Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Gallery wall - scrapbooking yourself

Hi everyone!

Here's a page I made for Getitscrapped.com
We had to make a page representing ourselves.


I decided to use some of my favorite pictures: one of me and my family when I was about 3 years old, one of me and my family now, and a big panoramic one at my favorite place on earth (Half Moon Cay).


I added a quote that I love and that I never want to loose sight of. I printed it on some hand made paper with small flowers and leaves in it.


And I incorporated some work of art that I made myself. I mounted these little cuties on frames that were cut with the silhouette and made gold with Heidi Swapp's Gold Lamé Color Shine spray mist.


I also printed my (now famous) picture of my brother and I on the cover of the Toronto Sun which I printed on normal white printing paper to give it a feel of a newspaper.


In the middle I used a postcard that I bought in Vienne at the Hundertwasser museum, museum that inspired me very very much!!! This postcard is very precious to me and I was not sure if I should put it on a page but I decided to do so because I feel like I'll see it more there than in a box somewhere and also because I have already done a page on my trip to Vienna and the postcard didn't make it on the page so I figure it's place is here, on this page.


For my journaling I wrote down things about me and my relationship to Art.


I mounted my whole page on a golden card stock and I stitched all around with some gold thread.
I really love this page! It's totally me!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Marie-Pierre

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Have you ever used pinwheels?

Hi everyone!

Woohoo! I'm still so excited from my last big news!! :)
But today too I have something GREAT to show you!!
I think that this is my most beautiful page ever!!!
I created it for getitscrapped.com

The story of the page is awesome. I was in Quebec, at my parents house, and everything was planned for me to go meet a good friend of mine when she called me, 2 days before our appointment to tell me that something had happen and that we wouldn't be able to meet. (Things like that can happen in life. I wasn't mad at all. I love my friend more than the day we were supposed to be together.) So anyway, as I heard the news, my other scrappy friend, Genevieve, you've met her here, tells me: send me a picture you want to scrap, I'll have it print for you and tomorrow you come to my place and we'll scrap together!! She caught me off guard (as she often does). I didn't have anything with me to scrapbook, and I don't know if I ever told you before but I'm an "at home, in my things, at my desk" kind of scrapbooker. So I didn't know what to say. I still had one page to make for my design team, I had to use pinwheels in some creative way.... ok, I'm in!

So I went to flickr, to my online gallery, as my friend told me (because you know, as I was caught off guard I said: I don't even have my pictures with me!!) and I went through all my photos, looking for one I could scrapbook with some kind of pinwheel(s). I had no idea of what I wanted to do. I found one nice picture and I sent it to her. The next day I went to Scrapbook Centrale in Montreal and I gathered some patterned papers and some embellishments and I drove to my friends house. She was still at work but she gave me the key to her house and the green light to use her scrap room without her. Can you imagine?? We don't find friends like that everywhere!! :) So anyway i got started, totally out of my comfort zone and a miracle happened!

After 4-5 hours I was sitting in front of THIS:


And oh how I wish you could see this in real. My friend Gen and I agreed that it was THE most beautiful page I had created to this point and we sat in awe for several minutes. I have no idea from where or from what this page came out. My head I guess! ;)

Look at the background paper:


It's grey with some white and some silver butterflies. It's shining like you have no idea!! Gorgeous gorgeous paper! (And I only bought one page! ha!)


The pinwheel is homemade and since I hadn't find any yellow paper of the color I wanted I finally had to go with some washi tape paper. Yeah, I know, expensive!! But I had to! It was THE perfect match to the dress.


I also wanted a yellow paper that was white or cream on the back to make a big contrast and not to add any other colors to my layout. At the very end I decided to add a little bit of blue to get the blue roof from the castle in the picture. My friend Gen made me a custom made glittery brad with a flower brad and some glitter (she's the queen of glitter, we'd have to ask her how she did it exactly) ;) I wrote my journaling on blue strips of cardstock to match the brad.



My pinwheel is attached to a skewer stick that I cut to the right length with some scissors and I adhered the journaling strips on foam dots to have them the same height as the skewer stick.


Behind the picture I built a frame that look like a sun with several kind of yellow and white cardstock and some velum too. I sewed every piece with silver thread.
I added a touch of blue in the title and the date.


