IMP Design Team Jill Kane | Rise Up
Hi all, Jill here. I hope it’s looking like spring where you are. This month I was inspired by the colors of Paper Hum’s Rising Up kit. They feel so spring to me with the yellows, greens, butterflies and leaves. Seeing the yellow and green, I remembered that I have a few photos of me on a walk in May 2019 taken during Week in the Life.
An aside. As paper crafters, I think we’re usually curious about papers and printers. I have a Canon Pixma TS6320 and I like it. I’ve tried a few matte cardstock/presentation papers from Epson, but I keep coming back to the Canon Matte Photo Paper. It’s likely a bit pricier than other options, given the day and promotion available at various retailers, but I’ve always been happy with the color presentation on this paper. We all have our faves and sometimes I’m content not exploring beyond what’s working for me – ha!
As I’ve mentioned, I’m all about mixing product lines from my stash. The painterly patterned paper is from Ali Edwards’ recent Awesome Story Kit. I used an idea that she created with this paper as a jumping off point for continuing a story about rising up. During this time in 2019, I was helping my Dad who was still living independently with dementia, almost 8 months after my Mom had passed on. We didn’t know at the time that he would die two weeks later. I wanted to tell the part of where my story intersected with this situation, that being that I was beginning to feel like I was regaining some bearings and really making strides with the caregiving that I was providing (with much support from family and friends). Summer was on the way and I felt this intense hopefulness amidst plenty of unknowns and likely difficult experiences ahead. I was rising up, moving forward and just doing my best.
As I worked on this project I thought about all the feelings I’ve had surrounding this story. It’s almost three years ago – I’ve had a lot of feelings! The one that’s strongest right now is how proud I am of myself. It’s hard work to caregive. It’s also hard work to chart a new course after your caregiving ends. There’s a lot of loss with death and we’re capable of even feeling sad about the loss of all of the difficult tasks and situations we had to navigate. I’m so grateful for this hobby and how it’s provided me with tools for living a more mindful life. If you’re curious about scrapping the challenging times, I’m here for you. Feel free to reach out. You can find a lot of meaning in it when the time is right for you. Take care and happy crafting!