Sara's Blog

Below are two digital scrapbook pages of our trip to Paris last week. What a relief to have at least a few pages scrapbooked—my schedule has been so crazy that I’m feeling guilty about taking loads of photos and not doing anything with them. Isn’t it funny how with digital photography, the computer is now becoming the shoebox of years past? I did these using the new Clean & Simple Borders on Paper Wishes Digital.

Okay, I can also let you guys in on a little secret. You know we always release new products in January for the big industry trade show. Well, one of the new product lines is called Sara’s Surfaces, and it’s so cool! For those who loved sarabinders, we’ve got albums made of the same heavyweight bookboard—this time, with post bindings. You can paint them, ink them, stamp them and decorate them with paper. And yes, they’ll have page protectors too. We’ll also have portfolios and mini pockets that are great for stashing gift cards or little notes. This week I’ll be creating some completed designs for the new idea book to go along with the line. I can’t wait to play!

PS. Next week I won’t be posting since I’ll be on vacation! (It’ll be a vacation from my laptop and cell phone—yay!)

  

“Are we going to Paris to go to Paris…or are we going to Paris for scrapbook pages?” Keith asked as we got on the tram to the airport. Hmmm…I actually have to think on that one!

Oh, Paris…what a fantastic, beautiful city: The wide sidewalks filled with afternoon strollers, the gardens, the statues, and the vitality of the cafes, patisseries and museums. We visited the Louvre for an art infusion, climbed the Eiffel Tower (500+ steps!) and hit the local markets for croissants, cheese and the juiciest, darkest purple grapes I’ve ever had. Saturday morning I parked Keith at a café with some coffee while I hit the flea market to replenish my lost stash of collage bits. Oh, the treasures I found! Vintage lace, old letters, voter cards from the ‘40’s and art books—and my biggest score ever: Vintage French fashion newspapers with illustrations and advertisements from 1913! They smell wonderful…that antique-y smell that immediately takes me back to being eight years old and curling up with one of the old books in my grandmother’s basement. (I think you have to love old stuff to appreciate that smell!)

Then we went to dinner. Up until now, we’d blended in pretty well (no Lucky Lab Brewpub t-shirts) but dinner was another matter. We found a great French restaurant and the waitress very kindly helped us decipher the menu. We decided on salmon, which we as picky eaters figured was pretty safe. Our waitress brought out the food in record time and we soon discovered why: The salmon was raw. Yes, it was a big salmon filet…only it was totally raw. We just looked at each other across the table and Keith said slowly, “Oh, my.” So in the spirit of adventure, we reminded ourselves that sushi is also raw fish (never mind that we don’t eat sushi) and gamely went for it. It’s not bad, actually, although I couldn’t for the life of me finish it and actually resorted to scooting the fish around on the plate like I did when I was a kid. We left the restaurant feeling far less sophisticated than when we went in…but that’s the beauty of traveling and exploring! (I think the chocolate mousse we had later that night also helped!)

PS. I’ll post digital scrapbook pages with photos from Paris next week!

I just have to mention some of the coolest artists around: Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. Their exhibition, Learning to Love You More, was on at a gallery in Eindhoven last weekend. The premise is that “Sometimes it is a relief to be told what to do….Sometimes it seems like the moment we let go of trying to be original, we actually feel something new—which was the whole point of being artists in the first place.” Their website, http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com, is filled with assignments ranging from “write a press release about an ordinary event” to “photograph a significant outfit”. Anyone can accept an assignment, send in their report and see it posted online. They have exhibitions all over, with the completed assignments on display. I love the idea of making art and creativity accessible to everyone, and giving inspiration through such a widely available means.

(My favorite assignment is “make an encouraging banner” and I’ve included this picture of someone’s banner hanging at the bus station.)

I’m scurrying though my workload this week because this weekend we are going to Paris! I’m so excited—the first (and last) time I was there was on our honeymoon nine years ago. I have been obsessively planning my wardrobe for about two weeks now…and secretly planning Keith’s—if I’m not careful he’ll pack his t-shirt from the Lucky Lab Brewpub in Portland (it has a giant dog on the front) and his Converse sneakers. I’m also compiling my cheat sheet of French phrases so I can hit the flea markets with confidence. Au revoir—see you next week!