Hello!
Sketch #20 is up at Simple Sketches today! It's a 3-photo sketch featuring square photos.
I used three photos but changed their format. I also changed up the paper layering a bit. I went for some Basic Grey again, this time using the "Curio" collection for a vintage look. I added some pleated ribbon and lace, metal embellies colored with alcohol inks, a vintage-looking button from Making Memories, flowers and a beaded pin (actually a cocktail pin from the dollar store!).
These are photos of my dad and his brother, along with four cousins. The original photo was taken in 1940 (my dad was two years old; the one at the right on the picture). They recreated it in 1976, then again in 2013, at a family reunion celebrating the year when three of them turned 75. There were a lot of laughs while we directed this "recreation"!
Go check out what the other DT members did for sketch #20 here and link up your layout if you want to give the sketch a try! We'd love to see your take on it!
Happy scrapping!
Martine
Posted in
family,
layouts,
Simple Sketches,
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!
.jpg)
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
Basic Grey,
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 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
Hello!
This week I worked on some old pictures of my grandfather. The first layout, with photos from the late 20's early 30's, is based on sketch #315 from Scrapbook Challenges.
I always have a hard time with masculine layouts. I have a hard time embellishing them! I used wooden letters and banners, which I colored with a distress marker. Added some wooden buttons and a chipboard star.
This layout features a photo of my grandfather in 1960. This is the grandfather I remember. He didn't change as he got older! You can't see the journaling very well as it's on the dark red paper, but I used an old typewriter that I just inherited from my parents. They wanted to get rid of it, and I wanted one for my journaling! Perfect match!
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a great weekend! Happy scrapping!
Martine
Posted in
family,
layouts,
My Scraps and More,
Scrapbook Challenges,
sketches
Sketches in Thyme is having a DT call! They have a blog which offers weekly sketch challenges... and you know how much I love sketches! This is the sketch we had to work with for the call.
I adapted it quite a bit for these two beautiful photos of my grandmother when she was young. (My uncle lent me a bunch of old photos I had never seen before. I'll be scanning like crazy! And you might be seeing several heritage pages in the future!) I used her own beautiful old paper doilies on the layout. Fussy cut some Webster's Pages paper (which I have and love but never use!) and used some sanded Core'dinations cardstock as the base. I'm pretty happy about how it turned out. I'm sure my dad will love it!
I don't know if I'll make the team or not, but one way or the other, I'm really happy I got this layout done!
Hope you're having a creative weekend!
Martine
Posted in
family,
layouts,
sketches,
Sketches in Thyme
Sketch~N~Scrap is having a guest DT call for September! All you need to do is complete a layout based on this sketch by August 20th.
I loved the multi-pic sketch with all those squares! This page is about Amish country, in Pennsylvania, which we visited this summer. I used the old Basic Grey collection "Urban Couture". For the squares of pattern paper, I actually cut out the examples from the "cover page" of the collection pack! Great way to get the same patterns but in a very small size!
I also did a layout of sketch 14 from Sketch~N~Scrap, one of my rare single photo pages! This is a picture of my brother and my niece. Don't they make a nice "couple"? I used an even older collection of Basic Grey for this one, Skate Shoppe!
Hope you have time to join in and play along with Sketch~N~Scrap and their cool sketches!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
DT call,
family,
layouts,
Pennsylvania,
Sketch~N~Scrap,
sketches
Hi! Are you ready to play with a new sketch? This is the sketch we had to work with this week at Let's Get Sketchy.
I changed it up a bit and ended up with this layout about my parents in their dating years, in the late 50's.
I used Basic Grey's Wisteria collection and two different butterfly border punches. I colored the green flowers with Tim Holtz's color wash. The larger light purple flower was misted with glimmer mist then stamped with a script stamp.
Check out what the rest of the DT did with the sketch here! Hope you join us this week for your chance to win our monthly prize!
Happy scrapping!
Martine
Posted in
family,
layouts,
Let's Get Sketchy,
sketches
Well, we just booked a trip to Walt Disney World over the Christmas holidays for my boyfriend's 50th birthday! We're pretty excited about the whole thing, but we have nearly 6 months to wait yet! That put me in the Disney mood. So I went to my parents' and borrowed some old slides from my first trip to Disney World in 1981, scanned them and scrapped them! The quality isn't the best, but the memories are still there. I found a site called Disney Scrappers that has tons of Disney challenges. This is the first challenge I did, a sketch challenge based on this sketch by Susan Stringfellow.
And here's my take on it.
I can't wait to scrap a few more of these old photos!
As for the giveaway, you won't want to miss this one! Tattered Angels is giving away two prizes of 200$ worth of product each! All you have to do is vote wether you're a "Glimmer Gabbie" or a "Plain Jane"! Click here for all the details!
Have a great day!
Martine
Posted in
Disney,
family,
layouts,
sketches
Hi there!
I just have a few quick layouts to share with you today.
This one is about my mom. It's based on a sketch by Becky Fleck and was done for a challenge at My Scraps and More.
Another heritage layout, this time a double pager about my mom's family.
This was me, 40 years ago! A layout about growing old...
That's it for today!
Martine
Posted in
family,
layouts,
My Scraps and More,
sketches
.jpg)
