Challenge #85 week of April 8th 2013

Hey there. Finally Spring here so I am spending less and less time at my scrap table and more time having fun.

But you all still need a challenge and I hope that is what I am here for...

I know many of you may have jumped on the Project Life train. I still haven't made the leap. But I do love the idea of making a layout with bits and pieces of life instead of a large 12x12 canvas. I am talking about divide page protectors. Those awesome little things aren't exclusive to Project Lifers. In fact, I incorporate them into my regular memory keeping all the time to tell more complete stories. 

Here are some examples -

from a trip to boston

     

  

 and from a roadtrip to Washington DC

you can see I can fit a lot of memorabilia, especially from trips, into these types of layouts... and create mini sections within a larger album of cohesive pages. So there you have it. Your challenge this week is to create a page (or two ... or three) using divided page protectors. Don't have them? No problem! I will post on the forum a bunch of resources from Shimelle and Julie FFB on how to create your own. Have fun with it and if this isn't something you use, just see where it takes you.

xo,

Pamage

#75 inspired by the use of envelopes

I use envelopes from time to time on pages, but usually I use them to hide my journaling. I have never made them the focal point of my page, so this challenge had my wheels turning. I also wanted to do the layering on the samples some justice so I knew I had my work cut out for me.

I knew just the envelope for this. My December Daily kit from Kelly Purkey came with a large (6.5x6.5 I think) vellum with glitter envelope.

For my design I went with funky triangles which is a trend I have been spotting. I used a bunch of bright scraps with a few added craft papers. I stuffed my envelope to overflowing with memorabilia and threw in a bunch of confetti for good measure. 

Then, of course, came the layering of the front of the envelope. I wanted to do something dimensional and full of textures but in the end I just used a few die cuts in the right colors and scattered a few buttons and called it good. Overall I like how it turned out.

there wasn't enough room for a title or more photos so I made it a double spread. You can see additional images of the two pages together by visiting the gallery. Really curious to see how you used envelopes this week. Please remember to link us up in the gallery.

xo,

Pamage

#62 Inspired by Home

When I set out to accomplish this week's prompt I knew I would tell stories I needed to tell. I knew which products I wanted to use from my stash of Ready Set Go stuff. What I didn't anticipate was that I would be making one of my favorite spreads of all time.

I am not sure why I am in love with this page above any other of recent times. The pictures are fun, the products are great... but mostly it is the story that I think makes me love this page. But enough babbling, let's get to it.

The first page of the spread used a sketch from Simple Scrapper's Premium Membership - the November collection. It was initially a 8.5x11 which I easily converted. And boy, am I glad I did. The wood paper really sets a tone for these pictures. They were taken over the span of 10 years and document the transformation of the home. The title doesn't make much sense and the page seems a little bare...

 
That is why I added a 6x6 page. I was able to add a picture of Steve, the mastermind behind the transformation - and a pocket for hidden journaling. I traced the heart from the die cut and placed it on the opposite page. I love the symbolism this creates. The heart of that house was Steve. 

 

But I had SO MANY photos of the years fixing up the house that I wanted to add many more photos. So I added a divided page protector with 6 more photos to complete my spread. I even found a photo of Gaby and I working on the house back in 2002/03! I tried to place the before and after shots side by side for comparison. 

 
I then added the patterned paper with the birds because this country home ALWAYS had colorful birds around. It is one of my most vivid memories of the house. I added the rest of my title to the front of the 6x6 -  and I like the message it has on it's own. I also added the address since it was something I wanted to document. And I used the stamps from Ready, Set, Go to tie this page with the opposite side. 

 
to finish it all off, I added all three layouts into page protectors, lined everything up like I wanted and stapled on the seams of all three pages to create a cohesive page. Pretty cool, huh?

But wait, that's not all.

I had one more [or seven to be honest] stories left in me.  I chose to document my current "home away from home" in this colorful and fun one page layout. believe it or not, I used as many pictures as in the previous layout but I didn't mind shrinking them into there 4x4 collages. It was more about the feelings these photos elicit versus the details of the home. 

