BEACH BABES

Beach Babes! And as the journaling says, yes i just said that! Yes this is highly ironical. Or not. Wathever, we rock. :)

The photos were taken on the Toronto's island (remember, the nudist beach?), just after a quick nap on the sand (you can probably tell by our faces. except mine, too excited to sleep!). I wanted to use some soft dreamy colors so i started with the green and yellow floral paper (i'm pretty sure it's a Mint Julep / Basic Grey paper). i cut four strips and sew all around. Then added some pink. And peach . Plus aqua because i love it, and you know, it's a story about a beach. Most of the embellishments are from Travel Girl by October Afternoon (LOVE it)

I then added my journaling here and there. Most of the layout was already vertical so it seemed super weird to write on the horizontal. I think it works just fine this way, and i kind of like it when you have to do some work to read/view the full layout. Et voila :)

THE SUN GOES DOWN

 Hey there. I'm back with a new layout. I already told you a story about my road trip to Quebec and the big part music played in it. Well this is a new story about another song we listened to a bit too much in the car. The song is called Glad you came and is performed by Wanted.  I love it. Yet i haven't really been listening to it much (aka at all) since i came back from Canada. But just like Starships, i know that every time i will hear it, i will think of this beautiful sunset we witnessed when we finally made it to Tadoussac, all the way across Quebec. 

The layout does look extra simple but took me forever because i had to hand cut everything. I also used some of my Mr Huey's to create the rainbow effect behind the lyrics. That definitely was the fun part. The background is a Dear Lizzy paper, kind of perfect for a layout about music don't you think? ;)

That's pretty much it, i'll try and start posting more regularly soon (i am severely lacking motivation to do anything but sleep right now. could someone bring me a spice pumpkin latte please?)

Also, i really do believe that all that counts is here and now. So have a great day :)

MAGICAL VIEW

This layout could be called "I tried to leave as much white space is a could" or "I love Maggie Holmes way too much". The actual title should have been "Reflecting Pool" (because that's what it is), but honestly that didn't look or sound pretty to me so i went with Magical view. I have been loving mixing thickers and handwriting to create titles lately, maybe because i am becoming more confident about my handwriting. 

About the layout: i first created the main square with vellum and a few scraps of paper. i painted the hearts with gesso and pink mist (does that count has giving mixed media a try? that was fun.) Then i did the top clusters and at the same time found a bunch of Maggie Holmes die cuts. I had to use that pink butterfly. Which meant i also had to add something on the left side for balance. Bits by bits, the layout came together. The last touch was the little anchor veneer because i wanted a bit more brown to create a triangle. And that was it. A bit more stuff than i first intended, but lovely anyway.  

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 25

Week 25. This spread might be my new favorite (you know, until next week). I just love the look of 8 4x6 photos and 8 3x4 cards in the middle. What do you think? 

The spread came together super quickly once i had the photos. Hardest part was to pick pretty cards to go with them. Lots of different colors, but i tried to make them work together. Like for instance i picked a pink card for the right spread, so i added pink elements to the left one as well. Giving more balance. And lots of black and white and grey to keep things from getting crazy. Super fun to do. Here are more detailed shots:

Left spread: loved this little heart card from the Midnight edition, but i wanted more pink so i stamped these cute polaroids. At first i only did the three in the middle but it didn't look quite right. Then stamped all the way to the top and bottom. much better. do you use this technique too?

More stamps: directly on the photo (using stazon). 

Right spread: my nephew is the cutest. Also, he liked to stand VERY close to the objective of the camera. i'm okay with that <3. More photos with little tabs on them. The awesome "crosswords" pink card which i filled with key words from the event told on the bottom two photos. And the simplest black and white card with a flair on top of it. LOVE IT. Simple is awesome.

A little embossed stamp. love love this quote. also: pink + green + grey = LOVE

 Aaaaand: this badge is the coolest. right?

HELLO STORY WEEK 3

art print from Small Talk Studio

Week 3 over in the Hello Story classroom had us worked on stories of direction. Which is just a cute sentence that means that we got to work with lots of arrows. Of all the design elements that come and go in the trends, i think they are my favorites (with cameras, obviously). 

Before working on new layouts for this week, i went to have a look at my archives. And found out what i already knew. I use arrows. A LOT.

On layouts: lots of wood veneers to direct your eyes, from pretty patterned papers to frame my design, stitched on the layout like a frame, cut out to make you look at the pretty photo,so you'll see that tiny detail on the photo on which the layout is based, everywhere because there is no such thing as using too much gold glitter arrows!

