Dream a Little Dream: Pion Papers

Hello Everyone,
I have been enjoying the Birdsong Collection from Pion Papers (received in the last Scrap That! kit).  This l/o is of my grand daughter at 3 weeks, dreaming a sweet baby dream:

This qualifies as a "scrap lift" of Karola Witczak's layout, "You", which you can see here.  I love the way the patterns are mixed and layered with soft, paper punched edges.  I used a little gesso and dry-brushed almost everything with white paint. Thank you, Karola, for the inspiration!
The flower is made by layering some mulberry flowers and adding an apple blossom centre.
Pion Papers are a dream to work with  - they lend themselves so beautifully to timeless vintage layouts.
Thanks for stopping by, and wishing you some happy scrapping this weekend.
Thanks so much for stopping by.

Lavish Brown and Sophisticated Amber: CCG Challenge #210

This is my layout for Colour Combos Galore Challenge #210:

And here is the inspiration pic:

Finding the colours in my supplies was relatively painless.  The design challenge was not so simple for me. The design challenge was to use architectural, ledger, woodgrain, or geometric patterns in the project.  Yikes!
Architectural PatternsI have to admit - I do not "get" the current trend of woodgrain papers. I am baffled by the popularity of ledger paper. 
So I chose a lovely Bo Bunny paper with an architectural medallion motif, and a Graphic 45 pattern with a repeating pattern of corsets!  (Which I counted as an architectural pattern because corsets alter the architecture of the body.)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Challenge
As usual in CCG challenges, something happened:  mid-creation I found myself experimenting with a numerical grid paper as the second  background layer - and I liked it! 
I chose my photo for many reasons:  they are wooden (woodgrain), they have nice neat rectangular sections like the bookcase in the inspiration board, they are themselves an architectural detail, and the beautiful tribal design has hourglass-type curves like the corsets and dressmakers form.
Doors I Have Loved
I have always loved doors, for some reason.
In the photo are the front doors at Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, New Mexico. I was attending a women writer's workshop when I stayed here.  I walked through those doors and I knew I was home. And since "home" was the musical theme song this week, the photo was the perfect one for this challenge.
Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend.


Materials List:
Patterned Papers: Bo Bunny Gabrielle Collection, Promenade
Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante Collection, Victorian Transformers
Dusty Attic Laser Cut chipboard Dressmaker's Form
Flowers from my stash
Leaves cut with Spellbinders die
Thickers letters, Sunrise

Good Times in California

Dusty Attic September Challenge

This month's sketch at Dusty Attic is just scrumptious!  My page is built around the sketch, with a few modifications.  

The photo is of my son and his girlfriend in San Francisco earlier this month. I was inspired by the current colours at Color Combos Galore.  Here is the Dusty Attic sketch:

I did a criss-cross lacing with eyelets and a fabulous fibre thing-y which has been in my stash for...years! The use of fibre and criss-crossing echoes the structural elements of the bridge in the photo background. 
My storehouse of DA items is not extensive, I had to do some substitutions.  Instead of the suggested baroque corner and scrolling vines, I used one of my favourite Dusty Attic nesting frames.  I did some paper punching and tucked in some Bo Bunny Noteabilities, one of which I used as a journalling tag.
Thank You to the Muses
There are a couple of techniques here that are relatively new for me: 
lacing and 
using string as an embellishment.  
Like many scrapbookers, I  gain much inspiration from other scrappers on line.  Right now is a good time to credit these artists for their ideas and creative inspiration. We are all one big creative family, whatever our level of expertise.  Everyone, no matter how renowned, can use more "thank-you's".
Among my muses are Natasha Aguirre ( lacing technique) and Lilith Eckels for the use of fibre and twine.  You can visit Natasha' blog Moments of Tranquility here; you will find many wonderful tutorials there.  And here's the link for Lilith's blog, Lilith's Scrapbooking Venture.
Thanks to all the wonderful papercraft artists who inspire me and others every day with their creativity!
Thanks for looking, and happy scrapping!

