Paris Gothic Arch

Oh yes (or should that be Mais oui!), the challenge on the Gothic Arches site this week is Paris!! Oh la la, what a treat. I first visited Paris while still in secondary school (I lived in The Netherlands at the time so it was just down the road!) and have continued to visit it over the years. Even worked there for awhile (for a British courier company).

I already had a background from one of my fabric/paper collages which included a vintage map of Paris as well as vintage French text.

To this I added a vellum image of a gothic church entrance as well as a gargoyle. A Parisienne with that certain je ne sais quoi that all French women seem to possess was stitched on, and the text Regardez-la, which roughly translates as "Look at her!". All images are from Lost Art Creations. A fleur-de-lys charm (also from LAC) formed the finishing touch. The arch was zigzag stitched onto a watercolour backing with variegated thread which picks up on the colours in the arch.

And no, just in case you're wondering, I did not make this one today. It was made for a swap but due to the fact that there were less participants than anticipated I did not need to send this one away so it was languishing in my folder waiting for the right moment. Which arrived thanks to Keron. Merci beaucoup!!