Three Challenges in One LO

It has been a whirlwind two and a half weeks.  On October 10, I left for DC for the SGK 3-Day.  I was able to hang with my friends Michelle and Joe (who had just gotten engaged), then met a whole bunch of new friends over the weekend, and then Sunday night I got to have dinner with Nicole, Craig, their kids and Kathy and Craig (some friends from college who I don't get to see very often).  It was quite the fun and exhausting weekend, and Monday proved to be exhausting as well as I spent 10 hours in the Newark airport even though time-wise I could have driven home and back again in that time.  I was just toooooooo tired to trust myself to do so.

Then when I got back, it took me an entire week to recuperate.  I slept so well, even through some of my DD's fussing, which I don't normally do.   I got nothing done that week crafting wise or other.  Then what did we do, well we proceeded to jump in the car and drive to Lehigh for our first football game of the season (in person).  We did this even though we knew we had to drive back right after the game in order to get DS back for his First Communion Class on Sunday morning.  So during the drive home, what proceeded to happen -- we hit a buck going 65mph!!!!!  ARGH!!!  That was quite the juggling of things trying to figure out the logistics of how to get home.  Luckily we were able to ask for and get an extended cab flat bed truck so we could fit all four of us (with car seats) in the truck.  Luckily we have AAA Plus - which gives us 100 free miles of towing.  We ended up paying for only 5 miles!!!  Whew!!!  Of course at least 2 of that was because we asked the tow truck driver to take a detour past our house so we could get our other car so we could get home from the car dealership.  Well worth it!!!

So this week I've been dealing with the insurance company and everything.  Luckily we have a rental rider on our policy (learned that one the hard way from another accident), so we have at least had two cars this week (and will for next week also).  They ended up totaling the car (which was mine - CRV), so today we are going to look for a new one.  Not really what I wanted to do right now, but we got a good settlement considering the car was 7 years old.  So I think we'll do okay and be able to get a car/SUV that I want.  I would like to get another CRV, as I'm convinced that it was the car that made sure we were as safe as we were - any other car the same size or smaller would have had the windshield blown in with what happened.

Anyway, this past week, even with all that going on, I did manage to get some crafting in (thanks to the fact that I'm not working).  However, this one LO took forever to do - much longer than usual.

So the three challenges that I combined were my monthly Focus Group for CC (we had to create something that Pinterest inspired), the weekly challenge on CC (use a neutral and 3 brights), and the weekly challenge for the Paper Girls Challenge Blog (this one was picture inspired).  The one LO I did was about my DS's swimming lessons last summer.  With this LO, I could have used many different themes, but chose this one because those were the first of the many pictures already printed that I picked up.

So the inspiration from Pinterest was a one page LO that I found by Jessica Sprague.  I loved the large circles for the main photo.  And it went with the circles on the picture inspiration from Paper Girls.  As for the neutral, I instantly thought of the Kraft Funday paper from MME, and knew that would work with this theme.  However, when I looked at it, I knew it would have to be used as a supporting paper, not the main paper, like I was originally thinking.  Mainly because I didn't have two pages that matched, and I am anal about my main papers matching on 2-page LO's.  So here is the inspiration LO:

And here is the LO I created from it:

My focus picture was smaller then her's, so I double matted it.  I used orange, blue and yellow as my bright colors for CC, and pulled the circles and orange from the picture for PGB.  The only issue I have with the LO is that I think I made the background a little busy for the title.  But the basic cardstock was too plain.

So the products used were:  Bazzill yellow cardstock, Bazzill blue cardstock, Bazzill orange cardstock, MME Kraft Funday paper, MME Kraft Funday Happy Days twine, MME Kraft Funday Everyday wood banner, MM circle cutter, Sassafras cameo brads, AC thickers regards, MM creative letters DOTS, SU Brilliant Blue ink, SU Circle Circus stamps, 1.5inch circle punch, 1inch square punch and SU scalloped border punch.

Transparencies - Paper Girls

This week's Paper Girls Challenge was to use a transparency - you know, those clear sheets that have designs on them that we rarely use.  Well, again they hit on a page that I had put supplies together for and never did.  It was the day my DS was born.

I had found this transparency awhile ago, and it was just sitting around waiting to be used.  I loved the saying for this particular moment - the one where he was born.  So again, since I had put the supplies together so long ago, I don't remember where any of them came from.  I can tell that most of them are scraps I put together.  Enjoy.

