VIVE LA FRANCE COLLECTION FOLIO FOR COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES III

Bonjour Mon Amis!  

Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui? 

Okay...enough with the French for today. I don't recall all of that much of it from my high school classes back in the day anyway. 

Ready for the next challenge at Compendium of Curiosities III hosted by the lovely Linda Ledbetter?  It's not a French challenge but my project does have a French flair to it.  Turn to page 34 in your books and check out Tim Holtz' Collection Folio.  That is the subject of this challenge and this is my creation .... a folio celebrating my epic trip to France last July.  I adore France .... such a beautiful country and Paris was "ohh laa laa!" 

I truly love the design of this folio; with all of it's flip pages and pockets I've added to stuff pictures and memorabilia from our trip.  It's small enough to easily transport from place to place or lay out on a table as a beautiful conversation piece.  The small folio measures approximately 8 1/2" x 7" when closed but when open, it expands to an impressive 15", not to mention all of the interactive pages within. 

I began by covering the inside and outside of the folio (except for the interior back) with selections appropriately enough from Tim's French Industrial Paper Stash.  I waited to cover the interior back until I had secured the waterfall inserts in place.  I'll explain that in more detail later ...

    

Once all of the kraft paper folio was covered, I distressed all of the edges using Gathered Twigs and Black Soot Distress Inks. I also added various Washi tapes to the exterior back of the folio and also later on the waterfall inserts for added interest.  I then randomly stamped the French script images from Tim's Papillon stamp set on the cover of the folio using Jet Black Archival Ink. 

One of the most iconic images of France is the beautiful Eiffel Tower.  I printed this photo I'd taken of the Eiffel Tower onto a Semi-Gloss Photo Paper, cut it out and then inked around the perimeter with Vintage Photo to give it a more "retro" appearance. Then I created the faux rusted metal frame on the right out of Tim's Postage Stamp and Sized Rectangles Die cuts and a piece of black foam board.  The techniques I used in creating this very cool frame can be found HERE.

Add a little vintage lace behind the frame, add a heart and I think it looks pretty amazing!  The heart is one of Tim's Mini Hearts cut from black foam board as well.  It is painted with Barn Door Distress Paint and I've rubbed away the edges with a baby wipe to reveal the black foam board underneath. "PARIS" (also from Tim's Papillon stamp set) is stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink. 

This metallic oval frame is from Tim's Industrial Frames and Trims Stickers.  I've added a little Juniper Archival Ink with my fingers to give this a patina effect. The photograph of the patina statue is taken at the Palace at Versailles and I think the patina oval frame really compliments it well.

Included with each folio is a sewn kraft paper inset so that you can create a waterfall of pages.  

I chose to paint each of my inset pieces with Barn Door Distress Paint.  I later covered some of the insets with washi tape or completely covered the insets with cardstock. 

When you open the folio cover, you are greeted with photographs from the Champs Elysees and the Louvre.  The Louvre photo is backed with kraft cardstock for extra support.  Then cut out and double side taped on the sides and the bottom to create a pocket.

Then photos are matted with black cardstock and can be added to the pocket.  This is an easy way to create more interest and storage space on your folio pages!

For this folio, I chose to add covered library pockets as my first page.  Here are two of the three pockets.  I added double sided tape to the lower edge and pressed it against the back side of the first inset that has already been covered with Washi Tape.

Here are the backs of the above pockets after they have been secured onto the inset.  These stamped images are from Tim's Paris to London and Paris Memoirs stamp sets. The Fleur De Lis are highlighted with a Gold Paint Dabber and Tim's Detailer Water Brush.  There is also gold highlighting around the exterior edges of the covered library card pockets.

On the next inset, I had decorated the kraft cardstock inset with Tim's Tissue Tape, a piece of textured ribbon and a crown brad.  The third covered library card pocket is centered on the inset. 

Now all of the pockets are in place and ready to hold little trinkets and memorabilia.

And here are the pockets from the back.  The center pocket is stamped with images from Tim's Paris to London, Papillon and Mercantile stamp sets. Notice the inset is covered with Washi and Tim's Tissue Tapes?  

Here is a look at the pockets installed in the book. I love the depth they add.
Onto the next page ... I call it the "Eiffel envelope". 

I began with a long 8 1/2" envelope.  I covered it with papers from Tim's French Industrial Paper Stash.  But before I covered the front of the envelope, I added some harlequin pattern using Tim's Harlequin Stencil and Black Gesso scraped through the stencil. 

I added Victorian Velvet Distress Ink to the background and then used Tim's new Flourish Stencil with Perfect Pearls Forever Red Spray to add more layers to the background. 

The back of the envelope was covered in Tim's papers, torn edges were distressed with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot Distress Inks.  The flourish at the top is from Tim's Remnant Rubons. The Tissue Tape around the edges was added last.

Here is a photo of the envelope attached to the next inset. I love how the folio is really starting to flow. 

