Magnifique

Greetings from the Rubber Room!

I can't believe its been almost another month has passed and I haven't posted any artwork. The artwork I am sharing today is for my September workshop. We are working with CTMH's WOTG Magnifique paper pack. I tried to stay within the instructions, but I always have such a hard time...so as usual I manage to put the "Leanne's" two cents to it and made it my own. Yes, there is a lot of brads and a lot of flowers. I cut a lot of the flowers out of Chocolate and Colonial White cardstock on my Wishblade and I have a few flower punches I used as well.

These pages are of our boat ride, the Bateaux Mouches, up and down the Seine River in Paris. So, there are two more pages done for my Paris album.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time,

Happy Scrappin'!

Leanne

I had to interrupt my Paris scrapbooking to prepare for this month’s workshop. We are using Close To My Heart’s MRK "Splendor." I wasn’t sure what pictures I wanted to use, since I was till in the "Paris" frame of mind. But after discussing with my daughter, Kelli, how the papers look and what her impression was, I chose to do another 2 page layout for Deborah’s 4th year album.

I created this two page layout, using CTMH’s "Workshop on the Go" kit and "Cherish’s Asymmetric" layouts. I cut my title out of Topiary cardstock and backed it with the Heavenly Blue B&T paper. I used "Cherished Flourishes" stamp set and randomed stamp on around the title. I also used "Summer Wishes" (included exclusively in the WOTG Splendor kit) and stamped on the Heavenly Blue B&T paper. Then made some glimmer mist with Autumn Terracotta reinker and Create-A-Shade paint and some hairspray and sprayed the little flower. Then I attached them to the layout using Moonstruck brads, I had in my stash.
In coloring the chipboard flower, I used my sponge dauber and reinker and applied to the flower. Doing this technique, really gives some true terrific color instead of using a sponge to apply the color. I applied some glitter glue to the flower’s petals and on the Moonstruck center piece. The leaves behind the flower was from Scrap-Savvy’s Freebie Friday. How fortunate I feel to receive this file just as I was working on this layout.
I typed out the journaling and printed it on transparency film. I then trim it and ran it through my Xyron adhesive and then attached it to the page.

Well, its time for me to head to the rubber room and try to get some mojo going. Perhaps a bit of "Tidy Time" might help the juices start flowing.
Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
Happy Scrappin’
Leanne

Château de Versaillles

As I mentioned yesterday, we spent a few hours in the Montmartre part of Paris. Then the group met back up at the bus and we headed south to Versailles. I have a need to clarify...I am doing these pages and journaling to you from what I remember. The photos I had taken helps a lot because they are date stamped. Unfortunately, they are not time stamped though. That would make my job a whole lot easier, wouldn’t it? There are certain events that trigger a memory or so. I remember hubby needing to eat. He was a borderline diabetic at that time and tracking eating times were a bit more difficult than normal. Anyhow, we were in the town of Versailles, looking for a place to grab a sandwich. There was a little sidewalk café who was still open, but were going to be closing shortly. Most of the café’ close up around 1pm. Luckily for us, this one was still serving. Everything was written in French, and we had no idea what was what! LOL So the lady behind the counter pointed to the top item, "Gammon" and started making a pig sound. Turns out, she was trying to tell us that was a ham sandwich. We all laughed and said "Oui, Oui!" So we took our "sandwich au jambon et de la bière" (sandwich and beer) outside to a little table and enjoyed!
Bon Appetit!

Afterwards, we went back to the Château of Versailles. I was in utter amazement of the how spectacular this grounds and the palace was. Did you know that this was suppose to be a hunting lodge of the royal family? This excerpt was taken from Wikipedia, "Louis XIII's successor, Louis XIV, had a great interest in Versailles. He settled on the royal hunting lodge at Versailles and over the following decades had it expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world (Félibien, 1703; Marie, 1972; Verlet, 1985). Beginning in 1661, the architect Louis Le Vau, landscape architect André Le Nôtre, and painter-decorator Charles Le Brun began a detailed renovation and expansion of the château. This was done to fulfill Louis XIV's desire to establish a new centre for the royal court. The court was officially established there on 6 May 1682.
No wonder they had an uprising and revolution!

