throwback: a gift for grief

(all throwback posts feature projects I did years ago, but have stuck with me as favorites)

It's never easy to talk about a loss of a friend or family member, but sharing about the death of someone close has always been therapeutic for me. I was close with my mom's oldest brother for my entire life, and he was particularly similar to my mom -- which I always loved to acknowledge when they were together. In 2010 my uncle Jim passed away after losing his battle with brain cancer, and the effect of his loss was incredibly impactful on my mom's family.

My grief sparked a creative energy in me that I used for healing soon after the funeral. I traveled back home to NJ from Columbus, Ohio with a large handful of flowers from the funeral. I dried and pressed the flower petals, and started thinking of a commemorative way to use them.

Once the petals were ready, I put a small handful into little favor bags that I bought at Michaels. I used other various scrapbooking/craft supplies from Michaels to make the details of a commemorative plaque. I made about 8 matching plaques in remembrance of Jim, and gave them to our immediate family. 

My uncle was a huge Beatles fan, so each gift was stamped from a lyric from one of his favorite songs: 

"TAKE A SAD SONG AND MAKE IT BETTER"  -THE BEATLES