Sunday 23 October 2011

Magic Tulips

As you may know tulips are pretty important in Holland and were once more prized than gold.  Not surprising then, that they feature in the Dutch theme park, the Efteling, one of the oldest theme parks in the world.

I lived in Holland as a child and enjoyed many visits; pretty much everything I remember is still there (plus lots more) and we have visited several times in my adult years (before and after starting a family when I worked in Holland) and we returned in 2006 to reintroduce the boys to their childhood memories.

When I was a child, one of the most magical animatronic sets was where a sorcerer flies on a magic carpet between two towers, serenading yellow tulips into life from the window of one tower, before returning to revitalise the red tulips around the other tower.  Our visit in 2006 coincided with some of the worst August weather and we rarely had to queue for more than 5 minutes for the various rides, but I was amazed to come to the "Fliegende Fakir" and find that we were entirely alone.  Nobody else there at all!  Can you see the puddles and the wet jeans?

"This attraction hasn't changed at all since I first saw it over 40 years ago;
what was different today was that we were, briefly, the only people watching
the tulips rise and fall to the sorcerer's magic flute."
My October Counterfeit Kit was great for this page as it brightened up the soggy photos and reflects the magical feeling the Efteling evokes in me.  I also took up the third CKCB challenge this month: to pile the layers on a page.  I have cut up a strip of Kaisercraft Allsorts Passionfruit, punched loads of circles from a sheet of Allsorts Blue Heaven, layered my photos and added a few squares from my Life Happens paper to match the bottom of my ancient (rather creased) Creamotion yellow paper - so glad that that is covered used up!!!

P.S. The use of punched circles and Creamotion paper also ties in rather nicely with Scrapbookers Anonymous' C Challenge :D

23 comments:

Mary B said...

what a glorious perfusion of colours on the black it really zings I really love this page.

Lynn said...

Love the colours on this page. Great to be able to go back and find something unchanged from you childhood.

Sian said...

Fabulous mix on this page! And that post title? Sounds slightly hallucinagenic..are you sure these tulips are as innocent as they seem ?!

Susanne said...

What a vibrant page to match your clear memories!

Angela Toucan said...

beautiful

Anonymous said...

I love this page - great colurs and flow - and I love your layering of the circles! I still think displays like this one are magical

Lisa said...

the black background really makes this a WOW layout. The colours pop and all the layers and cut out elements add such a great amount of interest - I hardly even noticed the rain! lovely. I need to remember black more often!

Melissa said...

What a bright happy layout - I like how you added the circle to the photo to draw attention there.

Missus Wookie said...

Great use of layers and punched shapes.

Oh and commenting on blog visitors - I love comments but hardly ever remember to go and check the stats or the visit counter I duly installed when I set up the blog.

Alison said...

Love the bright colours on the black background!
Alison xx

humel said...

Lovely layout, Jemma :) And I had no idea you'd lived in Holland! Whereabouts? I visited Valkenburg on a school trip (as a supervising teacher!) some years ago. It was lovely, I want to go back with the family some time :)

alexa said...

Plenty of zesty stuff on this page - it really sings! Great contrast to the emptiness of your surroundings. Love your paper choices.

Beverly said...

The kit was definitely a great choice for these pics. Love how some things from our childhood never change :)

Deb Hickman said...

What a fab LO, I love the black background, it makes the colours just pop. Thanks for joining us at Scrapbookers Anonymous.xxx

Theresa said...

This is awesome. I love it!!! great colors. That is some great stash paper you used up. DOesn't it feel good??? =) Thanks so much for playing along with us at Scrapbookers Anonymous.

happysnapper said...

Perfect. Funky. Memoriffic.bold. Awesome.

Emily said...

Such a great memory! I love your papers and how you layered the photos.

Clair said...

Wow! What a lovely, lovely layout full of colour and movement. It's so eyecatching!

MiliPea Designs said...

Jemma, I love the colors on here - it totally brightens up the pictures! And your layers are wonderful!

Eli said...

wonderful colors!
Great work!
Eli (Scrapbookers anonymous)

Lea said...

What a fun layout and his has such great flow! Thanks for joining in the fun at Scrapbookers Anonymous!!!

Anne Pennington said...

Loving the colours and the whimsical feel of this layout, JimJams. Thanks so much for playing along with Scrapbookers Anonymous!!

Julie Ann Rachelle Interior Design said...

I was thinking that the patterned paper could not have been more perfect for you!!! Awesome page and great layering!!!!! Love every inch! xoxo