in a series of procedures and events occurring  b/c of my son's premature birth. He looks so frightened in this photo! His eyes are so wide and he is making that weird face. They wanted him to smile so he could show his teeth and this is the best he could do at the time. My thoughts about his fears and my feelings became what the journaling centered around...all sparked by that title prompt.

  For part of the challenge, I was asked to use paint. I chose a silver metallic paint b/c it makes me think of his braces. I took a mesh style ribbon, painted it and stamped it on the page. If you try this, I highly recommend practicing a bit on a scrap piece of paper before using it on your cardstock.

I also chose to paint the title letters silver. I wanted them to blend into the background. The letters on the left were also painted sloppily. I wanted them to have a rougher texture. While the words on the right of the triangle are smooth.

The only word that's different is the word "change". I wanted it to pop. This page is about the change of getting the braces but on a deeper level, it's also about the changes my son has experienced. Triangles are often used in chemistry to symbolize change. So I cut out a triangle shape and then rolled the paper back. I stitched it to hold the rolled edges and then adhered some Sassafrass PP behind it. The PP has a triangle background to reinforce that symbolism for me. I used a wire pen to make a base for the word "change" I painted the letters with Smooch Azure ink and adhered them at intervals on the wire over the triangle.

The challenge required 3 photos. Two of the photos I chose were of my sons xrays. They were so stark across the page in comparison to the rest and drew the eye away from the photo of him. So I added a sheet of vellum over them. On the vellum, I used a word processor to add quotes about change, courage, strength and love. I also wrote in my own thoughts about these quotes. I can still lift the vellum to see the photos of his teeth.

* I placed the paper over the photos on purpose to obscure them a bit for privacy purposes..

I don't own a lot of stamps. In fact, I pretty much only have 1 set of journal stamps that a friend gave me for a RAK. So I had to get creative for the stamping portion of the challenge. I chose to use the lid from my oil of olay tube. It was pointy and easy to hold and stamp with. In fact, I enjoyed experimenting with a variety of lids and will keep some at my disposal. I finished things off by hand stitching triangles and a border.

A variety of effects can be created with lids found around your home.

This was definitely a tough challenge. As I work on future pages regarding my son's braces, I hope to change the pages to show the metamorphosis that took place.