My Wish for You

It took me so long to scrap this beautiful picture.  My daughter's birthday is April 28... this is now November, and I just got to scrap her best birthday picture for this year.  Ok, I omitted to mention that I have 11 years of birthday pictures to scrap.  But this one, this very one is just so beautiful and inspiring.  Alyssa at 11 years old, going on 21, making a wish that nobody will ever know about.  And this is just right that way; my daughter has her own secrets and I totally respect that.  However, when I look at this picture, I know what my wish for her is.  In this layout, I found important to share with her what my hopes are, so I wrote quite a lot of journaling.  And when she read it, she gave me the longest hug she ever gave me.  Alyssa knows me, and she knows that I will always wish the best for her, and agree with her own choices.

I am my worst critic when it comes to judging my scrapbooking.  This layout is one of my favorites, because of the muted colours, the 'old wallpaper' look, and a collection of my daughter's favourite colours gathered in the same pages.



Created by Nathalie Noreau-McLeod - The Creative Cellar, 2012

This layout has some kind of 'atmosphere' like we say in French.  It is soft but has character.  Layering, gesso, distressing, staining, journaling.  A nice mixed match of techniques that makes this layout speak for itself.  And most importantly, my daughter loves it.  This is really all that matters.

Here are some close-ups.




Created by Nathalie Noreau-McLeod - The Creative Cellar, 2012

I like using delicate doilies that I crumple, stain, mist and either glue on my page or sneak in as little peek-a-boos in a folded corner.  I find these accents very feminine and 'vintage' at the same time.  I found some beautiful purple Prima flowers that I couldn't resist adding gesso on.  It gives a softer look to a romantic layout.

Created by Nathalie Noreau-McLeod - The Creative Cellar, 2012



Created by Nathalie Noreau-McLeod - The Creative Cellar, 2012

I hope you liked this post.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Happy Scrappity Scrapin'!




Evolution 3

Hey there friends!  Well it's time for another 'evolution' post, since I had a few layouts done lately, and a fourth one on the way!

This time, for the third course of the Techniques Course #1 series, we had to create a layout using distressing techniques, paper scrapper, sand paper, distress ink, stains, eyelets and brads (using the Big Bite, which I finally acquired :o)). This is such a great tool, and I waited for such a long time before getting it! I'm like a man getting his first power tool :o).

So... this is my very first vintage looking layout.  When I created this layout, I knew this is what I wanted to do: vintage scrapbooking!  I like every type of scrapbooking, but the one style I LOVE and that I enjoy doing the most is vintage.  Here it is:

I remember not following the proposed layouts when I created this one, simply because I was so inspired by the pictures of my wedding celebration! I used chipboard swirls that I covered with stickles, black soot Ranger's distress ink, and beautiful Prima flowers.  Of course, I couldn't resist adding one of Tim's amazing keys!

This year, for that same course, I decided to use some very nice pictures of my son playing guitar and reading music.  It amazes me what my 8 years old boy can do with his instrument, having so much fun playing music on it!
So here is the vintage layout I created for Nicholas:

'La Musique dans l'Âme - base on an original layout from Josée Lalonde (SEM)

Since I just got my Big Bite, I decided to put in some eyelets and use burlap tread on my layout.  I used 'black sout' (my favorite I think!) and 'aged mahogany' distress inks.  Adding corrugated letters added to the overall atmosphere of rustic/simple/peaceful time I spent with my son.  This little boy has such a natural talent with music!

Now, this is the kind of layout I truly enjoy doing!  Whether it is grunge, romantic or nostalgic vintage, I just love it.

Of course, some journaling to complete the layout, and voilà!  If you like this post, leave me a comment!

Until next time, happy scrapping!

All Those Pretty Paper Packs!

Every scrapbooker I know has an obsession. Some collect buttons, glimmer mists or brads, others hoard punches, flowers or ribbons. MY obsession is paper. Every time I enter a scrapbooking store, I loose all common sense when I get anywhere close to paper. This is actually the one scrapbooking goodness that made me fall in love with scrapping. Beautiful papers and I have a long term relationship.... I love the textures, the colours, the patterns, and they all seem unique to me!

Which can be problematic when the time comes to use them. I am afraid of cutting them, 'hurting' them, even opening a new paper pack feels like a sin to me. I have paper packs that I bought over a year ago that remained untouched. So this weekend, I took one of these leap of faith I was holding on to, and opened TWO brand 'new' packs, nothing less! Not so new in fact, as I am talking about 'Out of Print' from Basic Grey, and 'Et Cetera' from BoBunny. Some of my friends went through 2-3 entire packs each of Et Cetera in the last year, while I watched them, 'envy' them for having the 'strength' to open their paper packs and use them! I admit, I have issues.... :)

So by deciding to open these two pretty paper packs, I also committed to make one of the nicest layouts I ever made. I was not going to be broken hearted and regret this ultimate decision!

Here is the double page layout I made using papers from both collection (Out of Print and Et Cetera), as well as 2 pages of the beautiful 'French Kiss' collection from Glitz for the background page.

I love the romantic atmosphere that transpires in this layout, the colours and the multiple layers of paper I created. Here is a close-up of page 1.

As I often do, I distressed and aged the paper using distress ink and stain to give it a vintage look. I also made an opening in the corner where flowers are peeking out, as if they were growing behind the paper.

Here is a close-up of  page 2. This page took quite a few hours to create, as my head was blooming with ideas! I wanted to create a multi-layered layout because it makes me used many of the papers I like, but just in small pieces so I am left with plenty to use on other layouts! This is perfect for the paper lover that I am...

I painted swirls on one of my canvas butterflies (Maya Road) using glimmer glam (Tattered Angels), which I also sprayed with glimmer mist from the same company.

Of course, I couldn't create such a romantic layout without putting one of my favorites elements: the Tim Holtz keys are also one of my obsessions, that I preserve and use only on very special layouts or cards...

I hope you enjoyed this post. Please feel free to leave a comment, and share what YOUR scrapbooking obsession is!

Thanks for stopping by!