Wisteria Vintage Family Photo Layout

Hi, friends! I wanted to share a photo of my father when he was a toddler back in the late 1920s. It is the only photo I have of him at that age so it is a precious keepsake.

I came across a Wisteria die that i-crafter introduced a few weeks ago. Wisteria in Japanese is known as the Fuji (藤) flower. My maiden name is FUJIi (藤井). So when I saw this design, I knew I had to have it. LOL! 

**I receive products from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® for use in my projects. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience and doing so I can share what I personally love to use.**

Wisteria Vintage Family Layout

Grab a couple of 12 x 12-inch sheets of dark purple cardstock to cut four Wisteria Vines designs. One was kept in tack (this is a perfect size for a slimline card front btw) - apply Adhesive Sheet 6 x 12-inch on the back before die-cutting for an edge-to-edge adhesive coverage (think sticker).

The other three Wisteria designs, I fussy cut the frame and some of the leaves out to create hanging flower vines. This die cuts so well! Love it!

For one of the purple cardstock, I cut 3 5/8 x 8.5-inch rectangle around the cut area to make a mat to frame the 3.25 x 8.25-inch navy rectangle.

Layer all of the rectangle mats with the E-Z Runner® Grand Permanent Strips for a stunning focal accent on the layout. The best part? You don't waste the cut up purple cardstock!

Then lastly, center and adhere the Wisteria die cut shape by peeling off the Adhesive Sheet liner in the back. Set aside.

To create a border, I layered a strip of 4.25 x 12-inch purple patterned paper on top of a strip of 4 5/8 x 12-inch navy cardstock with E-Z Runner® Grand Permanent Dots.

Using the same adhesive, I applied the adhesives on the back of two Wisteria vines to adhere on the top and bottom of the border. Trim off excess. I love how the adhesive hits only the design so easy to apply!

Add all the other patterned paper pieces, layered border, double-mat the photo and add another Wisteria Vine behind it. Then add the layered border last.

The finishing touch are the leaves in the upper right corner. In the back of the layout, I'll add my journaling in the back so it doesn't distract from the layout design.

I hope you enjoyed this Wisteria Vintage Family Layout. Would love it if you follow me on the blog or my ILscraps Instagram! Have a wonderful day!

Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH

Skill Level: Intermediate
Creative Time: 40 minutes

Materials Needed:
Patterned Paper: DCWV (Zodiac Premium Stack® Paper Pad)
Craft Dies: i-crafter (Wisteria Vines Die Set)
Adhesives: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® (E-Z Runner® Grand Permanent Strips, E-Z Runner® Grand Permanent Dots, Crafty Foam Tape 108ft, and Adhesive Sheets 6 x 12in.)
Other: Navy and Dark Purple Cardstock; Scissors; Manual Die-Cutting Machine

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Merry Christmas and a Project to Boot!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Hope that you are with loved ones or remember those who are no longer with us. Hosho and I are missing our fathers so thinking of them during the holidays :)

What are some of your traditions? Ours is getting a Christmas cake from our local Japanese bakery. BUT the kicker is eating BEFORE dinner! It is made mostly of cream so it doesn't last long. After a BIG holiday meal, we are TOO FULL to eat dessert. SO why not START with dessert (around 3pm)?! LOL!! Then dinner is usually around 7pm...enough time to recover! HA!

Today I wanted to share one more Christmas project that I created with Spellbinders Beacon St. Chapel (right now it's not on their website - sold out so fast! LOL! Will be back in a couple of weeks), using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® product to put it together! What do you think? I used the tree light bulb inside the chapel for a wonderful glowing effect :)

First I cut/embossed all the pieces from the die set. Note: you have to cut the roof piece twice (white cardstock), chapel wall twice (white glitter cardstock), big window six times (black glitter cardstock) and small windows four times (black glitter cardstock).

I used a combination of Crafty Power Tape, E-Z Runner® Permanent Fine Adhesive and 4 x 6" Adhesives Sheets to put together the chapel structure. Note: I used vellum to cover the window openings before adhering the window panes.

For the chapel roof, I covered it with adhesive using the 4 x 6 Adhesive Sheet. Then I sprinkled chunky silver glitter and press. Tap off excess. Repeat the process for the steeple roof.

I had an idea! I cut/embossed the steeple structure with vellum to use the window cut outs to cover the window panes. They leave an edge from the window pane exposed (and have adhesive on them) so it's easy to add the windows in! I used Dodz - Small to adhere the roof and steeple to the chapel roof.

