I'm Back

The retreat this weekend was awesome. Our theme was Paris and we had a wonderful time in gay Paree! Every year we do a swap of some kind using the weekend's theme so this year it was 4x6" "Postcards from Paris." Below is my card for everyone. I used a digital paper for the background, an old SU stamp for the main image, an Eiffel Tower stamped image on torn vellum, several French postage stamps, a copper embossed "remember" tag and an open weave brown ribbon which I adhered with a strip of tacky tape and added glitter over the exposed tape. Of course, I reeived 17 other postcards back - all very unique and different. I will post them in a few days once I get reorganized from the weekend.

Every year we also do an involved book project. Our group coordinator usually designs the entire book, but this year she divided it into five two-page spreads and five members designed one. We all used the same black and cream mat stack collection (can't remember the name right now) and we each had a different theme. The theme of my spread was "haute couture". I made a tag for one of the pages to fit into a vellum, embossed pocket. The stamped woman is embossed; the gold pieces are actually candy wrappers; the ribbon embellishment is printed silk ribbon; gold braid is adhered to the bottom edge and black lace seam binding is tied through the reinforced hole.

This is the right page of the spread, without the tag. Upholstery fabric strips and harlequin ribbon are stitched along the top of the page; black velvet ribbon separates the two patterned papers; and the flower was die cut from several layers of sewing pattern paper with the Tim Holtz Sizzix flower die. The vellum pocket was embossed with the fleur-de-lys Cuttlebug folder and machine-stitched to the page. Do you see the garter holding the dress image?

This is the left page. I stamped the background with a French script background stamp and cut a frame out of black polkadotted paper to hold the printed images. The dress form is an Oxford Impressions stamp which I black embossed, then cut out and popped up, wrapping the string of pearls around. The patterned paper across the bottom of the page is from the same paper collection and is flocked, adding great texture. It's sewn on top of a wide piece of black lace.

Here's a shot showing the overall view of both pages together.

Once I finish adding a few more details, I will share the remainder of the book here.