Challenge #113 - An Apple for the Teacher {August 17 - August 31}

We are thrilled to announce a new addition to our HMITM team! Lisa Caroll has long been an enthusiastic player in our challenge, so we were happy when she accepted our invitation to join the team. I asked Lisa to share a little about herself, and here's what she said:

"I have been married to my college sweetheart for nine years. We live in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina with our very rambunctious four-year-old son, a dog and a cat. I started scrapbooking soon after we got married, but it wasn't until our son was born that I truly fell in love with the hobby! For me, scrapbooking is the perfect craft as it combines memory preservation, creativity and the always needed "me" time. My other passions are photography, cooking, music, travel and college football. I also work part time as a CPA."

You can see more of Lisa's beautiful work on her blog and her gallery at Two Peas.

Now, for the challenge...

It's back to school for me next week, so how about an apple for the teacher? Dig out those apple papers and apple embellishments and use them this week! Also, include some other school-related products, like rulers and any other things you can find related to school.

If you don't have any of these products in your stash, feel free to make your own. We'd love to see how you interpreted this challenge, so please post your creations on the HMITM thread at the 2Peas Pub.

Elizabeth: Up here in Canada, we do not start school until after labour day, which ends up being quite late this year. Therefore, I do not have any current 'back to school' photos to work with yet, so I decided to make a card for the teacher using the KI lace cardstock and chipboard pieces. Always love an excuse to use some of my hoarded lace cardstock ;)



Debbi T: I used lots of teachery things for my layout--apples, ledger paper, a text print, spiral journaling paper, a ruler print, label, bookplate, and some brads that I pilfered from the closet in my classroom (I ordered them when I first started teaching and they'd been gathering dust for years). I thought it was neat that the text showing on the Jenni Bowlin paper almost sounds like kids rushing into school. I was happy for an excuse to use one of my gazillion school pictures (well, not exactly a gazllion--nineteen, to be exact--I will be starting my 20th year of teaching next week!):

Lisa: I am so excited to be joining this team and becoming a host for the HMITM challenge! Thanks again girls for the invitation. I decided to take this opportunity to document the relationship my son has with his preschool teacher. At first I wasn't sure if I had any supplies that would fit the challenge but I found some great apple and graph paper from October Afternoon, a couple flowers from Evalicious, our sponsor for the last challenge, and a little ABC strip from Cosmo Cricket. I cut out a few extra apples from the OA paper to use as embellishments.

Challenge #112 - Homespun & Handcrafted {August 3 - August 16}

For this challenge, we would like you to use handmade embellishments. This week, we were delighted to work with Eve Johnson's gorgeous handmade creations. Please visit her Etsy shop, Evalicious, to see all of her beautiful offerings.

Eve has generously offered a RAK to a randomly chosen participant of this challenge, so we hope you will join us this week. To qualify for the drawing, please post a link to your layout on this thread at the Pub at Two Peas.

Debbi T - I just love these blue green mix button embellishments that Eve sent me. The colors and textures and stitching added a wonderful homespun touch to my page. That's my husband and my wacky grandmother, who's going to be 90 in a month. She had some kind of bump on her behind and wanted everyone to feel it! Nobody succumbed, except my kind-hearted husband--he's such a good sport!

Thank you, Eve, for sending all these beautiful embellishments to me and for sponsoring our challenge!

Elizabeth: I couldn't decide what to use from all Eve's awesome goodies, so I made a couple things :) , a few cards...

and a few layouts :P

i LOVED using her fun embellishments, thank you EVE!

Paula: I had loads of fun using Eve's assorted buttons -- I mixed up two different sets here on this layout about my little guy and me. I enjoyed the mixture of circles and flowers - even on a boy page (gasp!). Thanks so much for the goodies Eve!

Debi: LOVE, LOVED playing with these fun homemade embellies by Eve (thanks!!).
Thought they went perfectly with some Sassafrass Lass Paper I have been hoarding;)


























Made a card with the travel embellies!

Behind the 8 Ball - HMITM 111 (July 20 - August 2)

Ready for another challenge? I love something that gives me focus for my layout and also helps me use up my stash. During the summer it can feel like you are 'behind the 8 ball' in the scrapbooking department, and that was my inspiration for this week's challenge. Create a layout using...

8 - brads
8 - flowers
8 - buttons
8 - letter stickers

Post a link in The Pub at 2peas over the next two weeks so we can see your creation, and have fun with it!

Elizabeth: (I used a sketch from Page Maps for this layout), it was fun to frame my focal picture with all the different embellishments without making the layout feel too cluttered.

