Scavenger Chic

Remembering Mom and Dad in a Locket

• By Joan
• February 15, 2015
• 2 Comments

Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Last week marked the 7 year anniversary of the passing of my Dad.  My Dad was a great Dad. He was hardworking, creative, funny, and friendly.  He could fix anything and he was often called to our house to fix our little oopsies.  The only thing he ever asked for in repayment was beer and pretzels.

A year before he died, he was diagnosed with bone cancer of the hip.  He had a couple of rounds of chemo that did nothing to shrink his tumor but did place him in the hospital each time.  There was nothing we could do but watch him pass away.

The Christmas after my dad passed, my sister gave all the girls in the family a locket with dad’s picture in it.  It was a beautiful silver locket and I wore it everywhere.  It felt like dad was always nearby and close to my heart.  I probably only took it off a few times until the day I lost it.

Yes, I know the day I lost it. It was the day of my oldest son’s wedding, October 5th of 2013.  Everybody in the wedding party was wearing orange and teal.  I had found a beautiful turquoise necklace that went great with the wedding party.  It didn’t go great with my little locket.  I took off the locket, set it on the dresser at my sisters house where we were staying, and never saw my locket again.

If I had to guess, I would say my mom stole it.

My Mom has been gone almost 4 years.  Mom was an amazing mom.  She managed to do more things in a single day than I do in a week.  She was never idle…from the minute she got up to the minute her head hit the pillow. She sewed, she quilted, she cooked, she embroidered and she had the most beautiful gardens in the neighborhood.

She worked tirelessly in those gardens.  She would put in full days in those gardens and wonder why she was so tired. If I work in my garden an hour I’m beat.

She was nonstop…even after being diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. The disease slowed her down but it did not stop her.  She still toiled in her garden every day, just a little slower. Parkinsons did not take my mom though, a brain tumor did.  One day she was a strong independent woman, 3 months later she too, was gone.

And that is why my mom took my locket, it wasn’t big enough for both her and dad…it had to go.

 So that brings me to why I was checking out lockets in Michaels the other day.  I could finally get a locket to replace the one mom took. After all, mom and dad did deserve to be together.  As you can see, I chose the one in the middle.  The locket was $3.99, the chain was an additional $3.99.

So, I found two pictures of my parents.

Printed them out on plain paper.  Cut out the images and added words meaningful to them…and to me.  My dad has FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS, because he had the courage to quit his job and start his own company.  The object over top of him is an old Bendix radio from his first job.

My mom has CREATE for the endless projects she had going.  The daffodil, while symbolizing her gardens, also reminds me of the spring time when they poked their heads up everywhere.

All of the images were cut out and placed on scrapbook paper.

Added just a bit of coloring to the radio, the words  and to their faces with colored pencil.

You can see that the pictures are way too big for the locket, so glued my bits and pieces to the backing and…

 …scanned them back into the computer.  In Picasa (photo editing), I could play with the images until I got them the way I wanted them and then print out to the teeny tiny size I needed to fit into my locket.

Well Mom and Dad are back together again and once again close to my heart, so I hope I won’t be “misplacing” this locket any time soon.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday, Wow us Wednesdays , Vintage Inspiration Party,

Treasure Hunt Thursday, Awesome Things Tuesday , Your Turn to shine,

 The Inspiration Party , The Handmade Hangout , Catch as Catch Can

Show me Saturday, Friday Favorites, Link Party Palooza DIY Sunday Showcase,

That DIY Party, Make it Pretty Monday and Show and Share

Related posts:

Recycled Post Lamp GPS Coordinates Pillow diy Railroad Tie Lamp diy Faux Apothecary Cabinet/ Workshop Storage