The same day I received the news I will be guest designing at Shimelle, the amazing Paige Evans contacted me if I want to do a guest designer gig for Pink Paislee. I just asked "Are you serious?!" I mean who in their right mind would say no to that?! I mean come on! So it's safe to say it was a pretty damn good day! It was already many weeks ago and I am still over the moon! I cannot thank Paige enough for thinking of me and having faith in me, and Pink Paislee for making it possible! I will forever be grateful!
I was asked to create 3 layouts, a card and something extra with the beautiful new C'est la vie collection. I will be honest, even though I find this collection absolutely stunning, I probably wouldn't have bought it because it's so soft and feminine and I pretty much only scrap my son's photos! So I was a bit worried as to what I will be able to come up with! Then I received the goodies...and held them in my hands...my goodness! So chic! I had this idea that I would ask my best friend to send me her and her gorgeous girl-boy twins' photos and then I will make this series about them. Well she is about as lazy as I am so instead of selecting her favourites, she gave me access to hundreds of photos to choose from ha! Because this is the part I really enjoy the most (NOT!)...going through photos, especially when they are so gorgeous and bring back so many memories! The process takes ages and it's so emotional. But, I managed! In fact I made 7 layouts, a couple of cards and a mini album! I am down to scraps, I have never used up a collection in its all entirety before!
First let me show you the layouts!
Some weeks ago I saw a sneak peek from Heather Leopard on Shimelle's IG account, it was a bunch of stitched hearts. Absolutely stunning. Right then an idea hit me: I'd make balloons from hearts! And then I found the perfect picture, the babies in a basket at their 1-year photo shoot! That totally requires balloons, right?! I pinched two holes in the photo and hung the basket on the threads! There was even a number 1 in the cut apart sheet, great!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXLr35IX2H5jMo-KhFKQWv8GIlKmeVpNLvcZlipFsUSam6eiNx_MIV9XoZt6njbVfFrQffVy9UK1HgqGs3X2YftXj5HU1rYLMbirN1cdGdoixcB2A_5w98t1QLwzr3VJzc5mv434q7lys/s640/CestlavieLO1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttjumhRJPYybrg1yfLlpcD84818BKx3VvuiaZlra-WNii8vCbY8OLngANe2X86Cn3bfeylNoF7f9M5-Qzn5oVohOmtWBD9awWz-TWmhI2xmUhVsvSIV-Rnq5_SwRsUhprFqJxM7Sq4II/s200/CestlavieLO1_1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUx0WJ8pHwJRGOKXw1QIGas7cptz5gJ5lBrz8vJB4Q3BpA3FT7_qf3mNuJhAanQkf7mnb2STdjWqsxV9phxrapoO1W2kiHH3UptEyn-Q9336hAoNQa_pU8f2Xmk7aRLNZWmikS2_loiI/s200/CestlavieLO1_2_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUautHPw2NC3ogdIzAY4squ59ieJq_WQmyGFIwyvpwbui3qsICVrILNNIAMmgN2uX-dOKjLTtWsrUgbHvfA2MpHRFi3IwUBxubhjLp-wmyGnEv27xWsj9sIrMiQeHgFIY19SvjnyjEpv4/s200/CestlavieLO1_3_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYq0030bo-rov8McVMjMpwRhAVFXvcoNLhUbNq39c6Q9zzl1a4YDN_yK5FoJ4r61x-5Gm4WcHzjoI7h9KV_DzKYYhlk_8OMosxpUtHr7IUsqBkbG0LvO5C03fJNHMfxj-vxLvJz3mZnA/s200/CestlavieLO1_4_PPGD.jpg)
