La Vie book - Part 9

Page 16 and inside back cover.

 Another greeting card from Elise Grey Collections,

a flower and brad from Making Memories,

some flower trim and an angel dangle complete page 16.

I used the back of a greeting card from Cavania Cards 

as the focal point for my inside back cover.

The front of the card was used as part of my book's front cover.

Also on the page are ephemera by K & Company,

a metal quote by Making Memories and scraps of patterned paper.

La Vie

 Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is costly, care for it.

Life is wealth, keep it.

Life is love, enjoy it.

Life is mystery, know it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

 

 

After a few glasses of really good red wine,

a friend and I decided to translate the La Vie quote into Afrikaans.

Here is our version of it:

La Vie

 Die lewe is ’n moerse kans

Die lewe is die dood se dans;

Die lewe is ’n fuifparty

Die lewe is ’n spoelgety;

Die lewe is wel pragtig

Die lewe is ’n willewragtig;

Die lewe is ’n blye lied

Die lewe is ’n spergebied;

Die lewe is beslis begrens

Die lewe bly ’n blye wens;

Die lewe is die hart se seer

Die lewe is probeer maar weer;

Die lewe is die grys tristes

Die lewe is die runderpes;

Die lewe is ’n avontuur

Die lewe duur van uur tot uur;

Die lewe is die lewe!

(Vry vertaal uit die Frans met apologie aan Moeder Theresa) 

Click here if you want to look at all the posts

relating to my "Little Book of Inspiration".

Washi Tape - Learn More

You cannot open a craft magazine, read a craft blog or go into a craft store,
without being confronted with Washi Tape.

There are literally hundreds of sizes, colours, designs,
brands and finishes to choose from.

Crafters, mixed media artists and the like,
love using them for a variety of reasons:

They are super thin;

Tear easily;

They have a translucent property which allows
for some of the colour below to show through; and

They can be dyed, stamped onto, written onto, crumpled, etc.

We are teaching a class on how to create your own Washi Tape
and how to use it to create lovely Christmas gifts on October 27th, 2012.

For more info go to our other blog - 

Papier Plesier.

La Vie - Part 8

Pages 14 & 15

(Love Simply theme)

Page 14
I used a few die-cut images from Fancy Pants Designs,
a bit of bling, more of the La Vie quote and some foil rub-ons to create this page.

Loads of layering, a butterfly pin, a foil rub-on and bits of paper make up page 15.

Here in Centurion, South Africa, it is drizzling with rain and a little bit miserable.
The perfect incentive to stay indoors and
"Play with Paper".

Thank you for visiting and may you have a weekend filled with joy...

Papier Plesier - next event on 9 June 2012

 Just a quick note to let you know that our next Papier Plesier event

will take place on 9 June here in Centurion.

Go to this link to get the lowdown on the where and when...

We hope to see you there!

Elna, Jaclyn & Benice

La Vie - Part 7

Pages 12 & 13

(Roses at tea time theme)

"Vintage" lace, bits of paper, a watch-face, a resin paper-clip from
Making Memories and a synthetic flower are combined
to reflect my theme of roses at tea time.
The mini card tucked in under the paper-clip is from Elise Grey.

I used one of my favourite stamps (from Somerset Publications)
at the top of the page.
Another image from Elise Grey is the focal point of this layout.
More flowers and "a bit of bling" finish off the look.

Thank you for visiting!

La Vie - Part 6

Pages 10 & 11

If you look closely at the background of the page you will see that I covered it with gauze.  This is a trick my friend Claudene taught me and I like to use it when I want to give very bright patterned paper a "diffused" look.

Fabric, flat-back pearls, a fancy pin and clipart were placed on bits of patterned paper.  The two brads on the right are from Prima.

The background paper is from Daisy D's

(unfortunately they are no longer "with us").

Part of a page from a hymn book was placed on the right-hand side before I added a creative card from Fancy Pants Designs and a vintage postcard on top.

To complete the layout I added some flowers and part of the La Vie poem.

Here in South Africa we have a public holiday today, so I will be spending time in my studio with my creative muse.

I wish you a day filled with creativity...

Thank you for visiting.

La Vie - Part 5

Pages 8 & 9

Handbags and flowers - both images are greeting cards from a UK company Cavania Cards.

The focal point of page 8 is a greeting card that I've saved to use "one day".  I just loved the embossed lace detail on the sides.

I placed an envelope on the inside of the greeting card to hold part of the

La Vie phrase / poem.

The smaller image was cut from the back of the card.

