I wish I could have gotten to go to Paris with Paula, but it just wasn't my turn to get to go this time.  It got me thinking about the time I was able to go to Paris and since that is the running theme this week..... 

Steve and Donna Smylie (originators of 7gypsies) and I were invited to teach at a big scrapbooking event in the UK.  We were also right in the middle of doing the book

 "7gypsies in Paris."  

 Steve was overseeing this book, it was to include not only the creative projects, but they were layered with artwork, sketches, pages of printed vellum and multiple fold outs and interactive pieces.  

(Steve's sketching inside the little fold out book shown above)

It also included cute and clever little stories, comments, quotes and sayings.  The cover of the book was debossed to look like an old book cover.  Usually my favorite part of the books we have done were the creative projects, but for this book it was all the details and whimsy that came out of Steve's head.  It almost didn't matter what the projects were, with all the creative layers he put into the book design...he is an amazing artist!

I was the only artist working on that book that hadn't been to Paris.  Steve and Donna felt it was important that I have that experience to make the project more authentic, and I certainly wasn't going to argue with that!  So, it was decided that since we were going to be that close we would make the trip and spend several days in Paris.  

This is where we stayed....

 The Smylie's had a connection and we got to stay at the Paris Mariott right on the Champs-Elysees.  It was unbelievable, we would have never been able to afford such luxury!  

I was curious and looked up the going rate today, it would be in the range of $700 - $1400 a night....so nice to have good connections!

Seeing Paris with the Smylie's as tour guides was incredible.  Their insight and knowledge of all the places to eat, see and experience were amazing.  We road the metro and hiked and hiked and hiked.  I loved all the museums, the flea markets and even a couple of Donna's favorite, lesser known shops that she would go to for inspiration in creating 7g product.  Thank you Smylie's for the wonderful memory!

After we got home we had to get on with getting the 7gypsies in Paris book finished.  One of my favorite projects in the book were these "mini" projects that were all created from vintage postcards, most purchased at the flea market in  Paris.  The thought was that I would put them all in a shadowbox as remembrance of our trip.  

This one, I sewed a gusset between two postcards to make a little bag and rolled all my receipts from purchases in Paris and put them inside along with tags and ephemera gathered while there.  

Here's few more up close.....

 Postcards as covers to make a mini book

The Laduree...loved that place!  The logo from the napkin was decoupaged to the postcard.  I like that it was sheer enough to still see the writing on the postcard.

 ....more ephemera from Laduree

Little bits from the trip....

All the maps and tickets I saved slipped under the twill stitched to the postcard.

One of the sketches Steve did....I managed to get to keep this one.

The book has been long out of print, so I checked out Amazon to see if it was still available.  

I found some used copies for sale from $11 - $82.....that's quite a price range!  I got a kick out of some of the sellers commenting that the owner of the book had written their name and on the first page, and in the margins.  So funny, as those were actually part of the printing...along with what appears to be a water mark stain on the inside cover....all part of the fun of this book!

I hadn't planned on doing this, but talking about our fun little book, I thought it might be fun to give one away.  If you would like a chance to win a copy of the 7gypsies in Paris, please leave a comment.  Be sure to post by Monday at midnight.  we will announce the winner on Tuesday morning when Paula tells us about her fun at the Paris Flea Market.

Here's to memories of Paris!

deb

Paris Favorites

Home again.
I had a terrific week in Paris but I am glad to be home and in my own bed, with my own pillow.  Just nothing like that feeling.

As for Paris, I thought I would tell you about some of my favorite things I saw and did.  My number one was easily Musee d'Orsay, let me tell you why.

1.  Musee d'Orsay -
"The history of the museum, of its building is quite unusual.  In the center of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900.  So the building itself could be seen as the first "work of art" in the Musee d'Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914.

I loved everything about this beautiful museum from the building to the enormous amount of art from the Impressionist era.  So many paintings I have only seen in books were on display: Monet, Van Gogh, Manet, Cezanne, Seurat, Caillebotte and Renoir just to name a few. 

source: wikimedia commons

No pictures are allowed in the museum but I did take a couple with my iPhone and no flash before I read the sign.  The museum website has a short 3 minute video that shows what the space looked liked as a railway station, the building of the new interior, and the installation of the art into the new space.  It also shows the giant clock from the outside and many of the sculptures including a few of Degas' ballerinas which are fabulous.  You can view it here.

 Can you believe this building was slated for demolition at one time?

They had a few artists in the main Impressionist gallery copying actual paintings.  You can see she is working on Degas', The Dance Class and the real painting hanging on the wall.

 You can look out the giant clock and see across the Seine to see one corner of the Louvre.

We had lunch at the restaurant in the museum...a bit pricey (but what isnt?) although fabulous decor and yet another clock that faces the Seine made it totally worth it.

If you visit the museum you can purchase your tickets online before you go and avoid the lines.  I recommend getting there when the museum opens at 9:30am (closed on Mondays).  If you are taking the Metro, the museum is a short walk from the line 12, Solférino stop.