Second layout contains several photos, simply because there were so many gorgeous ones in the series, I could not choose. Ashley Horton has a new class at Big Picture Classes called Photo Focus and with each lesson there's a free cut file. So the cut file I am using here is one of those. It's perfect for multiple photos and of course the hearts fit my theme well! I put some photos in the frames and other frames I backed with patterned papers (I love patterned papers, can you tell?!). Then I put the whole on pop dots to give the layout a bit of texture. To finish off the layout I added embellishments all over the page.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoG3q2d2CWpvhARNXFTD8Y2jtHVXXC9sEUJa_6nUrUWKzZhF51HvHq6wTptFuAAzU9-j3a9Crz-Mnb9F5rbQ94JV7WgAzvtNnpdrtc9sOEfxRSmSpJLSQmAANmi8ZgmxSkpWZCDLa5oA/s200/CestlavieLO2_2_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUYNWssGcQ0vvnsVSMqlXEH0gjRKT8rjex-yOkZkqv_M7Kk25k1fsG6psLnJ6BIVn3sSO7eq47WnJfGefl2NxywqdNnmDkKTzBtpSYKhjL1KkEJGDBXjE9EBwjMr4hojfTPNcrEHJcxs/s200/CestlavieLO2_3_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmQcyfwhsliuP6mz1B2ABApMpmwbg2XB5cQqp19f3IamOJid44_K0MlqOoSgDuoag9wIQVGyzX-ts31MA0kDjz8U_3V62u4VtdrFLZo7zKgPVKBim7aHCurw_cft9SiGZCng-TUebyp0/s200/CestlavieLO2_4_PPGD.jpg)
The third layout features a big circle cut file which I cropped from Paige's full page background cut file, just because I love circles. Then I backed up the file with patterned papers, added tags, ephemera pieces, frames behind my photos so that they stand out more. For the title I used those awesome mirror letters, they are absolutely amazing! I hope there will be a full alphabet like this one day! I normally add some journaling to my pages, but in this case my best friend has to do it once she receives them, if she wants ha!
For the next layout I wanted to use those gorgeous acetate letters from the ephemera pack! They are so very pretty! Since this one is a boy layout, I didn't use much pink, just as accents, and rather focused on green, yellow, black and white! The camera cut file is also from Ashley's Photo Focus class.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSX_gLL4GCE1gaDgwPifG8LvZBd07YoV-LTjTpyWi14n3Wdzsx1eeDJu3sH5GHv9fN1H_t-lVk2cMkVSzrWK2cDTWZ32Auv7t9UGDh-thH3ODKXYxRkoh1G5oP6aLBFx5OPpT5kKa-KM/s640/CestlavieLO4_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjYO5qdLvhnlW-S39eFBVE8Q56b8-8p9Xp5qhqXt2sA52DoadlcpaxnifwVYfSivVhTUtyemd9YfvwEnMENMxcZ9I1x23OvctoUZFljAw_yel3fXVNtY12-3BlISx5PHf_bzDYn2wkLo/s200/CestlavieLO4_2_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIt5tUDixW9WdG5v2oA-Y35dthjXLcXCvbCFMvHNceL0tX_uBgNqC8xN7_OXNlfoBqrU_YZJi5Ri3peC4AR_UduWGY8lUkdqXTE-A2g4surEdnbsIttS7SG6bqTdr3dhj2NymjSa3zIk4/s200/CestlavieLO4_1_PPGD.jpg)
For my 5th layout I got inspired by a sketch from Ashley for Hip Kit Club! I really wanted to use her sketch but I had no time for other layouts that week, so I simply used it for this! Like I said, I love circles, so this spoke to me of course. This is the first layout where I used something that wasn't part of the C'est La Vie line. The gray wood grain paper I used for the background is from Pink Paislee's Cedar Lane line and the white textured card stock is Bazzill. I simply cut several circles in different sizes, layered them over each other, first glued then stitched them down (except for the smaller ones: I just distressed the edges of those with my nails). The photo was also trimmed into a circle shape. I added a few sentiments from the sticker sheets, a couple of acetate pieces and those awesome cork/gold glitter hearts! Some doodling around the edges and I called this page done.