HAARLEM, THE NETHERLANDS

hello scrappy friends! 

as many of you know the first SUPREME SCRAP TOURNAMENT 2014 has started last week and so far it has been a lot of fun! the ladies behind the whole idea - NANETTE VAN DER VEEN and BEP WELTERS are doing an amazing job to keep us {the participants} challenged and on the edge. 

this week the challenge was "1000 steps from HOME".

 the details:

create a double layout or double mixed media project that shows where your live, but it all has to be within 1000 steps from your home;

use at least 3 photos on your project (scrapbooking and mixed media);

add a visible journaling of at least 50 words;

not allowed - all kinds of spray and/or misting ink;

 deadline - FRIDAY, february 7th, 23:59 CET

and here is my take on this challenge -

"HAARLEM"

all the pictures are taken in the city i currently live, within 1000 steps from my house.

the journalling reads: "when i came to live in the NETHERLANDS i could never imagine that i would fall for the small town charms of HAARLEM. it is actually a very large city – the capital of NOORD HOLLAND, but with a small-town feel. now 10 years later i truly enjoy the leisurely pace of his historic streets with their 17th century architecture and walking through its exquisite small gardens, the so called hofjes. and the best parts is, that living in the heart of the city gives me the privilege to be less than a 1000 steps from all that HAARLEM has to offer."

this is the first page:

on the pictures {from left to right, clockwise} - ST. BAVO cathedral - front view, the old town hall, "DROSTE" - the chocolate factory, ST. BAVO cathedral - side view.

i cut out the banner by hand from pattern paper and arranged it above the film strip die cut {SIZZIX TIM HOLTZ' filmstrip frames die}. the inner parts of the frames are embossed with TIM HOLTZ' gears embossing folder. 

i used different MARTHA STEWART punches to decorate my page - cherish and vintage floral.

for the title i used BASIC GREY alphabet stickers.

the pretty doilies are cut with HEARTFELT CREATIONS' "layered elegant swirl" die and SIZZIX "renaissance frame" die.

here is a close up of page #2:

i printed the journalling on white cardstock, cut out the stripes and inked their edges with RANGER INK black ink pad. 

to create the beige pattern on the background i used PRIMA marketing "turkish grunge" masking template with PANPASTELS. i cut the gears with SPELLBINDERS' sprightly sprockets die.

to give extra dimension to my background i punched different edges and altered the bottom one with modelling paste and THE CRAFTER'S WORKSHOP "circle explosion" mask.

i used a lot of die cut elements on my layout. the large swirls are cut with TIM HOLTZ' elegant flourishes bigz die and the net like embellishment - with TIM HOLTZ' cobblestones decorative strip die.

i hope you enjoyed today's post!

hugs 'n smiles,