Add a couple of photos matted on black cardstock and an ornate resin frame colored with paint from a Gold Paint Dabber plus some Gold Interference Paint and Black Antiquing Cream. The frame is held in place with Glossy Accents.

The next page I added will be known at the "Notre Dame Cathedral" pocket page.  For this page, I used French script in the background of the front and back.  The edges were distressed with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot.  I distressed the interior of the pages with Wild Honey and Mustard Seed Distress Inks and followed with some spritzes of Turquoise Perfect Pearls Spray.  The sweet bird and floral image from Tim's Wallflower Paper Stash provided the perfect pocket.  I added the vintage lace using 1/8" double sided tape and sewed back and front papers together.  They are glued in place on the next inset using double sided tape.  Note the postal washi tape on the back of the "Eiffel envelope"? That covers where I added the envelope to the inset, creating the page before the "Notre Dame Cathedral" pocket page.

  
Here is the pocket page with the Notre Dame Cathedral matted on the background and other matted photos placed in the pocket.

And here is the finished spread of these two pages in the folio.  Next up ... a trip to the Palace at Versailles.

I only used one paper to create the front and back of this page.  The double sided tape on the left is on a 1/4" tab that will bend backward and adhere the tape to the next kraft inset.

I wanted this page to reflect some of the brick from the Palace at Versailles so I used my new Tim Bricked Stencil and Fired Brick and a touch of Aged Mahogany Distress Inks to create the brick effect on the pages (both front and back).

I distressed the edges with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot Distress Inks and then I added smears of black paint onto the edges using my finger.  I added some circles of paint using the lid from the Paint Dabber bottle dipped into the black paint. I also added bits of sprayed black ink using my Tim Holtz Spray Diffuser and my Black Soot Distress Marker.  Finally, I added "art" using rub on letters and the remaining letters stamped with Jet Black Archival.

I added a couple of matted photos of the palace and some stamped paint brushes from Tim's Artful Tools stamp set.  They were colored using Distress Inks and Tim's Detailer Water Brush.  The Fleur Di Les is highlighted with gold paint using the Detailer Water Brush and is given the shadow effect using a Black Stabilo Pencil and the water brush. The resin crown at the top is painted with gold paint and antiqued with a teal antiquing cream.

And here is the finished page in the folio.  You can also see the pocket page created on the page before.  "Journey" is a Tim Holtz stamp on the pocket. 

This is the backside of the Palace At Versailles page before any matted photographs were added.  You can clearly see the brick stenciling, the black smears and spritzes as well as the edge distressing.

The next spread of pages are devoted to more pictures of the Palace At Versailles. The page on the right is a pocket page that I added and included in the folio in the same manner as the previous pages.  "Travel 2014" on the left are some of Tim's Remnant Rubons.

"FRANCE" on the far right are created out of license plates stickers from Tim's Destinations Salvage Stickers.  I love them! I added the black sketch lines and little hearts. What a fun way to fill up an otherwise empty space!

The back of this page features Montmartre ... a quaint area that I fell in love with.  I created another pocket with the bottom matted photograph by adding double sided tape on the top, bottom and right side of the photograph.  I added a map of Montmartre and a tab featuring the Basilica Sacre Coeur, a gorgeous basilica with breathtaking architecture and beautiful painted ceiling.

Upon completion of this page, I was able to secure the waterfall inset to the back cover of the folio with double sided tape. Then I covered the back cover of the folio with paper and proceeded to finish the folio with photographs from another of my favorite memories of France .... Normandie.

Normandie is an absolutely beautiful, peaceful place that definitely was not that during World War II.  It was a weird feeling to walk the battlefield areas of Normandie, above the famous beaches where the Allied troops landed.  There were still bunkers in tact and all sorts of mounds where bunkers used to litter the countryside.  There were wild flowers,lush green fields and birds soaring overhead as they sang their sweet summer songs. Our visit to the American Cemetery at Normandie was somber yet feelings of pride swelled inside of me.  The grounds were meticulous...a reverent tribute to those who gave their lives defending the freedom of those so far away from home.  

I created another pocket on the  fold down flap at the bottom of the folio that is full of more matted photos from Normandie.

The opened folio....complete with all of it's pockets, flip ups, photos and memories.  Here you can get a better idea of the "waterfall" effect of the kraft inset included with the bare folio.  

Now it's YOUR turn to create a folio of your art, a trip, family memories; whatever speaks to you and join us at Compendium of Curiosities III.  

The wonderful people at Inspiration Emporium are sponsoring this challenge and are awarding a randomly drawn winner with a $50.00 gift certificate to their fabulous online store.  Click on their image above to visit their website.

And of course, Tim and Mario's generosity is widely known.  They have donated so many amazing Tim Holtz products to be awarded to the winning entry voted on by the Curiosity Crew each challenge.  So, two chances to win prizes just for entering.

I hope you'll join us and thanks for stopping by my blog today!