Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St Patrick's Day!



Oh, St. Patrick's Day, when everyone has a wee bit of Ireland in 'em! i wanted to share with you my bit of Ireland I see every day...my shamrock. Ok, I know it's really an Oxalis, in the Oxalidaceae family, sometimes called a garden shamrock or wood Sorrel. ( I love gardening!) It is from a bulb from my Grandmother Gash's window garden. It makes me smile and think of her.



An Irish Blessing.


The Shamrock

There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
'Twas St. Patrick himself, sure, that sets it;
And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It grows through the bog, through the brake,
through the mire land,
And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland.
I got the poem above from a blog called Little Irish Blessings.  They have great clip art and such.  Thankful they share!  But I have photographic proof of my Irish Ancestry, not that any of you would think me a liar......
My Great Grandfather, Mason Brockman Conner. This picture was taken in Camden County, MO, where my Grandfather, Paul Brockman Conner Below)  was reportedly born in a covered wagon.

So for a challenge I posted at Creative Scrapbooking Divas, I made this layout......
 

The challenge is to make a layout of your heritage..hopefully great-grands or grands.  It is open until March 31st if you want to show off your family!  There are already several neat layouts to look at.  LOOK HERE .. see for yourself!  I had fun with this layout.  Nothing came together in a kit..the background is Tim Holtz, the burlap paper I have had forever, Run-on leaves are  from unknown source, the camera was cut from Graphic 45 page, title rub-on is Daisy D's (kinda old!), and the other embellies are K & Co. 
I struggle with collage type layouts, I just feel like I am missing something or they feel too forced to me.  I am very comfortable with this one, though.  I must be breaking through my barrier.  I love the cluttered vintage style. 
The story is told that Grandpa Conner, was an Irish Immigrant who came to America as an indentured slave to build railroads.  But he ran away, and dropped the O in O'Connor.  Isn't that romantic?  My Grandfather dreamed of a place to raise his family,  so they traveled to Oklahoma with their 10 children. .  So today I am dreaming that one day I will know the truth of this family "blarney" tale.  You Keep Dreamin' Too.

1 comment:

  1. What a wonderful lay-out with a very special story. I feel the same way about collages. I absolutely love them but never feel like I get it right. I will check your link! Blessings. Lisa

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