Lastly, with some hot glue, I added a yellow ribbon that is exactly like the dress of my daughter in the picture. I had luck with this. I was looking for some kind of yellow ribbon and that's what was there.


Here's my page again. It is now framed and hanging in my daughter's bedroom.


PS: I know that the journaling makes no sense!! I adhered the sentences not in the right order. I fixed it after I had taken this picture. ;) It's all good now. 

See you soon!
Thanks for stopping by.

Marie-Pierre



Sunday, August 18, 2013

Project Life Week 27

Hi Everyone!
First of all, THANK YOU for all your kind words here, on Facebook and on Instagram. I was showered with such nice words that I am now full of energy to pursue my scrapbooking dreams! I feel blessed that I have won to contests back to back, it is just AWESOME!!! 
And for some of you who might wan to know what I'll do with the 500$ Studio Calico Gift Card, I'll register for the monthly scrapbooking kit for one year and with the rest of the money I'll by add-ons, as they catch my eye. I am really blessed and so thankful for all that is happening to me right now!

And now on to my Project Life, Week 27 (I skipped week 26 because I sent it to Get it Scrapped. It will be online sometime in September.) Ok so week 26 and 27 I was in Canada, visiting my parents with my daughters, enjoying my friends, old and new, enjoying music consorts, celebrating the Quebec National Holiday and one week later Canada Day.  I had a great time and I am s happy that I documented everything. Everything last longer when you take a picture. :)

This is Canada Day celebration with a new Friend and his 2 roommates. I met him last year, also at Canada Day, right after the concert I was attending with my dad. During the concert I was regretting that I hadn't bring my camera (I only had my iPhone) and I saw this guy the whole evening snapping pictures of the group, almost from the front row, with this giant camera. Well, after the concert, I found myself walking right behind him and he was looking at his pictures on his camera screen and luckily I'm not shy so I asked if any were good and if he could send me some.  And that's how our friendship started. Fast forward one year later, I'm in Quebec again for the live concert at Canada Day (this is no coincidence, I love concerts so I plan going to Canada every year on the Quebec National Day and Canada Day). :) And we went together. This year I got to try his camera. I had a lot of fun, beautiful pictures and a sore shoulder for the next days. And a new friend. :) Oh, and a new lens for my camera because I was not satisfied with my camera anymore after I had spent the evening shooting with his. ;) 



So this is the meal before the concert and me meeting his 2 fun room mates. :) The story is the one I just told you about how I met him last year.


This is the explanation of the day and some fireworks pictures. (His picture, not mine!)


This is the first group, Les Respectables.


This is us with the famous and gigantic Canada-flag-cake. I know I'm holding 2 plates but believe me, I didn't eat one single bite. No thanks, I'm a chips kind of girl!! :D


These are all my pictures of Coeur de Pirate (Beatrice Martin), the main act of the show. She was so good and adorable. I added a first insert for these pictures.

I had so many pictures, I forced myself to choose the 3 best one.


The other side of the insert: me and my mom shopping at my favorite shopping mall. My favorite frozen yogurt. and time to leave Canada and go back home! This (on the right) is another insert: 8,5 x11. It's a copy of the e-mail I got telling I had finished 2nd. I was jumping HIGH, believe me!!!




This is once we reached our home. :) The girls were happy to see their dad again after 2 weeks away.


Here is an ode to the one of the two cats who is still with us while Capucine had to leave for a better world.


The last little piece down there is a thank you card that I made for Arielle's birthday friends. :) Highly inspired by Arielle's birthday card made by my friend Genevieve. :)


Thanks for looking, guys! I'm off to a week of vacation but you'll get to see a new reaaally really nice layout very soon! :) RIGHT HERE!! You won't want to miss it!! :)

Take care guys and talk to you again soon!!
Marie-Pierre

Thursday, August 15, 2013

a BIG {AWESOME} news!!!

Hi everyone!! Today is THE DAY I was waiting to tell you something BIG!!!

Ready? :)

Salut tout le monde!! Aujourd'hui est LE GRAND JOUR que j'attendais pour vous dévoiler une GRANDE nouvelle!!!!

Prêts? :)

Last April I participated to a contest over at EntreArtistes.fr
This is a French scrapbooking company founded and managed by the one and only Céline Navarro from Two Peas in a Bucket, Studio Calico, Fancy Pants and by Karine Cazenave-Tapie from JBS, Sizzix, Tattered Angels, and more.


