One more sleep...

and then tomorrow I'm off to Venice for three whole days, got to get up early in the morning and do my packing, I still haven't decided what to wear or what to take with me other than my sister in law Kate and both my cameras....lol Kate is by far and away the best member of my family to take on short city breaks as she enjoys looking at places in the same way that I do and doesn't complain when I insist on revisiting the same square or little back street time and again to take hundreds of photos.

Part of the reason for my indecision is that I have been checking out the venetian weather forcasts for the next few days and decided I liked the one provided by Thompson Holidays the best.......mostly sunny and warm, the others forcast rain and thunderstorms right through till Thursday...still I won't let getting wet spoil the trip.....but do I pack for warm and sunny or overcast skies, rain and thunder storms ?

The journal that I started making in the week has progressed a bit, I have now started to lay down background colour on the first few pages using distress inks but I have left the rest blank, I want to wait until I get back from the trip before I do any more.

The cold that I have had all week seems to be clearing up, I am certainly feeling better than I did and a few hefty doses of decongestants have also had a positive effect, thank goodness.

I haven't decided yet whether to take my little lap top with me, so I may not be around again until the end of the week, on the other hand you could find a daily report on my Venetian Vacation (and weather updates....lol) Broadband permitting.

Bye for now folks, see you when I get back, if not sooner.

Bee xx

Travel Journal....The Story Continues

I've been feeling really rough today with a sore throat and really oppressive headache, so I've come to bed early with the laptop and a mug of coffee......I really hope that this cold goes away quickly as I want to be able to enjoy Venice next week.

I haven't got as much crafting done today as I had planned but I have made some progress with my travel journal. You will remember from my last post, that I couldn't decide whether to do Barcelona or Venice first......they will both HAVE to be done eventually....lol......

Well the winner is................... Venice.

The reason being that I found a lovely download of some Carnival Masks and it set me off, after all Venice is famous for its Masked Balls and Carnivals, as well as Canals, Murano glass and its faded opulence...etc. etc.

Here is my Title page.

After choosing an image, resizing it and removing some of the background in Photshop Elements I printed it on to some acetate. Then I dabbed some white acrylic paint over thre light areas of the face, which had the effect of moving some of the ink, giving the image a worn look. On the non inky side I stamped the Stampin Up Baroque swirls a couple of times and then traced over them with some Icy Blue stickles. Finally I added chipboard Thickers lettering for my title.


I have backed the page with some BG Periphery Paper, cut to size, this may get some additional journaling etc later. I think backing it against the browns and blues makes a huge difference to how the page looks.

Then I started on my covers. I found two sheets of Brown 12 x 12 that really needed something adding, Sue (Paper Paradise) Abbott has made me think about my less than loved papers in an entirely different way. An A4 sheet of home made paper (photocopy paper, and moonglow stains, then scrunched) some glimmer mist in turquoise and a broken china distress ink pad.

First I cut the 12x12 to size for the outside of the front and back covers and a third piece for the inside of the wrap around flap. I cut the A4 sheet of paper in half for the insides of the back and front covers. Then I sprayed the 3 pieces of brown with the turquoise glimmer mist. When it was dry I adhered it to my mount board covers, using a spray adhesive. Then added the inner end papers.

At this point I added the distress ink with a piece of cut and dry foam, working in from the edges.

Finally I used the Baroque scroll, versamark ink pad and some Verdegris Embossing powder to add some detail to the front cover.

Well that is as far as I got today..... next I have got to think about the pages to go inside.... Do I start them now ? or wait until after I get back from the trip?

Time to go make another drink I think......see you all in a while

Bee xx

My latest project....

As I mentioned in my previous Blogg, I recently spent a pleasant afternoon mooching around IKEA, what I didn't mention was that I had stopped at Borders and Paperchase on the way..... all those gorgeous notebooks and other stationary !!!! I was really taken by some Travel Journals they had in, notebooks with partitions, pockets, envelopes etc all bound together.....but....I really didn't like the prices.......lol.....

After a bit of a rummage in my craft room and a little thought I came up with these bits and bobs.

As you can see I've cut front and back covers from mount board, cream pages and pocket shaped insert, I have made an envelope and tag from some 12 x 12 paper and punched grunge paper circles to make the closure, and found a couple of ATC holders that are the right sort of size, a few bits of metalware and some magnetic closures, complete my haul. I have put all the pages and inserts through my Bind-It-All ready to assemble when I have decorated it all.

It doesn't look much yet but it will be a very individual Travel Journal, all I've got to decide is whether I do Barcelona first (from my trip there 2 years ago) or Venice ...... decisions, decisions....lol

I've been out meeting with my NVQ candidates today, and then my Tuesday Torture Session at the Gym......I will one day be fit and at least thinner than I am now if not thin !!! so I haven't had time to play today, but I shall have a play tomorrow and see what evolves.

Bye for now.

Bee

More Musings from Me ..

I can't believe how the time flies, it is almost two weeks since I put anything on here.....I guess it is partly because I have been messing around with a lot of bits and bobs but don't have anything finished...lol...I have a number of "projects" in the pipeline, and I'm off to Venice for a three day City Break next Sunday so, hopefully lots of photos and inspiration when I get back.... so watch this space.


One thing that I have done this week though is put some of my own photos up on a wall in frames, something I have never done before, but last Monday I was browsing my way around IKEA..as you do,,and came across some nice simple 9" x 9" birch picture frames....I sooo wish they had had some 12 x 12 scrapbook page sized ones too.

I had originally intended to print off some digital scrapbook pages at 8" x 8" of a City break to Barcelona, to put in the frames, but I was really taken by some of the monochrome prints on sale at IKEA showing architectural details etc and I decided to take another look at some of my own photos instead.

My sister in law Kate and I went to Barcelona on May 2007 as a Birthday Treat for me, I have had this City as number one on my to visit list for years. I had purchased my first Digital Camera just before our trip and I took hundreds of Photos...lol..lots of them of small details rather than wider views.

When I got back from the trip I wanted to do something with my photos other than just view them on my computer so I made my first ever Digital Scrap pages using Software downloaded for free from http://www.scrapbookflair.com/ see my pages here :http://www.scrapbookflair.com/BusyBee2/Barcelona_2007/page1 They are quite simple pages but sum up the holiday and show the colour, variety and vibrancy of Barcelona.

Here are the photos I eventually chose to put in my frames.....They are basically monotones but not Black and White, I love them as they sum up our visit to Barcelona, although they don't tell the whole story ..... This was taken in Gaudi's Famous Church of the Sagrada Famillia from the bottom of a stone spiral staircase looking straight up.

This head was a carved detail on the side of a passageway in the oldest medieval part of Barcelona.

This "Alien" is oneof the Chimneys of The Pedera a block of Apartments built by Gaudi in about 1906, (Viewed from the roof garden)

And finally this is a close up of part of the Gospel (In Catalan) Cast in Bronze on the Main doors of the Sagrada Famillia.

Here are the four pictures grouped together on my bedroom wall.....and I've got four more frames for Venice.

Bye for Now

Bee