Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Twinery and Authentique Blog Hop...

welcomes you! If you came here from Emily Lanham's blog you are right on track.

I hope you are enjoying the hopping as much as i did playing with the gorgeous Authentique and Twinery products. They have the most amazing colour combinations in the Authentique lines so it was hard to choose just one to scrapbook with let alone matching the great Twinery twine selection up to them - so many awesome combinations are possible when these two fun companies come together..nonetheless i managed to narrow it all down and made the following page.... but first a little background to it..

I left New Zealand 16 years ago with a young and single, excited and positive outlook to what might await me in Europe..well Frankfurt to be exact which was my first port of call, so to speak...turns out i was there for five years although my intention was three weeks or so and then make my way round Europe.. one never knows what tomorrow may bring, right? So rolling it into a short story - flew to Germany, met and married future (Swiss) husband, son #1, moved to Switzerland, son #2 = 16 years! and here i am...
As you can imagine my "excited, positive" outlook back in 1995, took a hammering here and there and although pretty much still in tact i do have the odd day where my thoughts wander back to those last words of wisdom from my Dad... (as i was about to step on the first flight in a total of 24 hours flying) his words were - "don't forget - home will always be here for you whenever you want to return". Those words were comforting then and many moons later they still make me smile. Having now had children of my own though i realise how he must have felt as he watched me go... at the time i remember trying to make myself focus on what the world held for me rather than what i was leaving behind..as a parent i am sure it would, and will be, much more difficult??! I love my Dad for being so supportive at that particular moment - those few words gave me strength and courage as i took the first step of that 'big' journey. I just hope that I too, can be together enough to pass those exact same sentiments on when the day comes for my little darlings to spread their wings! I trust that's still a long time away, i might add, even though that old cliche..they grow right before your very eyes.. kind of rings true. In any case, one fine day i want them to know...home will always be here for them.

i was so glad to get these feelings down on paper together with this photo taken a couple of years back of  my Dad and me. The vintage feel of the Authentique papers in soft yellows and greys were just what i needed to portray my thoughts and the stone twine matched perfectly with them. Lemondrop or Pink Sorbet would also have done the trick but i wanted a more subtle look to coincide with my quiet thoughts of home - so stone was indeed the lucky one!! Rather than leaving it loose, I pulled the twine tight and stapled it at either end to remind me of the strength my Dad gave me...


But enough deep and meaningful....moving right along, as I mentioned above i couldnt resist all of the beautiful Authentique collections so in honour of the big day coming up in less than six weeks!!! (scary thought) i cut up a few more papers and made this layout "also about home" when we were lucky enough to be back in New Zealand for a white oops i mean, warm Christmas. I tied the whole layout up like a parcel with none other than.... maraschino twine of course and it was all done and ready to pop under the tree. LOL!


Last but not least, be sure to leave a comment here to go into the draw to win some goodies..

The Twinery will be giving away a 'Colorful Bunch Sampler Pack' (retail value $20)
and Authentique will be offering a prize package of the same value.


The next stop on the blog hop is Heather Conklin - many thanks for stopping in today and i wish you much inspiration throughout the remainder of the Authentique and Twinery  blog hop.

86 comments:

  1. These layouts are just beautiful! Love the soft colors and simplicity of the first the most!

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  2. What a gorgeous way to frame that special photo ... and what fabulous memories.

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  3. I'm loving the paper with the ruler on; great layouts!

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  4. Beautiful layouts and pictures and a wonderful story too!

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  5. Love these layouts, just gorgeous!!!

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  6. Your page layouts are so amazing and sweet... Love your technique..
    thanks for sharing..

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  7. Great pages! Clever to use the twine you did :)

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  8. Beautiful layouts and great story! I love my store twine, one of my favorite colors!

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  9. Great story, and layout! Thanks for sharing :)

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  10. great projects thanks for sharing. :)
    -jamie
    babyblueangel_30@yahoo.com

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  11. Another great use of those papers and that twine! Love the symbolism, I do that alot. No one else may know what it means, but it makes me smile. Thanks for sharing!
    Janelle

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  12. Beatiful layouts and a great story! Thanks for sharing!

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  13. A great story.. and nice layouts!

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  14. beautiful layouts and loved your story!

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  15. great layouts! thanks also for a chance to win!
    kmassmanATgmailDOTcom

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  16. Love your layouts!!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  17. Great project, your layouts are great!

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  18. Don't know why but I like tape measures and rulers. They can add a lot to the page.

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  19. I love how you wrapped your layout like a present such a cute idea

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  20. Thanks for sharing your story and your layouts.

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  21. What a super story and fabulous layouts!

