Stamps Ahead

On 1st January this year, my sister and I were in France and we decided to visit the Flea markets at Porte de Clignancourt.  My sister had visited these markets previously and had raved and raved about them, so we were looking forward to our visit this day.  Well, the French slept in obviously after celebrating New Years Eve as all the stalls were closed and did not open until much later than advertised.  We wandered around the labyrinth of market stalls and eventually found this one open and it was one of my sister's favourite from her previous visit.   A real treasure trove of unique objects. The embellishments on the page with the exception of heart and little sticker bottom right were purchased from the stall.. The background paper has french words all relating to commerce and marchandises and it was just appropriate for the layout. Thank you for looking.  Adieu.  Margaret

There are many blogs that have Clean and Simple Cards but I have gone for a clean and simple scrapbook layout. Last December, my sister (bottom left) and I were in Vence, Provence, France and we went for lunch at this restaurant, "Le Passe Muraille", in the old town on Christmas Day. Lunch was in the 700 year old cellar of the restaurant, it had a very jazz feel to it. There was about 13 people in the restaurant and there was Christmas music playing in the background. People in France celebrate Christmas Eve and so the old town was very quiet. We had the set menu of 38 Euro each. Menu de Jeuner de Noel Champagne and blackcurrant liqueur (Welcome) As a non-drinker I had Diet Coke. Small bread entrees - pate, cheese, bacon etc (See plate in the photos) Scallops and seafood 2 Fish with rice and cauliflower Goats cheese with salad Meringues Buche de Noel I hope that you have enjoyed this layout as much as we enjoyed out meal, well with the excep...

We have just had a long weekend here in Australia (Queen's Birthday) and it was raining, raining and more rain and not to mention cold.  I spent the weekend decluttering my craft room and whilst I was in my scrapbooking papers I found this old kit from a store that is no longer operating. It would be many years old.  I loved the poppies and I just could not discard it every time I looked at it over the years.   Well, today I decided - use it!!!  These photos were taken at Tour (Tower) Montparnasse , in Paris.  From the 59th observation floor of the tower you get 360 degree beautiful views over the entire city of Paris.  It takes just 38 seconds to get to the top. It was very windy the day my sister and I went up, earlier this year, and it was overcast but at just the right time the sun came out over the Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) and it made for a magical moment. One of the elements of this layout are the stitched an...

Another challenge over at Scrapbook Challenges required the use of triangles on a layout.  It is easy to make triangles - use a square punch and then cut that square in half diagonally - voila 2 triangles. These photos were taken in Vence, south of France, on the evening we arrived in this wonderful medieval village for a 2 week stay last Christmas.  The townsfolk joined in the parade and followed the musicans around the town - I followed for a short time before hunger took over and I went back to restuarant. Thanks for looking, until next time, Margaret

On 29th December, 2011 we made our way by bus from Vence (Southern France) to Eze via Nice.  Eze is a thousand-year-old Medieval village about 400 metres above the Mediterranean Sea.  Lunch time came and we decided to go to Chateau Eze which clings to the ancient rock walls of Eze. The restaurant is Michelen starred, the chef  was Axel Wagener from Holland, and they served melt-in-your-mouth fare.  It was a WOW experience, a highlight of our holiday and both my sister and I were in awe of the food and the view. For a tidy sum you can also stay at the Chateau, alas not for us as it was a day visit only. For this layout I have used a sketch from 4 X 6 sketch blog . Just two of the plates we had -this is the dessert I had - chef's speciality -  St Honore with Paris-Brest. At the end of the meal the chef gave us this plate of magnificence - mini orange and almond cakes, 1/2 macaroon with citrus cream and mini florentines....

Over at Scrapbook Challenges, they had a blog hop with a difference for National Scrapbooking Day.  Each blog had a piece of a puzzle and at the end you had your layout.   Here is my finished layout: And here are the puzzle pieces, that I printed out and patched onto a piece of paper.  When I printed them out some were small and some large - but I could still get the layout idea.   I moved my photos to a right orientation. Thank you for looking.

