Cut 'n Paste

Basilica of Superga | Turin, Italy

Perched high above the city, the Superga is a must-see stop in Turin. Our first full day in the city gave us sunny skies, so we decided to head up the mountain to take advantage of the clear day. After a 20 min funicular ride we had a treat waiting for us. The view was spectacular:

After drinking it in, we headed into the Basilica. Like so many of the Catholic churches, it was beautiful.



While admission into the church was free, Rick and I paid an extra 2 or 3 Euros to climb to the top of the dome and walk around the outside of the Basilica.


After viewing the church, our family also did a tour of the Royal Apartments in the cloister. Each visitor must be a part of a tour group with a guide and unfortunately, while we were there, the tour was only in Italian. The English information sheet that they hand out to English speaking guests gave only a brief outline for each room so while the Italian guests heard a ton of information from the guide, we were left a little on our own. It was interesting, but I wouldn't call it super memorable.

After our tour, we had sandwiches from the gift shop then headed down the funicular to head into the city center.


If your travels ever take you to Turin, the Superga is a must-see site!

Antica villa del Nobile, Turin Italy

The front of the Villa

Last month Rick, my parents and I set off for a 3 week trip to Italy. We were planning to hit two major destinations for longer visits, and make  2 brief stop-overs as well. I thought that in addition to posting our favorite highlights from each location, my blog would be a great place post some reviews for the accommodations we booked in order to hopefully help other travellers. I spent months and months researching where we would stay, so our decisions were not made lightly, and with only one exception, we were beyond pleased with our choices.

Our first stop, after about 24 hours of travelling from North America, was Turin, Italy. Although it is not a popular tourist hot-spot (indeed, most Italians we encountered outside of Turin were perplexed as to why we wanted to visit it), we had been to Turin in 2010 and wanted to return.

I found Antica villa del Nobile through the website Bed and Breakfast Italy. In all of our correspondence Clara, our host, was prompt and helpful. She had 2 bedrooms - each with private bath on the top floor of the house. There is also a private seating area and a kitchen for both rooms to share. Given that we were travelling with Mom and Dad and our party was taking up both rooms, it was like we had a private apartment. Both bedrooms had queen sized beds which were comfortable and one had a washroom with a shower while the other had a jacuzzi tub.

Kitchen area

Living Room area

Rick and Carolyn's Room

Clara and her daughter Lucy were very accommodating; they picked us up from the airport, had pre-purchased groceries for our first night and recommended activities to us during our stay. They also provided breakfast each morning in the main dining room on a lower floor of the house. The house has been in the family for generations, and in itself is a work of art - the mosaics in the hallway are extraordinary!

It was a five minute walk from the house to the local bus stop where you could easily get to the heart of the city to see the sights. I would caution those with bad legs however that the walk back to the house from the bus stop is all uphill and so may be challenging. (The plus is that it helps work off all the Grom gelatos eaten during the day!) If you prefer to be driven back to the Villa each night, taxis from the city center back to the house are only 9-13 Euros depending on how quickly the car can get through traffic.

We loved our time at Antica villa del Nobile and are hoping to return soon as Turin is an Italian favorite!

Dad, Mom, Clara, Lucy, me and Rick in the backyard of the Villa.

Fabric Journal

I love my stash of vintage fabrics, photos and mother of pearl buttons to the point of finding it painfully difficult to use them. I always have in the back of my mind that I should save them for the 'perfect' project. However, lately (probably after watching one too many episodes of hoarders!) I have been finding myself reaching for and using my vintage supplies.

I have been working on designing a workshop that focuses on making a fabric journal from start to finish. I love the class because it blurs the line between scrapbooking and bookbinding and can really be adapted to each student's personal sense of style. The journal pictured here, that I made several months ago, was the inspiration for developing the class and while the workshop's sample is different as we are not using as much vintage, the techniques are pretty much the same. 

Way to Go!

(Supply List: Patterned paper: 'name' paper is very old Making Memories, Essie paper from Melissa Frances taken from the 5th Avenue 6x6 paper pad • Cardstock: Bazzill • Melissa Frances Resin Frame: Elegance (CX814) • Pearl: Melissa Frances cream (GN297) • Rose Die cut: Die-namics Mini Rolled Roses by My Favorite things Stamps • Scalloped border punch: Stampin' Up! • Fabric: pink felt for rose and a small swatch of Osnaburg • Other: sewing machine and white thread, Shilouette cutting machine - saying cut using the font IMPACT)

Last night we had the pleasure to attend the grad ceremony for a family friend and I made this card to give to her to celebrate her accomplishment. While the Melissa Frances brand is so often used on overly shabby-chic styled projects, I think that it also works for more graphic paper crafting - which is what my style has evolved to over the years.

Slowly but surely I am editing photos from our Italian holiday.We had an amazing time and I can't wait to share our discoveries here with you.

Have a beautiful day!

Baby Isaac | Langley Newborn Photographer

One of the families at our church welcomed a baby while we were on holiday, and within a few days of coming back home, I was delighted to do a newborn photo shoot for the little guy. He was SO precious!

Trunk Sale at Melissa Frances

Just wanted to let you know that Melissa Frances is having her first online trunk sale starting today!! Head on over to the Melissa Frances blog for more information, or head directly to the sale by clicking this link.