Archive for the ‘Scrapbooking / Keepsake Boxes’ Category

I was at Barnes and Noble the other day on Clybourn and Webster, and I noticed a wonderful serenity journal.  Unfortunately, it is on their website for all to order, but the one above is similar from Amazon.com.  Anyway, it got me thinking.  There are two things that allow me to release emotion with ease.  One: painting.  Two: writing.  I think journaling is an important way to allow yourself to grieve.  Losing a loved one is beyond difficult.  Write about that person.  Draw and think about that person.  Doodle.  Put together a scrapbook.  I’ll talk more about scrapbooking soon, but for now, go buy a journal or rustle up a few pieces of scrap paper and punch three holes in it when your done.  It can even be a spiral notebook from the Dollar Store.  Write your loved one’s name on the cover and make that book about him or her.  Write about him.  Remember her.  Anything that comes to mind… write it down.  Then, when the tears stop flowing easily, you can open your book and visit your friend again through your memories.

When I think about waking the memory of friends and family I have lost, I am immediately drawn to photographs and letters I have of them.  When a friend passed away in high school, I kept the letter he wrote to me a few months before he died (I still have it 20 years later).  I think a beautiful box is a great way to put special items from your loved one in one place.  You can be creative and decorate a simple shoe box or wooden box (sewing and craft stores often have plain, inexpensive wooden boxes) or purchase one created by an artist. 

As you probably know by now, I happen to love Etsy (www.etsy.com) and local Chicago brick and mortar versions of Etsy like, Sacred Art (http://www.sacredartstore.com/index.shtml ) on Lincoln and Renegade Handmade on Division http://www.renegadehandmade.com/. 

This artist on Etsy.com has a pretty collection of keepsake boxes, and I am drawn to these tree versions:

 

Sister Butterfly is her shop name and she lives in Southern California, and she (I keep saying “she” because I don’t know her real name) has an assortment of decoupage items for sale.  I like that the artist named her site after her sister who passed away, and how butterflies always remind her of her sister.   

 

These retail for $50 +around $13 for shipping.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/sisterbutterfly