Hi!
It's a new week and a new sketch at Scrapbook Challenges! This time, the sketch includes one large photo and two small ones.
For my layout, I replaced the large photo by a grouping of four smaller ones. I had a gap in the middle because my photos were not all the same size, so I used that space to add a sub-title. I also switched the top left small picture with a journaling tag. For my title block, I stapled some twine, fussy cut some monkeys from a Basic Grey paper (Hey Boy!) and pop-dotted them along the twine and on the cork sub-title. A bit of stamping and inking, and that was it! It was a fun page to put together... and it brings back fun memories too! :)
Go check out the rest of the DT reveal at Scrapbook Challenges! I hope you join us and play along for a chance to win the April prize!
Have a scrappy week!
Martine
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layouts,
Peru,
Scrapbook Challenges,
sketches
Hi! The March Mood Board is up at Scrapbook Challenges and it's yummy! Fresh and springy greens and yellows, plus some orange and "corky" brown too! And lots of pretty pictures to inspire you also!
This is how my layout turned out. I went with the main colors but added some dark brown.
The title means "Martine with the Monkeys". The pictures were taken in the jungle of Peru, where we were staying at a lodge for two days. One of the highlights of the visit there for me was the trip to "Monkey Island", just across the river from our lodge. It was a big island where monkeys roamed free, but knew to approach when tourists appeared because they brought mini bananas with them. I've always been fascinated with monkeys (wanted one when I was little to guard my bedroom door against my relentlessly teasing brother! LOL!) and read all about Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall when I was growing up. So this was quite the experience for me! I was somewhat conflicted though, as I strongly believe in not feeding wildlife and accustomizing wild animals to humans. They told us that this colony of monkeys (three different species) was started when they rescued an original group of ten or so animals from poachers. They eventually brought them to this island where they've been living freely and breeding. Is the story true? I don't know... but to have the chance to feed monkeys and have them climb up on my shoulders when they felt like it, I was willing to believe it! ;)
I used Basic Grey papers again: "Hey Boy" for main pieces and the cute monkeys, then some preciously hoarded "Mellow" scraps for the punched out circles, along with a few other extra miscellaneous scraps. I had fun with the monkeys: I fussy-cut them and pop-dotted them for dimension. Eventually there will be a second page with journaling and more photos.
Go check out the rest of the reveal on the blog and get inspired to create and link up with us before the end of the month!
Have fun!
Martine
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Basic Grey,
layouts,
mood board,
Peru,
Scrapbook Challenges
Hi!
There's a new sketch up at Scrapbook Challenges! This week, it features an 8x10 photo! I don't often scrap with big pictures, so this was fun for me. It was also the perfect sketch to remember my sweet girl Lexi, whom I had to put to sleep last week. She was almost 17 and had been battling chronic renal failure for a year now. So although it wasn't unexpected, it's always gut wrenching to have to make the decision that the time to let one of our babies go has come. I take comfort in knowing that she had a full and long life. She was one tough cookie, all of 5 pounds but making the big boys of the house take notice of her and respect her space. She was the queen of the place! lol!
Here's the sketch and my layout.
I used one one my all-time favorite Basic Grey collections, Periphery. I hadn't done a layout with big clusters of layered flowers in a while, but it just seemed fitting for my little princess!
Go visit Scrapbook Challenges to see how the rest of the DT interpreted sketch 431! And please join us! You have until the end of March to play for a chance to win! See you there!
Have a great week!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
cats,
layouts,
Scrapbook Challenges,
sketches
Hi!
Scrapbook Challenges has just released sketch #426.
It's a one-photo sketch showcasing a large picture and a great opportunity to mix and match patterned papers, which I love to do! I don't often scrap with large photos, so this was fun to do. I simply tilted the sketch to the side and added an extra little picture at the bottom.