Here's a second look at the finished project...

Project Supplies:
White Cardstock and Glitter Silk Cardstock - Darice/Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock® (Opulent Opal and Black Prince Glitter Silk Cardstock)
Die Templates and Tool – Spellbinders® Creative Arts (Beacon St. Chapel and Tool 'N One)
Glitter – Advantus (Silver Chunky Glitter)
Adhesives - SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L® (Crafty Power Tape, E-Z Runner® Permanent Fine Adhesive, Adhesives Sheets – 4x6” and DODZ™ - Small)
Other - Vellum; Bone Folder

I hope you enjoyed it as much I had fun creating it! Want to see more projects from this amazing die template set? Visit Darsie Bruno, Latisha Yoast, Teresa Horner, Julia Stainton, Beck Beattie, Becca Feekan and Linda Duke.

MERRY CHRISTMAS~!!
MargieH xo

My Japan Trip (May 2014): Manza Onsen Hot Springs

This is part 3 of My Japan Trip (May 2014)! If you like to catch up, click on to each blog post title below (don't forget to click on images a larger view):

• My Japan Trip (May 2014): Tokyo 
• My Japan Trip (May 2014): Tokyo Days - Part 2

After saying good-bye to my mother-in-law, we packed up a bag to take for our vacation. The bigger one was taken to our neighborhood 7Eleven who can arrange our bag to be delivered to Narita Airport via Takyubin (similar to a UPS/FedEx). LOVE the efficiency of Japan! LOL!

Then we took the train up to Ueno Station and hopped on the Kusatsu Limited Express Train - a three hour ride to our destination, Manza.

What's a train ride without an EkiBen (aka train station bento box lunch)?! I got the #1 favorite of one store and Hosho got one that can be heated without a microwave - a heating component in the bottom of the box! It works! Only in Japan - LOL!

This was our dessert (we should've gotten more!) - a flaky pastry with light cream and sweet bean paste called Danish Panda. OMGosh, so good!

It rained when we arrived - not a good start but once we got to the hotel, everything was just right. Our room had an amazing view of the hot springs puffing smoke through the earth. Now you don't see that everyday!

After taking our hot spring baths, we joined the other guests for a buffet style dinner. Although not romantic, it was fun to eat a Japanese food buffet! FUN! Notice everyone is wearing the same thing...most Japanese hotels will provide these YUKATAs to use as pajamas and to walk around town in. Less to pack!

The next day it was SO NICE out Hosho had this great idea to go hiking. For those who know me, I don't hike! LOL!! He said it will only be 20 mins - HA! Try more than double that time. BUT it was worth it.

He took me to Mt. Kusatsu Shirane, an active volcano (he forgot to mention that part until later!) to see Yugama Crater Lake (known for its high acidic content).

See the little road next to me with the sign (first picture - click on images for larger view)? That hiking trail I was supposed to take (it's an easy 10 min hike) was close due to POISONOUS GAS! Really?! Why are we here?! OY~!

ARE WE THERE YET? 20 mins later....

This is Yugama Crater Lake with its beautiful (& POISONOUS GAS..did I mention that already?) turquoise blue surface...

After walking down and back to the bus stop, we were off to our next destination...KUSATSU!

Sorry - that's another post :)
To be continued - thanks for reading!
MargieH

My Japan Trip (May 2014): Tokyo Days - Part 2

Continuing from My Japan Trip (May 2014): Tokyo post, I am going to summarize the one week stay into one post here :)

Since my husband was on a business trip the first part of our stay, he left right after dinner to check in to the hotel closest to his meetings. But we ended up seeing each other every night for various obligations - client dinner, family dinner, etc.

Wednesday
Spend the day with my mom and had some great conversation. OK, I admit it's nice to just to sit and have a talk. Kind of hard on the phone overseas...good quality time. Met up with Hosho at Ebisu Station and walked over to his client's office for a chat. Later we had dinner at one of his client's restaurants. YUM!

Thursday
That day was dedicated to scrapbooking! LOL! My friend who I haven't seen in about nine years lives near Memory Place (Ikebukuro) - the next station over. So we met up at the store and went to lunch. SO EXCITED to see her :) I went a little earlier to bring my artwork/samples and to "play." Such a fun store - I totally recommend if you are in Tokyo :)

I created my travel journal with a $1 note pad! It has contact names, schedule and places I wanted to visit. The cover was created with all sorts of favorite goodies - hint: Hazel & Ruby, Marion Smith Designs, Teresa Collins, Want2Scrap and of course, Spellbinders & Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft! I still have it and it is in wonderful shape :)

Many of my favorite manufacturers were in the house! I spy Spellbinders® Creative Arts Die D-Lites™ die templates and Faber-Castell® Design Memory Craft® Gelatos® = LOVE!!!!

