Creative Juice

Super Papa | A Layout

THE STORY If Thierry is in the room, no one else matters to Lucien. It's adorable. Don't get me wrong, Andrea and Maxi love to hold Thierry's attention too, but with Lucien it's been this way since he was very young. So when the soon-to-be-released father-themed Kesi'art stamps came in the mail last week, I knew I'd make a layout about these two.

THE PROCESS Like I mentioned, this page began with a stamp. Although I didn't set out to do it on purpose, I made a collage-y and shabby style page all because of my terrible stamp skills. I used to be much more accurate about my stamping but lately it's been a lot of fails. Anyhow, I messed up on the bottom left corner of the page. Since I was set on using the background paper, instead of starting over, I decided to go with it.

First I placed the photo and blue folder (which serves as a journal spot) strategically to hide to main part of my messed up stamp. Next I put together the elements that make up the border between the photo and the journaling. Then I finished the stamping and journaling on the blue folder. 

Next I put together the little clusters. I can get lost in time looking around my table for embellishments that look well together. One of my favorite things to do! Funny story. See the metal-rimmed tag? Those were one of my first scrap purchases back in 2002 or 2003! They've been making their way onto my pages. Last I added some white paint to the background and called it done! We can't win them all. That's what I think when I see this layout. I don't love it (even though I do love parts of it!) and that is OK with me.

Seriously, isn't the Super Papa stamp awesome?

7h | A Layout

The story : Looking through iPhoto I noticed the pattern of early morning self-portraits. Five days out of seven it's me that jumps out of bed when Lucien wakes up. Even I, a certifiable night owl, can see what a special time of day that really is. 

The process : Once I printed the photos, this layout came together quickly (less than an hour). I knew I wanted to use some Hambly. I was sad to read they are closing and felt like paying homage to a brand that is a personal part of my scrapbooker's story - I served on their design team from 2009 to 2010. Next, I typed out my thoughts onto white cardstock and laid it all out. This layout is a variation of something I love doing - an end to end row of photos.

Then came the yellow Kesi'art flowers and Douceur De Vivre tag. That tag has been cut and waiting to be used for about a month! I love those bunnies. I used them on the last layout about Lucien too. The little flag hold a date stamp. (That too has been making an appearance on just about every layout from this year!)

To finish, a quick heart stamp and signature. I love to sign layouts I make for my boys. Part of making this layout is a creative outlet, but another part is about having a conversation with them. For me, signing makes it legit.

So that's that. I'm pleased with this layout and I don't think I'd change a thing.

 

NSD with Kesi'art

Did you do something for National Scrapbooking Day this past Saturday? I couldn't scrap all day but I did participate in this and this Kesi'art challenge awesomely organised by Armance. The first layout is about what we the boys eat for gouter or snack. The second layout needed to use the yellow & gray color combo and I made a page about Lucien. I love challenges because it lets you approach a project with guidelines and sometimes that makes it easier to get 'er done!

Do you like participating in challenges? I do!

Kesi'art Blog Hop Hop Hop

(This contest is now closed. Scroll down to learn who the winner is!)

Hello, hello! Kesi'art is releasing seventeen new dies to join the existing Metaliks collection. It's available this Friday and we are celebrating with a giveaway! This is how it works : each design team member is posting a favorite die to give away on their blog. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win Metaliks Moment - a favorite of mine because I can use it for titles in English and in French! The winner will be announced Friday.

Don't forget to visit the other design team members' blogs (find the links below) and leave a comment to increase your chances of winning! See you Friday for the results. Good luck!

Armance Catherine Céline Késia Marie-Christine Marie-Nicolas 

Marlène Mélanie Nelly Prisca Stéphanie Magali Mary Mylen Natalia Sandrine Steph87

*Update (April 27 2012) : Comments are officially closed. Thanks for your participation. Winner will be announced later today.

*Update (April 30 2012) : And the winner is Nanibi (Commentaire N°377 MAIL: nanibimi@hotmail.fr)! Flicitations! Merci de faire parvenir votre addresse à kesi.art@gmail.com!

Discovery Over DC

I remember class being interrupted so we could watch the shuttle take-off and land when I was a kid. That memory was enough to get me out of the house Tuesday morning and see the Discovery fly (be flown?) over the National Mall. Nostalgia? I think so. 

I am always drawn to the process of how my layouts happen. This one was by chance. I printed the photo directly from my phone because I wanted to test the feature. There was 5x7 photo paper in the printer so that's how the photo size was decided. I was surprised it cropped this photo instead of re-sizing it.

A few days earlier while working on another layout I stuck two round stickers onto white cardstock. I could have put them back on the sticker sheet but I liked how the two colors looked together. It doesn't mean anything in particular "Miniature Campagne" but I liked the contrast of the script and slab (or sans serif? or both?) fonts. Along came the photo and a layout began.

Next the striped tape and title happened - again, a choice based solely on color preference. Ok, I like the graphic element of the stripes too. I added the tag to include the names of those who were there. I added the star because the tag "needed something" to hold it in place. I hand wrote my journaling last but ran out of space so continued on the back. And then I was done.

It looks bare but that's ok with me. It was fun to let this come together on it's own without a design in mind. Just being around my supplies and making something is good because I feel a little out of practice.