Layouts 67 and 68

Hi!

I'm nearing the end of my Paris trip layouts - only 2 more weeks to go after this week!  I hope you're not sick of them yet.

As exhausted as we were when we flew into Singapore on our way home, we decided that we wanted to get out and see a bit of the city while we were there.  It was really tempting to stay at the airport and try to sleep a little more,  but I didn't want to regret not going into the city, so off we went!

After discussions with the lady on the help desk we decided to splurge on taxis rather than to attempt the public transport system on the amount of sleep we'd had!  In the end it wasn't much of a splurge, as the taxis were quite cheap.  Our destination was the Marina Sands Resort and the Art Science Museum as there was a Titanic Exhibition there that we were both keen to see. We wandered around the Resort for a little while and saw the amazing Casino, which looks like it has a boat on top of 3 pillars!  We also saw people getting a fish pedicure (yuck!) and some costumes from Wicked!, which was showing there.  Sadly, we didn't have enough time to catch the show.

The Museum is an incredible building that is in the shape of a lotus flower.  So pretty!  There are several ponds surrounding the building that are full of lotus plants.  There weren't many flowers in bloom, but the ones that were blooming were beautiful.

Bye for now,

Tina

Layouts 65 and 66

Hi!

Apologies for the late posting of my layouts this weekend, the sunshiny weather has continued over the weekend, so we have been out riding bikes and enjoying the sunshine.  It's been a fabulous weekend!  So here they are now, better late than never, and with new layouts being planned in my head for the photos I took of us this weekend!

On our last night on Paris I took a few photos of our hotel room.  I'd booked it online and took a bit of a gamble that it was going to be OK.  It was actually better than OK!  We were given a room that was better than we'd booked (and paid for) so we were thrilled.  I'd done a lot of research before booking a room and had discovered that many rooms were absolutely tiny.  Some only had fold down beds - no thanks! It was still what you'd call a small room in Australia, but more than adequate for our needs.

When I booked the website said that the hotel had a laundry service, which was a huge bonus, but when I asked about it I was told to use the laundromat down the 'rue'.  That was an adventure in itself, as none of the instructions were in English and my French was clearly inadequate!  We eventually worked it all out, only to be accosted by a drunk, English speaking French man who was desperate to visit Australia and wanted to know all about it.  He kept asking us to tell him a joke!  It was such a strange experience, but very funny.

Sadly they next day we had to catch the Metro back to the airport.  We had all of our luggage with us and got a few dirty looks from the other travellers as we took up a lot of room.  It was a pretty uneventful trip back to Singapore except that we were unable to get much sleep and so we were very haggard by the time we touched down.  Our bodies were telling us it was the middle of the night, but it was morning in Singapore.  We found a couple of banana lounge type things and managed to get a few hours sleep, although it was hard to get much rest when we had to keep one eye on our carry on luggage.  Still, it was all an adventure!

Bye for now,

Tina

Layouts 17 & 18

Hi!

Ready for some more of my Paris trip?

Before we left for Paris my well-travelled sister let me know of an old superstition in Paris - if you find and stand on the Zero Point of Paris you will one day return to the beautiful city.  Point Zero is in front of Notre Dame and is the point in Paris from which all distances are measured.  It took us a while to find it as it is always surrounded by crowds of tourists, no doubt all wishing the same thing! As you can see, we did eventually find it and we were able to make our wish.

Words really can't describe Notre Dame.  From the outside it is beautiful, towering above us.  There is so much to see everywhere you look.  I loved the carvings above each of the doors that tell the story of the Bible.  It was told in pictures so that the illiterate could still learn the stories.  Clever!

 

Once we got inside we were rendered mute. The atmosphere inside was amazing.  Even though there were signs all around requesting silence, they weren't really necessary.  You just don't feel like talking.  Your eyes are so busy taking everything in.  Incredible!

The massive stained glass windows are stunning.  We were lucky to be there on a sunny day so we could get the full effect of the sun streaming through. The workmanship is incredible!  At the far end of the building was a model of the building of Notre Dame.  I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw it.  In this modern time it hadn't occurred to me that Notre Dame was built in a time before the machinery we have now.  Those incredibly high arched ceilings were built by men on wooden ladders.  Amazing!

Bye for now,

Tina

Layouts 1 and 2

Hi!

A few years ago, after my friend Claire Daly challenged herself to scrap 100 layouts in a year, I decided to undertake the same challenge.  I made it by the skin of my teeth, but I did make it.  Since then I have scrapped a lot less, usually only for my Just Add Ink Scrapbooking commitments.  So this year I have decided to reignite the challenge - 100 layouts scrapped in 2014.  This is also part of a desire to scrap my trip to Paris, which was nearly 2 years ago now.