The title of my layout means "How can you resist this?", "this" being that cute little orange kitten face with pleading eyes! These are my two latest rescues, which I adopted completely unexpectedly. To make a long story short, my niece showed me that little picture one day. Her friend was looking for someone to take in an outside kitten that she didn't think would make it through the winter. I just couldn't resist those sad little eyes! Turns out there were two babies... The very next day, I was picking both of them up and bringing them home!
Come play with us at Scrapbook Challenges and show us what you create with this sketch!
Have a scrappy week!
Martine
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cats,
layouts,
Scrapbook Challenges,
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Hi there! There's a new challenge up at Scrapbook Challenges... and it's a mood board! Here it is:
Don't you just love that color palette! For my layout, I went digging once again in my old Basic Grey and pulled out the Phoebe collection. I wanted to distress my bright papers, so I sanded the edges, misted the paper with water then crumpled it up. I also doodled along all the edges. I used a very wide rickrack ribbon to evoke waves and to support part of the title ("floating"). I kept embellies at a minimum since the papers were very busy on their own.
The title is in Spanish and means "The Floating Islands of the Uros". The Uros have been living on floating islands made of reeds for centuries (the oldest island is 160 years old!). They first developed this way of living to evade the conquering Incas. They must continually add reeds (totora) on top as the bottom slowly decomposes. Each small island has a few houses (also made of reeds) and families living on them depending on their size. There's an elementary school on a larger island. Teens go on shore to Puno to pursue their studies but come back each day after school. It was quite an experience to visit the Uros!
Be sure to visit Scrapbook Challenges to see the other DT's layout and don't forget to link up your own creation! Thanks for visiting!
Martine
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Basic Grey,
layouts,
mood board,
Peru,
Scrapbook Challenges
Hello! Here's another page I made at my weekend crop. It's about Luray Caverns, which were the first caverns we visited when we went to Virginia and North Carolina in 2012. It was truly impressive!! You can't imagine how vast they are and how beautiful!
I used the old collection "Ambrosia" by Basic Grey. The colors were just perfect. And how about that drippy Martha Stewart punch to mimic stalactites? I thought that was pretty cool!
Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your scrappy time!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
layouts,
sketches,
Virginia
Hi there! Here's another layout I did during my weekend crop. This one's about my favorite Disney character, Donald Duck. I like him because he's not as perfect as Mickey! ;-)
It's based on this sketch by Becky Fleck at Pagemaps.
The title means "Hurray for the Duck!" and is meant as a companion page to one I did a while ago. I used another old Basic Grey collection, "Oh Baby Boy!".
That's all I have for now! Have a scrappy week!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
Disney,
layouts,
Pagemaps,
sketches
Hi! Here's a layout I made during my scrappy weekend getaway last week! It's another kitty layout... can't go wrong with those! ;-) It's based on this sketch from "Cap de scrapper ça", a French challenge blog.
I used embossed Core'dinations cardstock which I sanded as the background and some scraps from Basic Grey's "Sweet Threads". I used a fabric polaroid frame from Crate Paper, Blue Fern Studios chipboard, a Studio Calico cat wood veneer and a few other embellies.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Easter weekend! Hope you find some time to scrap!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
cats,
layouts,
sketches
Hi!
The reveal for Simple Sketches #18 is up on the blog today! It's a great 4-picture sketch using a grid design.
I followed the basic design of the sketch but I added a fifth photo to my layout. I didn't tilt the whole grid; instead I just tilted the first and last pictures to emphasize those two. I used some Basic Grey papers again (my go-to manufacturer!). The background paper is "Indian Summer", the two other papers are from the "Soleil" collection, as are the top title alphas and the arrow stickers. The cute little deer is from "Mint Julep". The number stickers on the photos are from various old collections. I love how the different collections coordinate! I used a Unity stamp for the "Life" bingo card and a Martha Stewart punch for the yellow paper.
This is a page about my (one and only) niece who turned 20 this month... (really!?? when did this happen!) The title means "Sophie in 5 Acts".