My newest purchase was these wonderful title chipboard created by the amazingly talented Asuka Miyamoto! I had the store keep these for me as they were sold out twice when they came in.

Friday
Looked forward to seeing the rest of the family :) We all met up at ANA Intercontinental Hotel for a dinner buffet - perfect for a group dinner! Great food and great company - what a wonderful time! Thank you, Dan and David, for making it happen. This girl is lucky to have two wonderful brothers :)

Saturday
My mother-in-law from Fukui Pref. came into town to see us (and my mom - lol!). She is SO funny and easy going. My mom's apartment building has several guest rooms (think hotel) and we were able to get one for her to stay in. We had a great time - although short, we were able to see some Tokyo sights too.

Then it was Monday and we had to good-bye to my mother-in-law.
AND it was the START OF VACATION!! Off to ONSEN (Hot Springs) Adventure! WOOHOO~!!

Stay tuned to another post...sorry! LOL!!
Thank you for visiting!
MargieH xo

My Japan Trip (May 2014): Tokyo

My husband and I went on a trip back to Japan without kids and for two weeks. We were both nervous about having them alone for that long but both are old enough and my college friend was on call :) Luckily, the house was standing and nothing was damaged! HA!

We started off with these gin & tonics before getting on that 12+ hour flight...we needed it! LOL!!!

We took the later ANA (All Nippon Air) flight into Narita Airport (landed the next day at 8:00pm) and ran to get the rental phone as the place closed down at 9:00pm. Made it! LOL!! By the time we settled in our hotel in Narita, it was around 10:30pm. So we ate a light dinner at Watami...more like appetizers. I had a seasonal drink...squeeze fresh orange juice into your drink = YUM & Refreshing :)

The next morning, we took the Narita Express and headed into Tokyo - OY! Note to self: Do not go into Tokyo Station during Rush Hour!! Get off at a less crowded (?) Shinagawa Station and cab it to my mom's! LOL!! But before we headed off, we stopped by Mr. Donuts!! Yes, folks - they are alive and well in Japan! I had a green tea donut - OMGosh! Not as sweet as it looks and oh so yummy :)

Hardly any passengers on this particular train - too early! LOL!

We arrived in Tokyo Station down in the fifth level basement (I think?) - the calm before the storm upstairs! YIKES!

Once we arrived at my mom's, we decided to explore the Azabu Juban area and grab some lunch. We had a craving for homemade buckwheat soba and ended up here at Sarashina Horii (est. 1789, closed due to World War 1 and reopened in 1984). Unlike most buckwheat soba which is gray in color, their soba is white (using the very center of the buckwheat) which they are known to be the first to use.

Did some more walking and then took a nap when we got back. Before we knew it, it was dinner time! We headed back to Azabu Juban and wandered into this funky Izakaya place called Era Kokyu...we had only a couple of appetizer to make room for...

Afuri Ramen! My first time tasting it - they really don't need the Yuzu rind IMHO but that's what they're known for - LOL! It's good without it - the pork was amazing (they grilled it = YUM!).

And that my friends, was our first day/night in Tokyo :)
Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH

Creating Keepsakes Magazine PUB~!

One HUGE Bucket List Item off!! So excited to shout out about my layout, Cousins, was published in a special issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine called Scrapbooking Boys and Men...

Under Rough and Tough Techniques, my layout was featured. I had a lot going on but was a TON of FUN to create - no project requirements, no deadlines, etc. Just doing something I like to do and BAM! A call that fit the need :) Pictured are my handsome guys and my nephew from Tokyo hanging out at our favorite restaurant.

See that camera, talk bubble and film strip? Those images are part of A Jillian Vance Design (AJVD) Foto Frames Stamp Set. One of my favorite sets and it has a matching die template set ({die}velop Foto Frames & {die}alogue Bubbles Die Set) made exclusively for them by Spellbinders® Creative Arts.

Although my family doesn't understand what the big deal is about...well, you all know, right?! Thanks for letting me TOOT my horn here! Still floating on Cloud Nine! LOL!!

Thanks for stopping by!
MargieH xo