Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Ooh La La! July at Words 2 Scrap By - Champs-Élysées diorama card

I'm thrilled that my entry was chosen as the winner of the Bloom Where You Are Planted challenge at Words 2 Scrap By. Not only did I win a crafty prize (thank you Bernadette!), I was asked to join their I-Team for their July Challenge, Ooh La La, in honor of Bastille Day (July 14). You can interpret the theme however you like.

This 5x7 card closes flat, secured with a ribbon and a brad I stamped/heat-embossed with part of a Viva Las VegasStamps rubber stamp. I used a fibrous, textured paper for the base, which has a nice faux-leather look and folds very nicely.

Ooh La La has two connotations, the one we English-speakers seem familiar with (Ooh la la), and the French version (Oh-là-là). I thought I'd play with the meanings of both in this project.
—Ooh, la, la, look at all the lovely ladies!
Oh-là-là, I got coffee on my postcards!


The lovely ladies were fussy-cut from Graphic45 papers (mostly their A Ladies' Diary collection). All the postcard images, including the one on the front & the Arc de Triomphe postcard, are from The Graphics Fairy. She has such a wonderful collection of vintage images. I added a sepia tone to the postcard on the front and printed it on a beige paper. The other postcards were printed on regular white cardstock, and I added some distress ink to the two postcard backs.

The coffee-cup stains were made using a Tim Holtz template. This was my first time using the template, and of course I didn't practice first! I sponged on a ton of Antique Linen distress ink, and it really came out beautifully. The white base was cut from a linen-textured paper with the KutUps font on my Silhouette Cameo.

I used three accordion-folded pieces on each side of the pop-out, gluing a long base of a K&Company cardstock between each set. I decorated the inside and outside with diecuts from a QuicKutz set. I inked them with TH Peeled Paint distress ink and VersaMagic Key Lime chalk ink.

When I learned of the Words 2 Scrap By Ooh La La challenge, I immediately knew that I wanted to make a sort of diorama featuring the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. We're American, but my parents worked in Europe so we were able to visit Paris several times when I was growing up. My mother had also visited there where she was a child, in the 1950s, and she remembers her father standing out in the middle of the Champs-Élysées trying to get a perfect shot of the Arc de Triomphe ... of course, taking a photo was a bit of chore back then and it's always been a very busy road, so she and her mom sat at a cafe and watched with a certain amount of horror as my grandfather got his tripod into place! I'm sure Mom has his slides somewhere. Anyway, we always made a point of visiting a cafe on the Champs-Élysées, even in later years when prices got out of control (and that was over 20 years ago now!), and I wanted to capture some of those great memories with this scene-in-a-card. 

Inspiration/Challenges:
Paper Shelter Challenge #164: Travel the World
The Pink Elephant Monday Card Challenge: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp: Anything goes (2nd Entry)
Stampin' For The Weekend: Anything Goes


Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us at Words 2 Scrap By,

7 comments:

  1. OMG!!!! Your card is amazing! The diorama is beautifully detailed, and really captured the feel of old time Paris. Beautiful job - thanks for being our guest I-Teamer at Words2ScrapBy.blogspot.com.

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  2. This is lovely...... thank you so much for joining us for our challenge over at The Paper Shelter.... xo Nikki

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  3. Hi, CG.

    Your card is FABULOUS! And, when I read of your family's memories of time spent in Paris... Well, it makes an amazing card even more special!


    We are so thrilled that you joined us for our July challenge and love the inspiration you've provided!

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  4. Fabulous card, great design and images.
    Thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
    hugs
    Mandy xx

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  5. What a creation! It is super delicious ... well done!!

    Thank you for participating in the TPS challenge this week!
    Hug Lena

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  6. Wonderful card, thanks for joining us at SFTW challenge cheers Sue N x

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  7. WOW doesn't even seem adequate. Your card is spectacular, CG, and I'm so glad you are a Guest Designer at W2SB!! This is a very special inspirational work of art!!

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