Gastown

I love going to places that have an interesting history and are just that little bit different. Gastown is that kind of place.

Gastown was Vancouver's first downtown core and is named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman, steamboat captain and barkeep who arrived in 1867 to open the area's first saloon.

Gastown's most famous (though nowhere near oldest) landmark is the steam-powered clock on the corner of Cambie and Water Street. It was built in 1977 to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam-heating system, as a way to harness the steam and to prevent street people from sleeping on the spot in cold weather.

I found a seat on patio of the Lamplighter Pub across the street. I thought it idyllic to be sitting in the sun enjoying great food and a beverage, and listening to the steam clock play the Westminster Chimes every quarter hour.

 

The inspiration for this layout came from the August 1st Stuck?! sketch designed by Laura Whitaker. I wanted to feature the steam clock picture and, as I am prone to do, tell a little about the subject I'm scrapping. This sketch did all that for me so all I pretty much did was follow right along with it.

  

 

I decided to use a solid circle. I knew the idea of the stitching would add to the layout so used gold jean thread, which is a thick thread that shows up well on paper, and outlined the circle. Unfortunately this thick thread only comes in gold and denim blue. It's great to work with and not only is more prominent but adds texture to the layout.

The journaling and title was fun to do. It took a few drafts before I found the right line breaks to accomplish the slanted look. I loved the suggestion of breaking up the journaling with use of the title.

Steveston Village...cont'd

I still can't narrow down my pictures so Steveston Village had to have another page in addition to the double layout I shared yesterday.

There was such a variety of boats at the docks. I was most fascinated by the pilot boat Pacific Navigator and the myriad of sail boats with masts that seemed so incredibly tall. As it turns out, boat watching can be a lot of fun.

 

The sketch is the August  Stick It Down single page sketch and was designed by fellow Stick It Down design team member Purvi. I flipped the sketch on it's side to accommodate 2 horizontal 4 x 6 photos.

 

 There are also double page and card layouts posted on the site this month. Whatever your fancy there's a sketch for it. Be sure to link up your design. The link is active until the end of August.

 

Well I think it's time to move onto another facet of my vacation. The vacation only lasted a week but the creation of the albums will end up taking almost a year :) 

 

Steveston Village

I'm still plugging away at my Vancouver 2012 album. Actually, I stand corrected. That should be albums as it looks like by the time I'm done there will be three. I think I need to really work on narrowing down the pictures I want to scrap.

Steveston Village was such a lovely place. It's Fisherman's Wharf came complete with the requisite fish mongers, traditional and exotic sea foods and seals anxious for the leavings. Something I'd never seen before was a vendor selling sushi right from the ocean.

The Village is also the place from which two major whale watching businesses operate so you can imagine the hustle and bustle. It was really great to sit on the pier on a sunny afternoon with an ice cream cone and people watch.

I had the perfect paper for my Steveston Village layout and was just waiting for the right sketch. That sketch landed in my lap yesterday morning from Scrapmuch? Its first sketch of the month is always a double layout and this one was just what I was looking for. Designed by Laura Whitaker it featured my horizontal pictures perfectly.

I just love the Bo Bunny Boardwalk series of papers. I've never before used so many papers of a collection in one layout. I just couldn't resist any of them.

For embellishments I stayed with the nautical theme using twine to mimic rope and, of course, the traditional anchor and ships wheel.

My favourite paper of the Boardwalk collection is the one you see here used for the corners of the layout. It has so many tones in it and yet one doesn't overpower another.

Whale Watching

I'm so excited to be featured on the July launch of Stick It Down designs. I have moved from the single page team to the double page and am excited to see what the next six months brings.

While in Vancouver, and arguably the best adventure I had, I went whale watching. I was thrilled as we entered into the Straits of Georgia when I saw eagles and seals so you can image what I felt when the first Orca came in sight. I couldn't even breath when I saw it.

No matter how many pictures I took I wasn't able to capture their fluidity of movement and beauty. At one point a large Orca breached the water in that classic straight up position and I was so entranced I didn't take a picture. The ones I used on this layout however are some of my favourites.

As I mentioned, the layout is from the July Stick It Down double page sketch. There are also great single page and card layout on the site. Whatever your fancy there's a sketch for it. Be sure to link up your design. The link is active until the end of July.

When it comes to double page layouts I've already realized I need to get creative with paper. So often you need two of a paper vs. just one to create a double layout.

In this case I had two pieces of the red paper but one had the top corner cut into. I created a larger dark corner to compliment, cut a square out of the red from behind the blue I had mounted the photos on, and made a small corner to go on top of the blue, creating something a little unique. I do remember my Mom saying; "Necessity is the mother of invention.".

Don't forget to link up. I'm really looking forward to visiting your site and enjoying your creation.

#into the future

This is one of my favourite photos of my son and daughter-in-law on their wedding day.

On any wedding day thoughts are of love and the future and this photograph is what said "into the future" to me.

This is my June DT layout for Stick It Down. There's this single page sketch, a great double page sketch and a card sketch as well so you have no excuse to not surrender to your creativity.

June Single Page Sketch

I used the Somewhere In Time collection from Bo Bunny. I was stumped at the beginning because I couldn't find a lot to add to the paper. Only after peering at it a while did I realize it didn't need a lot. Some chipboard gears, pearls and brads for the printed mechanics at the top of the page were all the embellishments needed.  A matching floral paper under the photo and a title and the layout was done.

I realized that with a good paper choice, people with limited time for scrapbooking can create a layout and get that gratifying sense of accomplishment in very short order. In this case floral aspects, embellishments, albeit printed ones, and inking were all printed and ready. Maybe try selecting these types of papers the next time you shop so you have them on hand for those creative time crunch days.



June Double Page Sketch

June Card Sketch