52 Scrapbooking Challenges

A New Year's Resolution is always a good thing to make this time of year... :)

I resolve to complete (at a minimum) one scrapbook layout a week in 2010. This won't get me past my backlog, nor will it likely keep me caught up... but it might inspire me enough that I can keep my creative juices flowing. At the very least, by the end of the year I will have done 52 layouts, which is more than I accomplished this year!

To help with this, Mom and I purchased Christmas gifts, completely on a whim, and mailed a copy to every member of our disorganized little group. 52 Scrapbooking Challenges, by Elsie Flannigan, about which I got spammed a few weeks ago. I thought "Hey, that gives me an idea!" So I phoned Mom and said, "Should we order 6 copies?" She, being an impulse shopper like me, agreed to the brilliance and we have sat, on pins and needles, waiting for our shipment to arrive. The books trickled in via three separate parcels, Mom and I receiving our copies just Christmas Eve.

We included a New Year's card we'd made up, with the following poem:

There once were two women up north,
Who had scrapbooking pals of such worth,
They bought six of one book,
Without even a look,
To start January 1st (or the fourth).

All six love this hobby, that's true,
But all lacked motivation to do,
So, here is the scoop,
That to crop as a group,
Always helps them follow through!

So they'll crop, in two thousand ten,
It's only one challenge per week then,
If six creative women,
Get their wheels spinnin’,
That's 312 layouts complet-en!

Merry Christmas, 2009!
Love Carrie and Laura

Okay, maybe it's a little unpolished and I had to stretch the English language a bit to make it rhyme, but whatever! I'm excited to start the challenges as is Mom and Marion. And Anita actually already has (cheater!) so wish us luck! Maybe we'll get the ball rolling again in 2010.

Laura :)

First Day of School Challenge

Well, ladies, here's another attempt to get us all scrapbooking again! We had such a blast at our retreat on the May Long Weekend, that I thought for sure I would have the momentum to get moving --- and who knows, maybe finish my daughter's baby book before she starts school! :)

So... Mom was over last weekend and we were chatting about our collective lack of motivation or inspiration (or simple busyness) that is keeping us from creating. I got this email the next day:

"Yesterday I issued a very simple challenge for Laura and I, and I have asked her to come up with a challenge for me next Thursday.

I am going to do a one-page challenge of Alex's first day at kindergarten. Laura may do hers online until we girls get serious again. If Alison or Marlene are interested they could do a first day of school or back to school.


Let's make time to preserve our memories!

Miss you all. Carrie"

So... Aunty Marlene was the first to climb back on the wagon! Here's her beautiful layout of my cousins when they were kids!

Marlene's Layout:

And my oldest, who just this past month has officially become a Kindergartener, sigh! Where did the past 5 years go? I certainly didn't spend them scrapbooking... :)

Laura's Layout:

"Pretty in Pink"

Well, we're not exactly whipping off the challenges anymore, but here's our latest...

Mom and I occasionally phone each other and scrapbook long distance. It's not quite as much fun as cropping in person, but it's enough of a kick in the butt to get me motivated. For one night, at least!

This time Mom suggested a theme for a challenge "Pretty in Pink". The only other stipulation, use a Cricut Machine.

Here's what I came up with:

Mom's computer is down, so I haven't seen her layout yet... but I'm willing to bet her "pretty in pink" is about a very similar little girl! :)

Edited to add:

Marlene's Layout:

Kaleidoscope Pages...

I've taken this workshop twice, a few years back. It never clicked, and it certainly didn't stick. Last weekend Mom came out and showed me, again, how to do this technique. Now, I think I've actually got it! This could become addictive!!!

Challenge for March 10th to sometime next week!

Okay, I know I'm pushing you girls that just came back from your tropical vacations... but here's your next challenge, should you wish to participate. It's from the February edition of the Creating Keepsakes magazine. Mom was flipping through it and thought this would be a good one. http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/content/view/20131/

So, enjoy! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Carrie:

Laura:

The olden days...

Challenge for February 27th to March 4th (or so, we've been pretty flexible on deadlines)

Okay, here's one, if you're game... this week go on a scavenger hunt through your scrapbooking space and use a tool from "the olden days" that you bought when you first started scrapbooking and, at the time, just had to have. For me this would be a punch or Fisker's scissors, or a gold pen, a die-cut... hehehe the possibilities are endless!

Bonus points if you use more than one and manage to keep your layout from looking dated! :)


Marlene: This is my first attempt at " a challenge scrapbooking" by e-mail. I found the project sorta easy, as I'm still using the older tools, and templates. I find the journalising the hardest. Since these photos were taken, I filled in comments on left page, about Leona's 5th Birthday, and coloured in her name in gift box, oh and put grey crayon on balloon strings. Acid free crayons, by the way.


Carrie: I used the first idea in a Fast Formulas book ( 2000), a precut triangle, my original corner rounder and my first pen set. I have been cleaning out a file cabinet and came across my list of prices for items to make a costume so that I could figure out a price for the costume. Anyway, a piece of paper (journalling) from 1988 that didn't make it to the garbage.


















Laura: I can't remember when I bought this tool, a book of templates that I absolutely had to have. Fast forward a few years... And I pulled it out of my template box, brand new. I really needed it badly, huh? :)

Alex's Layout: His "old" tools are all my old stickers that I never used, or only used a part of the strip. He also gets my photo leftovers, the ones I printed that didn't make it into my layouts. For now, he's perfectly happy with that.

Love and Laughter

This challenge is scraplifted off of a site Alison googled http://www.scrapbookflair.com/

They issued their challenge in celebration of "Love Makes the World Go Round, But Laughter Keeps us from Getting Dizzy" week (never heard of it myself). We thought this would make a great theme for a Valentine's week challenge.

Alison's Layout: Carrie's Layout:

Laura's Layout:

Creative Memories freebies...

This challenge is pretty basic, grab one of those freebies you got as a "thank you" from a Creative Memories Consultant (you know, the paper, sticker one page pack thingy) and do a layout with it.

Alison's Layout: Laura's Layout:

Carrie's Layout:

Sadly neglected...

As I was updating my regular blog today, I felt a little guilt about how long it's been since I've posted on this one. I'm not sure anyone actually reads this one, but who knows... maybe someday some disillusioned housewife will google scrapbooking and housework, and will get sent to our little world. Maybe not! Regardless...

We haven't completed any challenges in a long, long while. Our group kind of died. I'd love to get the momentum going again, starting with myself, but for now we're taking a rest. I phoned my Mom a few nights ago and said "My kids are all in bed... let's scrapbook" so we decided to both complete a Christmas Layout, using only one sheet of paper, and check back with each other at 11pm for a progress report. It was fun. Even though we're in different towns, it still felt like we were cropping together.

Here's what I managed to complete, nothing too fancy, but I haven't pulled out my tools in a while, so I have to ease back in slowly! ;)

And here's half of Mom's double layout --- not quite finished, but I gave her less than two hours to do it, so I'm proud of her!

And, just because I can... here's the latest page I've done using my Heritage Makers studio (my consultant website is http://www.storingyourmemories.com/ . I'm loving the digital scrapbooking... no mess, no fuss, and I can work for 10 minutes at time and then walk away without having to worry about whose sticky fingerprints might get all over my layouts!

It's not complete, but should be in about 3.5 more months!