This ones for you Grandpa

This past week has not been easy.
I am thankful to my wonderful design teams for being patient with my absence and understanding my need to take a little time off.

On Thursday, May 16 at about 8:30 pm my Grandpa Veldink passed away.  I found out Friday morning from my mom and felt my world crash in around me.
Growing up we didn't see much of my grandparents, but it was always my favorite place to go.  Their home was always radiating with love, warm and cozy and smelled of something fabulous baking in the oven.  A grandparents house through and through.  I'd always get excited pulling into their driveway and see Grandpa sitting in his favorite rocking chair in front of the window.  He was always there, never failed.

The joy that greeted us at the door was always so heart warming.  Of course, then the shouting would start because Grandpa was deaf from working in factories growing up and couldn't hear anything...though somehow he always heard what Grandma had to say :)

And then we would sit down to eat.  If there is one thing that will always remind me of Grandpa Veldink, it's the Lord's Prayer.  He started every meal with it.  I can still hear him saying it in my head with his unique gruff voice.  It's hard to describe, but I can't think of the Lord's Prayer without hearing Grandpa's voice.

With him passing, I wanted to make something to remember him by.  While Grandpa will always be in my heart and I will always look back on my childhood memories with him: riding tandem bikes around the campground, falling asleep to the static on the radio because he couldn't hear what was playing, sitting in their living room listening to stories about their childhood or the details that went into building their house; I wanted something that represented them.  Something that pretty much screamed Grandpa and Grandma.
I made this, not with the intention of it being a card, but with the plan to put it into a scrapbook project that I am working on to tell the story of all of our families.

It pretty much is Grandpa and Grandma in a nutshell.  I love the vintage yet rustic feel of it all because that's pretty much how it felt walking into their house.  The green reminds me of all the fields they had around their place.  They were farmers while my mom was growing up and built a house right next to that farm after they sold it.
Of course, the focus is on the Lord's Prayer printed in the middle.  I printed it onto patterned paper so that the tone stayed neutral.  The pattern behind the prayer reminds me of the pattern that they had carved into their living room ceiling.  It was so mesmerizing to look at.  Little rainbow type swirls formed into a spiral on the ceiling.  They would sit and talk about how they watched the young man up on the ladder swipe each and every one of those arches, going round and round until the whole ceiling was covered.  It was amazing!

I wrapped a piece of lace that I pulled from my Grandma's sewing cabinet around the middle and made a large bow with it as well.  Which I then topped with a twine flower (to represent all the hay they had in their barns) and a green paper button.  The pearls were added last.  It just needed something a little more and Grandma always wore pearls.

While my focus was to make something to remember Grandpa with, I think this fits the bill perfect to remember them both as a whole.

Grandpa was 94, in love with the Lord, and in love with caramel frappe's from McDonald's.  I know God welcomed him with open arms and took all the pain and suffering that he was going through away.  I am going to miss him but I know we will see each other again.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Sharing my story here:
    The Corrosive Challenge #174-My Sentiments Exactly
    Deep Ocean #52-Ribbons/Lace
    Fab n Funky #172-Ribbon/Lace
    Fussy and Fancy #89-Pearls and Lace
    Inky Impressions #109-Distress It
    Lets Craft and Create #70-Die Cuts
    Nutcrafters #43-Use Kraft
    Pretty Little Ribbons-Lace
    The Sisterhood of Crafters-Only a Sentiment
    Word Art Wednesday #81-Anything Goes

15 comments:

  1. This is really nice - love the colours

    Thanks for joining fab'n'funky this week

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  2. such a beautiful card, thank you so much for taking the time to share it with us at LCC.

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  3. Sorry to hear about your Grandpa - huge hugs for you and your family!

    Hugs

    Julie x

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  4. I am so sorry for your loss!!! Your card is absolutely beautiful! Thanks so much for joining us at The Sisterhood ‘SAY IT LOUD’ challenge and please come back again soon!
    Darlene
    one of the 'Sistahs'
    The Sisterhood of Crafters
    DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS

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  5. I'm sorry for your loss.
    You make a very pretty card !
    Thanks for joing us At the Corrosive Challenge Blog.

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  6. Beautiful card! I am so sorry for your loss. Thanks for joining us at Inky Impressions.

    Karen

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  7. Stunning card.Love the rustic feel.Thinking of you at this difficult time.Thanks for joining in with us at Nutcrafters and for using kraft on your card.Hugs Debbie x

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  8. This is a beautiful card. I think your grandpa would have loved it. Thanks for joining us at the Corrosive Challenge for our fortnight challenge "My Sentiments Exactly." Good luck and please join us again soon.

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  9. So beautiful...sorry for your loss....Thanks for playing along with us at Fab'n'Funky this week.
    Wendy xx

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  10. What a lovely tribute! I'm so sorry for your loss. Thanks so much for playing along with The Sisterhood of Crafters for our Say It Loud challenge!

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  11. So sorry for your loss. A gorgeous card, thanks for joining us at Inky Impressions this week

    hugs Vicky xxx

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  12. really stunning
    thanks for playing with us at fussy and fancy
    hugs
    céline

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  13. Thank you for joining us at Nutcrafters and sharing your beautiful card. Sorry to hear about your grandfather though.

    Good luck with the challenges

    Sylvia x

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  14. This is wonderfully made...Love the DP's you used. The lay-out is amazing and the scripture message complete it. Thanks for blessing us with your artwork at Word Art Wednesday. God bless!

    JO ANN
    http://jatterburycreations.blogspot.com

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  15. Great way to honor your grandfather's memory, Emily. I never got to visit my grandparents very often when I was growing up, so I've made it a point to visit Grandma's house every summer with my boys to give them those kind of memories. We'll miss traveling to her home in GA this year, but are thankful she can live with us now and let us help take care of her in the years she has left.

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