Dedicated to My Mum

I have completed a layout featuring my mum, which is difficult to do emotionally as well as creatively as I feel it has to be overly perfect and of course I can never achieve that. I also have a lack of photos but I found this OLD photo and felt that it portrayed my mum's characteristics well. I did try and remove the colour cast using Photoshop Elements but it only turned the photo blue. So I gave up and just increased the contrast a little and thought I could live with the oldness of the photo. I think it sets the scene well. But if anyone has any suggestions please comment.

I scrunched craft wire to make a unique embellishment, which I think is unusual yet effective. Although the layout is quite heavily embellished in areas I have tried to keep it simple so the focus is on the photo and the journalling. I think I have succeeded. The journalling says:

"This photo, as old as it is, is one of the very few photos I have that shows mum in action. It portrays one of her most endearing qualities that makes her special and remembered. She is the one leaning over the table in the red top.

This photo was taken in Oxford, England, on 29 July 1981, the day of Charles and Di's wedding. This was an extremely important and significant day to all English people. And, although mum is an Aussie through and through, she recognized the importance of the day and organised a street party to celebrate the wedding. Not only did she invite all the residents of over 100 homes, arranged catering and a 3 tiered wedding cake, she also made and hung banners up and down the street (you can see them on the brick wall and hung across the street at the top of the photo). She also applied to the local council to close the street to traffic and organised games and activities. There was no committee, just her and a few friends who wanted to help.

She was an amazing person, so highly organised, and yet so capable of bringing joy to others. She loved making someone else's day, whether it was a special event, birthday or just a simple conversation with her. She had a knack of knowing what to do and how to organise everything perfectly. She had a big heart, so generous of her time, her skills, of her all. She put others before herself, giving so much and delighting in their happiness. This photo portrays this special quality.

It has been 4 years since she passed away and not a day goes by that I don't miss her and wish that she was still here. She inspires me everyday to be a better person. I miss her."