Light the Path 2021 Design Team Zakirah Zakaria | Grief and Loss

Hi everyone! It’s Zakirah here and I am so happy to be back on the blog again, sharing my project for Light the Path.

This month, our theme is about grief and loss. This theme is no stranger to healing as each of us must have something that we’re grieving for, whether it be the loss of a loved one, a distant memory, the loss of health, or other tangible or intangible losses. So let’s take a deep breath, be gentle with ourselves, and explore this theme further. Our kit for this month is designed by the amazing Neftali Zambrano. I love the natural colour palette that she used in this kit which reminds me of autumn. Here’s a preview of my project:

The first or opening page of my November project consists of a photo that reflects my healing journey. This is part of this month’s photography prompt where Theresa encouraged us to take an abstract photo that portrays our healing journey. I shot this photo in the evening while taking a stroll by the lakeside with my youngest sister. The person in the photo is her. I love how the objects in this photo are captured in silhouette form, allowing the paths, grasses and sky to take the center stage. I decorated the rest of the pockets in this page with a journal card from this month’s kit and patterned paper, flower, leaf, and tape by Sabrina’s Creations.

On the second page, I included a photo of my younger self in black and white. This photo was taken way back during my university years by a friend for our Photography assignment. This photo reminded me of a time where I was struggling on the inside with mental illness without knowing about it yet. I filled the 3×4 pockets with cards by Neftali and embellishments from various kits by Sabrina’s Creations and The Lilypad. The “Still Standing” wordart was designed by Karla Dudley and I placed it on Neftali’s card with a brushed background. On its left, I included a reflection that I wrote as I went through this month’s workshop videos and workbook exercises.

On the last page of this month’s project, I wanted to document the positive action that I had taken to embrace this illness, which is advocating for mental health. This has been a huge part of my recovery because of the empowerment, voice, and meaningful experience that I have gained from it. On the title card, I used a combination of handwritten (Wildy Sans) and script (Owbeirak Script Demo version) fonts, downloaded off the internet. Then I included the poster of one of the mental health talks that I did with a local radio station, IKIM.fm, where I shared my lived experience as a person living with mental illness. On the next pocket, I added Neftali’s card titled “I honor my grief”. I love the phrase and the font that she uses for the title. I clipped a note paper element to the bottom of the card and added some journaling to describe the poster. Lastly, I finished off the page with elements by Sabrina’s Creations.

Here’s how the two pages look like as a spread:

I love how my pages turned out this month! Neftali has designed such a gorgeous collection for us to use to document our grief and loss. I hope you feel inspired to scrap your own healing journey too. Come join us in the workshop by signing up here, and you can see how the rest of the design team interpreted this month’s theme.

I hope to see you guys again in the blog next month! Thank you so much for reading and stay safe and take care. Let’s light the path together.