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzmabnV38iSWdv_hJqjZ_NUBwmctMZbM9EBjFMb9JTCQ32FUbhjOPax2JUAxfVeA13pV-_lqXk6nixTKu-jkL2PH9Ppa3EY8T2xQLl5-nBRxr_VnSqccfXnpKsb-4_0_q_lRWQe45kN0/s640/CestlavieLO5_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlG5KLxpPc-UJcqwiG_e6ZTwkuIkPqHm8CB6tLDYJGCWIK7YqGRuI34dD3pcv-15713GRWveqPQrWUEBreWgbwlD703WFkty8rBuWKx0g4Onaen2pryCJPbTfR4q4pu_wOP9Zu36ywI70/s200/CestlavieLO5_1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIU-k4NwJdRsvVbhH3aZ7_HTsFCsH9Ni9LunmH-3BkJUTpWMPXDFYeB-Kz_4Q-CBdriDwMiUdzlySTBYMFatxVuhHUfeAWoLaL1JM-2GRBhCeK6CzWSjdA_jHEH0EevLK8LkulUNMZ5rs/s200/CestlavieLO5_2_PPGD.jpg)
The last two layouts are sort of related! I used the same lace cut file from Just Nick: on one layout I used the positive, on the other the negative pieces. When I first cut this in the blue floral paper and removed the file from my Silhouette mat, I was left with the negative pieces still on the mat. They looked so stunning, I had no heart to throw them away! So what I eventually did was I put glue on every single piece while still on my mat and transferred the whole file onto another patterned paper. Luckily the B-side of this paper was this amazing ombre pink! For both of these layouts I used pieces of the acetate cut apart sheet, another favourite of mine from this collection! On the last layout I used some gold glitter American Crafts thicker words for the title because I did not have enough letters left in the C'est La Vie collection for anything meaningful!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnCgyl63SrtaPDRtimjAVUQDwhHfP5gpdowIAzbUtu1vV_lFuXt9hGLspEtXuwwMjcUbWgQpB_B5xmgsLprJPOqI5cVskCp81jZHSReeaPNvDdesB5k5hSOBxxccXllbdrf_A0mN_XqE/s640/CestlavieLO6_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwgNTjhfU4EnqKHYqswXuHQPjgbDy_X0O493v-NQNfl8rJM4IjuVUD4mmne8cWPmLykw94pvxAbRi8pEgc02EdVTiY67yLN1YIhXJu2-nMD4UINQt3abWoIq98C1UaBfh8CMwVJ5kOrY/s200/CestlavieLO6_3_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT7prtJEJsrGauDXhDp_AVrFI2euy0d25NqXlE5QpuBrfFVx67EwssUlGG2qErzSfgEoNXzt949cllgN65KyrVwa0eu9gQ4f4dhxUeFwCROuTJR1WIj68d3jfY3teY2Ozg-LjMMJ0yfmM/s200/CestlavieLO6_2_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8aTZqqe2H9YR3QeIcbALCzPov6kXCgRV1Zy22q118WiSIj-UN1kVzJ2HT3te0vwXvscbQBWS_qp9ZNXPtczbYE30Gqe3YWWJ_GFmMhmyFV_nLoHhObdhjQ16R3kbbfd2KScds3CsnvI/s200/CestlavieLO6_1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqhVDOTnb3J1wHrMxQIlUSJQiiiedjTeUejhQBBn51R2Co0UPCNa51oWiYxE8TQrrPVXv-uRjRFSFqnc_5tiVqcZq5nGHjdg7d4MONwoHtEH44nJBh_AIY8eMpTzHc0cvdukLSgoe4TU/s640/CestlavieLO7_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_ZhC_GgIqC5u0MB1pWqvAeMoHCAoTYLzO22CasGiSAkbZ7nVz2v9iYRvSF0TDW34ErZR6PFOJOde8wUUspfyzsR-sOYptSULChW1gQa3N8QSHdrN-M6rwQoN5WaUgYe3rnHhCepaSpo/s200/CestlavieLO7_3_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFwVLvfaGkAJnDMv9oYk4kW2fm-MUWe93IX_xwLIqNwUUU1T7TxWIrVnfIJ6N3wiWp7E48GC6QUCkay59iRpuxEwBkM1AQQzxvY9z7qXCgfSsrmya04eDqxMBaMHeuMtQStMiKBBV0d8/s200/CestlavieLO7_1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCp4bg4vJAeMg0iE3bnoWRGz4mTLsNSxCEYUIw_lVoGBvf5A3IeUYyaKoP8MqORWvDOAxE-URZVjBXppOwB0w5FvurlrdjDd678Tm0M4Tj1-h5FDlwZbgdLLBoUQXpt803-chN7Um61c/s200/CestlavieLO7_2_PPGD.jpg)
