My Little Spicy Girl

I knew I had to get the February Lasting Love kit (now sold out)...and as soon as I got it, I couldn't resist digging into it.

I save and sometimes even cut backgrounds with the Silhouette just to use as a mask.  I loved the contrast with the blue background and all the shades and tints of red, I decided to use that Heidi Swapp mist with a heart background.

I wanted to soften the look of the misting, so I sprayed some white Studio Calico on top...all over it...so let that dry good before going on.  It does leave that chalkiness, sometimes I'll seal it with gel medium or Mod Podge, but left it as is.

I have a stash of photos...and I've been pulling a few of Emma when she was either a baby or around two (secretly wishing she would not grow up so fast)...she was two and a half here and wearing her little Asian outfit with her favorite blue flower...we were headed to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  So once the photo was picked, the Asian flair took over.  I cut the cherry blossoms.  It is a group of 3 of them, but cut them apart, and adhered.  The cut out envelope was perfect too for the look and feel of an Asian layout.

 I used to rip paper a lot when I started scrapping...just starting to do it again, sometimes it just adds to the dimension to a layout.  And since there was so much on the layout, I did back it with another piece of white cardstock.

February and this photo of my daughter are bittersweet...just a few days after this photo, my Mother-in-Law died from a heart attack, on the 8th...and Feb 18th will make 7 years since my mother's sudden death as well.  My father and father-in-law are also gone.  I have so many emotions looking at this photo of Emma, and I think that is why I came up with the title "full of life."  She would have loved her grandparents, of course, but she doesn't miss them, because she never knew them.  With the emotions of that, I remind myself how much she is loved by family and friends.  She brightens up any room with that smile as well as our lives.  It's funny how so many emotions can come from one photo...

Oh, and by the way, the reason I call my daughter my spicy girl is because she was born in the Hunan Province where the food is very spicy ;)