Today, I participated in challenges over at Big Picture Classes , they had 12 challenges, but for various reasons (washing, cleaning, helping my sister to pack up for her move to her new home, shopping etc) I could only complete 3 of the challenges . This challenge was to use any cast-off object on a layout. It could be product packaging, scrap papers, stray puzzle pieces were some of the examples given. On the tag I have used the top of a packet of macaroons and the ribbons were from the packaging of the macaroons and some other goodies from Laduree. My sister is standing outside the iconic shop on the Champs Elysees, Paris. This challenge was to use kraft cardstock in 2 ways.  One of the joys of travelling for me is doing some research before on what scrapbooking stores are at our destination. This time it was Paris, and "Bingo" we found Le Temple Du Scrap. They had an amazing collection of  laser cut embellishments.  I have used a ruled Kraft fo...

On 2nd December, 2011 my sister and I spent the day in Eze, Southern France, a beautiful village atop the hills.  Here is Heather in a quiet place we found in the village - Place Francis Blanche. I loved this village and we had a great day.   I used paper and embellishments from a Lickety Split Kit I won when I attended Great American Scrapbook Convention, Arlington, Texas a couple of years ago. And the sketch was from over at Scrapbook Challenges.

On 2nd January, this year I was lucky enough to visit Euro Disney in Paris and one of the rides that I took was the Pirates of the Caribbean. Now this was one of the most visited rides and there was a long line up to get onto the boats that take you down into the depths. It was fun (if a little disappointing that it was not longer) but it was colourful and at times wet!!! This layout was for another challenge at Scrapbook Challenges were I had to use 7 patterned papers on a layout. I have used 8 but if you do not count the arrow at the left (not much patttern on that one) there is 7. Arr...........keep scrapping me hearties..............

I found this sketch over at 4 X 6 sketch blog and it was just right for my photos of La Tour Eiffel. I used my camera software to change the photos to sepia. I love the simplicity of this layout. Thanks for looking. Edited - Oh no.....I made a spelling mistake on the layout - it should be La Tour Eiffel.....as soon as I realised I quickly ran to the layout page and changed it!!!!

These photos were taken in Grasse, France. We spent the day here walking the perfume shops and Fragonard village and perfumery. This layout was another challenge over at Scrapbook Challenges. I was certainly challenged to complete this one as my starting point was the DCWV Die Cuts with a View) paper that had the perfume bottom and words. I found the perfume labels in my stash, I punched, colour misted, ink distressed edges, and made a large die-cut flower (Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers). I am happy with the way it all turned out - got to love a challenge. Thank you for looking and take time to smell the flowers.

Fun in the Snow. More photos from my excursion into the mountains outside of Salzburg. Sparkling Nice, France. Inspiration was from Creating Keepsakes March/April 2010 (just shows keep a layout that you see in a magazine you never know when you have the photos that are just perfect). Close up of the glittery paper (from Creative Imaginations Signature Collection) and my current favourite Sparklets from Kaisercraft. The title was created using glittery alphas from Thickers.

I am enjoying the challenges over at Scrapbook Challenges as I have a lot of my Europe photos yet to scrapbook and it is great to get inspiration. One of the highlight places my sister and I visited was the medieval village of Eze in Southern France. At the top of the town, perched high on top of mountains, there is a cactus and sculpture garden. It was a delight to wander around and this layout shows three of the many sculptures there. One was called Margot and of course I had to pose just like her as soon as I saw it. Now, I only like being called Margaret but Margot was close enough!!! And look at that blue sky it was a beautiful day. The paper and embellishments are webster's pages and the alphas are Kaisercraft. Thank you for looking.

Bonne Anne is French for Happy New Year. On 1st January, we were in Paris. We started the day at the Paris Flea Markets - alas as it was the 1st day of the year most of the stands did not open and there was not many people around (getting over the night before maybe), nevertheless we had a great time wandering those that were open. We then made our way to Sacre Couer in time for lunch at a restaurant with this view. We made our way the hill to explore and of course there were Christmas markets to view. This is where the people were - it was crowded, crowded and did I say crowded. Then a walk and a spot of window gazing and souvenir shopping around Montmarte before late in the afternoon heading off to find dinner. I was inspired by a challenge over at Scrapbook Challenges to finish this layout. Notice the little spots of red and blue to tie in our coats. I used an old Stampin'Up! kit that has been in my stash for years to make this layout.