Fancy Folds and Flip Flaps for Between The Folds Challenge

Hello and thanks for stopping by once again.  When I realized this particular theme for Between The Folds Challenge Blog was to use Fancy Folds of Flip Flaps, I chose to take this opportunity to create a particularly meaningful, and very sensitive, layout and I have done my best to handle this topic delicately.  I have had many conversations with friends and fellow memory keepers about the difficulty of preserving the memories of the loss or stillbirth of a child and having experienced both in my life, I decided it was time to tackle this bittersweet subject in hopes I can help others on their journeys of love and loss.  So please note that while it may not be everyone's choice, my layout does contain photos of my deceased son BUT I have covered those particular photos with paper doilies both for our privacy and also because I know these photos can make some people uncomfortable, which made this the perfect project to use the Flip Flaps.  Let's take a look...


In addition to the use of the Flip Flaps, I chose the Georgie paper for this project, and this is the layout as you would see it in an album.  It contains photos of my husband and I together late in my pregnancy.  I positioned two 6 x 12" Flips Flaps from the large assortment so they met in the middle and then I adhered a laminated copy of the card from the service on one side so that it holds the other side down.  This way, the card can still be opened easily but the viewer must choose whether or not to lift and open the Flip Flaps and view the inside.

Out of respect for those who may  not be comfortable or interested in the rest of this project, I have included the rest of the photos at the bottom of this page.  I hope you will all take time to check out the projects our other design team members and our participants have shared as they are very inspiring, and I hope you will take time to join the fun and share your creations as well.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!  ~~  Annette

So, for those who are interested, here is the rest of my project.  This first photo is a little blurry as it was hard to fit it all into one shot, but this is how the layout appears once both flip  flaps have been opened and it spread out to the full width of 24".  The following photos are of the left and right sides respectively, and as stated I have placed doilies over the photos that actually show my stillborn son.

 In the particular circumstances surrounding the stillbirth of my first son, I was experiencing medical issues as well and was not allowed to leave the hospital to attend the service and had to rely on my mother-in-law to take care of most of the planning.





Initially I was not overly happy that she had taken "funeral photos" as this was not something I was accustomed to at the time, but now I am so thankful that she did.  I only got to see my son for a minute or two before his body was taken to another hospital for an autopsy and for a private viewing the funeral director arranged for me and my husband in my hospital room.  However, these are the only photos I will ever have of him, who looked so much like my younger brother, and while I don't look at them often I am actually glad now that I *can* look at them when I want to.
Thanks for taking time to view this project and please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or need help creating your own memorial layout.  As with all memory keeping, there is no "right" or "wrong" to how you choose to preserve your memories and some are undoubtedly more difficult to tackle than others, but they are all precious and help make us who we are.  ~~  ac