Thursday 18 June 2015

Scrapbooking With Furry and Fuzzy Materials

Scrapbooking with furry and fuzzy materials?

Well yes: that's what I'm doing today, because I'm making a page about a bear. A bear called Paddington.


last time I visited Little E he had a DVD he wanted to share, so we watched the new Paddington movie for a bit; and then I had to go home. Of course a few days later I magically acquired a copy myself, so I could enjoy the rest of the story. It wasn't anything at all like any Paddington book I remembered; but it was fun all the same.

No: the Paddington stories in my head all come to me through a haze of 1970's pastels: the colours on the covers of the Puffin paperbacks I used to save up for and choose from the newsagents in town. I stood in the window of the shop, going through the one shelf of children's books, just about able to read for myself, and I reached out my hand, and picked out a pink one. The new movie is bright,  full of reds, loud; but I went back to quiet to make my page, back to the quiet of a sunny afternoon curled up in the tent in our garden, reading.

It seemed like the perfect subject when Get It Scrapped asked for a page using something furry or fuzzy. So I pulled out my bag of felt scraps and cut some letters to match Paddington's brown duffel coat; and then I decided to add a tiny brown fur heart right at the bottom. To keep the heart shape I thought the best idea might be to punch it out and then mount the fur underneath so the cutout keeps it defined. Other approaches to going fuzzy can be found here on the Get It Scrapped blog.

I ♥ Paddington, in a retro way. And you? Any books you dream of in one colour, and then see differently, when you look at the big screen?

22 comments:

Karen said...

I always love all the little touches on your layouts: the hearts (of course), but also the leaf with the date, the repetition of the patterned paper from the title to the bottom embellishment----and always your stories.

Cheri said...

Your page looks very "vintage" to me - which is perfect for a sweet little bear who has been around for a long while! I can't remember much color from books I read as a youngster, but I can say that the colors I pictured from reading the book "Outlander" were actually much more vivid than all the muted tones appearing in the television series.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful LO, Sian....I try not to watch films of books I've read but I did love the Gatsby adaptation (Baz Luhrmann) - I think he got the colours absolutely spot on. Didn't like Ian McEwan's Atonement on the big screen - I don't know what it was, something about it was just 'off' - perhaps it was the colouring (the London scenes, in particular, never felt quite 'right'....)....I never saw the pastel Paddington editions so, for me, Paddington's always been bright blue and red (even more so because they're the colours I remember popping out from the black and white props in the TV series...)....but the colours in the film were *too much* for me, too bright (as you say).....amazing how particular us bibliophile scrappers can be about something so seemingly unimportant as colours!

scrappyjacky said...

What a lovely idea....I remember loving Paddington.....as did my children.

Abi said...

This is lovely page Sian. Paddington seems to be coming back for a new generation. The seven year old I babysit is a big paddington fan and they are doing a 'paddington week' in school. One of the activities was to write their own paddington story. His one centred on the bear managing to make the london eye go the other way round! Such fun!

Missus Wookie said...

Oh definitely I 'see' Mary Poppins in line drawings, Winnie the Pooh with the original illustrations - although Princess prefers 'her' Disney version.

What a good thing you were able to acquire your own copy, it is one movie I meant to see at the cinema but didn't manage it.

Ruth said...

I was never really a fan of PB as a child, but I am now. I really loved both the film and the Bear Hunt around London that I bought a beautiful PB anthology for The Boy Child (and me!).
I love your page and just how tactile that small amount of felt makes it look.

Patio Postcards said...

Never was exposed to PB as a child, it was all Winnie and just like Pooh Bear, I like now as an adult the vintage colours rather than the primary colours. It is obvious from everyone's comments, I need to get myself some PB books! Your page certainly creates some spark for ideas. I cannot think of one single movie from book that was different in colouring. Most movies from books I have read, fall short except for one series even if he did take license to change; Lord Of The Rings.

Barbara Eads said...

I never read any Paddington stories, nor did I see the movie so I don't really know anything about him. Your layout is perfect for exposing new generations to Paddington. Perhaps it will prompt your readers to pick up the books and give them a try.

alexa said...

What a wonderful vintage look, Sian, and perfect for Paddington. I've been pondering buying the DVD for the Littlies, because dearest grandson no.1 adores the Paddington books I've sent so far. I seem to remember the originals were mostly line drawings inside. Your page is, as ever, just lovely to look at: those soft pinks, browns and creams work so nicely together, and emminently touchable!

Susanne said...

Fab page. And who doesn't love a good bear and his story!

Lizzy Hill said...

Lovely story ... I remember those halcyon warm summer days, getting lost in a book or ten!!! And this page in a retro sorta way takes me back...adore the felt idea! Perfect!!! They made a couple of Nancy Drew movies....& they were too 'loud' for me....the books were so much more thoughtful.....

Lou said...

when i saw your title it reminded me of fuzzy felts! It's a super page!

Lizzie said...

Hehehe... Funny, but the editions of the Paddington books that I have (have had since the '70s also!), are all bright and colourful. The spines are red and there is a brightly coloured illustration on each cover. We have the whole set - they're in the loft just now, but I must get them out soon and have another read... I always felt that some of the best literature ever written, was written for children, but equally loved by adults! So I don't quite identify Paddington with pink or pastels; however I love your layout, especially the sweet Paddington face in the photo and the fuzzy bits.

I have some brown felt alphas and used some of them on a page about James' encounter with a cat (which you may have seen a long time ago...). They do add an extra interest and a bit of fun to a layout.
Great page -and a great story as usual.

Jennifer Shaw said...

Those letters are great and what a beautiful page! It seems that most of the movies are vibrant these days. Very true that in our day things were more pastel and subtle. I've yet to see the new Cinderella movie but the cartoon version was my favourite as a child.

debs14 said...

This post has transported me back to primary school. Afternoon story time where Miss Moon read to us out of Paddington books. How we were entranced by his silly adventures. I had forgotten how pastel the stories were originally!

Melissa said...

What a fabulous page - the felt accents are perfect. We were just talking earlier about the new Hobbit movies - not at all what I had pictured when I read the book. To me, it's a much "happier" book than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the movie darkens it so it will flow more into the other movies.

Gail said...

The page looks super! My first experience with Paddington Bear was when we went over to London in 2008. :) As for books that I think of in one colour - I can't think of any right now - I'm sure there are some but I think I'm still too sleepy to think straight.

Lisa said...

I have that Paddington At Large book. And I know exactly what you mean about those 1970s books. In fact I came across them the other day when I was sorting books to get rid of. Those stayed right there in the "keep" box. And the children's TV show - so different from how I imagine that film just be. I really really love this page. You are the master!

Jo said...

A great page and a lovely use of felt on a layout. I don't have a book I remember in a different colour to now but I do remember going to see Oliver in the theatre and the boy playing Oliver had dark brown hair, I wanted to stand up and shout "that's not right"! :)

KraftyKaren said...

I was a Winnie the Pooh girl growing up - well I am from Sussex, so we did family trips to Hartfield a lot to visit the woods and Pooh Bridge. Love the use of the felt on the layout, your title puts me in mind of those fuzzy felt sets - I was a bit too old to have them myself but have got a lot of fun playing with my nieces and nephews sets.

Sandie said...

Lovely page Sian and I like how you add the tiny detail to complete the look. I am a bit of a traditionalist and I like the quieter, more subtle images and stories too. I've not seen the new film so I can't say if this compares.

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