I did actually start right at the beginning though, That counts, right?
So...for a long time I was wondering when CKC (Counterfeit Kit Challenge) would use a Noel Mignon kit. Her kits are huuuge and mine always tend to be as well. I figured if the inspiration was a Noel Mignon kit then the size of mine wouldn't be quite so embarrassing. Sadly nope. My huge kit just grew in proportion to the Noel Mignon one.
It also probably didn't help that the inspo kit was gorgeous! It had all the things I love - vintage, pink, aqua...doilies, bows, flowers...💕💕💕
So be prepared for a long, drawn out blog post - it's not like I ever do that normally, right?? 😂
Without further ado, the inspiration kit is called:
Weekend in Paris Classic Kit
...and there is also (what I think is) a pocket page kit to go along with it called:
Weekend in Paris Daily Diary Kit
So the question is how am I going to approach this reveal? 🤔
Before I say or do anything else, I want you to keep two thinks in mind, firstly I am pretending I bought BOTH the Classic and the Daily Diary Kit from Noel Mignon as I pull out supplies. And extra papers if she does that. So it's going to be big. I feel a little trapped in a small kit.
The second thing is that I intend to use this kit indefinitely - way past the end of February. I did that with Last month's kit. I kept culling until January was almost up and I just didn't even bother blogging about it. I will still keep using it but didn't want it to happen again.
Maybe one day I'll get the hang of this.I started analyzing the kit in my usual way in terms of setting out the colours and motifs down in front of me to see how much I wanted to interpret fairly literally and how much I wanted to swap out for something else that suited me better. I usually do this process on paper.
This one-for-one approach of choosing a paper and embellishment to represent each one in the kit clearly didn't work this time.
I chose papers which fit in with colour and/or theme and didn't care too much about quantity, (clearly). What I will do is just show you a selection of papers/ embellishments which represent the feel of the kit in all the different colours and motifs I identified.
Before I even go into colours, I feel that some paper collections set the tone of the kit and in this case it's Maggie Holmes' "Carousel" line which seems to dictate colour and some theme as well...except I don't it yet. It was her "new" collection except now that Creativation saw the release of her NEW new collection last month...
I decided at this point that Maggie Holmes and Crate Paper in general would be a solid foundation for a vintage Parisian kit. I used "Chasing Dreams" in place of "Carousel" but they go with the theme just as nicely.
I also added a few more random papers by Crate (with the exception of the top line with is October afternoon). Some are pretty old and others more recent but I think they will all work.
I got really excited when I saw a few papers from Carta Bella's Metropolitan Girl, That is all about shopping in Paris and I have the perfect photos and story I've been saving for them! prefer the colours in Carousel though, so like the original Noel Mignon kit, I tended to choose papers more like those by Crate Paper.
I added most of the Metropolitan Girl line to my kit!
When going through the list of supplies one by one (and YouTube unboxing videos when available are a big help) it's easy to see which colours predominate and which ones play a more supporting role.
The first thing that stuck out was that the full spectrum of aqua/turquoise from light to darker teal and represented along with lots of pink. There were a few greens too, but mostly aqua. The pinks tended towards the warm side with some being peachy and almost coral. I decided to try to include a wider range of pinks in my kit because...well pink.
Black/White and Black/Cream patterns also play a large role too. All the colours so far are really rather Parisian, aren't they? There was also yellow, gold and splashes of red and blue
So what about themes and motifs? I tended to mix them between paper and embellishment so I've listed them together eg I picked paper with doilies or cameras when WIP had them as embellishments (and vice versa)The motifs were in keeping with the name - a weekend in Paris of shopping, sightseeing, primping and relaxing in cafes perhaps?
Julene who chose the this month's kit also put together a Pinterest board for inspiration! I definitely kept it in mind when making my choices even if was subconscious.
The overall vibe was classic or retro/vintage - nothing super trendy. Things like:
Flowers
Butterflies
Hearts
Dress forms and fashion
Doilies, bows, lace, fabric
Bunting/banners
Frames, tickets
Scripty words, typography
Vintage camera, music scores, book print
French inspired motifs (Eiffel Tower, bicycles, small cars
Buildings, shopfronts, cityscapes
Vintage marquees, carousels, hot air balloons, kites and
Classic patterns like polka dots, stripes, gingham/plaid
Woodgrain, watercolour wash, maps
Wallpapery patterns brocade, damask and toile
Layered patterns with images of stacked ephemera
Cut-apart sheets or patterns that can be cut into embellishments
And now onto the rest of my choices in my kit - I shall name it:
An Elegant Sufficiency
Because it pretty well describes how out of control the kit became (in the nicest and most ladylike way - Dowager Countess Violet would be proud!)
When I first started researching the inspiration kit, I remembered these two Anna Griffin papers in my stash which I also felt laid the groundwork along with Crate and Carta Bella's "Metropolitan Girl".
There are many manufacturers or at the very least paper collections which would work well in this kit. I chose a mix of bright saturated colours and softer more distressed ones, but they all have a vintagey quality in common. I just needed there to be some more playful styles of pattern and variety of colour to be able to scrapbook a wide range of photos.
The Basic Grey below is a good case in point:
On the left is "Mon Ami" which has a french theme as well as all the right colours. It's definitely on the more whimsical side. Then in the middle is a mixed bag of more traditional patterns and on the right is "B-Side" which is very bright and fun but still works.
Several collections from Echo Park on the left and Heidi Swapp on the right (except that camera print which is Fancy Pants) and a few from Glitz as well as more HS in the bottom part of the image.
Perfect colours and retro motifs from Shimelle's first Collection:
Ahh My Mind's Eye! Always good for some vintage fun. "Find Your Wings and Fly" on the left in both colourways, plenty of "Kate and Co" in the middle since I haven't really used much of it but had it for a long time and on the right "My Story" which has the florals, butterflies. bunting and gold touches.
This one was a bit of a no-brainer - the name was enough of a reason to use it, although the colours and motifs were perfect too - "C'est La Vie" by Pink Paislee
Two collections from Prima - on top is "Anna Marie" with plenty of sewing patterns, dress forms and florals and below that is "Rosarian" which I have quite a bit of but haven't used much. Time to change that!
Pebbles! A few from "Walnut Grove" on top and "Tealightful" below. I admit "Tealightful" is very cutesy and some of the critters may not work with a sophisticated Parisian theme, but tea and cakes (look there are macarons! (NOT MACAROONS)) need representation for sure!
Some Dear Lizzy on top (complete with French phrases) and some Webster's Pages flowery goodness below!
Lastly is the bright "Flower Girl" collection by We R Memory Keepers. It's vintagey and whimsical and fun all in a single collection and actually one of the first I thought about when I was brainstoming about this kit. Some of the brighter and more fun collections I included were inspired by this one.
Now here are my embellishments. Don't judge, ok? 😂 I like lots of stuff on my pages and lots of paper for layering up! I included stuff that corresponded where possible to the inspiration kit and items that co-ordinated with the papers I chose. Things from the same collection
Remember my trusty snack tray from a few months back? I'm still picking through that along with some washi, rub on pens and loads of those die cut words I can never seem to use use.
Lastly a few close-ups of some of the French bits of the paper and embellies!
Some French postal goodness from Glitz...
C'est La Vie has plenty of French phrases which an be cut out...
...and check out those two papers from Dear Lizzy with the mix of French and English?
Well congrats on making it this far and I'm ready to use my kit so please keep checking back! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Love and successful kit curating!