Well, this is it for now. Go check out what the rest of the team did here and link up yours if you give this sketch a go! We'd love to see!
Enjoy the rest of the Holiday season! Hope you find some time to scrap!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
family,
layouts,
Simple Sketches,
sketches
Hi there! I've been a bad blogger! But I haven't done much scrapping either... The end of the school year was super busy, with the usual testing, grading, report cards, packing up the classroom for the summer... But on top of all the usual hecticness, my father-in-law passed away in June. He'd had heart problems for the past 8 years, but in the last year or so, he was getting weaker and weaker. His passing still came suddenly and was a shock. I made two layouts about him for his wake. The first one is a picture of him taken in 2008 at the wedding of his step-son.
The second one is about him as a dad, with Mike and his two sisters. The photos date from the 60's at their lake house, the 70's during a family trip to Des Moines, and the largest one from 2010, in our backyard.
Both pages use Basic Grey papers, the first one from the Ambrosia collection and the second one from Marjolaine. Both are based on sketches, but I'm embarassed I can't find which ones anymore... I usually write all this information behind my layouts, but I forgot for those two. I'll try to find the sketches and give the links when I do. If you recognize one of your sketches, please let me know!
On a happier note, I did this layout about my latest rescue kitty, Bajoue (found him as a stray this winter). The title means "Don't Trust his Angelic Appearance!" As we found out,he's one high maintenance cat! He always wants to play and he knows how to ask for it! He certainly gets our attention! It's a good thing he's also cute and lovey-dovey, so we love him anyway! ;-) lol! I made this page for a DT call at a new sketch challenge site, Simple Sketches. If you're interested, you have until tomorrow to apply! Whether I'm picked up or not, I'm happy I found a new sketch site... I love sketches!
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And finally, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of June, I also had to say good-bye to Bear, my 16-year-old kitty. He hadn't been feeling well in the last couple of weeks, not following me around like he usually did, sleeping a lot... When I took him to the vet, they found he had cancer all over his lungs. His breathing became difficult. Within two days, I had to put him to sleep. I lost a big chunk of love that day... Bear was my faithful companion, he only had eyes for his mom! He followed me everywhere and was always there to greet me when I got home. I took these photos of him on our last morning together.
And here are a couple layouts of my Mr. Bear.
Hope you're having a great summer! We're leaving for the Netherlands in two days, so I'm ready to come back with a huge batch of new pictures to scrap!
Happy scrapping!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
cats,
DT call,
family,
layouts,
photos,
Simple Sketches,
sketches
Hi there!
It's seems like it's been a while since I've updated my blog... I've been really busy with school this past month, with end-of-cycle government tests among other things... Two more weeks of testing (and yes, that's for 2nd graders!), then another two weeks to wrap up everything and we're done with the school year! I did manage to squeeze in a bit of scrapping on the weekends though.
The first one was actually done at the weekend crop I went to in April with a friend. We always bring a lot of Diet Pepsi as part of our stash, as that is what keeps us "energized" throughout the weekend! This page was done for a full-page bingo challenge where there were 24 criteria to follow... a real challenge! It's based on a sketch by Brenda Ragsdale.
I made this second layout when I came back from the crop. The picture was taken at the end of the crop, not long before we left. The title means "48 Hours and 15 Bottles Later...". We like to goof off and have fun with our love for Pepsi! Both pages are done with the "Kioshi" collection at Basic Grey. The page is based on this NSD sketch at 2 Broke Girls Challenges.
This page was scraplifted from Marie-Josée at the blog "Un peu fleur bleue". It's the story of my very first kitty, when I was six years old. He was such a love bug! I was a "cat lady" even back then!
This next page is scraplifted from Barbara at Scrapbook Nerd. I used Basic Grey's "Lucille" collection. It's a Disney page, when we had tea at the Grand Floridian Resort. Ever since our trip to the UK in 2009, I always try to find a place where we can have tea when we travel. I just think it's fun and feel like a little girl again, having a tea party! (and Mike is nice enough to indulge me! lol!)