I was Blogged: Retro/Vintage Chic

Whoot! Whoot!
Happy Friday, all.  What a great day here - sunshine, crisp fall air, coffee & muffin with my DH, and when I got home...discovered that I've been blogged at Ideas for Scrapbookers
Pam Callaghan has been running a series called Scrapbook Styles, and today's post includes 3 of my layouts from this summer.  Pam created a new style niche on her list for my style, which has been christened Retro/Vintage Chic.
Here are the l/o's that are shown, and an excerpt  from the post:

This is what Pam said:

When deciding on a style it was a apparent that Fran was Vintage AND Retro Chic. So, we combined the names to come up with a new style.  Fran displays a lot of vintage influences in her pages. Check out the old classic photos she uses and embellishments and other items like classic roses, scroll frames, and vintage letter. I really love the use of these elements. You can also get an idea of the retro influence in Fran's style in her first page with the use of and old police car and aqua with red polka dots. She also added some letters which fit more of the retro look. Overall I Fran has a unique style and beautiful style!

I've been learning that style takes our hand and leads us where it wants to go.   I have to admit that I've been wondering what the heck my huge obsession with Retro was all about.  And now I shall be flying my Retro/Vintage Chic flag high! 
The world of scrapbooking is vast and wide - check out Pam's list of Scrapbooking Styles at  her  blog, Ideas For Scrapbookers.  The site is well worth a visit, as it is replete with wonderful tips, techniques and templates for scrapbookers of all sorts, and articles too.
Thanks for stopping by - have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

In This Life: Scrap That! September Challenge

The Scrap That! challenge was to create a page with the name of a song in the title.  I used the beautiful Pion papers in September's kit to create this page:

Scrap That! Sept. kit:   Pion Papers (Birdsong Collection) 

The photo is of my grand daughter with her parents (my daughter and son-in-law). I love this photo because it absolutely captures the depth and breadth of the new parents' love for their baby daughter.
I thought the song "In This LIfe" was perfect for this layout.
My favourite version of the song was sung by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. (I tried to find a video link to post for you, but there seems to be some kind of blackout for his songs.) Here are some of the words:

I will know deep in my heart
The only dream that mattered had come true
In this life, I was loved by you.

I used my Cricut to create an interesting shape from the Pion papers to place under the photograph, and added a doily. The lovely white Prima flowers came in the kit.  I made the eyelet flower from the trim that came in the kit.  Actually, everything here came in the kit, I just added a bit of TH trim, and inked the chipboard letters with London Fog.


Here's a  tag I created from the same kit:

This baby is no relation - it's a vintage picture on one of the Pion papers in the collection.  I could not resist her winning smile.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Thanks to those who take the time to leave such sweet comments - each one is read and appreciated.

High Tea with Mme. Dubois

Let's Get Shabby Challenge #27

A fun and unusual challenge at Let's Get Shabby.  First step - visit Tallulah Belles Etsy Shop.  Pick an image that inspires you, and create a project!
Here's my creation:  It's called High Tea with Madame Dubois.

Altered Cigar Box:  High Tea with Mme. Dubois

And here's the image that inspired it:

Image from Tallulah Belles:  High Tea with Madame Dubois

This image just said "fabulous tea party" to me.  
I started with a lovely wooden cigar box.  The altered cigar box contains individual tea booklets for Madame Dubois and her friends.  I imagined her to be an elegant Parisienne, hosting a tea for her fabulous friends from around the world. ( I imagined her friends to be rather goddess-like.)
Here's Madame Dubois:

And here she is with her friends:

The folders are to be filled with (very chic) individual tea bags, and the whole set to be given as a gift by me to someone very special next month.
The challenge at  Let's Get Shabby runs until Sept. 20, so you still have time to join in!
Thanks for dropping by, and for having a virtual cup of tea with me today!

Materials List:

I used anything and everything that I had in my supplies. including:

Cigar Box painted with Rose Distress Crackle Paint

Papers: Graphic 45, Webster's Pages, Bo Bunny Gabrielle (among others)

Prima Flowers

Recollections Pearls

Happy

My little niece at the end of summer discovered her love of horseback riding.

The picture was taken in St-Etienne-de-Lauzon near Quebec city. Riding a horse was a dream come true for her.  Doesn't she look born to ride? She is simply the picture of happiness.


The layout was made with the July Scrap That! kit. The flowers came in the kit; the brown leaves were added from my stash. I painted the leaves with a layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint. 
I made the curling swirls from slender strips of corrugated cardboard.

The beautiful frame is a Dusty Attic piece, painted with Distress Stains and inks, especially Faded Jeans.

Wishing my fellow Canadians a lovely long weekend - with lots of scrappy time!
Thanks for stopping by, and for your sweet comments.