A mini greeting card from Cavania holds a large paper flower from

Making Memories.

Torn ledger paper and some bling complete this layout.

***********

Here in our corner of the world it has been drizzling almost constantly for the last 24 hours.

Perfect weather to stay indoors and snuggle up with a hot cup of tea

(and a yummy cupcake?).

Also the perfect excuse to do some day-dreaming while paging through all the loveliness on Pinterest...

Have you joined this new phenomenon?

La Vie - Part 4

Pages 6 & 7

The sewing related images on the background paper on page 6 inspired me to use lots of fabric, ribbons and buttons on these layouts.

I placed 2 strips of quilting fabric and some polka dot patterned paper in the center of the page.

Mother-of-pearl buttons, a heart-shaped doily and more of the La Vie quote / poem finish off the layout.

(The strip of green fabric in the middle reminds me of

a dress my mom made me when I was 3...)

The vintage postcard is from a clip-art book by Anna Corba and one of my favourites.

More polka dot paper, fabric and ribbon complete this page.

The butterfly embellishment is a 3D sticker by K & Co.

Do you have bits of fabric, old buttons, lace or ribbon

that take you back to your childhood?

La Vie - Part 3

Pages 4 & 5

Roses and hearts were my inspiration for these pages.

The envelope was made to hold a  tissue (hankie) and part of the "La Vie" quote.

I used patterned papers;

a 3D sticker from K & Co;

and covered the scroll at the top of the page with ink, perfect pearls and UTEE,

before placing a"diamond" in its center.

The pearl heart-shape was a gift from Claudene.

 I used a favourite greeting card as the focal point and finished the page off with rayon ribbon and a metal embellishment inside the heart.

This is how Elna used the same heart in her "Love's Log Book".

Thank you for visiting!

La Vie - Part 2

Pages 2 & 3

I had a definite shoe theme going here - both vintage and modern...

An assortment of patterned papers, a few brads (from Prima) various flowers and a vintage image were used to create page 2.

A metal clip (top left) holds a strip of paper and some lace in place.

The focal point of page 3 is a greeting card I bought when I visited family in Australia.

 Part of the La Vie quote was placed inside and  a paperclip from Making Memories at the bottom of the page keeps the card closed.

Thank you for visiting!

PS - The pages measure 6" x 6" each.

La vie - Part 1

I've promised in my post of February 29, 2012 that I would share the pages from my version of The book of beauty and inspiration which was originally created by Kristen Robinson for Stampington & Co.

La Vie - inside cover and page 1.

For the inside cover I used a large paper flower, paper torn from an old diary by Elise Grey and patterned papers from my box of left-over papers (sources unknown).  Flat-back pearls, paper tape, a large heart-shaped brad and a phrase from La Vie complete the page.

A large metal frame from Making Memories is the focal point of page 1.  The picture inside is a tag/card from Elise Grey.  Pearls, ribbon, a charm and scraps of paper were added to finish off the page.

Thank you for visiting and may you have a very creative weekend!

Between Cupcakes and Tea - The story of Us

(Elna, Ilsé, Val, Claudene & Benice)

The story of Elna & Benice really started in early 2008.

 Claudene, a mutual friend, saw a lovely project on Stampington's "The Studio" website and wanted like-minded paper crafters to join her in making their own versions of "The Little Book of Beauty and Inspiration".

For the best part of 2008, the three of us met every Wednesday morning, working on our books of inspiration, getting to know each other, sharing our highs and lows and planning our futures.

(Little did we know that Elna & I would travel to rural France in 2011 to pursue our mutual love of all things French and attend a workshop by Dayle Doroshow in Durfort!!)

Wednesday mornings also included a ritual of tea and cupcakes - hence the name for our blog "Between Cupcakes and Tea".

We dug into our secret stash and opened our trousseau cases, looking for our most beautiful papers, ephemera, quotes, beads and stuff that we've saved for "that special project".  Sometimes we had enough to share with the other two, but in most cases we only had one-of-a-kind.

Elna called her book "Love's Log Book" and she has already shared some of the pages with you on February 15, 2012 and February 11, 2012.

This is the cover of my Book - La Vie (Life is).

I decided to use a quote/poem attributed to Mother Teresa as my inspiration.

La Vie

 Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is costly, care for it.

Life is wealth, keep it.

Life is love, enjoy it.

Life is mystery, know it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

Here is the back cover of my book.

Please pop in again soon - Elna and I promise to share more of the pages from our "books of inspiration".