You might have noticed by now that I love telling a good story and everything I create has a meaning. If you have visited The Creative Eclectic Facebook page you would have seen my pretty banner…This banner is no different to my other creations. It has heaps of meaning. Today is a great day to share the story of the banner.
Back in 1995, my ex-brother in law returned from his working holiday in the UK and Vietnam with a surprise – His fiancé, an amazing American Girl, Camille. From the moment, we met Camille & I became almost inseparable. Camille was everything I wasn’t – loud, daring and adventurous whereas I was quiet shy and a rule follower. We just clicked. Anyway, we decided to get matching tattoos. Remember, this was 1995 so tattoos were very scandalous. Only motorcycle gangs or sailors got tattoos back then. Sadly, while we were working on the design and finding a good tattoo artist, Camille returned to the USA – our matching tattoos were put on hold — Life changed, both our marriages ended and sadly we lost contact over the years.
That didn’t stop me working on my tattoo design which is a black & white collage of meaningful elements with a little pop of colour. Sadly, I discovered that I’m allergic to all sorts of things including tattoo artist’s ink. Perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise.
When I was working with my wonderful graphic artist, Nicole on my logo, I mentioned my tattoo design and the meaning of each element. The banner is her interpretation of my vision. I just LOVE it!
So what does it all mean?
So let’s start with the obvious one… My daughter’s name is Paris. Hence the Eiffel Tower symbolises her. She has grown into a strong, independent and somewhat majestic young woman. Much like her namesake.
The love of my life, Steve gets two elements with the globe and antique compass. He has shown me parts of the world that I’d never dreamed of, taught me not to be afraid of adventure and has guided me through some tough times.
My mum and dad always have beautiful roses and flowers in their garden so it seemed fitting to include flowers for them.
Growing up I had a really special relationship with my Nana (grandmother). I saw her almost everyday for 20 years as she lived across the road and when I moved away I tried to see her weekly. She was a tiny woman but strong, kind and definitely the family’s matriarch. Like most women of her era a cup of tea fixed everything from a scraped knee to a broken heart. She was also a little bit “proper”so she never ever drank tea from a mug nor would she serve anyone tea in anything but a delicate china tea cup with a saucer. I love drinking my coffee from a delicate fine edge china tea cup.
As I mentioned in my previous post, love coffee so, coffee was always going to get a look in. scattered coffee beans seemed appropriate as I’m scatterbrained without coffee.
Pearls are the 30th anniversary gem. In many ways my life began at 30, when I separated from my ex-husband. It was only then that I took very successful risks with my career, tried new things and dared to dream of a life less ordinary. It’s been a great life so far… so much more do!
The vintage key and padlock serve as reminder that in life the possibilities are endless – I just need have the courage to unlock them.
Next up is the antique pocket watch. Of course, it is a reminder about time. Like most people I rush around madly and life can get hectic and we become time poor. The watch reminds me that I have time so don’t rush. It also prompts me to take the time to take care of myself and cherish what matters. When my best friend graduated from Duntroon Military College, I gave him a pocket watch to wear with his dress uniform as a reminder to cherish every second. Some twenty years later he still has it.
Do you like the pretty vintage lace? I love how pretty, complex, delicate and almost fragile lace is but at the same time it is strong. This reminds me the even though I have days where I am fragile or feeling a bit delicate, I still have inner strength.
Lastly, the feather… it is powerful and helps the bird soar to great heights but it maintains its integrity, softness and niceness no matter how high it soars. This a prompt for me – I don’t have to be “hard” or nasty to succeed. No matter what I achieve or how high I soar, I need to be respectful to others and be just be a nice human. After all, it doesn’t cost anything to be pleasant.
So that’s it ! There is the story behind each of the elements of my Facebook banner. Bet you weren’t expecting that. Hopefully this story tells you something a little more about me and my values.
I’d love if you share in the comments below your story about something that means a lot to you…