Finally, this is a layout about me as a teacher. It's based on NSD sketch #3 at 2 Broke Girls Challenges. I mixed a bunch of old papers from different manufacturers for this one! (Daisy D's, My Mind's Eye, Basic Grey and Memento) Love it when I can pull this off! Feels great to use the old stash!
Oh, and then there's this page, that I actually made last fall but completely forgot to post. The title means "Léonide's Fashion" and it's about my beautiful grandma. She had a great sense of style! It's based on sketch #136 by Valerie Salmon at Got Sketch?
Ok, I think I'm up to date now... Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of scrapping despite the hectic last four weeks of school!
Have a scrappy weekend!
Martine
Posted in
2 Broke Girls,
Basic Grey,
cats,
Disney,
family,
layouts,
sketches
Hi! I've got two layouts to share with you today! I made them at the weekend crop I went to a couple of weeks ago. The first one is a Disney layout. We went to Disney World last Christmas to celebrate Mike's 50th birthday. Even though it was just the two of us and I didn't have the excuse of having a little one traveling with us, I wanted to meet the Disney gang anyway! So we booked several character dinners. We had a lot of fun talking and taking pictures with Mickey and his friends. Even Mike got into it! (and even though he's young at heart, he's still a pretty serious, no-nonsense kind of guy!) I dipped into my old Basic Grey stash for this one and used some flashy "June Bug" papers. I also created a grid of faux-stitching for the squares of papers and pictures (piercing holes with a Scor-Bug and drawing with a pen).
The title says "Cat Man... Despite Himself". It's about my poor dad, who has never particularly liked cats, but has been almost "forced" to become a cat man because of all the cats I've brought into his life, one way or the other! (Although I take no responsibility for the one in the picture (their neighbor's new, cute little kitten) other than "forcing" him to hold her for a while!) I used another old Basic Grey collection for this one, "Boxer". A lot more white space than I'm used to in this one, and some more faux-stitching too!
That's it for tonight! Hope you're having a scrappy weekend!
Martine
Posted in
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Creative Scrappers,
Disney,
family,
layouts,
sketches
Hi there!
I just finished a layout today. It's a picture from the summer of 2001, when my mom and I returned from a cross country trip in my little, red pick-up, from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Montreal, Quebec. 9,700 kilometers in 11 days (plus a few days to visit some friends of mine along the way). My mom had often dreamed about doing that, so it was a perfect opportunity when I had to fly back to Fairbanks to bring back my pick-up. I used to live there but had moved back to Montreal in December 2000. I wasn't going to drive cross country during the winter, so I left it in storage with a friend until the following summer. It was a fun trip back! Lots of beautiful scenery and a good time with my mom!
I used the March 2013 sketch from Paperhaus Magazine's blog.
This is my take on it. I used some pre-embossed Core'dinations cardstock as the base. I combined some old paper with my new Lucille collection from Basic Grey. The blue background paper and the paper embellies are from an American Traditional Designs "Road Trip" paper pack that I've had for a long time. The flowery paper and the alpha stickers are from the Lucille Basic Grey collection. I used some wooden buttons from Prima (LOVE those!) and some chipboard birds colored with Gelatos (finally used them!) I even used my red Gelato to muddy up the pretty Purple Pumpkin fabric button that was perfect for my layout but too pink.
Oh, I added a Bloglovin' button on my sidebar, which is a way to keep track of the blogs you like, as I learned that Google Reader will be "retired" on July 1st. I had seen those pop up on several of the blogs I follow but didn't know why. Now I know... So please follow me on Bloglovin' if you want to stay updated with my scrapping!
Well, that's it for now. Easter break is coming up next week (four days off with the weekend) so hopefully I'll get to scrap a little bit more quickly!
