THE 20 MINUTE LAYOUT

most of which was spent hand stitching that small pink line. True story.

So last week I saw on Sian's blog that the latest Jot magazine was out. Obviously stopped everything to browse it. Saw some cute stuff, got inspired by some challenges (need to try your bucket challenge Sian!! I need to get more words onto my layouts!) and saw a couple layouts that made me think "hey let's scrap lift!" Which is how this layout came to be. (this particular layout was inspired by the one on page 65!)

One central picture, a photo border I had been hoarding FOREVER (it's from Love Elsie, that's how old it is!!) and then a few embellishments based on the colors of the photo and border. A bit of stitching because why not. And then decided it needed more pink so i added the other paper as a border under my white card stock. I considered adding a lot more but hmm, not really me. I love that photo so much honestly that I could have just glued it on the background and still would have been happy with it. 

I also really like that it's a very "empty" photo that alone doesn't say anything and could be anything and still I look at it and that particular moment spent on the beach comes rushing back to my mind with all the stories that go with it (stories being told in greater details on other layouts. like this one and this one.) So yeah, it took me three layouts to record an hour spent on the beach. and I have more photos waiting!

SNAP SKETCH SCRAP // ONE

It's been a while since I made a layout. I don't think I really missed scrapbooking. Don't get me wrong, I love making layouts, creating, making stuff with my hands. But I am knitting a lot, and sewing and a few other stuff. My hands and brains are very happy at the moment with all those that I didn't really feel like I needed to scrap for a while. I missed stories though. It's been two years (!!!) since Canada and I have two half complete albums and hundreds of photos in a box. And I want to tell those stories. With words, papers and glue. So I grabbed my scrapbooking supplies and picked a few very random photos (those are the best). I wasn't quite sure what to do though. 

So I figured, hey let's take an online class! (i love classes, I'm nerdy like that). I'm a big big fan of Kelly Purkey. She's a/ super cool and b/ super talented. Also, her timing was perfect because as I was thinking about that she blogged about her Snap Sketch Scrap online class and how it was on sale throughout November. 10$ you guys. Filled with really cool content that happened to be exactly what I needed to get started.  A week later, we have two layouts. and two stories told. Success!

Indian Summer. We don't have that in France. So when the leaves started to change and suddenly the streets were filled with the most amazing shades of orange, pink, purple, red and yellow, I may have had the best time of my life. Fall in Canada was AMAZING. And I don't need more than the photo of a very awesome tree I walked by everyday to tell that story. I went a bit crazy with the background there (following the class instruction obviously!) Classes are only good if they force you to push through your limits right? I think it's awesome. The rest is just a whole lot of bits and pieces. And that title. I may be the owner of five different gold glittered thickets and I may have tried every single one of them on the photo before deciding on that one. Sometimes you just need a few upper case gold glittery letters.

And layout #2 (which is actually #1 because I made that one first)

This is a very random photo of a car that's not ours and a building I can't identify. But that's not the story. It's the story of five girls, going on a road trip to Toronto and the Niagara Falls, who spent 7 crazy hours stuck in a car (because apparently 3pm is the time you don't want to get stuck in traffic near Toronto. did not know that!), took way too many toilet breaks (5 girls!) and listened to very weird yet awesome french canadian Rap music (a story that got its own layout that I don't think I ever shared here, hum). Obviously that road trip was magic and crazy and awesome. So it deserved a cool yellow background. The two little photo corners/ arrow in red and blue is my favorite little detail ever (a very cool idea by Kelly!). The rest is a very random assortment of stuff, plus a few epoxy flowers because after all, it's a story about five girls. Looking at it, I feel like I want to go back and add a few more black lines and some more words. I might do. Still like it though.

So, yay, scrapbooking! Many more layouts to come! And stories. What's your favorite little random story?

Oh captain my captain

It was a stripe kind of day. It was morning, I felt inspired and decided to scrapbook. I started picking pretty papers and somehow ended up with only stripes. why not right? The stripes led me to the triangle idea and what do you know this layout was born. The background was the biggest challenge. It started with white bazzil but seriously didn't work. And then i found this pretty one in my stash. Bonus point for the fact that it's lines and lines of the definition of WATER. That's how i knew it was meant to be!

The title was super obvious too. I had just recently told Sian I thought she needed to see Dead Poets Society (seriously, watch it people, it's the best!). So i got stuck with the quote in my head. Then i saw that photo. And I had my story. 

Super simple, super quick to make. Looks like i'm scrapbooking again!

BREAKFAST IN NEW YORK

I have been trying to work on my archives lately and realized there was still a few layouts i haven't shared here. Including some of my favorite ones. So let's get back into the scrapbooking world alright?

This is probably my favorite layout design (well with this one ). The proof is, i've even used it before. Which i am perfectly ok with as long as the layouts end up in different albums.

Best part about this sketch is how simple and quickly it all came together: a 12x12 paper for the background, and then 4 papers from a 6x6 pad will do the charm. I think the best way to make them all work together (even though there are many different colors and patterns) is to stick to one collection (in this case,  Maggie Holmes). Then I added lots of kraft and brown since that was the main color of the photos. 

Also, i realize this is not the healthiest thing in the world, but I do think a starbucks + cupcakes combo makes for a very awesome breakfast.

So tell me, what are your go to layout designs when scrapbooking?