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  22. really enjoyed reading yoru story, your 2 layouts are beautiful!

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  23. Such beautiful layouts, and such a happy family.

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  24. great layouts. Cute project. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. Loved both projects
    Great colors and I especially liked reading about your family and what your father gave you.
    (at)q(dot)com

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  26. very nice layouts .. i am a follower..:) lindaplusthree at yahoo dot com

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  27. Thanks for sharing your great layouts.
    Stacie D.

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  28. What a great way to "wrap up" a family layout! With pretty twine!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  29. What a great layout. Love how you framed the picture and the use of the twine.

    Tinalala
    tmjl22@aol.com

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  30. Beautiful layouts Hera! I loved reading your story though it hits close to home - my oldest is 19 and thinking about moving out (I swear he was only born 5 years ago). While I want him to spread his wings, I also don't want him to leave. He is gone a lot these days anyway so I guess he is easing me into it LOL. Thanks for sharing this sweet memory.

    rebeccadunham at hotmail dot com

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  31. What a great story and wonderful use of twine on your layouts!

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  32. Great layouts! The twine tied layout is especially cute!

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  33. Great story, resulting in wonderful color choices, ending with Awesome LO's! Great job, thanks for sharing

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  34. Oh my gosh, what beautiful layouts. Your story just makes them so meaningful. Love your choice of papers and twine. Thanks for sharing. patnbobcuddy at gmail dot com

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  35. You make scrapbooking look so effortless!
    Beautiful pages!
    Kindest regards,
    Jennifer

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  36. Cool scrapbook layouts!! I love your use of twine in the 2nd one....it looks like a present! Thanks for sharing your story!

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  37. Great layouts and your memories were wonderful to relive with you. TFS.
    Debbie
    debbie_craine@hotmail.com
    http://craftywizard.blogspot.com

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  38. Great Way to save all those wonderful memories and the Paper line add to that I really love that you used the yellow, grey and pink. Nicely done on both layouts!

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  39. thanks for the hop and the inspiration
    dilnazheckman @ hotmail . con

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  40. These layouts are just beautiful

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  41. lovely LOs and so filled with love. the color choices you made were perfect.

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  42. LOVE your story... I live away from the rest of my family (not the 24 plus you do) but I do understand. Your story really touched my heart! THANKS for sharing it. Love your LO with your father, the colors of the papers and twine remind me of NZ!

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  43. Thank you for sharing the sweet story behind your beautiful pages. There is no place like home and I hope to one day land back to the place I began. Home is a precious place. Blessings on your visit!

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  44. Beautiful layouts, great color choices.

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  45. I love the page layout of your family and how you used the twine to wrap the page like a present!!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  46. Really like the idea of using the twine to wrap the layout. That would look real cute on a Christmas layout

    Sarah Lecomte

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  47. You are very blessed to have such an insightful and patient father! Your pages are very meaningful, now that I know the story, and I'm sure that those in the future will enjoy having the same facts shared with them in your pages! TFS!

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  48. great layouts, wonderful choices of papers. like how you used the twine. thank you for sharing and a chance to win.

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  49. What a great project!! Love it!!

    ~Jeannie
    Authentique Paper Design Team

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  50. I love the colors you choose. They go together so perfectly! TFS!!

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  51. Authentique papers doe match up nicely with the twinery colors!!

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  52. What sweet layouts to capture great memories...

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  53. Nice layouts, love your story....

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  54. The twine and buttons really finish it off nicely.

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  55. LOVE the grey and yellow! Great work :)

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  56. nice layouts. i like seeing twine on scrapbook pages

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  57. Great pages. Thanks for sharing.

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  58. I like how you used the twine on the second layout.

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  59. Special memories and wonderful layouts. Thanks for sharing this story.

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  60. I love the detail in both layouts. Just wonderful!

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  61. Authentique papers are perfect for scrapbook pages! LOVE LOVE LOVE your use of twine on both--perfect design on your LOs!! LOVE! Thanks so much for the chance to win--sbmmhoover at yahoo dot com

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  62. nice layouts. thanks for sharing.
    Julie G.

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  63. LOVE the parcel under the the idea! So fun for you and your family to have those memories together. Thank you for sharing!

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  64. Beautiful story and beautiful designs to hold the beautiful pictures.

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  65. great story & layouts.. I find myself using twine more & more often..

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  66. Beautiful layouts!!! Thank you for sharing your blog post as well :-)

    -Sam :-)
    SamanthaJDesigns @ hotmail.com

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  67. Fabulous...and thanks for sharing your story...

    -Tifany
    http://inkblotsbytrd.blogspot.com

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