Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Anastasia Round Every Corner

I've always been fascinated by that Ingrid Bergman film from the 1950's - the one in which she pretends to be Anastasia, the Russian Grand Duchess. I can't have been very old when i started trying to discover more about the real life Anastasia imposters. I think I became a little obsessed with Anna Anderson, who turned up in Berlin in the 1920's and managed to convince several exiled members of the Russian Royal family that she really was the lost Duchess. What a story! I loved to believe that she was that link to a different kind of past: as if she could have slipped out of a scrapbook and told us the truth.

It was Anastasia I thought of as soon as I heard that we would be visiting the Winter Palace this summer.

Sian Fair scrapbooking embellishment clusters for Get It Scrapped

It's now a museum, but until 1917 it was the official residence of the rulers of Russia. Anastasia had stood in those rooms. I couldn't wait.


But I knew what would happen. I'd get there. I'd want to see everything and I would have no time for pictures. So I tried. I really did. I stood in the queue and I checked my white balance and I fiddled with the settings and I looked round and discovered The (Not So) Small One was way ahead of me. She had taken a moment to steady herself on her dad's shoulder and was already snapping.She has great pictures. Lucky someone has.


I made this page for the latest Get It Scrapped article on what Debbie calls "snuggle and separate": that's using variations in the size and density of embellishment clusters to create a bit of design tension. Definitely worth a look!

ps...don't forget: Storytelling Sunday this weekend. I'm picking a Precious with an air of mystery..
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25 comments:

  1. Sheena1 October 2013 at 16:03

    Great page Sian , will check out the snuggle & separate x
    It is so hard to get the balance of enjoying at visit, taking it in & recording your visit just right. Thank goodness you have NSSO to help :)

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  2. scrappyjacky1 October 2013 at 17:15

    This was always a story that fascinated me as well....would love to visit the Palace.
    Glad TNSSO got some good photos.....I always struggle with indoor pics.

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  3. Susanne1 October 2013 at 17:21

    Pretty page Sian. I like the few little touches of black too.

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  4. Lou1 October 2013 at 18:46

    ahh I do love your page and the story behind it. the gold sparkle is lovely x

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  5. Maria Ontiveros1 October 2013 at 19:27

    Great example of that design principle and fantastic color selection.
    I picked Anastasia as my confirmation name . . . enough said!
    Thanks for the reminder about Storytelling Sunday. I know what I want to feature, though its not mysterious.
    Rinda

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  6. Mel1 October 2013 at 20:24

    Love the page Sian - the gold and the newsprint is so effective together.

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  7. Miriam1 October 2013 at 20:51

    Your pages are really beautiful Sian. I would love to look through one of your books.

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  8. smcl2 October 2013 at 04:41

    I love your page, it tells so many stories.
    That would have been me, too. That has been me with DD17 getting the photos!

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  9. Sandra2 October 2013 at 08:54

    A beautiful page for such a special moment. I'm just loving the gold

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  10. Becky2 October 2013 at 10:52

    Lovely page - it's great having daughters who take good photos isn't it?! I too love the story and mystery of Anastasia.

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  11. alexa2 October 2013 at 14:50

    Beautifully designed page, Sian - the white-on-white and bleached look in places is idea for the Winter Palace. Great work by the Not-So-Small-One!

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  12. Lisa-Jane2 October 2013 at 19:21

    I want to go there now! I love the mystery and history of the story too.

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  13. Sandie2 October 2013 at 20:46

    what a lot of lovely contrast in that page, I love how you used the white background to show it all to good effect. My daughter used to have a pen pal named Anastasia - it's a name that rolls of the tongue.

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  14. Jen2 October 2013 at 22:05

    A beautiful page Sian, and she got wonderful photos - so well done to TNSSO. Anastasia is one of those people from the past who seem to have an eternal hold on our imagination - she has alwaus fascinated me too. J x

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  15. Anonymous2 October 2013 at 23:58

    Thinking back to one of your recent posts about the importance of people in your photos, I think you've managed the perfect shot here. Your words add a sense of anticipation to the page--has The Not (So Small) One inherited your fascination with Anastasia?

    A side note: to this day, I'm not quite sure whether my mother's middle name was Agnes or Anastasia. She claimed to hate them both. It's probably Agnes, but Anastasia is a possibility because there is some Russian in her background. Thanks for the reminder to check that out.

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  16. Deb @ PaperTurtle3 October 2013 at 00:23

    Such a lovely layout and I loved reading your story as well. The photo you took of TNSSO is fantastic to go with it!

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  17. Karen3 October 2013 at 03:07

    All that wonderful gold embellishing is so perfect for this page! Loved your tale as always.

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  18. Nathalie3 October 2013 at 03:29

    Loving the shinny/ gold/ white combo of this page! Very appropriate for the subject! I don't know the story but I am intrigued now!

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  19. Jo3 October 2013 at 16:12

    A really great page, I hope you managed to good photos too x

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  20. Missus Wookie3 October 2013 at 21:17

    Fasicinating photos and I like the colour choice for the Winter Palace.

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  21. Abi3 October 2013 at 23:05

    I remember hearing the story of Anastasia at school. It resurfaced last year when I studied the russian revolution in more depth. I find that period of history so interesting yet desperately sad at the same time. The Winter Palace must have been incredible.

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  22. Sinead3 October 2013 at 23:10

    Hi Sian, catching up on blog posts after a manic few weeks, and I had to say how much I love this layout! The colours and wintry glitter work so well for the subject matter. I had a video (before DVDs were invented!) of Anastasia when I was little, thank you for reminding me of the story xx

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  23. Melissa4 October 2013 at 02:20

    Lovely page! How wonderful that she steadied herself & started snapping photos!

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  24. Anonymous4 October 2013 at 17:37

    Glad you had TNSSO to take those pictures so you could enjoy seeing those fantastic rooms! We went through them with a DSLR and a video camera, luckily I was the one with the video camera so I didn't have to do much and could just enjoy.

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  25. Barbara Eads5 October 2013 at 14:37

    About a year ago, our book club read "The Winter Palace." It's on my list to visit sometime. Your picture of "the (not so) small one" taking a picture is so cute! Love the layout too.

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Thank you! I do love to know what you think