In 1993, we didn’t have digital cameras, but that didn’t stop me from snapping picture after picture after picture! I wanted to preserve this time and memories forever.
For these pages, I used CTMH’s MRK, "Passages." I used CTMH’s how to book, "Imagine" for the left page layout. The right page is from "Passages" WOTG kit’s right page. Of course like the intro page I shared a couple of days ago, I added a lot more embellishments to the page and changed it. On both pages, I distressed all the papers’s edges and used Fiskars’ and Martha Stewart’s border punches. All the florals are spiral flowers. Click here for a still picture tutorial or click here for a video tutorial on how to make your own spiral flowers. I thought I would try something different than what the tutorials said to do. Instead of using straight cutting scissors, I pulled out my decorative cutting scissors, dusted them off and used them. It really gives the flowers a more realistic look to them. On the right page, under the red roses, I made a flower using a flower loom. Most of the time, I would use thin width ribbon, or yarn or fibers, or waxy flax, but I tried using " ribbon this time. I sewed a button and a die cut flower to the center and then put the two spiral roses on either side, surrounding the bouquet with tiny Prima flowers with chocolate brads in the center.　
That’s not all to these pages. There is more than what meets the eye. In the lower left corner of the right page, I wanted to show what it was like walking through the gates and encountering this magnificent palace.

　
But wait there is STILL more!
I didn’t want to make that center picture of the palace any smaller but I also wanted to share more of the gardens and fountains of behind the palace. So, the picture and mat in the center of the right page is 5"x11". So, I doubled the height, scored it at the halfway mark and made a whole other layout in the inside.
　
　
I used the "Say It With Crystals" flourishes to give the effect of the water sprouting up from the statues in the fountains. As you can see most of the titles on all the pages are in French...I wanted to keep the ambiance of being in France with these pages. I see a lot of French influence in my every day life, which I think would go unnoticed if we didn’t go to Paris.
Well, Family and Friends, this is how I spent my month of July. Once I decided to use "Passages" for my monthly workshop for July, that imaginary "light bulb" went off! What better time than right NOW, to get started on scrapping all those pictures of our Paris trip. Now its only been 17 years since we were there. So, this is about all I have done for the Paris album. I still have all the papers, and embellishments and ribbon and everything else all out to be used for some more Paris layouts. So, I better go get busy and do some more pages, so I can share with all of you.
So, until next time....
　
Happy Scrappin’!!
Leanne

Sightseeing in Paris

That first day of our trip was spent mostly traveling from RAF Lakenheath to Paris. Once we arrived in Paris, that first day, we toured around the northern part of the city, not leaving the bus. We all checked in at our hotel, got a good nights’ sleep and started off early the next morning for a day full of sightseeing.

Our first stop was in the northern part of the city, called Montmartre. Montmartre is a hill which is 130 meters high, giving its name to the surrounding district, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre got its name from the "Mount of the Martyrs’. It’s the highest point in Paris and is associated with many hopeful, budding artists. It is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit. Its white dome is a highly visible landmark in the city. Toward the lower end of the hill, you’d be able to see where the Moulin Rouge was located. Moulin Rouge is a cabaret built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. It’s close to Montmartre in the Paris’ red-light district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy. It is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The Moulin Rouge is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Today the Moulin Rouge is a tourist destination, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. Much of the romance of turn-of-the-century France is still present in the club's decor.

In completing these pages, I wanted to give that "turn-of-the-century feel to the pages. I was also showcasing three different attractions, all on a two page spread. So, I decided to give these pages a feel of climbing, 'cause that is what we did that day. So I chose another sketch from Page Maps and gave the pages, the "Leanne touch" to make the pages my own.

The papers I used were from K and Company's "Life's Journey." I tore and distressed all the edges using CTMH's Desert Sand ink. I cut some green delicate flourishes for either side of the pages with my Wishblade. I used the same technique from Dawn McVey's blog to make her "puffy flowers". But before I layered the flowers together, I distressed the edges. Once I put the flowers together I spritz them with my homemade Glimmer Mist. I clustered all the flowers together on top of a couple of flourishes. Both titles Montmartre and Sacre Coeur were cut several times on my Wishblade and stacked to give the look of chipboard. I did the same thing with the birds surrounding the titles.