And on my Project Life spreads: wood veneers to accentuate an element, 3 similar ones to give more balance to the spread, just because they're pretty

As for the layout made specifically for the Hello Story class, well it's quite not ready yet. The thing is i recently decided to print a bunch of 12x12 and 6x12 photos but because in France it is crazy expensive i have been looking for other options in the UK & US. So that is going to take a bit longer, hence the layout that should be ready but really isn't. BUT i did made a digital version of it! Mainly because i want to print the photo with some little cute stuff already on top of it, and once i start playing with photoshop there really is no stopping me. So i thought i could share the digital but clearly not definitive version of the layout i have in mind. Can't wait to work on the "physical" version of it (i don't think digital scrap was made for me lol)

Do you think there are enough arrows? I'm not quite sure...

INSPIRING PEOPLE: CANDY CHANG

Inspiring People is a new feature where i will tell you about people (and their stories!) and how i find inspiration in them.

I first heard about Candy Chang through Ali Edwards and her Hello Story class, which i am currently taking. The theme during Week 2 was Fill-In-The-Blank. And one example was a project that had been developed by an American artist: Candy Chang. Feeling like she was loosing perspective, unable to see beyond the day to day list of shores to be done, she took some chalkboard paint and covered the side of an abandoned house with it. Then she wrote this sentence: "Before i die I want to _______." Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, and share their dreams in a public space. Then magic happened: in less than 24 hours, the wall was completely covered. Then more walls were created, in every country, every language. 

Candy Chang has a video up on the Ted website, which is beautiful. It made me cry, hope, dream, feel inspired, and connected. One thing she said really got to me: "our public spaces help us see that we are not alone as we try to make sense of our lives ... Each passerby is another person full of longing, anxiety, fear, and wonder."

I decided to make my own Before i die wish list after that (which i already showed you, right here) and have been thinking more and more about ways to make each days count. One advice i found and quickly wrote down: Do something today that your future self will thank you for. Yes, there is laundry to be done, and diner to make. But just try and free 30 minutes of your time every day to work on something that really matters to you, like writing a novel, or planning that around-the-world trip. You'll be thankful tomorrow, and a lot happier. What do you think?

P.S.: You can visit the project website for more walls, tools, and resources. And i highly recommend watching her TED talk about the project! Also, i just love Ted Talks, period.

OH HEY THERE

 If you've been following, you might have understand by now. My friends and i, we are a bit crazy. Especially on a girls only road trip. Hence the crazy photos. I just love those two. And the fact that there were some old trains in the middle of Toronto. Because you know, why not? 

 That layout started with the piece of pink stripped paper (remember? from that layout!). Which i decided to mat with this blue pp (i loved the color, but not the pattern, so i figured using it as a frame was perfect). The dark grey piece came after. Then the soft background (i cut out the middle of it, and used the other side to frame my photos. no waste ;)). The supplies are still from my July Studio Calico Kits, so i just went digging into the box for the embellishments. The grey foam alpha comes from here. And so does the buttons. Not something i use often, but that was fun for once. That oh snap transparent die cut is also from my kit. And the rest from my stash. I really love the overall look of it, i need to remember to use some darker tones from time to time, because they work like a charm with pastels.

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 24

Still playing catch up here, with week 24 (mid June, i'm that behind!). One of the first true double spread of the year, i just had a few photos to play with, lots of journaling (and too many pretty cards to choose from). Honestly, i love the look of double spreads way more than single spread. But most of the time i don't have enough photos or stories to tell. So i'm glad June was a busy month (next week will be a double spread too, and one of my fave so far ;))

Left side: the biggest event that week was buying my first ever DSLR. A very pretty Canon 60D which i'm crazy in love with. Obviously i took a bunch of random photos with it the next days, so i made a little collage on Lightroom to include on a 4x6 slot. i also had some fun stitching the "i love my camera" on that blue paper. The cards are a mix of my Studio Calico PL kit, and cards from the Midnight Core Kit (LOVE that hello card!)

