Layouts 37, 38 and 39

Hi,

I think I skipped a week or two with my scrapbooking layouts, so I'm posting 3 today to try to catch up a little.

This first one is a bit of a mish mash of photos of a transport theme from around Paris. Top left is an electric car recharge station, which are parking bays that allow you to recharge your electric car - for a fee of course!  Bottom left is a petrol station that was just around the corner from our hotel.  It consisted of one bowser, a sign and a small shop front.  Drivers don't even pull off the road, they just stop on the side of the road, fill up and go!  On the right is a pic of one of the many, many hire bike stands around the city.  There are a countless number of them all over the city.

One of the things I was really interested in doing in Paris was visiting some of the cemeteries to see the graves of some famous people.  This was the main cemetery in Paris, where we saw the graves of Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, Champollion (he discovered King Tut's tomb), and Jim Morrison.

The grave of Jim Morrison is blocked off as too many people were vandalising it.  Tradition dictated that visitors shared a beer with James, but now they can't get to the grave they stick their chewing gum to a nearby tree.  At Oscar Wilde's grave it seems the tradition is to kiss the perspex fence that surrounds the monument. No thanks!

The next stop was the Hotel de Ville. We only looked at the outside of the building though as the exhibition there didn't interest us very much.  I had planned that we would walk towards where the Bastille used to be, stopping at a few landmarks along the way.  In the above layout the bottom left picture is the street where Jim Morrison lived before he died.  We couldn't find the exact house though.  The middle picture is one of the oldest houses in Paris, called a half timber house.  The photo on the right is some very cool graffiti we saw around the corner from the half timbered house.

The bottom photo here is a closer look at the graffiti.  Someone has used a thin stream of paint to create head silhouettes on the ground.  Very funky!

Have a great weekend!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #217: Just Add Cupakes, Cake or Dessert

Hi!

This week at Just Add Ink we have a theme challenge for you.  We want you to add cupcakes, cake or dessert to your creation.  It's a fun idea and a great idea for a challenge.  Having said that I had a slight panic when I read the theme for the week as I didn't think I had any stamps that fit the theme.  Then I remembered a set I had recently purchased that had a cupcake image.

I also decided to use some of my left over Hip Hip Hooray Kit pieces on the card.  You might also spot a Sale-A-Bration favourite on the card.  I was very excited to see that Stampin' Up have included the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder in the upcoming catalogue.  I really love it and I'm glad to have it for at least another year.

The stamp set was never available here, much to my disappointment.  I really love the whole "Keep Calm" idea and was lucky enough to get my hands on the stamp set.

I thought the cupcake image was really cute, so I just had to include a whole row of them on the inside of the card too.

The design team have come up with a heap of creative ways to interpret the challenge theme this week.  What will you do? See you over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

My Convention Swap

Hi!

I thought I'd sow you the card I made as a swap at Convention.  I didn't end up making many of them as there were quite involved and heavy on the layers.  I was really pleased with how they turned out though.

I tried to stick to products that were carrying over into the next Annual Catalogue as I wanted to be able to use the card as a display card in the future.

I really loved the touch of drama that the black matts add to the card.

As usual I decorated the inside too - which is unusual in a swap, but I wanted to do it anyway.  A card doesn't feel finished anymore unless I decorate the inside too.

Stamps: World Map, Dictionary, Gorgeous Grunge, Memorable Moments, Sassy Salutations
Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Pacific Point, Garden Green, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Watercolour Paper
Other: Big Shot, Circles Framelits, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Banner Punch, Cotton Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Silver Mini Brads, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

Farewell Coredinations Card Stock

Hi!

The retiring lists came out on Friday and one of the first things I noticed that was retiring is the entire range of Coredintations Cardstock.  I don't use it a lot, but it is a product that I will miss.

This card is a CASE of a card from the current Annual Catalogue.  You can see the original on page 33.  It's a card I've CASEd a few times as I really love the design.

I love that you can get such a 'wow' effect so easily and quickly.  On this card I used the Real Red Coredinations, embossed it with the Chevron Embossing Folder and then sanded it.  So pretty!

The stamp set I used for the sentiment is retiring also - it's a Hostess set called Simply Sketched.  Another fabulous set that will be missed - until I find another fantastic set in the new catalogue to replace it!

The inside sentiment also comes from another stamp set that didn't make it into the upcoming Annual Catalogue - Make A Wish.  So many lovely things going, to be replaced by even more lovely things.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #216: Just Ad Watercolouring

Hi!

Oooh, these Fridays keep sneaking up on me too quickly!  Anyhoo, Friday means a new Just Add Ink Challenge!  This week we have challenged you to add watercolouring to your project.

I decided to go for something bright and cheerful, and as I had yet to ink up my new stamp set Happy Congratulations.

On the front I decided to watercolour the lanterns, but on the inside I cheated a little and used the stamp that comes with the set to fill the lanterns.

I hope you have fun with this week's challenge - I know I did!  Can't wait to see your beautiful creations at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Quick and Easy Happy Birthday with Simply Stars

Hi!

Today I have a quick and easy Birthday card for you featuring the Simply Stars stamp set and Retro Fresh Washi Tape.  The two in combination are fabulous for bright, cheerful cards.

I stamped on the base card first using the small splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge.  I love the way it adds some extra interest tot he card without being too out there.

I kept the inside fairly simple, but I think I added a few stamped stars before I mailed it for a bit of extra oomph.

Bye for now,

Tina

Cheerful Hip Hip Hooray Card

Hi!

Today I have a lovely, bright and cheerful birthday card for you, made using the Scallop Tag Topper Punch to create a fancy opening.

These cards are so much fun to make - and easy once you get the hang of it!

I used one of the Hip Hip Hooray stamps that come with the Hip Hip Hooray kit.  It's a fabulous little set of stamps and the kit is pretty awesome too.

With a bit of careful planning the inside was stamped so that the sentiment would not be visible when the card is closed, but the two right hand stars are.  Very cute!

Bye for now,

Tina