Honeycomb Accordion Album

Hello Lovely Blog Friends
I've recently  been indulging my passion for making books.  Here is my new Notes & Observations Journal:

It comes from a pattern at : Follow the Paper Trail with Laura. (this particular pattern is called the Honeycomb Accordion Bound Album.) Laura has some pretty wonderful creations there, even an Enchanted Castle mini-book.
I made the whole thing for $11 -  just the cost of the PDF pattern. The rest came from paper I had on hand. How economical of me!
Here's the first page:

I even used up some leftover packaging, as you can see on the inside front cover above. There's lots of space for notes, journalling, and photos. 

There are 5 long pages 3 flip pockets beside every long page. Each pocket has a photo mat insert.

I used up quite a bit of my paper stash. The Tim Holtz  Idea-ology papers were ideal for this project. 

Of course, you can get much fancier and matchy-matchy with this, especially if you are making a gift for someone.  I wanted to see if I could just use some of what I already had on hand.

I mixed it up throughout, using stamps and embellishments for little touches here and there.

This book was fairly easy to put together.  The pattern instructions are clear and give the exact dimensions required for each page. The book is very sturdy. Here's the last page:

There are 5 long pages 3 flip pockets beside every long page. Each pocket has a photo mat insert.
With so many pages and pockets, it can be a treasure trove of photos and journalling.  Personally, I will be using mine to record the lead-up to Dec. 2012, which is supposed to be some kind of amazing date in human history.
Laura also has a YouTube channel and you can follow her UStream classes for step-by-step instructional videos.
Thanks so much for visiting  today.  Hope you are having a lovely weekend with some beautiful scrap time!  Many thanks also for leaving your sweet comments.

Meant To Be: Vintage Layout

This is a vintage photo ca. 1945.  In the photo are my Uncle John, who passed away recently, and his wife.  The scene is Montreal, outside of an old brick walk up on a summer day.

My uncle and aunt were both very special to me.  They were happily married for 45 years, thus the title "Meant to Be". 

I adore old brickwork. I love the way bricks retain warmth and how they light up with inner fire when the sun shines. Radiant warmth and enduring love are the two concepts I wanted to bring out with the intense colour and background design of this Bo Bunny paper.
Here's the sketch by the uber-talented Robin Shakoor:

visit Robin Shakoor here
I used Robin's beautiful sketch and I changed it up a bit: 

I created a split circle directly on the paper using a Prima mask and gesso; then sprayed the bricks with Smooch Spritzes

I arranged it so that there are bricks showing in each of my paper layers to echo the old bricks in this venerable building. I did some light distressing/inking around the edges 

 

and created a small tear for a more aged effect:

There's one Vintage Blue Glitz paper, and I used Dusty Attic corner pieces.  I carefully cut the second one into two pieces, one to highlight the upper left corner of the photo, and the second piece as a frame for names and date.

This fabulous 7Gypsies metal embellishment reminded my a military medal, similar to the pilot's wings on my uncle's uniform:

Personal Quest

It's my personal quest to complete 15 vintage/heritage layouts this year; this is No. 10. It was also entered into the Scrap That! October Challenge. 

Coming Soon 

I've come to the conclusion that for me, scrapbooking is 50% art: the paper, ink and all the awesome embellishments available to us...but that is only half the story.  

The other 50% is the story-telling.  Each of the people in the photos has a story to tell, and I love telling the story in words as much as I love creating layouts.  I will be adding a additional page to my blog where readers can go for the stories of the people in the photograph, and I'll be starting with my Uncle John.  Not sure how long this will take me, but my goal is to have it up and running by the end of November.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy scrapping this weekend. 

I invite you to leave a brief comment - your sweet comments add so much meaning and connection in this virtual blogspace!

Materials List:
Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny, Timepiece Collection, Tick Tock; Timepiece
7gypsies metal embellishment: "Watch Face", Time Flies
Glitz Paper Layers, Vintage Blue
Smooch Spritz - Pralines & Cream, Tea Party

Superman & L'il Witch

Just starting to get into the Halloween spirit!  We have bought pumpkins for the porch, and I have completed this layout:

I had to go back into some old albums to find this photo. By selecting The Witching Hour patterned paper from Fancy Pants Oct.31 collection, I was able to add red and blue to the more traditional Hallowe'en colours.
I hand stitched around the orange semi-circle:

Some details were added with TH masks - if you look closely, you'll see occasional bats, a raven, and a scary cat in the background on the lower right.

The chipboard swirls were distress inked (Black Soot) and smooched with Gingersnap. 

I added an envelope and a witches' spell for sleep on a full moon night.