Paula:
I went digital for this challenge and managed to fit 5 photos along with the other requirements. I used a bunch of brads as the center of one of my flowers so that it wouldn't look too crowded.


Debbi T:

I had so much fun with this challenge! I had printed this photo out kind of big, and there wasn't a whole lot of space on my 8 x 8 page for too much stuff, but I did manage to get all of the required elements on there by layering some of the flowers and using the buttons to top the flowers. I was really happy to use some of my ancient Primas!

Lisa: I am so excited to be joining this great team! Thanks girls for inviting me. I generally don't use a lot of embellishments on my layouts so this was a great challenge for me. I think the hardest part was getting all the buttons on there, but I did it and I am really happy with how it all turned out. And I got to use up a lot of my stash in the process!

Challenge #110 - Paint the Town Red {July 6 - July 19}

Good Monday Morning !

For our next challenge we are seeing red!

Use lots of red on a layout. Choose a photo with red in it. Make red be your main accent color. Whatever you do, I want to see red!

Be sure to go to 2 Peas and post your layout to this thread and share your layout with us all.


Michelle: Red is my main accent color here. As I was creating this layout with the soft blue GCD Deisgns pattern paper, I just thought it needed something. So I added the red to make it all pop.




Debbi T: I, too used red as my accent color. That's my husband being his regular goofball self. I've just started an album of all these silly pictures of him doing crazy poses for the camera. Because of all the green in the picture, I went with earthy colors and accented them with red to make the layout more fun.

Elizabeth: I realized I do not use that much colour red when I scrapbook, so this was a nice change for me. (I used a red stamp pad to change the colour of my chipboard swirl.)

Debi:
Seeing as how red is my FAVE color...this was easy for me!
Throw in some aqua blue and I am a happy girl:)

Challenge #109 - FREEZE FRAME

Good Monday Morning !

For our next challenge we are going to use up some stash to create a frame!

Frame a photo, journaling, or the whole layout using up some embellishments from our (ever growing) stash!

Be sure to go to 2 Peas and post your layout to this thread and share your layout with us all.
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&forum_id=42&thread_id=2832091


Debi:
Oh how fun it was to use up A LOT of my embellishments around these pictures of my daughter!
As you can see she is quite a ham around the camera!




Debbi T:

I didn't use a whole lot of stash for my frame. I had other visions, but they didn't work out, so I ended up using ribbon to create a frame for my page. I wrote my journaling on the back about this quirky childhood memory of how my Gram used to have all these colorful telephone wires in a box in her linen closet and how I'd play with them because there wasn't a whole lot to play with at her house. The "flip for fun" is cut off of the tear-off strip from a Cosmo Cricket paper.

Elizabeth: I decided to use the lace cardstock as a frame for my picture, it doesn't necessarily use up a ton of my stash, but it is using the hoarded lace cardstock that I rarely cut into :P (the layout below explains why I didn't have a layout in the last challenge! ouch!)



More inspiration coming soon....

Challenge #108: Use it or lose it!

Lighten your load this week. The challenge is use it or lose it — grab 20 old things from your stash. Use them on your layout or purge them!

Paula:
I really took this challenge to heart and purged a lot of stuff from my stash - doesn't hurt that my LSS is having a yard sale next weekend, that gave me even more of an incentive to purge! I even used old photos that I had already printed for this challenge. I dug deep into my stash for some really, REALLY old KI Memories papers. I also have a teeny tiny bit of my all time favorite Scenic Route paper here - it's the center of the flower and it must be 5 years old!

Michelle: I have had these outdoor Love Elsie goodies for a while. For some crazy reason, I had even purchased the fabric paper. And now I am proud of myself for using it. Love Elsie products used: 6 circle stickers, pattern paper, and fabric paper (I tossed the leftovers). I also used Pink Paislee alphas, Bazzill cardstock, and a white Uniball Signo pen. I tossed a set of odd K&Co stitch rubons I have had in my stash for way too long too.

Challenge #107 - Be a Square! {May 25 - June 7}

This challenge is based on square numbers:

• 1 squared = 1 (one photo)
• 2 squared = 4 (2 manufacturers' papers; 2 patterns from each)
• 3 squared = 9 (3 word title; 3 types of lettering)
• 4 squared = 16 (16 embellishments)
• 5 squared = 25 (25 words in your journaling)
  

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this challenge! Link your layout to the thread posted at The Pub at Two Peas.

Debbi T:

{coming later--my computer died and I just got a new computer, so I've been sort of paralyzed without it}

Paula:
This was a tough challenge! It made me approach my layout design in a completely different way.

