Not soooo Shabby!

I am a day late with this layout for Let's Get Shabby challenge. My primitive urge for sleep overtook all else.
Love it all the same.

This is one of the sewing box elements. A pack of press studs which initially I was going to use the front. When I turned it over I saw that Mum had written Dad's sister's name and some family members' numbers in Italy on the reverse. Really got a chill up my spine then, and decided that would be perfect.

Now that I'm a hopeless tragic with the alcohol inks, I altered a daggy Coles brand measuring tape with them to suit the layout colours.

Love my little pin cluster. Looks like a branch of wattle. Hand-coloured the $2 Shop doiley, again to suit the colour scheme.

Layered an Italian novel page and an Italian tag (from Stampington). So appropriate!! (I'm quite clever sometimes LOL)

And I had a request for what I used to alter the back of the photo in the DREAM layout. This is what I call Punchinella, but you probably call it something entirely different.

And THIS photo is huge. Why???

When you see the world differently, you also physically position yourself to view it all. Rainer's way was to get at eye level, usually on the floor, or side on, on a table/chair, so that he could control the input level.

This photo tells me that things are getting better. This week, he grabbed the chair and wanted to SIT and play. Might not seem much to the average bear, but to me it was a moment to finally see the fruits of such extreme labour and effort.

Time to open some more champers, me-thinks!!
Have one for me too this evening.

p.s. WINNERS from my online class "Sure Thing Mum" will be up later tonight on the class blog!! Congrats ladies.
Already cooking up ideas for the next class in 2011.