Pink Paislee MOONSTRUCK Layouts

I looooove the new Moonstruck collection by Pink Paislee! The bold and darker colors are so attractive and eye-catching! I made a layout for both my girl and boy :)

DREAM by Paige Evans

DESCRIPTION: I love the paper with all of the different squares of patterns/phrases and wanted to include as many of the patterns/phrases as possible. I had to think of a shape to punch them into first... butterflies! There are quite a few butterflies in this line and I have a few different butterfly punches, so, it worked out!

JOURNALING SAYS: You love, admire, and look up to your big brother Fox that you even started copying the way he poses for pictures with his hands scrunched up like a t-rex! I don't have an older sibling so I don't know what it's like to admire someone so much so I love watching you two together.

HOW TO: Draw a half butterfly onto the right side of a patterned paper background using a Silhouette Cameo, pierce holes every 1/4" or so, paint over with white paint, then backstitch with gray thread. Punch butterflies from lots of patterned papers and fill in the stitched butterfly. Layer a trio of photos over a tag, then apply a rub on, a piece of washi tape, and a corner puffy sticker. Create a mixed title on the left and journal below. Drop dark blue mist on the bottom left corner.

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, cork word, puffy stickers, Thickers, washi tape, tag, rub ons: Moonstruck by Pink Paislee; Pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Paint: FolkArt; Spray mist: Studio Calico; Floss: DMC: Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo; Butterfly cut file: Paige Evans

DETAIL SHOTS:

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DREAMY by Paige Evans

DESCRIPTION: It seems like I hardly make layouts for Fox anymore and I feel absolutely terrible about it! Here's my resolution to make more pages for my guy!

JOURNALING SAYS: You are such a bright spot in our lives, we love your happy-go-lucky nature and zest for life. You're smart and funny and clever like a fox :)

HOW TO: Draw the diamonds background onto mint cardstock, pierce a hole every 1/4" or so, then backstitch with white floss. Hand cut diamonds from patterned papers and fill in the complete diamonds. Layer a pair of black & white photos over die cuts and embellish with a few stickers. Journal on the right edge. Should I have added spray paint splatters?! I might go back in and add them.

SUPPLIES: Patterned paper, die cuts, stickers: Moonstruck by Pink Paislee; Cardstock, pen, adhesive: American Crafts; Floss: DMC; Die cut machine: Silhouette Cameo; Diamonds cut file: Paige Evans

DETAIL SHOTS:

If you would like either cutting/drawing file, just send me an email!

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Rouen, France

Continuing on our way to the Normandy coast, we stopped in the charming city of Rouen. This 2,000 year old city mixes Gothic architecture, half-timbered houses, and contemporary bustle like no place in France.

We started our sightseeing at the modern Joan of Arc Church. 

Completed in 1979, this church is a tribute to the patron saint of France, Joan of Arc, and feels Scandinavian inside and out, which makes sense considering Normandy's Nordic heritage.  Gorgeous sixteenth-century widows that were salvaged from a church lost during WWII were incorporated into the design. A ship's-hull style vaulting and sweeping wood ceiling soar over curving pews.  Out in Place du Vieux Marché, a market square fronted by half-timbered buildings, was a street market and fair. We grabbed some delicious frites, sausages, and roasted potatoes to munch on. Delish. The produce market is a covered portion of the square and displayed the local bounty.

Doors.  Detail of some old half-timbering. Because the local stone was a poor-quality chalky limestone and local oak was plentiful, half-timbered buildings became a Rouen specialty from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Oak beams provided the structural skeleton of the building which was then filled in with a mix of clay, straw, pebbles, and whatever else was available. Half-timbered in full greyscale.

A flower garden near the church and market square is the spot where Rouen used to publicly punish and execute people. In 1431, 19 year old Joan of Arc was burned at this same site.

A small plaque commemorates the area where Joan was executed by the English.

Jane being grumpy. Sorry, girlie!

This impressive Renaissance clock, known was le Gros Horloge, was built in 1528 and decorates a former city hall. The clock doesn't have a minute hand. In the sixteenth century, an hour hand offered sufficient precision. 

