Choosing Hope

So, as you may or may not know...my life has been really difficult lately. And sometimes it get's a bit tough to have hope. I believe that hope is a choice...you have to choose to have hope...to believe that things will get better, easier...to believe that there is purpose behind it all. It's a tough thing to do sometimes. Just keepin' it real. Sometimes, it's easy to get swept into depression...to get swept into the "why me?" attitude.

I made this to hang in my bedroom, as a constant reminder:

First of all, for some reason it photographed a lot SHINIER than how it looks in real life. So picture it a tad less shiny. Second, this is HUGE! It was a 24" x 24" wood piece from Say It With Letters.

I first sprayed it with brown spray paint. Then I covered it with Crackle Medium from Helmar. My Helmar stash is growing very small. :( I emptied my Crackle Medium with this huge project...don't know what I am going to do when all my Helmar stash is gone. I also used Premium Craft Glue and Liquid Scrap Dots from Helmar to adhere everything down.

And then after my Crackle had dried I sprayed Glimmer Mist over it and wiped it off...so it filled the cracks and helped them stand out a bit more...adding a bit of shimmer to my project.

Then I added my papers and elements. All the papers, die cuts, buttons and chipboard are from Crate Paper. Then I added two flowers from Prima.

Here are some close up's:

Those letters (spelling "Hope") are printed (Font is Cooper STD Black) on paper and cut out. The "Choose" is handwritten using 3D paint.

So, I hope this will serve as a reminder in my dark days that I always have a choice. I can choose to dwell in sadness, or choose to have hope. I choose hope.

Have a wonderful day!