Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash April Kit

 Hello, hello! Happy 1st day of April to you! I am so happy to see the calendar roll over to April - maybe now we will be seeing more spring-like weather! March came in like a lamb for us and definitely went out like a lion yesterday! Our high was only 37 degrees and it actually snowed for a bit. That's not uncommon for this time of year, but c'mon! I am so done with the cold and snow - bring on that sunshine and those warmer temps!

Enough about the weather! It is time for the April - Lisa & Lori's Great Stash Bash Challenge! Before I get to my kit I just wanted to give a quick update on my March kit. I made 3 of the 9 layouts that I wanted to get done with my mostly boy-themed kit. I even managed to make one layout with 6x6 papers. I still have my kit all together - I just ran out of scrappy mojo - big time! I would still like to get a few more layouts done with it before I break it back down and put it back in my stash. Now, on to my April kit.

If you don't know what the Great Stash Bash is - it is a challenge that my good friend Lisa and I do every month. We pull items from our stash based on a "recipe" (which you will see below) and use those items throughout the month in an effort to get our scrappy stash used up!

Here is our April recipe:

Our "recipe" is to pull 10 patterned papers, 5-7 scraps, 3-4 embellishments, and our focus item for April is flowers.

I don't have a ton of flowers in my stash anymore, but you will see some of what I do have and how I plan on focusing on flowers this month.

For April, I have my main kit and then two layout kits. Now I could have just stuck with my main kit here and been fine, but a couple of the photos that I really want to scrap this month will definitely not go with my main kit, so I went ahead and made up two layout kits for them. 

Here is my main kit:

I recently purchased a few papers from the Away We Go collection from Echo Park and I cannot wait to use them! When I first saw this collection I thought there was no way I would get a bit of it since we do not travel, but there are only a few papers that are heavily travel themed and even then the "B" side is usable. And when I found out it was designed by Traci Reed, I was sold! I have loved her work for a long time and should have known I would love even a travel collection from her! So, my kit is made up of the papers I picked out. I originally didn't get anything else from this collection but have since ordered the sticker book, it just hasn't gotten here yet. 

Let's take a closer look at the papers in this fun collection:

 I love that the colors in this collection are on th softer side. Note that floral paper. I haven't decided if it will be used as a paper layer or if I will fussy cut a few of the flowers out for embellishments. I added in a few solid papers from a couple of different Echo Park collections just in case I need them for making my own embellishments or for matting or layering.

Here's a closer look at the embellishments that I added to my kit:

Keep in mind that I will add in the sticker book whenever it finally gets here. One of the main reasons I pulled this collection for my kit this time is because of that Spring stamp set from Studio Calico. Whenever I got it in the mail last month, I could not wait to use it. I immediately thought of two sets of photos I wanted to use with that stamp set, so I am certain it will get quite a bit of use this month! I also added in a few label sticker sheets from Kelly Purkey and Freckled Fawn, those three rubber words from Amy Tangerine that I have been trying to use up for a while, a half sheet of enamel hearts that I believe are from Amy Tangerine, a couple of little bow paper clips from Bella Blvd - I promise they do match the papers I have pulled - another sticker book from Paper House Productions, a couple of stamp sets from Close To My Heart, and a few of the flowers that I still have left in my stash - they are from Michael's $1 spot from a long time ago.

Here are a few scraps that I pulled to go with this kit:

I stuck to the more solid colors or tone on tone papers for my scraps. 

Here is my first layout kit:

This kit looks kind of like a hot mess to me! When you see the photo I have pulled to go with the papers it will make better sense!

Here's a closer look at the papers:

The green paper is the only scrap that I have and it is from Simple Stories. The rest of the papers are from Close To My Heart. I couldn't decide between the white paper with the tiny black hearts and the white paper with black stripes so I threw them both in and I will decide when I get ready to make my TN spread. The green will only be used in a very minimal amount, if at all. 

Here is a look at the embellishments:

I didn't have much in the way of embellishments to go along with the papers I pulled. I did pull the Chantilly sticker sheet since it goes with the pink paper, but really only a few of the pink words and phrases will be used if I use anything on that sheet at all. I did go through some other sticker sheets that I had - looking for some pink flower stickers that might work - and settled on Pink Paislee, Maggie Holmes, and Shimelle sitcker sheets that have pink flowers or something pink that might go with my layout. I also pulled out a few Maggie Holmes sticker books in hope that they might have something in them I can use. I definitely have options here!

My second layout kit:

This kit has a couple of papers from Simple Stories' So Happy Together collection and a solid navy paper from Echo Park. 

Here's a closer look at the papers:

My first thought was to use the black and white floral stickers but then I went searching and found a few die cuts that might work, too. I pulled the stamp set from Close To My Heart because the flowers in that set match those flower stickers so well. I will be keeping those Maggie Holmes sticker books close since they have that same pinky coral color in them. 

Here are the scraps that I pulled for this kit - more scraps than what I have papers!

I pulled the floral paper scrap for fussy cutting - if I so choose to do that - and I thought I might cut the coral hearts strip out...we will just see what happens, Maybe I'll make a layout just from the scraps!

Since I don't have a lot of flower embellishments, I did pull a few of my favorite floral stamps to use this month. I also included a Pebbles stamp set and my Studio Calico stamp set in this photo. I would love to ink up all of these stamp sets this month.

Last month I spent some time organizing some of my papers and came across quite a few cut apart papers - mostly from Maggie Holmes - and decided to go ahead and cut them apart so they have a chance of getting used. I will keep this box of goodies on my desk in case I need something for a cluster base:

And that is it! Pulling papers for my April kit has got my scrappy mojo back and it has me excited about scrapping again this month. `

Now, be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the fun kit that she has pulled together for this month. This is a just-for-fun challenge, but if you do play along and put together your own stash bash kit - add it to the linky below and we will be sure to check it out and cheer you on! Here are the rules:

1. Follow the challenge prompt to create a kit to work with throughout the month. You may use other items, but please concentrate on using your kit. 

2. Create new, not previously posted projects using your stash kit.

3. If you have a blog - please include the challenge graphic and a link to our challenge in your posts. 

4. You may link to social media if you don't have a blog. If you share on Instagram, please make sure to use - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2022

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a great day!

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