To make the Glimmer Mist, a sister consultant, Susan Burmood, shared how she was able to take some reinkers, water and CTMH's Create-A-Shade paint, combined them together in a spray bottle and spray as you would regular store bought glimmer mist. I changed it a bit, and used liquid hair spray instead of water. That will help keep your flowers for going flat. As you all know, and I use to say it at all my gatherings, "I am a lumpy bumpy kind of girl."

One last thing about the layouts, I wasn't sure how I was going to journal about all these attractions we saw. I wanted to share what each place was and a bit of history of them. So, I took CTMH's new flip flap, trimmed them down to fit my pictures and used the underneath part to do my journaling.

That first day in Paris, we started off so early. It was a good things since there was so much to see and do. Its been too long to remember (17 years) exactly how long we spent at Montmartre. But I do remember climbing aboard the bus, and headed to Versailles.

That my friends, is a whole another story and more to share. Tomorrow! Thanks for walking down Memory Lane with me and thank you for letting me share my pages. As I complete these pages of our trip to Paris, I am falling in love with Paris all over again.

Until tomorrow,

Happy Scrappin'

Leanne

Crossing the English Channel

As I promised yesterday, I want to continue sharing with you the pages I have completed for my Paris album. I spent most of the month in July working on the layouts of our visit to Paris.

Our first day of our Paris trip, was spent traveling. We left RAF Lakenheath early in the morning. The tour bus picked us up on base and it was a 2-3 hours bus ride to Dover where we took the ferry from Dover to Calais. The pictures were matted on Outdoor Denim cardstock and the journaling was printed on vellum.

The pages are pretty simple really. I used CTMH's Majestic Blue papers for the background. I used oct0812x12dblb sketch from Page Maps. The wheel and the anchor I made into a gsd file and cut them on my Wishblade. I layered over the top of the striped paper a strip of Magic Mesh. But I think what make these pages pop are the "Say It With Crystals" embellishments.

I hope all is well with you and yours. I'll be back tomorrow with another couple of layouts from our trip to Paris.

Until later, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Scrapping!

Leanne

I Love Paris...

I love Paris so much that I have dedicated a whole album for our trip to Paris back in 1993. As you know, I don't scrapbook in order. I just wasn't sure how I wanted to scrap our Paris trip, even though I knew I wanted to get these pictures out of the box and onto pages. Since I started scrapbooking 10+ years ago, I have been purchasing patterned paper just for the Paris trip. So, it wasn't for lack of supplies, it was that darn creative block. I just wasn't sure how I wanted to set up they album. My stack of Paris pictures measured almost 3 inches high. So I said to myself, (yes I talk to myself a lot) "Leanne, stop this procrastination and get these photos organize! Then you'll be able to figure out how to scrapbook them." So, I pulled them out and tried to remember ALL the events and the places of that special time in Paris. I even turned to hubby and asked him. So, we reminisced and walked down Memory Lane, remembering our trip to Paris. So, when Close To My Heart introduced their new MRK, "Passages," that ah-hah moment stuck me! I was going to begin scrapping the Paris trip using these papers. Now, the Workshop on the Go kit from CTMH is a fantastic deal, and the layouts for the papers are fine, but I am not a CASE (that's copy and share) person. I like to tweak the pages a bit and make them my own. I love to take the pages and tweak them and make them my own.

So, without further ado...let me share the beginning of our Paris album. So, for the next few days, I take you for a ride down my memory lane of our trip to Paris. I'll try to explain the thought process of how I developed the pages. And if possible I will try to tell you all the products I used for making these pages. Please remember that I have been collecting papers and I still continue to collect them for over 10 years. My stash is dwindling down, but its a slow process.

