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.