Have a scrappy week!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
family,
layouts,
Paperhaus,
sketches
So I've had a hard time getting back to my scrap desk but I think I'm finally there! I have two layouts to share with you today. The first one is a Disney page. Donald Duck has been my dad's favorite since forever and he's mine too! (I like that he's not perfect and has a temper! lol!) So of course I had to make a layout about my meeting him!
It's based on this sketch by Jana Eubank for Basic Grey. I used some old "Oh Baby Boy!" from Basic Grey for this page. Love to use my old stuff!
The second layout I have to share is for a DT call at a new sketch challenge site called 2 Broke Girls Challenges. I love sketches (as you know!) and I'm happy I found out about this blog and forum! This is the sketch we had to follow for the DT application.
I made a page about my newest kitty (yes... that makes four... good thing I have a tolerant boyfriend!). He's another rescue cat who walked into my life (literally) and I just couldn't turn away. He's the sweetest cat and is an amazing "purrer" (is that a word?). I really don't understand how somebody could have abandonned him like that. Well, he's got a good home now, is neutered, is receiving plenty of love from us and is getting along with the other cats better than we expected! I called him "Bajoue" which in French means "chubby cheeks". It's easy to see where he got his name from!
That's it for now. Thank you so much for stopping by! Hopefully I'll have something new to show you soon!
Have a scrappy day!
Martine
Posted in
2 Broke Girls,
Basic Grey,
cats,
Disney,
layouts,
sketches
So I've been going through a box of old slides from my childhood and scanning them. I can't resist scrapping some of them. This first layout is scraplifted from Kathy Skou at Scrapbook and Cards Today. The title means "Little Family" and talks about how my mom had always wanted a big family but ended up with only us two. I love that photo of our little family! This was my attempt at ombre, going from dark to light blue. All the papers are very old! Feels good to use up some stash!
The second layout journals about my first steps, although the photo was taken about six months later. But I like that photo, including the blurry foot which shows movement. It seems I was in a hurry to get around. I started walking at 8 months and 19 days (my mom kept a great baby book which I'm going to have to steal for future baby layouts!). Never crawled or anything, just started walking! The page is based on a sketch by Kristine Davidson. I used the old "Boxer" collection from Basic Grey for this one.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a scrappy weekend!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
family,
layouts
I've been having lots of fun with old photos recently. My uncle lent me a bunch of old photos to scan and I got old slides from my childhood from my parents. On this first layout, titled "At the Lake", I combined photos of my dad and my uncle from the 40's with photos of my brother and myself in the 70's, having fun at the lake where we both spent our summers. I used an old Basic Grey collection (Color Me Silly) and even some vellum!
This second layout is based on a sketch by Becky Fleck. It's a picture of my great-aunt and me when I was two. The title means "Like a 2nd Grandmother", which she was! I used another Basic Grey collection, Kissing Booth.
It's report card time now at school, so my scrapping has been slowing down. Hopefully in a few weeks it will pick up again!
Have a scrappy weekend!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
family,
layouts
Hi!
I've got two layouts to share with you today, both about my dad when he was 5 years old, in 1943. The first one's title means "Simple Pleasures". I love those photos of my dad and uncle having a blast, while my grandma seems all "down to business", getting her boys clean! It's based on challenge 317 at Scrapbook Challenges.
I added two portrait pictures instead of one landscape photo. I also handstitched circles to put more emphasis on the small pictures. I used Basic Grey's Archaic collection for this one.
The second layout means "Brothers and Friends". I scraplifted it from Gina Rodgers at Scrap Friends. I used pieces of Archaic papers from Basic Grey and one of Tim Holtz' Core'dination cardstock as the base. I added some acrylic paint applied with the edge of a credit card to grunge it up a bit. I machine stitched between the squares of paper.
That's all I have today. Hope you have a scrappy week!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
family,
layouts,
Scrapbook Challenges,
sketches
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