"Crickets!"

Good Monday all my long lost crafty friends!! Can it be that it has been since December of last year that I have posted! Yes, it most certainly can and is the sad case!! My craft space has looked like this 

and the only sound you may have heard from that sad little crafty space was crickets!!! LOLOL It has been a lonely, dusty table to be sure! But, I have made strides to get back into the game, with a dusting off and putting everything back into its "home" spaces so that I could get my "art game" on! LOL

I laugh now, but it has been a long hard road since January. Without revealing too much of my life, my husband and I went through a marriage battle that rocked our little family's life and right smack in the middle of all that my sweet father got gravely ill and we placed him in the hospital where we almost lost him and then he bounced back and then landed back in the hospital again! He has pulled through again (by the way he is 89 years old) and we currently have him in a rehab facility to get back tip top! Good news is he is in the same facility that my sweet mother is in. Mom is on the second floor in long term care and Papa is on the first floor in rehab. He wants to get better and go home, where he was actually living on his own, but we will see how that all plays out. Quite frankly, if I don't see another hospital for a long time, that will be alright with me! LOL

My husband and I have worked through a huge storm, which I believe is God's divine design! It will be a daily process to be sure, but one we are willing to do. My girls suffered as well as my health, but God heals ALL things and we are all in the process of healing! When we hang on to his promises, by faith, God is faithful to remain with you in the midst, strengthen you and fill you with so much grace and love to carry you through!

I have missed my beloved art creativity and all of my wonderful crafty friends and have been itching to get back into the swing of things as well as all my wonderful monthly challenges that I had so much fun with. So today I will share a project that I finished last week for a dear neighbor who just lost their precious daughter to a battle with cancer. I wanted to give them something that would be a daily reminder of their Father's love for them during this time of loss, but also His strength for them as they move forward remembering how precious a gift she was here on this earth and remind them of the hope of eternity with her in Heaven. They have blessed our family tremendously over the years, so I felt I wanted to bless them back!

I always keep wooden crosses in my stash because I love, love doing those for people. It brings me such joy to do them and give them away to people. So I started this one by collaging Tim Holtz tissue paper and gold foil design tissue paper onto the cross with Mod Podge. Then going through my "bits and bobble" stash and pulling out things I thought would make for good collage presentation. I love doing that because it's always cool to see how nothing (i.e....buttons, coke can tabs, washers, etc...) turn into something! Thanks to Finnabair, we've all learned how awesome that can be!

I gave the cross a light coat of gesso and then a heavier gesso coat to my "bits and bobbles," and then I pulled out my Caran d'Ache Neocolor crayons and my Tattered Angels Mists and just went to town on both! It was so much fun getting all "inky" and messy again! Made me remember how much I have missed my beloved mixed media art!

After everything dried, I just began to assemble the pieces with some corrugated cardboard that I had misted along with some gauze I had also misted with hot glue. I added a flower I had made out of book page and a Prima flower along with this great crown that I had found in the "bargain bin" at my local craft store. I also added some lace that was gifted to me from Tonya Gibbs, who I love! I found the word "cherish" from Tim's chit chat pack and finally, I added some of Finnabair's butter glass beads, some bling and a "K" for her name which was Kim!

I would ask that you keep that sweet family lifted up. She was young with two children, so her husband and children will be adjusting to a new life without wife and mother and my neighbors without their sweet daughter! I can't image, but I KNOW that my Father in Heaven will provide for their EVERY need and keep them close as they go through.

As a part of taking some well needed time together as a family, we went off last weekend up to the mountains. We really need a whole week together, but right now, we will take what we can get! Just want to share this family "selfie"! It was a short time together, but "TOGETHER" never the less! We had fun!

I've missed all my crafty friends and look forward to getting back into the "zone" and enjoying all of your crafty projects. I have my work cut out for me as I head over to many of your blogs and check out all that I have missed! I can't wait!

Blessings to you all!