They were looking for
THE SCRAPBOOKER OF THE YEAR 2013
nothing less!!


En avril dernier j'ai participé à un concours lancé par EntreArtistes.fr
Si vous ne la conaissez pas déjà, c'est une compagnie Française gérée par nul autre que Céline Navarro Two Peas in a Bucket, Studio Calico, Fancy Pants) et Karine Cazenave-Tapie (JBS, Sizzix, Tattered Angels et bien d'autres).

Elles cherchaient la SCRAPBOOKEUSE DE L'ANNÉE 2013, rien de moins!

There were 5 challenges to tackle: a home decor project, 3 pages and one mini album.
Very naturally, I decided to jump in the adventure!

Lots of work and lots of months later, I received an unexpected e-mail from Céline telling me that I had finished SECOND!! :)

Il y avait 5 défis à relever: un projet de home décor, 3 pages de scrap selon des critères donnés et un mini-album. Tout naturellement, sans même y penser, j'ai sauté pieds joints dans l'aventure!

Beaucoup de travail et plusieurs mois d'attente plus tard, je reçois enfin un courriel de Céline m'annonçant que je suis arrivée 2e!! :)


Unexpected, right?? :)
I was dying to tell you but now I can't just show you my creations here, you'll have to buy the magazine to find out with what I won!! :) You can order it here: zepresse.fr or here journaux.fr

While you can get you hand on the magazine though I can offer you some sneak peek:

C'est fou non??! :)
Je mourrais d'envie de venir vous en parler, mais je n'avais pas le droit. Aujourd'hui, la revue annonçant les gagnants est mise en vente. Pour voir mes créations, vous devrez vous procurer la revue. Dedans vous y trouverez non seulement toutes mes réalisations, mais aussi une entrevue avec moi-même. Vous pouvez la commander ici: zepresse.fr ou ici: journaux.fr et si vous êtes au Québec j'ai entendu dire que Indigo la tenait en magasin. Il y en a un au 10/30 sur la Rive-Sud de Montréal.
En attendant, je vous montre quelques petits bouts de ce que vous trouverez dans la revue... ;)

Home decor:
Décor de maison:


One of my 3 pages:
Une de mes 3 pages:


The cover of my gorgeous mini-album with lots of Heidi Swapp gorgeousness in it!!!
La couverture de mon mini-album avec beaucoup de Heidi Swapp dedans!!


See you soon guys!!! I'm so happy today!!! :)
I really hope you'll get to see the integrality of what I made.

Bye les amies! À bientôt! J'suis tellement contente aujourd'hui!!! :)
J'espère que vous aurez l'occasion de voir l'intégralité de mes créations!

Marie-Pierre

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

special "scrapbook" card

Hi everyone!
As I was listening to the Paperclipping Roundtable today, I heard that someone was looking for people doing kind of scrapbook pages on cards. Well, I do. :) From time to time.
And I actually just gave one like that last week to Arielle's swim teacher who we liked a lot.
He really did more than "only" being a teacher to her so I thought it was well worth the effort. :)

Here it is:


I really wanted to give him a picture of the two of them together because we really can read the complicity and I framed it in a polaroid frame form Heidi Swapp to give it more importance and make it stand out. The next thing that I wanted to stand out was the sentiment: The best teachers teach from the heart. I added some little embellishments. I think that's my scrapbooker personality who brought me there. :) All in all I think the card is pretty, is thoughtful and I know that he was VERY happy to get it! His mom was too, he told me. lol

Talk to you later!!
Watch for a big news on my blog this thursday 15th. Beside the ending of the contest at Studio Calico which I am winning for now(!!!), I have something else to tell you. :)

Marie-Pierre


Friday, August 9, 2013

Project Life - how to be caught up? + Weeks 24 and 25

Hi everyone!!
I've been talking a lot about Project Life lately.
For me it seems to be another way of recording memories.
I scrapbook regular pages, I make about 4 pages a month, but it never seems to be enough. Even though the memories I scrapbook on those pages are one that really touch my soul, I feel like the whole of my story is not recorded with only some pages or some random stories here and there. So that's why Project Life is THE BEST THING I can do to record my story as a whole.

People as me how I manage to stay up to date.
First of all, I keep my album out and accessible!!!