{removed for publication}

Elizabeth: I wasn't really planning to do a layout about this picture, but it seemed to fit the bill. I also didn't plan to use that for a title, but after I put the 'hair' on the layout, I found the 'adventure' rubon that just coordinated so nicely in the spot that I had to change my original title, which was a little more creative than the current one. :P I used Basic Grey and Scenic Route paper, along with lots of Maya Road rubons (love those!) and American Crafts letters.

Michelle's "A Pink Bike?": This took some real thinking for me. But it all just came together perfectly for me. :) 1 photo. Basic Grey striped and wavy pattern paper. Luxe journaling and pink background pattern paper. 3 word title. I used Doodlebug rub on letters, American Crafts vinyl letters, and one chipboard letter i. I used 16 embellishments - 15 blings and 1 rubon. And exactly 25 words in the journaling. :)

HMITM 106 ~ TWINS {May 11-24}

Welcome to another challenge geared to using up your stash...

My sister-in-law just gave birth to twin baby girls last week, so in honour of their arrival, create a layout using...

2 colours of cardstock

2 patterned papers

2 pictures

2 chipboard

2 stamps

2 flowers

Post your layout to the link on 2peas, can't wait to see what you create...



Elizabeth: I haven't been scrapbooking everyday like I used to, so I love the challenges I am involved in because it keeps me chugging along in my albums. I wanted to do a layout about our son's eating habits and even though these pictures are not necessarily current, nor are they all about eating, I still made them work for my layout theme. And even got the flower theme in there to boot!

Michelle:  This was the perfect challenge for me.  I already had these 2 photos printed out because I wanted to show how we had snow on Monday and then Warm sunshine on Saturday all in the same week.  hahaha.   I used some 2 "Christmasy" pattern paper from October Afternoon:  snowflakes and the flowery paper.  I am not a big stamp user, so you will have to look close to see my stamps (date stamp, and little bitty flower stamp in the indside of the  Prima flowers).  And I used 2 chipboard photo corners to point to the photos.  

Debi:

Challenge #105 - Working 9-5 {April 27 - May 10}

Recently, I went back to work full time.

So to celebrate, the challenge is called "Working 9 to 5"

You must use at least:

• 9 words in your journaling
  


• 8 brads
  


• 7 letter stickers
  

• 6 pieces of pattern paper and
  


• 5 photos
  

Hope you play along. Post a link to your layout here at the 2peas Pub.

Michelle: Five photos was just the kick I needed to go ahead and document a part of our spring break trip to Florida. I for sure used more than 9 words and 7 letter stickers. I used exactly 8 brads (one is a heart brad dotting the letter i in the title) and 6 pieces of pattern paper.

Elizabeth: I loved this combination of items this week, 5 photos was perfect for these snapshots of my son losing his first tooth. It was easy to use up scraps of patterned paper by matting each photo with a different paper. And which one of my layouts do NOT include letter stickers :P

Debbi T:

Okay, so I'm the cheater this week. I couldn't seem to find 5 photos to go together, so I used the same photo 5 times for this layout that's going into my book of silly family photos. That's my nephew in a Snuggie watching a 3-D movie. I did adhere to the rest of the rules, though (well, if you count the author of the quote as the ninth word in my journaling)! I was in a little time crunch this weekend, so I combined this challenge with Color Combos Galore.

Paula:

I went for *exactly* the specified amount of everything :) I used a digital frame for my 5 photos. The "Sunday" is a digital brush that I printed out. I guess I did kind of cheat with the title - I use chipboard letter stickers but I figured they were letters and they stick so that counts - right? ;)

Challenge #104 - Guest Designer Lisa Carroll {April 13 - April 26}

We are so pleased to have Lisa Carroll be our guest designer. She participates in the challenges almost every single time...even in her busy world as a CPA.

She gave us this challenge:

5+5+5 =

• 5 unopened packages of embellies



• 5 scraps of patterned paper



• List 5 (topic should be about a list of 5 things)

Post a link to your layout here at the 2Peas Pub.

And here is Lisa's layout:

Elizabeth: So fun to have Lisa create a challenge for us this time, I loved her idea of picking from embellishments not yet opened, what a great idea! It certainly got me searching through my stash. I am happy to report that I did not have too many unopened packages so that must be a good sign ;) Here is my layout...

Debbi T:

This was a great challenge for me! I have so many unopened packages. I had this stray picture of me in my car and thought it would be fun to do my top 5 list of reasons I love my car. Most of the paper scraps were ones I had sitting on my desk, waiting to be put away. I hate to throw anything away! Thanks for the fun challenge, Lisa!