This was their first "big kid" Hallowe'en. You can see how my daughter was really into her witchy spell-casting persona. My son kept his cape handy after Hallowe'en and wore it often over his regular clothes - just whenever he felt like being a super hero.
I still love Hallowe'en even though my children are grown. There's something about dressing up in costumes and wearing masks that brings out the kid in me, I guess.  And it's fun to get a little spooky once a year!
Thanks so much for stopping by today!

What I Did Last Weekend: OUAS

The challenge at Once Upon a Sketch was to answer the question"What are you doing this weekend?"
Here in Canada, it was Thanksgiving weekend. Here is my layout:

Any other year, this would have been a picture of me cooking a turkey. But I did things a little differently this year!  It was a beautiful time spent with family, and at the same time it was non-traditional.
The journalling reads:

One thing I did not do: cook a turkey! I ordered one and we enjoyed a happy stress-free day.
I did take time to scrap and I discovered something important: my compulsion to scrap is my way to shine a light on the generations.

I had extra time, and felt so creative as a result!  As you can see from the photo, there was time to get started on this layout for Once Upon a Sketch. It was the best of both worlds - family gathering and scrap time too.
Thanks for looking!

LGS Layout #2

This Moment Is Our Happily Ever After

My first layout ended up more on the rose side than I wanted. So I did a second one.

I started with white crackle paint and the beautiful muted papers of Nantucket and Butterfly Garden (both Pink Paislee). 

This background was closer to what I intended...but once I added a yellow paper layer underneath the photo, yet again I was walking outside of my perfect intentions - this time in the land of gold and yellow. 

And again, I was quite happy with the result - not for the requirements of the challenge, but for the requirements of the photo.

This photo depicts a very happy time in my parents' lives.  For me, it was a privilege to scrap this photo, because of its unspoken reminder to enjoy the love in our life right now.  

The story may not always turn out the way we intended.... in exactly the same way that my l/o's didn't turn out the way I intended! But the deeper meaning for me is an important one:  happily ever after is a fine intention, one that is made of millions of individual moments in time.

This Let's Get Shabby photo provided me lots of creative inspiration. Even though my l/o's didn't come out the way I thought they would, I really enjoyed the process and made some important discoveries about why I scrap in the first place.  

One thing can lead to another; it doesn't take any sacrifice Oh, father and mother, sister and brother If it feels nice, don't think twice 
Just shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna work out fine if you only will 

from "Shower the People" by James Taylor 

If I have time between turkey dinner and enjoying the warm weather,  I just may give this one more go!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadian friends.
Second l/o is here.

It Should Have Been So Easy: 2 LGS Layouts

It should have been super-simple: style = shabby-chic/main colour: white; lightly touched with rose and yellow/texture = painted wood. 

Inspiration Photo Let's Get Shabby Challenge #2

But...a funny thing happened on the way to the challenge.   I ended up doing 2 layouts! Neither one really turned out the way I wanted.  But I love them both! 

Young Love:

Layout #1

In this photo, my parents are newly engaged and very in love. The year is 1945. 
You can see some cloudiness in the photo. As I worked with it in my computer program, my youthful parents all of a sudden "appeared" as if by magic out of the mist.
I started with a Crate Paper wooden ruler background. which I dry brushed with white to make it softer.  On top of that, I layered a Pink Paislee Mistable, trimmed and shaped.  I used Distress Stains and Inks in Tattered Rose and Antique Linen. (The Antique Linen Distress Stain takes on a lovely vintagey-yellow rose colour.)





I used white and pink roses, softened them with white paint.

Along the upper/ left edges, I criss-crossed white satin ribbon through white eyelets. (I must be one of the last remaining people who still adores eyelets.)

Tucked behind the rose what-not is a rectangle with a beautiful angel on it. I cut from Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden paper, and journalled some private reflections:

By the time I was finished, I was really happy with my layout and how it all came together.  
But it's totally obvious that its colours are more rose than white! I thought I had used enough white paint to tone everything down. 


"No problem, I will do another layout, and this time I will get that shabby white tonality that I am after," said I to myself.
Still with me?


Pop over to the next post: Layout #2. Click here.

Celebrating World Cardmaking Day

Now that it's a world-wide event, who could resist celebrating World Cardmaking Day?
There's a card-making event going on this weekend at Pink Paislee.  Here's my creation:

I wanted to keep this simple and elegant with a vintage French flair. I've used the neutral tones of the Parisian Anthology collection to create lots of shaped layers, and then added a splash of colour with some velvet ribbon and a paper-punched layer.
I kept the sentiment very lighthearted in keeping with the occasion.
Thanks for looking!

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