Right side is basically a bunch of random iphone photos. I love alternating between 3x4 cards and 3x4 photos. I just bought a bunch of Design F (these ones) page protectors so i could play more with the 3x4. So there are some spreads coming in with them. About this one: a selfie with a lollipop (i kind of got obsessed with them in June, completely because of the endless supply we had at work). Two shots of my Kindle, with a quick review of Mindy Kaling's biography (in short, it's awesome). My cat <3. And the two 4x6 slots are about the movie The East which i got to see at a film festival. Awesome, awesome movie (go see it!). We got to meet the director of the movie after, and he said some beautiful things that got stuck in my head so i wrote about that.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

One week later, and i can finally sit at my desk! That is like the biggest achievement of my week, and i am very much okay with that. I feel so much better than i did all Summer honestly, i am so glad i had surgery! The last days were pretty painful and i couldn't do much except stay in bed, but that mainly mean i got to watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books. Amazon is pretty much the winner here, because that "buy in one click" button got the better out of me this week. Lots of new books (including The Spectacular Now and The power of less. can't wait, but i have like a thousand other books to read first), an awesome scratch map which i can't wait to tell you about, and some sport stuff (the over optimistic in me thinks she's going to be able to go running again very soon. fingers crossed). Like my pal the pen would say: things are looking up :)

I'll be back next week with a more regular blog schedule: Project Life, Hello Story, layouts. I can't believe September, and Fall, are just around the corner! 

THIS TIME LAST YEAR

A year ago, on one very hot 23rd of August, 2012 i was getting my very first tattoo. imagine it said. my favorite word in the universe. it reads the same in both french and english, so i don't have to translate anything here, another reason i love it. i believe that our ability to dream, create and think of things that were, are or could one day be is our greatest tool. I have always been a dreamer. Maybe because i was never satisfied with the everyday routine. Maybe i read too much books, and thought at 11 that i could definitely get a letter from Hogwarts, or that leprechauns had something to do with these beautiful rainbows and that there was so much more we could not see. I dream when i am sleeping, i make stories in my head when i am bored, i imagine my future. One year ago, as this word was painted on my skin, i fled the pain and thought of what was to come: leaving for Canada 5 days later. Starting my final internship 6 months later. Graduating. Starting my life as a somehow responsible adult in the Summer '13. New dreams came in the middle of all that, new stories that i wanted to write. I am not sure at this point that i still care very much for the 4 years i spent studying Business and Marketing. I long for travels, discoveries, earth in my hands, experiences, love, fun, night skies. But what you dream of is not what matters most, it is that you keep fighting to make them come true.

Today is a very hot day too. 23rd of August, 2013. Had you asked me one year ago, i would have told you that i would probably be starting a job somewhere in the world. Paris, London, Toronto. I would finally have moved out of my parents' house and settled somewhere else. There would be new tattoos on my skin. Well, the next story is still about needles. One meant to bring a few hours of dreamless sleep while the doctors do their job. I love irony, and sarcasm (i am, after all, parisian), so this one is quite funny. I thought i would spend my last summer as a student going on some kind of adventure, maybe a road trip. Except for a much needed break in London, i spend it at home. Reading a very big amount of books, watching a lot of movies. Thinking of new dreams, new stories. Somehow, it ended up being both the worst and the best moment for me to get stuck at home, unable to do any kind of adventuring, or even lie on my back. i discovered a person, and her book, that got to me so deeply i started to think of a completely new life for me, and what better moment to make new plans and do research than when stuck at home huh?

As the doctor do their work to get me 100% back on my feet in hopefully only a few weeks, i am still so very grateful for this word on my wrist. IMAGINE.

LIVING ON A BOAT

Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of another life. By the water. And the flowers. With no cars and grey buildings. Then she went for a long summer walk on the Regent's Canal. And she fell in love. With all of this:

All photos edited with Radlab

HELLO LOVE

So, there's this place i really really loved in Ottawa. A little corner of peace with lots of green and blue, a river you could cross barefoot, squirrels by dozen, fresh air, the best view. And all that at only 15 minutes walking distance for the campus. Canada is awesome like that. Obviously, i took a LOT of photos there, and i love them all, but i'm not going to do ten layouts about it. So i thought i'd try and do a fun one, with a lot of photos on it. And that's basically the whole story behind that layout.

I don't have a silhouette or anything like that so i just did it all with a pen and a cutter. Then glued my photos behind. I think it looks awesome. I didn't feel like adding anything more, but then couldn't resist that little hello cork tab. That might have ended up being my favorite part of the layout. I got it in one of my Studio Calico Kit, and all i know is that i need a whole lot more <3

So, tell me: what's YOUR little corner of Paradise?

PROJECT LIFE WEEK 23

 Still playing catch up here, with a super simple spread. It was a pretty quiet week, filled with DIY projects, summer meals (yes, Mr Freeze are a meal. do you have Mr Freeze in the US?? i hope you do.). Also spent an afternoon with a dear friend of mine and somehow managed to only use two photos. i'm getting good at this lol. The rest of the week was work work work.