You can see by the map below how close the Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre are.  A good map is key for getting around Paris (or a good tour director).  Barnes and Noble have nice laminated ones that have the city on one side and the metro system on the other.

2.  Napoleon Apartments
The Louvre began as a fortress (you can still see part of it in the basement) and then was a royal residence until Louis XIV decided to move outside the city to Versailles along with his court.  He still used the building to store his private art collection, as did his successors.  It was not until the French Revolution that the Louvre became a museum open to the public.

Not only is the Louvre one of the worlds largest museums, Napoleon III, who became Emperor of France in 1852, had a lavish apartment there which you can still visit today.  After a few hours of attempting to take in a small part of the Louvre collection we wandered into this jewel box.

I cannot even begin to describe how big and how beautiful the main chandelier is.  Absolutely breathtaking.  This picture does not even begin to do it justice.

The nearest metro stop is Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre (Line 1).  This line connects to a small mall that contains a famous skylight, the La Pyramide Inversee (the inverted pyramid), which plays an important role in the best-selling book The Da Vinci Code. 

I recommend lunch at Paul cafe right across from the Apple store.  A great salad, drink and a dessert for about 12 Euros, plus a place to sit a relax your feet.
It is best to get to the Louve before opening to avoid lines...with more than 15,000 visitors a day it is going to be busy no matter when you go.

3.  Latin quarter
Why the Latin Quarter?
The food.
A group of us went for Raclette.

We started at the Hotel De Ville stop on the metro (line 1)

Then walked a short distance to Notre Dame.  Once we were done seeing Notre Dame, we walked along the Seine to one of the "Lock" bridges.

 Thousands professing love by adding a "lock" to the bridge.

Which leads into the Latin Quarter near the Sorbonne, the first great Parisian University.  The area gets its name from the Latin language, which was once widely spoken in and around the University since Latin was the international language of learning in the Middle ages.

We found a little bistro that served Raclette.  Each person is served Raclette cheese and thin sliced country ham and a pickle (I ate mine).  Crusty french bread and small boiled potatoes are served family style.

Metal melting plates with Sterno underneath for heat were placed on the table.  Each person could place a piece of cheese on the metal plate (for lack of a better word) and wait for the cheese to melt. 

While it melts you cut up the ham and potatoes on your own plate then tip the metal plate and scrape off the melted cheese onto the potatoes and ham with a little spatula.  What a fun dinner...very interactive since you had to watch the cheese and get ready at the same time. 

Now a walk back to the metro stop near by...a great end of the day. 
I hear they have Raclette grills at Bed, Bath & Beyond but I have not checked it out personally.  I think the Raclette cheese is expensive and hard to find but maybe there is an alternative that might work in its place.

Next week we'll talk flea markets and show you what I got.  Right now it's still packed up but the laundry needs to come first.

cheers!
paula

Easter goods....

My good friend Karen showed me this darling little purse this week.   It is fast and easy to make, so there is still time to fit in in before Easter.  It made from a simple square and the cuteness is all about how it's folded.  I thought they would be fun for my "grand girls" to use as an easter basket/purse.  I made a quick trip to “Scrapbooks, Etc.”....my go to place for fun trendy fabrics.  The hardest part is picking fabrics, they have so many to choose from.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 fabric squares - 18 x 18”, but you can make it any size square.

1 1/4 yd. twill, ribbon or cording - cut into 2 equal pieces

1.  Cut 2 squares of coordinating fabric 18” x 18”.  

2.  Put right sides together and sew around all four edges, leaving a 3-4” opening to turn.  

3.  Turn the square right sides out.

 Press and top stitch close to the edge, closing the opening.

4.  Fold the square into thirds as shown.

Adjust as needed to make this measurement and.....

.....this measurement the same.  Repeat on both sides.

5.  Find the center and mark with pins.   

 Up close detail

 Stitch 1” on both sides of center mark.

 (Stitching on right side of center mark)

(Stitching on left side of center mark)

 These stitching lines show the bottom of the bag.

6.  Fold piece in half with the folded sides inside.

7.  Stitch up both sides using a 1/8” seam.

8.  Make a boxed-in bottom.  Pull out the corners.  

The stitch lines that you did in step #5 create a guide for stitching across the corner.

Stitch across both corners as shown.  This will create the gusset so your bag has a flat bottom.

9.  Turn inside out

10.  Fold the triangular flap (shown up in the photo above) down and sew 5/8” from the folded top edge to form a casing.

11.  Using one of the pieces of twill, feed it through the casing from the right edge of

the bag, out the left side and back into the other side of the bag so both ends come out the right edge.  Use the second piece of cording and repeat the process feeding it in the left side and back through so they both come out on the left side.

I've got to get busy to finish the other 3....all will be slightly different.  I’m filling them with a few girly items that I know they will love.....shhhh don’t tell them, it’s a surprise!

Something I found out this week.....

Tip #573 - Don't leave your cutting mat on the front seat of the car when it's 90 degrees out.  The bowed part is where it hung over the edge of the seat....ugh, time for a new cutting mat!  

Have a great weekend,

deb