Challenge 103 ~ IN FULL BLOOM {March 30 - April 12}

For our new challenge we will be IN FULL BLOOM!!! Since spring has officially started we are going to put some spring on our layout this week!!! That's right...break out the flowers, the felt, the fabric, the chipboard, the acrylic, the brads.....maybe even a few handmade:)

Show everyone how much is too much:)

Looking forward to see all the beautiful flowers!

Debi:
This layout was FUN to do. I been wanting to try to use my SLICE to make a design on a page & finally tried it!! It was easier than I thought! I made the flowers to the right, too!!

Debbi T:

I wanted to go with some spring flowers, but they weren't working for this photo of my silly cat, who I caught sneaking into the cabinet. That's what happens whenever I leave a door open. I used a bunch of Creative Cafe flowers that I've had in my stash forever. I ran a pen along the edges for definition and then layered some of them, mounting some with pop dots.

And, can I sneak in this one that I made last week?

Michelle: With 2 little boys, I don't use flowers too much. But I do love sneaking in some flowers every once in a while. The American Crafts pattern paper has flowers all over it. And I added one little extra Making Memories velvet flower brad.

Elizabeth: this layout is almost too simple for me to put on here, but I wanted to make a layout for my 7x7 album of this hummingbird picture and thought I would decorate it with lots of different flowers. This was a great challenge for me because I got rummaging through all my old stash and used that honking red flower which has been around forever!

Challenge # 102

Let's go green! In honour of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow your challenge is to use 17 green items on your layout. It doesn't have to be a St. Paddy's Day page, any topic works!!

Don't forget to link us up to your layout in the thread on The Pub by March 29th!

Francine

I went with an environmental theme for this one! It didn't start out that way but ended up being monochromatic.

Michelle: Between the circles added to the green dots and the title letters, I used 17 pieces of green Thickers glittery chipboard.

Paula:

I didn't want to be overwhelmed by green (even though it IS my favorite color!) so I used patterned paper that had bits of green in it. This layout was inspired by my desire to use the American Crafts shaped animals!!


Elizabeth: I absolutely LOVE green and use it on almost every layout. I ended up doing a monochromatic layout. There is more journaling behind the journaling block...

Debi: This challenge was perfect for me! I had these GREAT pictures from last year & I have been wanting them scrapped...

Challenge #101 - "The Whole Kit & Caboodle" {March 2 - March 15}

If you subscribe to kits, then this is the challenge for you! All too often, I get my kit in the mail, open it like it's Christmas, admire it and envision all the layouts I'll create, put it in it's special file that I use for all my kits, and then... the month flies by and another kit arrives and I haven't done anything with with the previous one!

Well this month, I'm challenging you to dig out a kit you haven't used and create a layout using as many items from that kit as you can fit on your page. If you don't subscribe to kits, feel free to play along by creating your own kit. Be sure to share your creation on the thread posted at Two Peas.

Debbi T:

A couple of summers ago, I created a "cheesecake" album for my Gram's 87th birthday, using a bunch of sassy photos of her taken over the years. I loved these pictures so much that I decided to create an album for me.

I decided to go a little wild on this page. I used the December 2008 Scarlet Lime kit that was full of bold colors and patterns. Since I scrap 8 x 8, I don't often get to play with all those fun die-cut papers, so I made my own by tracing a Making Memories paper and cutting it out. I supplemented the kit with some letter stickers from my stash and a stamp from another kit by Studio Calico.



Michelle:

My LSS closed over a year ago. But the owner now has a partner and they have monthly kits. Paper Playground. I have been sick lately so I haven't had a chance to play with the February kit. But this weekend I went to a crop with some of the fun girls from this LSS and I created 2 layouts with the kit.

This layout is about these hangers my grandma makes. My husband thought I was a dork taking these photos. But I don't care. :) I thought the trim was a perfect touch here as it reminds me of the hangers.

Paula:
I used the March kit from Kraft Girl kits. The kit came with a Jenni Bowlin mini-album and I used a little of nearly everything in the kit to finish it!

Elizabeth: I actually do not subscribe to any kits, but I thought I would share a recent layout anyways. :P I used the templates from scrapbooksetc site (totally in love with those!) and this came together very easily.

Debi:

I usually don't buy any kits, but last Septmeber when we (me, Paula & Suzy) went to Scrap Pink in Colorado I decided to get a kit from Studio Calico to help with decision of what to bring to scrap with. Well, needless to say I just opened the packages & cut the paper for the first time last night!