Never Give Up

Hello all!  I know I keep promising you a tour of Shanghai, but somehow I don't seem to have the time or the inclination to write a post which is likely to be quite long, not to mention complicated to put together.


If I don't do it soon, I'll have forgotten what happened back in February, but for now it's still on hold.


Instead I'm here with an autumnal tag today, featuring a woman who is entering the autumn of her life determined not to give up on her dreams, even though they haven't shown much sign of coming true yet.















For the background, I used the gorgeous new Autumn layering stencil from Tim Holtz (another addition to my travelling craft stash here in Columbus).  I blended on Pumice Stone through the stencil, and then added shadings of Vintage Photo, all over a wrinkle-free distress background.













The next layer was a Potting Soil Archival stamping of the Memory Box leaves you saw in my Come What May journalling pages...
















... and then some random stamping of the TH text in white acrylic paint.














I really love the depth created by the layers and if I'd been at home, I'd have worked out something which would have left more of the background exposed.













But with what I have with me, there are limited options for where to go next once I have my backgrounds (no die-cutting for starters!), so I at least tried to keep the collage elements pretty minimal.












I sorted through the Photobooth photos and as soon as I saw this woman, I knew she was the one for this tag.

The resolute set of her mouth coupled with the slightly wary look in her eyes told a story to me of a somewhat hard-lived life, always seeking but never quite finding success or happiness or maybe love.













I think she's been hurt along the way - perhaps she's had to buy an Admit One ticket by herself one too many times.














But there's a light in those eyes too - a clear sign of a strength of character, a sense of humour and self-knowledge.  She's not one to give up.












Regardless of age or past disappointments, she is heading into the autumn of her days with a sense of purpose.  She will carry on taking risks, exploring the paths on her own.

And if, at some point on that journey, someone should turn up to help carry the load, she will be ready to take flight into a whole new life adventure.











Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you soon.

There is no failure except in no longer trying.
Elbert Hubbard

Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes it's the quiet voice at the end of the day whispering, "I will try again tomorrow".
Mary Anne Radmacher

Given my sombre colour palette, I'd like to play along with The Colours of Autumn at Stamps and Stencils