Supplies wise, everything is super basic. the two 4x6 cards are from the Midnight core kit. lots of black & white, i love it. The 3x4 cards are from a Studio Calico PL kit. love love that gold embossed card. The rest is just bits and pieces from my stash. the spread took less than an hour to make, so that's perfect! see you next week :)

HELLO STORY WEEK 2

Week 2 over on the Hello Story classroom had us worked on fill in the blanks. Which is super fun to do, whether you are 7, 25 or 50. And is AWESOME when journaling, or at least figuring out how to start to, is an issue for you. Which might explain why i was so productive this week! Using the class prompts and ideas, i so far did one layout and two Project Life inserts.

The layout is a first for me, on many aspects. First photo-free layout. First hey i actually managed to cut out that fancy title without making a total mess. And first heavily emotional, kind of creepy before i die list. Making that layout took me a month. Because as comfortable as i am with monthly to-do list, or birthday challenge list, this one felt way more serious. Like, you do not kid with a before i die wish list (or maybe we should? i still don't know). They were some things i din't need thinking of, they were on the list before i even knew i had a list. like #1: become a mom. Some others are super recent, crazy ideas of mine, and maybe i won't care for them in 20 years, but the 24 years old me do want to see them happen. So they made the list too, like #13 Hike the PCT. Some are very basic concepts: feel alive, enjoy it all, learn new things, but forgetting about them is so easy when you are so busy with the little tasks of the everyday. So they made the list too. I could have added more, and maybe less, but i think they are a good image of me right now, and where i want to go. About the right now: don't forget to add a date to this kind of layout! You'll thank your past self in ten years. Also, the L stands for my name (Léa).

 Well, lots of serious talking up there. Here are some fun details then: the layout was created on photoshop (because i don't like Word very much, but that's up to you.) The two fonts i used are Jellyka BeesAntique Handwriting and Traveling Typewriter. They're both free. I printed them on white paper and then hand cut everything the best i could (i do not have a silhouette, so it took quite a while. Because there are no photos,i picked two papers i LOVED (both crate paper)then glued everything down. A little bit of sewing (i do not have a sewing machine.)Basically, everything was handmade. I'll let you figure out how long this layout took me... ps: it was worth it.

I won't talk much of the two inserts i did, because you already saw the first one. I used it on my WEEK 22 project life spread, which you can see below or in its full version right here. Week 22 was my birthday so this specific fill in the blank file about me as a kid and me right now was kind of perfect.

The other insert i will show you in a little while, i am using it for my recent trip to London (which i will be documenting Project Life style).

So, congrats if you made it this far! Do you like fill in the blanks? Do you have a before i die kind of list? I'd love to hear about it! (so i don't feel so alone in telling my life around here ;))

WILD & FREE

I knew i wouldn't really "leave" Paris this Summer, at least not for long. Most of my friends did, dreams of sunshine and water and sand in their head. Me, i decided to go to London for a few days. Even though i could see their puzzled looks: "London? that's not very Summer-like... is it?" Well, the thing is, to me, London is so much more than this cool big city with musicals and Big Ben and stuff like that. It's always wild, green, mysterious and beautiful. First there are the big parks in the city, St James' and its wild flowers, Hyde Park with its music festival. A little farther, Hampstead Heath and its ponds, its forest, its hills. And there's also my very favorite, Regent's Canal. But that's another story. For now, a few pictures of the London i see, and love.

all photos edited with Radlab

And remember, "all good things are wild & free".

KEY WORD: OPTIONAL

Funny story. We had just gotten on the Toronto's island, ready for some walking/photo taking/ beach napping time. Then noticed the signs. Nudist beach, right. Not weird at all. Just 15 min walking from the zoo and playing areas for the kids. I guess this is just another awesome part of Canada. Anyway, because we ain't scared of nothing, we headed straight for it. Only to find it empty. Next time maybe ;) (we did ended up taking a litle nap there, fully clothed might i add). Toronto i love you.

About the layout. All i knew when i started it was that i wanted a central piece with my two photos, the title on top of it, and a frame around all that, made with various patterned papers. so i did just that. Then added the white background. Felt like something was missing. Added the cork washi (yes, it's awesome). Felt like something was missing. Cropped everything and added that pink background. Felt like some blue would be cool. Stitched a blue border. Done.

About that pink background. It's from Crate paper, and i adore it. So of course i saved most of it, leaving just the border. And you should soon see what i did with the other piece. ;)

Finale note: i am mixing up french and english journaling on some of my Canada layouts (like on the picture above). This is mainly because 1/ it's fun 2/ i spent four months in Ottawa hearing people mixing up the two languages on a daily basis which was both very confusing and very funny. So doing it on my layouts as well just seemed very normal. (i think i forgot what normal was at some point there).