LIFE IS BETTER AT THE BEACH

Yes it is. Back in August, right before i had to go to the hospital for my first surgery, my parents and I went to spent the day at the beach. Even though i live in Paris, since France isn't that big, the nearest beaches (in Normandy) are only 3/4 hours away by car. Yet it had been a full year since the last time i had seen the sea. And boy did i miss it. The wind, the tide, the birds, the air, even the rocks that hurt your feet if your forget your beach shoes. Listening to the waves, it feels so much easier to just breath. and think. and live. 

Also, pretty photos! I took way too many, as per usual. I wasn't sure what to do with them though. Traditional layout? Mini album? PL style? I ended up printing a few small ones and ordering that big beautiful 12x12 shot. Then i made a layout. Lots of white space, delicate little details that made me think of how i felt that day. Except for the sewing (made by hand) the layout came together pretty quickly.

Then i put it away in my PL album (yes i mixed and matched pocket style and traditional style in the album :)). But that big beautiful photo felt quite lonely. So i put it back on my desk and finally, 6 months later, added words to it. Life is better at the beach. Made with a bunch of my favorite letter stickers. My actual inspiration for that is a class i am currently taking by Elise Blaha Cripe called Use your stash. I really, really love the final result. So much that i am thinking about framing the photo. But what would go on the left side of the layout then you say? Still working on that! Thanks for looking!

Heads up for my lovely readers: after many years using the internet under a pseudonym (alinor) i've sort of decided that the chat/msn days are over and will now be using my actual name (lea) for my blog, pinterest... My face is still the same though, so i hope you'll still recognize me ;)

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.  

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.

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?

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 ;))

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).

HELLO STORY WEEK 1

 This Summer, i am taking Ali Edwards' class Hello Story. I love scrapbooking, Project Lifing, and basically just playing with photos. But actually telling the story is something i kind of struggle with some times. Also, i'm a huge Ali's fan. Only two reasons i needed. So far, so awesome. I love the class, though i am super behind. I only did projects for week 1 & 2, and today i am sharing the first one.

Without telling too much, Week 1 is about Timelines, which i think are awesome, even more once you realize that they don't necessarily need to be about time. The layout i chose to work on will go straight in my Canada album, probably among the first one because it works great as an introduction.

 Here are 5 facts about the layout:

- circle design are super cool. because they are very graphic and at the same time don't feel too "grid-like". if that makes sense.

- I first made the layout on photoshop so i could see which type of photos would look good at that format and so i could print them at the exact good size. an almost completely digital version would have looked awesome i think, but my printer doesn't print 12x12 so that was that.

- i do realize that winter isn't really a place like Toronto or Ottawa, but honestly it did felt like a pretty real place by minus 15° celsius on some days.

- i really wanted to use that "never forget" stamp (it's awesome right?), but then the whole layout felt unbalanced, so i added some more stamps from my Dear Lizzy phrase stamp

- i need a LOT more of these woodgrain mini letter stickers by Basic Grey

HAPPINESS RIGHT HERE

 This photo reminds me of a lot of things. Mostly lots of emotional things. Which is why i went with a very clean and simple design. not much words, just the ones that matter. Sometimes, i feel like words are simply not enough. So i rather let the photo do the talking.

Pretty much all the supllies are from my July Studio Calico Kits, except for the pink and green papers that are from my scrap basket. I love alphas, but i'm pretty sure i could survive with just these two. Cork and white. Simple, right? Also, i need a LOT more of this light kraft paper! That's the new white Bazzil people.

OH, DEAR ALICE.

Because it's a season of change (well, for me), here's a layout completely different from what i usually do. 

It's a layout with a secret door. A lot like in the story it is about (and that wasn't even made on purpose, thank you subconscious!) I did it during my "use one collection only" challenge, still using American Crafts and the Dear Lizzy collection. Super super colorful papers, which looks extra fun in my album! 
The layout is about Alice's adventure in Wonderland, one of my old time favorite book. When in New York, we went to Central Park and i literally ran to the sculptures i knew were there. Then took way too many photos. Because i wanted the layout to be about the story too, i picked some of my favorite quotes from the book and printed them on vellum. And here's how the layout turned out:  

I picked a one color background for my base, then found this multicolor stripped paper. perfection. Added two extra detailed photos behind the door. On the top i created little clusters that would serve as clue to tell you there is something underneath. Also, i just love gold arrows and pink butterflies. The "door" opens thanks to the gold washi i used on the right border. At this point i considered adding even more gold but then decided the layout was pretty busy already.

I'll leave you with this quote: "Have i gone mad?" "I'm afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are."

MR BLUE SKY

Here's the thing: when i'm a fan of a brand (like, let's say, Dear Lizzy), i tend to buy the entire collection. But when it comes to actually scrapping, i tend to mix my supplies and use a bunch of papers and embellishments from lots of different collections. So last weekend i sat down and decided to change things up a bit, and focus on a brand. American Crafts in this case. 

I chose a fun background paper then found this little floral card from a cut up sheet. That helped me pick the other papers, based on the colors of that multicolored one (that's really useful to give unity to your layout!). Next i chose my embellishments, from Dear Lizzy and Yes Please. Then i saw this "magical" wood veneer and knew i had to use it, even though it's definitely not from American Crafts (but shh don't tell anyone). I finished with the title, from lots of different brands actually. I guess i'm not that good at using one brand only haha, but still, the layout is like 90% American Crafts, so that's a win right?