100 layouts works out to around 2 layouts a week.  I know it's achievable as I've done it before.  I have a bit of a headstart as for the past few days during the Adelaide heatwave I've got stuck in and completed 16 layouts.  I'll be showing you 2 or so a week, hopefully all year.

I decided to do a title page for the album rather than jumping straight in to the photos.  I've been collecting bits and pieces to complete this album even while we were in Paris.  I wanted to make this page pretty and elegant, as the beautiful city deserves.

The Paris sticker was actually purchased as a part of a set in the gift shop at Notre Dame.  Funny how you remember such little things!

The next page is actually a double of the journey to Paris. Saying goodbye to the kids in Adelaide, an eye opening visit to Changi Airport in Singapore and finally landing in Paris just before dawn.  For Rob and I both it was our first trip overseas and it was all very exciting and overwhelming.  I had to include the photos of Rob on the planes.  He wanted the window seats as he likes to look out as we are flying, but on the Adelaide to Singapore leg his 'window seat' was actually a wall seat!  He was not very impressed! Thankfully he got his window seat for the flight from Singapore to Paris.

I am using Stampin' Up!'s retired 12x12 divided page protectors for a lot of my album.  I'm finding it a great way to scrap this album as it seems to lend itself to travel scrapping quite nicely.  I'm beginning to realise that travel scrapping is very different to other scrapbooking.  Can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it's the storytelling aspect.

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Ink #130: Just Add Blue and Bling!

Hi!

Are you ready for another fabulous Just Add Ink Challenge?  I sure am!  This week Nikki has challenged us to Just Add Blue and Bling.  When I was thinking about what to make fro this challenge I thought back to my time in Paris and remembered the Eiffel Tower at night and how it sparkled with lights on the hour.  Such a pretty sight in a pretty city!  My card is inspired by my memories of Paris.

I used my Heat and Set powder in combination with Dazzling Diamonds to recreate the sparkling Eiffel Tower.

I also used a silver gel pen to add some stars to the night time sky.

Another Eiffel Tower on the inside of the card.  My Aunt and Uncle are off to Paris next year so I think I'll keep this card to send as a Bon Voyage card.

Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Sentimental Journey
Ink: Night Of Navy, Versamark, Silver Gel Pen
DSP/Cardstock: Night Of Navy Patterns Stack DSP, Night Of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Silver Embossing Powder, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, 1" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, White Baker's Twine, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat and Stick Powder, Mini Silver Brad, Basic Jewels Rhinestones

I hope you can play along this week at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Layout 17:

Hi!

I'm back with some more scrapbooking.  This layout uses some photos of Hudson on the first day he had his KidWalk.

I included some inspirational quotes about journeys on the layout.  The first one reads : The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  The second one reads: To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.  Very appropriate for my little man Hudson.

Stamps: Sentimental Journey
Ink: Crumb Cake, Night Of Navy
DSP/Cardstock: Travel Journey DSP, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Night of Navy
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alpha Die, Stamp Positioner, Night Of Navy brads

Catch you later,

Tina

A Male Birthday Card

Hi!

Today I'm back with another birthday card.  The person who will receive this card is very much into cars, so I decided to use the Travel Journal DSP with the car image on it.

And how convenient that there is a matching stamp in the Sentimental Journey set for decorating the inside of the card!

Stamps: Sentimental Journey, A Word For You
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake
DSP/Cardstock: Travel Journal DSP, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake
Other: Stamp Positioner, Sponge Dauber

Catch you later,

Tina

Mini Catalogue Blog Hop

Hi!

Welcome back to another blog hop.  Today's hop showcases some of the products you can find in the new Summer Mini Catalogue.  I have chosen some of the products in the Travel Suite range, which you can find on pages 16 and 17 on the Mini.  The blog before mine is the wonderful Nikki Sadler's.  Just keep hopping til you get back to where you started.

I have made two very similar cards that would be suitable for an older male's birthday.  This can be a tricky age group to make cards for!

 All that's really different is the placement of the DSP behind the main panel of the card.  Here's each card individually:

A closer look at the side.  I raised three sections of the cards on dimensionals: the first layer, the main panel and the plane image.

Finally, a look at the inside of the cards.  As the base card was Night of Navy card stock it was essential to add something to the middle so that the card could be written on.  I love the tone on tone Crumb Cake effect.

And that's all from me.  Now you're off to see what fabulous creations Amy Buchanan has come up with.  Happy Hopping!

Stamps: Sentimental Journey, Curly Cute, A Word For You
Ink: Night Of Navy, Crumb Cake
DSP/Card Stock: Travel Journal DSP, Night Of Navy, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue
Other: Paper Snips, Dimensionals, Hemp Twine, Stamp Positioner

Catch you later,

Tina