Creative Juice

Baby | A Layout

2012-05-24T06:00:00-04:00

THE STORY Thierry and I flew to Chicago a few weekends ago to celebrate my sister-in-law's law school graduation. Say that three times fast. My little sister, Mariana, was one of several family members that joined in the fun. And how cute is my brother for snapping this photo of the two of us taking in the sights? My favorite part is that he added a sisters label right beneath our hands. I love him.

THE PROCESS Can you say Plain Jane? I know. Listen, all I wanted was to write down my thoughts on how wonderful it was to see Mariana and how cool it is that my brother took this photo. Oh, and I wanted to practice messing up the date stamp some more. I'm perfecting that skill. On a more serious note, I love the photo and wanted it to get center stage. Also, I love mixing up type and handwritten text. There you have it.

7h | A Layout

2012-05-23T06:00:00-04:00

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

2012-05-08T07:23:20-04:00

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!

Happy birthday to Mr. T!

2012-05-06T06:17:26-04:00

You are my favorite.

Splash of Color : Purple, Orange & Hot Pink

2012-05-04T09:01:34-04:00

Denise Laborde

Kesi'art Blog Hop Hop Hop

2012-04-25T04:00:00-04:00

(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!

Spring Break 2012, Part One

2012-04-24T08:58:14-04:00

We are on our second week of Spring Break over here. This time last year we were in our beloved Bia. This year we decided to stay home and enjoy the DC spring. There have been sunny days spent outdoors and rainy days spent in pajamas. There has been lots of video games, reading, playing and ice cream. Here are a few photos.

One of idea was to do something special with each boy. Today I'm spending the day with Maxi. (At his request, we are going to Ikea to get him reading light for his bed. One that he can choose himself. He didn't like the one I chose for him weeks ago.) Tomorrow I'm taking Andrea and a friend to the Spy Museum. I haven't planned anything with Luci, but I'll come up with something before Friday.

I love the break we get from the school routine although Lucien still wakes me up too early. How did you spend you Spring Break?

Discovery Over DC

2012-04-19T08:54:03-04:00

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.

My Sunshine | A Layout

2012-04-17T15:10:01-04:00

I love this photo with Maxi so much. Those smiling eyes are what get me every time. I'm excited to have used Kesi'art's newest collections to make this layout. I love the colors! They feel tailor-made. Even with my wonky stamp placement up top, I am so pleased with my layout. I was in a funk for a moment and was majorly frustrated at how uncreative it made me feel. So this page is a little victory!

Here are a few close-ups of my favorite parts. I can't get enough of the felt ric rac. It's been making an appearance on my layouts since last December. A little sparkle always finds its way onto my projects too. Also, I love the colors and thickness of Kesi'art's stickies and labels.

This layout began with the photo and the "ceci est m a propriete" label. I worked the rest around those two elements. Funny how I'm Mrs. Straight Lines in this layout. I just love lining everything up.

Have a nice day.

Work in Progress

2012-04-11T15:41:27-04:00

Denise Laborde