Introduction Page

This is the first page of the album. Now I used CTMH's WOTG layout, but changed it a bit. Now I prefer to use a patterned background instead of leaving it simple. So, I cut fleurs de lis on my Wishblade, large and small, and then stenciled the images onto my 12"x12" Barn Red cardstock. I used the colors Cocoa and Colonial White. I cut my title "Destination" on my Wishblade. I also cut "Paris" out several times and layered them on top of each other to give the impression of chipboard. I used my Fiskars border punch for the top and bottom of the striped paper towards the top of the page. The metal embellishments came from my stash. I believe they are from Making Memories. The center flower in the lower left corner of the page, I made using my Nestabilities' scalloped circle. I got the idea from Dawn McVey's blog. She has a step by step tutorial explaining how to make these puffy flowers. I also cut thin strips of Magic Mesh to use on the page instead of ribbon. The journaling piece I used is from CTMH's "Annotations" stamp set. I stamped it twice and cut the top piece around the design on one of them. I then layered it using a pop dot. Then I adhered a "Passage" clip (without the clip portion) to the center of the stamped image.

This is only the beginning of the Paris album. I will try to post day one tomorrow or perhaps later this afternoon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until Later,

Leanne

Do you ever feel like there is just not enough hours in the day to get the things done you want to get done? Something ALWAYS get neglected, whether its housework, or crafting, or checking things out on facebook. There just isn't enough time in the day. Now, would I vote to add a few more hours to a day, heck no. I am just complaining because I am bad at time management.

So, how was your summer? Are your kids back to school yet? The children here went back to school on the 18th. The twins were enrolled at the Cerra Coso day care program. Its so similar to their preschool, that the twins call it going to school. Their first day was the 19th. After Kevin and I dropped the twins off, he says, "I don't want to leave...I want to stay!" Typical first time parent feelings. I was the same way when I sent my children off to school the first time. Then the Saturday after their first day, Jaden was telling Ben to hurry and finish his breakfast so they wouldn't be late for school. He was so disappointed he couldn't go to school on Saturday.

Now, Deborah and Matthew are in all day classes. Kelli is enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation. I am not sure though for how long...she's planning on doing some volunteer work in the children's classes. What a big difference I see in Matty's behavior this year, and for the good. The children love the idea of riding a bus to school. Only problem there is the bus driver won't let them sit together on the bus. She calls Matthew, "Mr Tornado!" LOL Matty is the kind of person that when he walks into a room, his presence is known! LOL

So, here I have more pictures to scrapbook! I have papers selected for these pictures. But what about the pictures I haven't scrapbook that were taken before? I figured I will get them done sooner or later or even much later! LOL

I don't want to make this post very long...I just wanted you all to know I've been thinking of you. I do have some artwork to share, so stay tuned.

Until next time...

Happy Scrapping!!

Inky Hugs,

Leanne

Another First

Birthday layout that is! LOL This time is of my second son, Kevin's, first birthday. These layouts are also going to be used for my monthly workshop. This month's workshop features, CTMH's Zippidee WOTG. Now I changed it up a bit just to give the layout a more festive feel and look to the pages.

I changed it by adding some black "Fancy Fuzz" to the bottom portion of the layouts. Then I punched out colored circles from coordinating cardstock and glued that to a clear button. Then I glued both to the Fancy Fuzz. Instead of using a Colonial White foundation, I wanted to use the polka dot patterned paper from CTMH's "Everlasting" paper pack, but I just had scraps and not enough to use on both layouts. So, I use the polka dot patterned paper from My Mind's Eye, designer's paper slab. My title came from ShariDesigns over at the Cutters Market. The balloon and little cake came from La Petites. I bought these little balloons when K-Mart did a clearance of all their crafts and scrapbooks items. I've been saving them for just this purpose.

That's it for today. I need to go finish getting ready for my workshop and then try to tidy up the house, even with two little four year olds under foot.

So, until next time (which I hope will be again some time this week)....

Happy Scrappin'

Leanne

A Month of Birthdays

With the birth of our granddaughter, Deborah, eight years ago, June seems the beginning of a summer full of birthdays. We celebrate not only Deborah's birthday, but also DH's birthday the day before and Matthew's birthday 10 days later. We'll end the summer with Kelli's birthday and her husband, Mike's birthday in August. So, with all the birthday celebrations, I thought I would work on birthday layouts. Believe me, I have plenty to keep me busy for some time.