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Up next: the card! Well I'll admit, I never do cards! Mainly because I have so many photos I always have the feeling I will never be able to catch up with my layout - so I never spend time on cards. But these last weeks I made a couple and I so enjoyed the process! Something different! On this card I used one of the acetate pieces from the cut apart sheet, I stitched it on in a couple of places with gold thread. Then I fussy cut some of those gorgeous big pink flowers from one of the papers. I had a couple of leaves remaining from a previous project (the cut file is from The Cut Shoppe, I believe it's in the Funky Florals set) and I figured they would fit here perfectly and add a bit more texture. To finish it off I added a cork heart, a sentiment sticker and some twine, et voila!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBK8-VHDDlgVke45HkVpdtd_ASQ2fEHQBwvABaRzQ74YHwNc9mMhZ4f9G-C86P_QEHLqihpEPiAm0yEt073wTfyk0uBvpASmwfj4z0UGye-lokxpMbaUkpAooBsFRFBEJxedMw_R1pqc/s640/CestlavieCard_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPmBALeGOofP1hRTzlgHvJHHflnPOsv7HedZlVAL9cCpu9u5brYF8CtnhbWEq3LKEkXKaV-AkQGznAMcHZInY8m3gOjnJcCAI3YpVPrwd7kwygKsIIKU5D1cOggFwnjMjgTSJnAma_MtY/s200/CestlavieCard_1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVCle_o85eIRJvbW-ZO_ByAklEMWEly2pcp2hc71w0XI3m7ubWfxZo27_gQM2IdtxFHo73LexF7hVBJ2MNiyB9QP7pwM1z2LM-X3QlDSecq_r8oSnga3Unkn-Z3sdyTFDZqD3pbj-EtlM/s200/CestlavieCard_2_PPGD.jpg)
Last but not least I have a mini album to share with you. I think this was my favourite project! I do not enjoy the planning part (which pictures to select for which background, in what order, what color, what size arrrgh too much for my brain!). But once I start cutting the pages and put them together...It's so exciting! For this album I made a single heart from a gorgeous The Cut Shoppe background cut file. I loved the fact that the heart has two sides, one for each of the twins I figured! Eventually I only did a couple with this separation, the rest are full hearts. I took photos of both sides of the pages so you see how I decorated them. Normally I would have used more embellies but unfortunately everything from the C'est La Vie collection is sold out here. So I made do with what I had! I even made a vellum pocket which is everywhere right now and filled it with confetti I cut from scraps! I stitched around the edges of all hearts to give them more interest and also, so nothing falls apart anytime soon!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLbMEAEmoKbUF3HY8SaODg3smmshHwJsOPneSwhipZf9OM88rmpQFfz_ixWOFExirPkZHj58ZuYNaj5Y8G0CFZXtgBl0rfB0YL4ReefGCW5M5XjP3MOCajGOf5Rnd15JjFx5qoBHybW8s/s640/CestlavieMini_3_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqdSSngXOCho1my9nNGTWtOQUshfNpSMiqYmQSxhobSm0RvuVAupS1VIstApuyTaGBcQoaX3q21pVTsHFRROCTXn-mXCpQSf46bQEi1HFyelv8lGYhulikaNxdOC_pgGgxrxt6shp1Og/s400/CestlavieMini_1_PPGD.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjslo3eMUmJ07JMR13-U4H4S3VgkkVsYrzQjJTs7Vkda49sLVFQ0fYr-JnYdVHIXxjDnYJVdzgUF9N_FhWMtyhM2Ikm3bWGDAIbVFPa06rfuQwW_Fl28JhfLyd_6eZ-EDiG-RWTNHU91RE/s400/CestlavieMini_PPGD.jpg)
I hope you enjoyed my projects and I could inspire you in some way! If you were not sure before if you should buy this collection, believe me when I say, you will not be disappointed if you do! Every single piece is gorgeous and as you can see, I even managed to do boys' layouts with it!
Thank you again Paige and Pink Paislee for this fantastic opportunity, I enjoyed every single minute of working on these projects! Thank you all for stopping by and checking my post XXX