Looking under the arch towards the cathedral.

This massive church, the Notre-Dame Cathedral, is a landmark of art history. Monet painted over 30 studies of this facade at various times of day studying light, shadow, and color. 

The size of this cathedral reflects Rouen's former importance. Until the 1700s, Rouen was the second-largest city in France and was extremely wealthy from its wool trade and booming port.

The interior has a classic Gothic nave with four stories of pointed arch arcades.

Looking through an iron gate to behind the altar. Many portions of the exterior have been thoroughly cleaned in recent years so they gleam like they did when they were first carved.

Then it was on to St. Maclou Church down the Rue St. Romain.

Fountain with little putti peeing. Hopefully they don't cross streams. | Awesome doors. More half-timbered beauties. Love. This. Sign. Next we stepped into the Aître St. Maclou plague cemetery. During the great plagues of the middle ages, as many as two-thirds of the people in this parish died. For the decimated community, dealing with the corpses was an overwhelming task so this half-timbered courtyard was a mass grave and an ossuary were the bodies were interred.

I'll spare you the details of the process.  Ghoulish carvings of gravediggers' tools, skulls, and crossbones.

And on that happy note, it was time to continue on. Love the higgledy-piggledy buildings. The Palace of Justice is a flamboyantly Gothic building that gleams after years of cleaning removed the grime that once covered it. This is the former home of Normandy's parliament. It seemed like every chance Chris had to stop and snag a baguette, he did. We snacked and enjoyed the ambience of the town, despite the rain (oh Europe), and then it was time to head to our next destination.

Our family in Rouen, France on Sunday October 16th 2016.

Next up: Honfleur!

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Giverny, France

We packed up our belongings and set off from Disneyland Paris towards our next destination: Giverny! Our drive took us right through Paris. I spy the Eiffel Tower!

Located about an hour outside of Paris, Giverny is home to Claude Monet's gardens. The great artist spent his last and most creative years of his life cultivating both his gardens and his art here. 

Pink and green combos everywhere! Love!

How could you not be inspired in a place this charming?!

In 1883, Claude Monet and his wife Alice with their eight children settled into a farmhouse here. Monet was already a famous artist so he had the means to stay here and work. Ultimately, he would spend 40 years in Giverny and over that time he built a pastoral paradise complete with a Japanese garden and a pond full of floating lilies. 

The gardens feel like you've stepped into one of Monet's paintings. They're a little wild and messy, balanced and beautiful. 

The gardens are actually split into two areas. Half is a walled garden while the other half is known as the Water Garden. There is a handy pedestrian underpass to get you across the road between the two areas.

Coming up and out of the tunnel you emerge right into one of Monet's famous waterlily-themed paintings.

His Water Garden includes a couple Japanese style bridges over the pond with weeping willows hanging down over the placid water. 

Monet gardened like he painted, focusing on blocks of pattern and color. While we didn't visit at peak flowering season, there were still plenty of things in bloom for us to enjoy.

After Monet planted the gardens and various areas, he would paint them from every angle and every time of day in all kinds of weather. For him, Impressionism was really a study of light.

Back over in the Walled Garden we meandered through the paths of fragrant flowers. Monet cleared this land of pine trees and laid out symmetrical beds of flowers split by this "Grand Alley" down the middle.

The view out behind the Water Garden. From beautiful Japanese gardens to pastoral France in two feet.

Under the trees.

Chris and I wanted to sit down with paints and easels and get our Monet on.

Also on the property is Monet's house which is open to visitors.

His den with reproductions of the paintings that hung here while he was alive. The originals are all now in big museums around the world.

How awesome would it have been to sit and read or work or just sit and talk in a room like this?

There were pretty furnishings, lots of colors, and artworks, many originals, throughout the house.

Love this color scheme.

Monet's bedroom.

The view over the Walled Garden from the second floor of the home.

This yellow dining room is my jam.

I love that Fox and Jane are such good friends. While sometimes they are in cahoots and up to no good, at least they are up to no good together and having fun with one another. :)

Our family at Giverny, France on Sunday October 16th 2016.

Then we drove to Rouen, France to see all that we could see!

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