OWH Blog Hop Challenges

Starting last weekend, the design team at Crop Chocolate has held a blog hop spurred on my National Cardmaking Day as well as Operation Write Home.  A couple months ago, on CC's message board, there was talk of making cards for OWH, which is an organization that collects homemade cards to send to the troops so that they can in turn write to their friends and families.  Everyone there thought this was such a great idea, and so the DT decided to host a blog hop for it, which they made coincide with National Cardmaking Day (which was this past weekend - Oct. 6).  And of course, as with most of CC's blog hops, their were challenges involved.

Usually I attempt to make something for all challenges, but I had challenges myself in my schedule.  The weekend that the hop started, I was sitting in a booth at a craft fair trying to sell my wares.  Then this past week was my DD's 4th birthday so I was busy cleaning the house and getting ready for my parents to visit and for the party.  I also had to work on a special order I received at the craft fair (more on that later).

All that being said, I was able to fit in some crafty time and made some cards.  Also, some of the cards that I made within the last couple of weeks in order to add to my inventory for the fair fit a couple of the challenges.  So I am going to enter them also, as my thought was to send whatever didn't sell to OWH anyway.

So enough talk, and now to show off what I did get to make.

First off, for Amber's challenge, she asked us to follow a sketch and use embossed solid paper, two different patterned papers, and some sort of twine, ribbon or trim.  And to make as many as we could.  The sketch she gave us was very simple and easy to use.  I didn't mix it up much LO wise, but did use different colors.  I managed to make 16 of them. 

Products used:  EP Victoria Gardens 6x6, EP Times and Seasons 6x6, MM celery ribbon, Bazzil blue cs, SU always artichoke, crushed curry, naturals ivory and ballet blue cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folders, SU tag time stamp set, SU cranberry crisp and buckaroo blue inks.

Next up was Michelle (by belle)'s challenge.  She also picked an OWH sketch for us to use, and she wanted us to make as many as we could.  I ended up with 12.  I also combined this with CC's weekly challenge last week (to make a project and put step-by-step instructions on instructagram.com).

Products used:  Teresa Collins giving thanks paper, EP Be Mine 6x6, MME Ooh La La For Her 6x6, SU regal rose, naturals white, crushed curry, sage shadow wild wasabi and ballet blue cardstock, MM embossed metal silver hearts, MM embossed copper butterflies.

Next I did Brit's challenge - to use up those scraps.  All of the scraps I used for this one were from one pack of paper - EP's Happy Days 6x6.  I made some thank you's and some happy birthday cards.  One of them actually uses EP Springtime (can you guess which one?). 

Products used:  EP Happy Days 6x6, EP Springtime 6x6, SU regal rose, naturals white cardstock, MM vellum tags, Recollections adhesive embellishments, Recollections adhesives shapes, Deja View Wonderful words rubons, MM eyelets.

I also did Miwa's challenge, which was also to use up scraps.  She gave us some sketches she used as examples, but I decided to not use them and used others.  So I used EP's Springtime 6x6 pack for hers.  Also a combination of birthday and thank you.

Products used:  EP Springtime 6x6, SU regal rose, naturals white, and sage shadow cardstock, Sassafrass blossoms - modpods, Recollections adhesive embellishments, SRM sentiment stickers, Mrs. Grossman's sentiment stickers, mm vellum tag, MM embossed metal heart, BG fabric flowers bloomers.

Between the two challenges, I made 20 cards (10 of each paper pack).

I also managed to do Nina's challenge.  She asked us to pick out one paper pack and use it up.  For this one I chose EP's For the Record.  When I first bought it, I wasn't sure about it, but it has really grown on me.  I made thinking of you, Happy Hello's, congratulations, get well, and sympathy cards.

Products used:  EP For the Record 6x6, SU crushed curry, naturals ivory, and wild wasabi cardstock, misc cardstock, Mrs. Grossman's sentiment stickers, sassfrass blossoms, MM vellum tags, MM eyelets, MM Chloe's Closet brads, SU circle circus stamp, Sassafrass paper whimsies.

I managed to make a total of 23 cards from this pack.  I still have some scraps left and could probably squeeze a couple more out.

Finally I made a few that fit Kathy's one challenge.  She asked us to use "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue".  I only got 6 done for this one, but I really like them.  They are get well and sympathy cards.

I used MME's Ooh La La For Her 6x6 pack, Imaginisce bitty blossoms and itty bitty blossoms, MM mini pewter circle brads, Sassafrass blossoms, SRM sentiment stickers.

I hope you enjoyed looking at what I made.