Autism Matters Memory Keeping Blog Hop

April is Autism Awareness Month and I am taking part in a Memory Keeping Blog Hop and making sure that we all give a thought to all those families that are affected by children with Autism. 

I took part in a blog hop earlier this month for the carers of those with Autism and was able to learn so much from the lovely emails that I received and comments that really touched those who have been going through challenging times trying to help their children to progress. I have learnt so much this month so I am really glad that I took part in both hops. It has given me so much more awareness and the emails from demonstrators - hearing their own personal stories is so touching, this is what gave me the most understanding is reading about what they have been going through.

I am so excited to share my memory keeping page. Many of you know that I really love Project Life® by Stampin' Up!® and want it to become something that many demonstrators take advantage of and love too. It can be overwhelming and challenging to know where to begin - but I have found that just doing random moments has been so much fun. It doesn't have to be a big album with one event - it could be small moments that you enjoyed but more than likely could easily forget how precious they are.

One thing with Autism is the people that it effects most is family and family members. In the last year Bruno's Dad fell off a ladder and damaged his spine - he had surgery and afterwards was told that his nerves were damaged beyond repair and he would never walk again. It was devastating but we just took each day at a time and I think that is what helped us all including Bruno's mum. We knew we couldn't change what had happened but we could make the most of each day.

It is now just over a year since his accident - and we are happy to say that he was told he would never walk but he now IS WALKING. He was determined and with family supporting him and especially Jeanette - Bruno's mum, he has been able to overcome an obstacle that many told him that he would never do. I feel like after reading the stories that I hear that it is similar with Autism. Each case is so unique and individual - stay positive, take a day at a time and watch incredible things happen with love and family by their side.

Bruno's Mum and Dad - Jeanette and Pasquale are lovers of food and good homemade food. They are Italian and Jeanette is the most amazing cook. That is saying something as my Dad is a Chef! 

Here was an impromptu day that they invited us over for Pizza and we thought we may as well make the whole batch of dough that was there and use it all up. There was only four of us at dinner that night but I think we made 20 homemade pizzas!! They have an amazing Pizza oven. The ingredients are incredible - homemade tomato sauce, homemade salami and capicola. There was even homemade pickled zucchini, fresh chilli's... oh my! Want to see this amazing pizza? Seriously when Bruno and I were printing these photo's we wanted to lick the screen. hahah.

Here are the two pages together so you can see how the cards really help to tell the story. I love the retro feel to The Happy Times Card Collection that went perfect with the brick and wood that is in the pictures. When I am thinking about what cards and collection to choose I want it to tie in. There was so much about this ket that went perfect with this page. The colours, even the newspaper print made me think of an Italian home. The Family and happy times font - perfect for this occasion. So picking this  card collection was very quick and easy.

The Home Sweet Home embellishment is from the Happy Times Accessory Pack and just complimented this page so much! 

You can see that I did some journalling on the page - I kept it simple but it is important to remember to date a moment like this. It wasn't necessarily an event - just a random dinner at Mum and Dads place. I knew it would make a great project life moment and so took some photos - which made the night even more fun. Poor Dad missed out on getting a photo - Sorry Dad, but next time will be more prepared of what photos that I would like to have. One great thing about the journaling and it is something very special and unique to Stampin' Up!® only - is that we have the co-ordinating colours so my journal pen I used was a stampin write marker in Island Indigo as I knew it would compliment the colours on my page - I could have even used the Soft Suede as that would have been a bit darker and great with the colours too. Remember this tip!

 



One of the photos was cut down in the smaller 4"x3" size but I didn't have one of those pocket sections let - so I just used some washi tape and one of the card and how great does that photo look in the top right hand side? Adds some interest and I could add some embellishments too from the accessory pack.


How good does that Pizza look? Oh my they were so delicious! can't wait for next time! We are going to have a pizza party with our friends when we get back from Europe - it will be so much fun. About 20 we are inviting so this was a good practice to see how we would go.


Thank you for joining in today - I really hope you enjoy this blog hop and the reason for it too - to be aware of Autism and how it affects people and their families. If you can at all please donate event if it is just $1 - it will all help. 


Next up in our Memory Keeping Blog Hop is the FABULOUS - Wendy Cranford.  Make sure you hop all the way around this incredible Memory Keeping hop as there are going to be so many ideas that you will love. I can't wait to hear that you have tried Project Life® by Stampin' Up!® yourself. It is so much fun and we keep saying it - but it is SO SIMPLE!! Just start.

1. Janet Wakeland
3. Kylie Bertucci < -------- You are here

Click on a picture to visit my Stampin' Up! online store in Australia 


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8 comments

  1. These are wonderful pages Kylie! <3

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  2. LOVE LOVE LOVE all your pages! And I love the way you have documented this story. You and I share a love for Project Life and whenever I see your layouts I feel inspired. Thank you for being joining this hop!

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  4. I'm using this exact card kit and accessory pack on some pages right now! So I LOVE seeing what you did with them. They look fantastic, and I so appreciate you sharing your family story of Bruno's dad. Great post!

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  5. You lovely person... There are so many demos who have an autistic person in their lives they love very much and #biguprespect for you for using your blog and creativity to raise awareness and funds. My son is 25 and is autistic - thank you.

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  6. I am so pleased you have chosen to support this. You are probably not aware, but my younger son has autism. & yes life can be a huge struggle both for him & everyone around him. Thanks for caring.

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  7. Your pages come alive! I can just smell the pizza and sense the excitement of the evening.

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  8. I pleased to be part of autism awareness. I love the layout, they are beautifully done.

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Thanks for making the time to write a comment - you have made my day