Scrapbooking

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A layout inspired by Lyon, by life, by love and by Leslie.

This photo was taken as we walked through the tree lined paths of the magical ‘Parc de la tete d’or’ during our holiday in Lyon a few weeks back. It was a blistering 38 degrees, the air was heavy, and we could hardly walk for five minutes without swigging from the water bottle. We found a quiet spot, sat on a bench and looked over the tranquil lake. All I could think was “I guess what they say is true: la vie est belle“.

On the second day of our holiday, we were followed up the street by two teenagers who could have easily won the award for the worlds worst thieves. They were obviously eyeing up my DSLR, and my pale skin made me easily identifiable as a visitor to the country. It was comical really as they desperately lacked subtlety, but it took a while for us to lose them which was an annoyance. From then on out, most of the holiday was spent clutching desperately to my camera bag.

But as we sat overlooking the still water at the Park, we were alone, and despite being in the middle of a busy city, the park was so huge that it felt like we were in the secluded countryside. We took out the camera and had some photo-fun.

Reviewing the photographs got me thinking….

I’m lucky that i have a wonderful husband who loves me and who makes me laugh. Who gives me confidence and also brings me down to earth when needed. Who puts up with my crafty obsession and who makes me feel like its okay to be crazy sometimes. It may sound cheesy but I just love it when we are together.

And so it was these thoughts of a crazy wife that led to the creation of this layout – that coupled with the inspiration of a talented lady; Leslie Ashe. Last week I shared one of her projects with you, this wonderful inchie canvas:

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Isn’t it awesome? I loved the way that Leslie used circles as a design feature, and the colours were so vibrant and beautiful. Her fabulous project, mixed with the excitement due to the arrival of my circle nestabilities from Spellbinders, inspired me to create a fun layout which incorporated circles.

It was so much fun to make, and I got to use up a lot of papers from my scrap stash, which is always a plus.

Two more things to share:

Firstly, the black circle with the colourful blocks on it was actually cut from a tag that came from one of Craig’s t-shirts. I always save tags from clothing and I know i’m not the only one. Check out these tips about using tags and adverts on layouts from Noell over at Paperclipping: Episode 117: Using Ads & Tags

Secondly, may i extend my thanks to my kitty Miya for ‘helping’ with this layout by chewing the top left corner. It’s okay, i just ran with the grungy feel….

Thanks for looking and please leave me a comment here.

Products used
Creative Imaginations, Double Vision paper
Bisous scraps: crave collection
Cuttlebug
Small circle nestabilities
Stargazers pearlescent paint
Martha Stewart butterfly Punch
Printed chipboard from Bisous
Heart rub ons from Fancy Pants Design
Gems
Tag from Chunk Tshirt
Bind it all machine
Sewing machine
Flower Border rub on from Kaiser Craft
Heidi Swapp ghost shapes
Scallop scissors
live, laugh, love rub on from Basic Grey
Heidi Swapp ‘together’ clear stamp
Archival ink from Ranger
Heart stamp from Gaia
Versamark
White embossing powder
Clear embossing powder
Heat Gun
stapler & staples
Prima flowers
Button from LSS
Blue button from Early Learning centre
Pink dome Card candy
Flower brad from Do crafts
Sand paper
Black pigment journaling pen
Blank ink pad for distressing
and my lovely, lovely Glossy Accents

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Two things:

Firstly a layout to share.

For my birthday last week I got a birthday card from Steven, Craig’s little brother and I was delighted to see that it was actually signed by Steven himself. I always love to hear the stories from Mum and Dad Oman of all the funny things he is up to, and how much he has improved since the last time we saw him. At the bottom of the card there was a row of X’s which according to Steven are ‘Kits kits kits’. How cute.

I made this layout for the Bisous featured designer spot that I featured in last month, and it is titled ‘Walking in a dream’, because back when this photo was taken, that’s how Steven seemed – like he was constantly walking around in his own little dream world. Well, in actual fact, it was just that he didn’t really see any need to interact with anyone else in order to enjoy his day in the garden. Maybe he was just being sensible.

The layout isn’t as colourful as my usual style tends to be, but it seemed to fit better in this instance. The background paper is from the DCWV Far East collection and the rest is scraps from my stash of Bisous papers. Click here to see my Bisous feature last month.

Journaling reads
Life would be easier if we could look into your world to see what you are thinking. But then we would lose those precious moments filled with wonder and uncertainty that makes loving you so very worthwhile.

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Secondly, I woke on Sunday morning to a tweet from the amazing and talented Leslie Ashe to say that I had been the lucky winner for a giveaway on her website. I couldn’t believe it, how brilliant. I can’t wait to see what I get, and here’s a huge thanks from me Leslie. Hop on over to Leslie’s blog to see her stunning work, especially this ‘inchie’ canvas which I think is simply adorable.

Savannah Canvas BY Leslie Ashe

Whilst i’m here, I might as well ask… have you heard of ‘Point, Blank, Period!’, huh? Join the crafty crew over at www.pointblankperiod.org every month where they will claim to challenge your mojo and emotions. I have a feeling this is going to be a great site, and can’t wait to get creating as the first challenge is already up. Go check it out and be inspired!

Thanks for looking and I promise there is a longer post coming your way at the weekend. Wooohooo!