I have it on a table, open at the right page, in my scraproom which is right next to our kitchen.
Next to my album, I have my journaling cards. I don't separate my cards by color but by "function" they can operate. In a kit you have some journaling cards, some other with a place to put a small picture, some that have some sentiments on them, some other are basic patterned paper or have a cute image on them.

    card for journaling

    card for smaller photo

So I keep the journaling cards next to my album and when something comes up like something one of my daughters did or said, or something that comes over and over again and is typical of our life style or family, I'll grab a card, the one that fits the content I want to put on it best, and I write! With a plain black pen. I really, for real, don't worry at all about the color scheme. I want to have memories down!!

At the end of the week or let's say as soon as I have time, when the week is over, I choose pictures that will go in my album.
I take pictures everyday. A lot of pictures everyday!! And I load them to my computer every couple of days. I save them in folders per date and I write a short description of what it contains. Sometimes it's just one word. When I choose my pictures, I'll check in the folders according to the dates I'm working on. I usually find 7 4x6 photos and some 3x4. I try to let one or two spots free for journaling, depending on how much explanations I feel the pictures need.

Here I don't have extra cards for journaling. I only decided to crop 2 pictures smaller and add them to cards so that I have some room to write a little more journaling than on a simple tiny tag.

If I already have cards in the album (random things that I wrote on the cards already) I'll work with the space available. Almost every week though, I'll add some inserts!! If I have 2 more 4x6 and 2 ore 3x4 that I want to add, I'll add a 6x12 insert and fill in the gaps with more photos and journaling.

    6x12 insert for 4 4x6 pictures and 4 3x4 pictures.

    reverse side of the 6x12 insert + another 8.5x11 insert.

For everything I have that is not the size of a picture, I insert a new page. I don't worry about the look. NEVER! I rather have the things in my album and it doesn't look nice and tidy as don't have it in my album!

When I'm done choosing and printing my pictures (I print at home!!!! I hate to wait a week to get my pictures and then don,t remember what I wanted to do with them or what I wanted to say, or take notes on post-it and rewrite everything. It feels like double work to me and it reminds me of school...! and that's not necessarily a good thing.) So when I'm done printing my pictures, I find some tiny tags (Elle's studio has a lot of choice) and I write little things. I staple them to the pictures and I call it good.






    I never have enough of these small tags!!!

Sometimes I find small scraps of paper that also work as tags. I use them, but I don't make them FOR my Project Life album. They are just there.


Sometime, I do a little more.... But what I do more is always to write infos on my pictures. It's rarely to embellish.

Here I spelled the name with letter stickers and stitched over it.


Here's an example of embellishing for fun (which, really, rarely occurs!!)





I like embellishing, I like the result, but it's never never never my priority and I would also NEVER GO BACK to embellish a page. Once my pictures and my journaling are done, I move on!

That's my way of doing Project Life and of keeping up with the album. As I said, I also do scrapbook pages where I embellish and get creative so my Project Life album is less a creative outlet and more a place to tell my story as a whole.

I hope this could help some of you and if you're a scrapbooker and not a Project Lifer, maybe it will give you an idea or the will to do it too. I'm telling you, it's well worth the time and money investment!! :)

And now here are my weeks 24 and 25!






















Here I added a small note that Arielle wrote. It's her guests list for her birthday party. I was lucky that not everybody could make it! ;) When I add an ephemera like that, I also add a tiny tag to it to explain what it is.






















Week 25:




Sometimes I have two pictures representing one event so I will print them smaller and combine them on a 4x6 card. This is also a way to create space to write my journaling.




Here's an example of a journaling card. I thought I'd need to say more than just: we were playing at the park, it was fun. I always try to go a little further than the obvious.


Beside my Project Life card kits (I have one from Becky Higgins - Seafoam edition and one from Studio Calico that come monthly), I sometimes print cards that I found on internet. Miss Tiina is sharing really nice one for free.




Sometime, while choosing my pictures, I write directly on them with Photoshop.
Here I added a little word with my white pen. It works really well too.


And I use Becky Higgins arrows (or star stickers, etc.) to highlight things in my photos. Here we didn't see the little baby birds very well...


I love love love these cute cards with free space for smaller pictures.


Ok, here I went carzy again and added a brad. ;) Wooooh!! lol It was to hide something I didn't like. ;)


Voilà!!
Hope you liked my post!!

See you soon!
Marie-Pierre