 

I had a blast [well, except for all the times the first layout made me cry] making these pages and adding these meaningful stories to my albums. Thanks so much Lisa.

I have already seen knock-out beauties in the gallery and I hope you will contribute your story too. I love seeing your work based on these prompts.

I will be back tomorrow morning with our new assignment.

xo,
Pamage

#26 Inspired by Sketches and Hearts

I absolutely adored the sketch that Lisa chose for us this week. 

http://pagemaps.com/feb12maps.htm

I originally wanted to do a double page layout, but as I looked through my photos, I settled on these three and the right side of the layout made more sense.

I stayed pretty true to the sketch, with the heart/twine combo and the dotted line circle. Like Lisa, I used a handdrawn heart.  I went to town with the hearts too with 2 patterned papers with hearts on them and the little heart on the pouch.

Taking a cue from Whimsical Musings Challenge # 24, I used a handwritten note (the only one I have) in a little envelope.

I also hand-stitched part of the title, which makes me pretty happy.

Overall, it feels a little too girlie for my taste, but it is a love story, so it seems fitting. I had a lot of fun with this sketch. I hope you were able to draw some inspiration this week. If you did, we'd love to see your work in our gallery (tag WM#26).


I will be back soon with a new challenge.


hearts & hugs,
Pamage

#20 Inspired by turning points

Happy New Year to all! I am so excited to be sharing another year of scrapping with all of you. Lisa kicked us off with a great topic - Turning points. The new year is a great time to reflect about those turning points we have had in our lives.

As Lisa, I came up with a few ideas for this week's prompt. But I settled on highlighting the fact that I love new beginnings. It came to me while sorting memorabilia in preparation for Stacy Julian's Twelve class. The photo reminds me of a more innocent and inexperienced me who was apprehensive about change. That is no longer true about me. I now welcome new beginnings.  I wanted to document that.

This was the resulting layout -

I kept the embellishing simple because my focus was on the story I was telling and the huge picture. I left some white space in the middle to allow the eye to rest, but now I am second guessing my choice and wonder if I should have butted up the photo and journaling. Anyway, it is done and I am happy with it.

Thanks for looking. I truly hope some of your creative resolutions for 2012 include playing along with us. We would love to have you. If you created a layout featuring one of your turning points please remember to add if to our flick'r group under the lable WM#20.

I will be back later with our new challenge.

xo,
Pamage

# 9 Inspired by the voice of others

As soon as I read Pam's prompt for this week's challenge to use a different voice on our pages this week, I had my layout in mind.

Some months ago, prompted by something I think I saw on Cathy Z's blog (?), I decided it was time to get talking to my nephew and nieces to make sure I capture them right now. Living away from them, I worry that I miss a lot of detail and a questionnaire seemed to be a good way to find out what was making them tick - now!

My nephew was the first one to be questioned, sending him a letter of congratulations (and questions) on losing his first tooth, which I'm told he completed alone straight away.

Love all those wishes he wants! On my layout, I also used his (mis)spellings because I found that so endearing!

Next up was my oldest niece who had recently begun concentrating on gymnastics after being talent spotted. It was "Absolutely Incredible Kid Day" which seemed an ideal time to send her a sweet note and some questions too.

I love that she started off describing herself as "beautiful" and then changed it to "gorgeous" - much better a word I think!

And last but by no means least was the Diva in the family. Years younger than the rest, but petulant, demanding and utterly adorable all the same! I sent her a German tradition of a "Schultüte" for her first day of school and some questions.

This was the only word in her own writing - so cute!

And I got a drawing of a giant balloon being attacked by an enormous, multi-coloured shark on the back. Definitely worth keeping! ;-)

The pages were completed and brought back. And sat in a drawer. Every now and again, I thought about dragging them out and getting it done but it seemed such a lot of work and so it was put to the bottom of the list again.

Until this week.

Kaboom! This page was the perfect solution for Pam's wonderful inspiration. I used a page from a Nic Howard class I'd taken over at BPC as the basis for the design and have made pockets on the back to hold the original pages with all their own answers which were too many to fit onto the layout. The photos are current too so I really feel like I have this moment in their lives captured to a degree. And that makes me smile!