Forgotten Friday 41- Pockets and Tags

Hi Folks, it's Friday again, and time to rummage through your forgotten stash again. See if you can find something that you have neglected, and make something with it.

Since last week, I've been on my trip to Paris with my Husband, where we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We had a lovely time, visiting the sights, and taking a much needed break from our normally hectic lives. When we arrived at the hotel, there was a bunch of dark red roses waiting for me, that Terry had organised. I carried the same kind of flowers when we got married. I was very touched that he had been so romantic.

We were staying just off the Champs Elysees, and there was a Christmas Market set up there, which put us in the Christmas spirit straight away. We visited all of the main sights, including the Eiffel Tower. It's beautiful at night, and sparkles on the hour every hour for five minutes.

We spent a few hours one day in the Montmartre district. This was my favourite area. We climbed up the steps to see the Sacre Coeur, and it really does glow pink in the sunset.

We wandered around the cathedral, and I had been hoping, although not expecting, to find a view that matched a particular Darkroom Door stamp that I have. I love this stamp, and have used it on the front of my Paris journal that I am working on to commemorate this trip.

Terry thought I was mad to get so excited when I actually found the street! I guess only a crafter would understand, LOL!

We visited the Moulin Rouge area while we were in Montmartre, bypassing the seedier elements, enough said!
We managed to get a trip to the Louvre, seeing the Mona Lisa. We climbed the Arc de Triomphe, 265 steps, which reminded me that I'm not getting any younger! We also went up the Eiffel Tower, and enjoyed some stunning views. On our last day, we visited Notre Dame, which I was particularly pleased about, as the building is beautiful.

We really enjoyed the trip, and would visit Paris again, as there is a lovely vibe to the place. The weather was very mild too for the time of year, and we quite often didn't even need to wear our coats.

So onto my project for this week. I am working on my journal, and have covered my inner pages now, printed out my photographs, and planned out what is going where with all of my memorabilia. Most of the leg work has been completed, so it is just a matter of sticking, inking, stamping, etc. However, my last journal took a long time to complete! I have concentrated on my front section this week, and created a tag pocket which contains a railway ticket for the Eurostar. I have embossed part of a Tim Holtz embossing folder onto the pocket, and used Distress Inks to pick out the embossing. I have scrunched and inked the train ticket.

On the next page, I have used a photograph to create a pocket for a tag, to which I have added an ideology tag. I am using a mixture of Darkroom Door, Chocolate Baroque, and Cavallini stamps. These are all very much neglected stamps. The Cavallini stamps are another set of stamps in a tin, they are wood mounted, and very lovely to look at. I bought them from an American lady who was selling all of her real stash, as she wanted to go digital in her crafting. They have sat unused in my craft room for ages, and this was the perfect opportunity to use them.

On the small flap, I have stamped a couple of stamps, and added a piece of Stampbord with another DD stamp. I have etched some of the details to highlight them.

I may add something else to this flap, but I'll see what bits and pieces I have left over, or if I want to do any more journalling.

Don't forget to leave a comment attached to this post if you decide to make something yourself with a forgotten item, and I'll pop along to your blog, and take a look. Thanks for stopping by, xx

A Taste of Italy

Hi folks, it's unusual that I manage a midweek post these days, I know, as life always seems so busy. I've been away so many weekends lately, that I've almost forgotten what home looks like! I met up with two of my lovely Craft Stamping Quartet buddies Lesley and Jo at the Stamp Magic Show at Doncaster. We don't get to see each other very often, so it was great to see them even just for a little while. I was spending the weekend with my parents, so I took my Mum to the Show too, which was nice for her, as she is an avid crafter too. She has only recently got a Big Shot, and it has opened up a whole new world for her. She has had a new lease of life from a crafting point of view, and it is lovely to see.

I made a few modest purchases, as I have been to several shows recently, so not too much to report. I am looking forward to trying out my Vintaj blanks now in my Big Kick, as I have all of the necessary bits and pieces that I need to get on with that now. I found the Vintaj blog yesterday, that is certainly one beautiful blog to look at if you like anything Vintaj related.

This week, my followers reached the one hundred mark, I have had several new followers recently, and I feel very honoured that you have chosen to follow me. I appreciate all of of my followers taking the time to stop by to look at what I am doing, and I know that not everyone chooses to leave comments, but I'd like to say thank you anyway.

Glenda over at Chocolate Baroque has some new stamps that she has released this week. There is free p & p until tomorrow. There are two sets 'Woodland Dreams' a lovely tree based set, and 'Echoes of Italy', an Italian based set. This set is very close to my heart, as I love Italy, and frequently go there on holiday. I have made several samples with this set, some of which you will be able to see over on the Design Team blog this week, and a couple that I will post on here.

My first sample that I have chosen to show you here is very photograph heavy, but please bear with me, as I really enjoyed making this one! Some of you will have seen the start of my Paris journal a couple of weeks ago in my Forgotten Friday post. I had already made this particular little journal as a sample for Glenda, using the fabulous Echoes of Italy stamps, among others in the Chocolate Baroque range.

 
I chose to use the fabulous Echoes of Italy papers as a background for my pages, and they just went perfectly with these stamps. I used chipboard covers, and Kraft card for my pages. I have used the stamps mostly as background accents throughout the book, as you will see, but added them to tags as well, which I will use for journalling later.

Here, I have used a photograph as a pocket, to place tickets and memorabilia behind. There are some useful little scroll stamps, great for adding to the tags, as little edge stamps.

This double page reflects a trip to Venice, and uses the 'Weekend in Venice' stamp plate too, also some of the 'Harlequin Mask' stamps. The crackle stamp on the 'Echoes of Italy stamp plate is a stamp that I am going to use over and over. It is a fabulous stamp, and a great size too. I added a train ticket to Venice, some Euros, as everything is so expensive there, and a little leather tag, as we go to the markets to buy leather goods in Venice.

There is a much softer feel to these pages, as this was our visit to 'Casa Juilietta', or Juliet's house. There is a photograph of the balcony, and a statue of Juliet herself.  I love Verona, it's a beautiful city. I have used a piece of lace for a pocket, to add to the feminine feel.

Gardone is a town on Lake Garda itself. Everywhere is very bright and colourful, the buildings are painted in strong yellows, terracottas, etc. There are bright flowers everywhere, and the colours are an explosion on the eyes. We visited Il Vittoriale, a house and gardens that reminds me very much of Portmerion for its quirkiness. There is even half of a ship in the garden! The lake views are stunning, and there are lots of statues, arches and columns everywhere. The stamps were just perfect to add to the atmosphere of my pages.

For my last two sections, I have two very different pocket options. On the left, for the visit to Malcesine, on a cable car visit, I have used a conventional little diagonal pocket, matching the paper to the background. On the right hand side, for our trip to Milan, I have used a beer mat for the pocket, tucking photographs, receipts, and other memorabilia behind.


My little book only measures 6" x 6", it is a great size to hold in your hand, and look through. It has fold out flaps, and with its pull out tags, is very interactive. I hope you have enjoyed looking at my project, and I'll be back soon with another one. Thanks for stopping by, xx