Lifestyle Crafts Giveaway

http://lifestylecrafts.blogspot.com/2009/12/letterpress-giveaway.html?showComment=1260845056589_AIe9_BE2irNyPxs6iRCg0FZ1HzixWLBbhcpzuVXKRmKlRfLTaORR2f4F3wGXp_9A8N8l9m66DnJYjXFCtCZtE-OaWn6853KTqnEcPCpI_r549-Y_SVs7oW-WOLMJOsh8X-Opq89q2gjkB_X5nEBBfLnJKsdH4nzUW68Ojo6g9vUrdmzbwaQW_YxIigMruZb7If8AUubSH9VC2X5hsZrF3z3bV8S0eG6AQeZpRIdtAWebtqUTYa-7Lp0#c7106214094200073626

Scrap Drawer

I guess I ended up using a full sheet of card stock for the base of this layout... but everything else was straight out of my drawer. I even used my new Technique Tuesday stamps that I bought at CKC!!

Too long!

I can only apologize and offer up a potential excuse that I was consumed with trivial household chores and lost my craft table under a long to do list. I am tired of organizing and reorganizing my 'stuff'! My creativity is hampered by piles of almost done projects. 

This week's challenge is to create a layout using only the paper from your scrap drawer, file, bag or box where you keep the remains of paper. In the interest of staying green, reducing clutter and inspiring creativity make a fabulous layout and reclaim your creative space! Then post your layout on Monday, March 30. 

To do list?

So, we all have them... the ominous list of things to do. But what about a list of things that you have done? I totally, ahem, 'borrowed' this list but it was fun to do! And it makes me want to do the things that I haven't yet experienced!
You copy and paste this list, then go through it and make the things that you have done bold.So here goes...
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (ish, I did the cover for a book that was published, does that count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Changes...

I think for the time being, I am going to only do two challenges a month. Between the kid's cooties and sports schedules, I am frustrated by not staying on top of the challenges! Two a month is totally doable, especially considering that the holidays are going to be assaulting us soon! I will post a new challenge soon!!!

A 2 Z

I am admittedly late (again)... I used the Marvy Mega pink punch to make my squares and I totally plundered my scrap drawer for this one! My 3-year old helped pick out the order of the squares and the letters so it was lots of fun!

From A to Z

For this challenge you need to create a layout describing yourself or a loved one from A to Z. It can be either a one page or two page layout... it's your choice! So get out your thesaurus and/or dictionary and see what you come up with!!

My Favorites

My favorite things, tied with a string... I just couldn't help it! I know this is late, but I think I will blame the toddler and his separation anxiety and it's impact on my sanity for this delay!!

These are a few of my...

Favorite things? Create a layout about YOUR favorite things (people or places count too). Tied up with strings if you like! Then post by next Monday!! I can't wait to see what your favorite things are... brown paper packages? Now that song will be stuck in my head.
:)ali

A Week In My Life

You can view a slide show of all seven pages from this challenge here: http://picasaweb.google.com/alicia.willeford/AWeekInMyLife#. In retrospect, it would have been more efficient to do a page each day rather than doing it all at once. Like, I would have realized that I was almost out of ink half way through the week rather than Sunday night when I tried to print our all my photos. Also, my 11-year old thinks I am totally narcissistic... so I should have mentioned the project before he saw all the shots I took of myself like I am my own personal paparazzi. Whatever, I rock! This was really a great project, it had me looking at my daily routine with a new perspective. If you haven't tried it yet, you should!

Early Challenge Post

I am posting this week's challenge early so you have time to mentally prepare if you are interested in following along. Ali Edwards is doing A Week In the Life, based on classes that she taught at CKC over the years. This is not an official class, but just something she is doing on her blog for the fun of it. The link with all the particulars is: http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2008/09/weekend-creat-3.html. The idea is to gather photos, receipts/ephemera and thoughts every day (ish) and create an album or layout that uses some of those items. It's kind of like a time capsule of your week to be included, or not, in your albums. How fun will this be?? I hope you are as excited as I am to do this week's challenge!!

Imperfect Photos

This was a fun layout to do, although I may have gotten carried away with the bubble roller stamp! I feel like my style may be evolving somewhat!! I used the white glaze pen on the buttons, a Creative Memories Brown thin tip marker to journal and hand draw my imperfect frames and used pop dots to elevate my word blocks.

summer 2008

At last!! Here is my 2 page layout of a condensed version of our summer!!

Unrelated Challenge - Off Page

I found this video link off of Donna Downey's website/blog a couple of weeks ago... http://www.donnadowney.com/. There is a free video download on her site on how to make an art journal out of newspaper and I was so inspired to get out of my normal route of scrapping that I made my own! The video however, fails to mention how many glue sticks you will go through... let's just say after eight I stopped counting and I had to go out and buy more! I spent at least ten hours from start to finish, but I made a total of 15 pages and I still have about half of that left for another album... there was a bit of downtime waiting for paint to dry, but this was so AMAZING!
You can view my whole album at http://picasaweb.google.com/alicia.willeford/ArtJournal2008#

Imperfect Photos

We all have them, we may have printed them out against our better judgement... it couldn't really be 'that' blurry, right????? Or (pre-digital) we didn't know truly how bad it was. My 11-year calls them the 'blurs of inexperience', the trial and error shots where you go, 'huh' what is that?

I am calling for you to out your questionable photography skills and create a layout about them, or the moment they capture, however fuzzy it may have been. This could even be from your latest vacation or trip to the mall, whatever... underexposed, blurry, overexposed... embrace your imperfect moments!

Supply List

I hadn't really thought about what I was going to scrap for this challenge, so I ended up doing this the old-fashioned way (for me anyway), photos first, supplies second. This is simple scrapbooking at it's best, use what you have and get it done. Everything else follows!
My supplies:
One Punch:Marvy Corner Punch... notched edges
One Stamp: Always Remember (Melissa Frances Acrylic)
One Embellishment: Experiment Tag (Daily Dose, My Mind's Eye).

Supply List

In keeping with packing our kids off to school this week with their new supplies here is your supply list:
One Punch
One Stamp
One Embellishment (your choice)
Fortunately, these don't have to be *new* because I am certain we all have these in our stash! So, get to work and don't be late! It's a brand new school year!
:)ali

Color Combo & Me Layout (Psychedelic!)

Whoa!! Lime green & fuschia! Striking color combo. OK, so, this, too is a bit of a cheater layout, because (even though it IS NEW!), I combined the color combo challenge with the describe yourself in one sentence layout. I realize that I didn't really construct a sentence in the layout, but it's the same idea, right??

End of Summer Layout

OK.... I think I am really excited for the school year to start since this is the first year Kieryn will be in school all day and Meghan starts preschool. What will I do with myself for those 5 hours of me time every week??? I don't know but I sure am anxious to try out the new schedule!!!

Of course, part of me is bummed because it means that our schedule gets more rigid, the rain will eventually come, and a part of me will be a little sad that Kieryn is going to be gone all day.

To celebrate summer create a 2 page layout that shows off all your summer highlights!! What a great way to get all your summer scrapping summarized in one page!!!!

Color Combo

Okay, so I lied to Lori... I didn't use an old layout! But this one is all digital and took as long as one of Jillybean's layouts, you kinda lose track of time when doing it digi-style! And, this is way busier than I would normally do so it definately fits the out of the box premise! Plus... isn't he cute?!