This first layout, is of my oldest son, Michael's first birthday back in November 1977. Oh the excitement in his eyes are just precious! The foundation page is from Creative Imaginations. I used stamps from CTMH and Technique Tuesday and stamped 1st, a cupcake and Happy Birthday into each of the circles of the foundation page. Then I cut and layered papers from My Little Yellow Bicycle "Baby Safari Boy" and CTMH B&T paper (retired). The balloons are from La Petite. (I've had these in my stash for a while, just waiting for me to start these birthday layouts) The bear holding the balloons is a digital image from PJG Scrapbook Heaven and the cupcake in the lower left corner of the layout was made using my Nestabilities cupcake die. Now, the die comes in one piece. So after cutting it with my Big Shot, I cut it apart and ran the top portion of the cupcake through my Cuttlebug, "Swiss Dots". The with my markers I added just a touch of color to each little dot, then I used some pop dots to give the page some dimension. And finally the title was done with my print and cut feature on my Wishblade.

This second layout is from my daughter, Kelli's 1st birthday in August 1984. For the foundation page, I used Amanda Blu and Co.'s Happy Birthday To You patterned paper. The patterned paper on the left is CTMH's Birthday Bash (retired) collection. The party hats and the cake and the saying "Happy 1st Birthday" are from Suzy Zoo birthday collection. I printed out the title "Special Girl" using my Wishblade and printing it out on a transparency.

This next set of layouts are of our granddaughter, Deborah's 3rd birthday. Kelli combined Matthew's and Deborah's birthday celebration at Pizza Factory. There really isn't much to this page, believe it or not. The patterned paper is from Creative Imaginations (I think). I loved all the swirls and vibrant colors, that I just couldn't cover or even cut this paper. I ran a strip of Magic Mesh and topped the mesh with some scalloped edge, across the upper half of the page. I cut the photos out as balloons and tied some thin ribbon to the bottom. I also added lots of little embellishments from Suzy Zoo and other goodies I had in my stash.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to have some more to share in the next few days.

So, until next time...

Happy Scrappin'!!

Leanne

Cherries vs Strawberries

Which do you prefer? Do you like your desserts with a cherry on top? Or does a strawberry parfait sound more appetizing? Do I have your mouth watering? I am so sorry about that..I am just trying to make a point.

When Close To My Heart introduce their new summer catalog last month, and I saw the new Cherry-O papers...the only thing I thought of was...why couldn't this be strawberries? Then I search a little further into the catalog and saw the new stamp set, "Fruitful Delight" on page 49. I was so excited about the fact that there is a strawberry stamp! So, hopefully within the next few weeks I'll be able to purchase that stamp set. I was given as a gift earlier in the year, a strawberry stamp set from Flourishes. Knowing I had this stamp set, I decided to use it instead of purchasing the one from CTMH. But the stamp set from CTMH would work marvelously here as I have done with the Flourishes stamp set. All I did was random stamp on a 12x12 Colonial White cardstock with chocolate ink and then using my CTMH markers and my white gel pen, colored in the strawberries, flowers and leaves. The colors I used were: Tulip, Sweet Leaf.

So, why did I opt to use strawberries instead of cherries? I guess the biggest thing is my love for strawberries and also the pictures I scrapped were of Deborah and she is wearing a "Strawberry Shortcake" shirt. See? There is a method to my madness! LOL AND of course you all know how I feel about empty spaces on a layout!! LOL

So, besides using the Cherry-O Workshop on the Go and changing it a bit. I basically followed the instructions. I did add some paper flowers and red brads and gingham ribbon to the mix. I also cut my title out on my Wishblade. I love the oversize photo of Deborah looking up from her paper. If you can't tell from the photos on the layout, she was busy sitting at the kitchen table stamping. Yes, I've started her early to become a stamper. Our next step is to start her scrapbooking.

Well, I need to scoot! My son is taking the children to the movies this evening to celebrate Matthew's 6th birthday. We're going to go see "Shrek." Fun Fun Fun!!!

I still have more to share, so hopefully tomorrow I'll post.

Until next time...

Happy Scrappin'!!

Leanne