52CP25: Don't Look Back

Hello again! Technically, this is the halfway point of the year, and this should be challenge # 26, but you already know the deal there...

This week I want to feature artwork from Mary Engelbreit. She's one of my favorites, and I have quite a few of her things - calendars, mugs, bookmarks, cards, etc. My mother sent me this card a couple of decades ago:I apologize that the picture is a bit blurry. I couldn't find the card itself, so I found a poster online and the only image I could save was small, so when I enlarged it here, it didn't retain clarity. Regardless, you can get the idea...
The reason my mother felt I needed this particular card was because I was going through a difficult time in my life, and doing the "woulda/coulda/shoulda" regret wallow. She was trying to point out the uselessness of that particular project. On this card, the sign on the left says "Your Life", and the one on the rights says, "No Longer an Option".

What? No longer an option? What a freeing concept! And yet, we seldom - if ever - stop to consider such a thing! There really, truly is not a single, solitary thing we can do - or undo - from our past. There may be some tidying up to do, as in making amends and the like, but what's done is done. Turn the page, close the door, whatever metaphor you care to use - it's over and it's over - on to the next thing!

When someone close to me was going through a similar regret phase last year, I made her this card:The sentiment says, "Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." I thought that it summed up the concept perfectly. I used the Faux Burnt Edges technique behind the flower to signify "rising from the ashes".

I also happen to hold the belief that everything happens for a reason. We're all on a journey here, and we're all learning all the time (at least, we are if we're paying attention). The people we meet, the books we read, the conversations we have and those we hear, the things around us - all are being attracted to us to teach us what we need to know to move along our path. With that thought in mind, this is what I made this week:

Stamp: Close to My Heart Goodness of Life; Ink: CTMH Olive; Papers: K & Company Hannah collection, Basic Grey Sugared collection; Accessories/tools: Sizzix Top Note die, K & Company/Brenda Walton Brianna Flowers stickers

Again, I apologize for the not-so-great picture. I'll see if I can manage a less murky one in daylight tomorrow to replace it...

Here's Mr. Linky for you to link up your creations. Please leave a comment after you add your link - that way I get an email, so I know to check... Thank you so much!