Challenge YOUrself #77 - Mom

Hello, everyone! Happy Thursday to you! Man, this getting back into the old routine of things is hard. I'm not used to having to get up so early but it sure makes the day seem longer!

It's time for the May challenge at Challenge YOUrself and this month it is all about MOM - and don't forget to include yourself in your layout!

Here is my layout:

I decided to scrap photos from Mother's Day 2018 - well - sort of! Matthew couldn't come home on Mother's Day weekend because he was getting ready for finals so we celebrated a couple of weeks later! 

These photos always make me smile! Shane was playing his video game and couldn't put the controller down long enough to take a photo with us. He was a good sport and at least turned around and looked at the camera for a few photos.

I used the newer papers and some scraps from my May Great Stash Bash kit. The flowers are fussy cut from one of the papers. I used my new favorite alphas from Bella Blvd for my title. 

Be sure to check out the Challenge YOUrself blog to see the gorgeous layouts from the rest of the design team. I hope you have some time to play along with us this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

The Studio Challenges - Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope you all got a lot of scrapping done yesterday in honor of National Scrapbook Day! I know I did my fair share of it.

The Studio Challenges has a new challenge posted today and it's a Tic Tac Toe challenge! Here is a look at the Tic Tac Toe board:

I chose to use enamel dots, washi tape - the thin gold washi that is at the top and bottom of the pink dotted paper and on the journaling block, and a tag - which also serves as my title. I also managed to add some wood veneer hearts and some ephemera.

I couldn't wait to put some of the papers that I included in my May Great Stash Bash kit to use. I also used quite a few of the die cut pieces and the wood veneer hearts that were in my kit, too. I had to change my photo to black and white to get it to go with my papers.

This photo is of Abby and Ada on Abby's first day of school in 2018. Those first few days back to Nana's house after being with Mommy all summer long are hard! Ada always wants a little more time and just one more hug before her Mommy heads out to work. I think the title - You Are So Very Wonderful - fits just the way they feel about each other!

Here is a close-up:

I cannot believe how well these flower die cuts go with this collection from Carta Bella. I know the paper is from 2013 and the die cuts from Kaiser Craft - I think are from late 2018 or early 2019. Whatever the case, they work perfectly together!

Be sure to stop by The Studio Challenges to see the beautiful layouts from the rest of the design team. I would love to see your take on the Tic Tac Toe challenge, too!

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

The Great Stash Bash May Kit

Hello again! I am back with my third post of the day. If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal or the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog hop, please scroll on down. 

It's time for the May edition of The Great Stash Bash 2020!

For those who are new to the challenge here is how it works:

On the 1st of each month we will post a challenge prompt and the stash kit we have created following that prompt. During the month we will try to use as much of our stash kits as possible on different projects. Then, on the last day of the month, we will do a recap post showing what stash we were able to bash!

This will be a just-for-fun challenge so no monthly prize - but isn't the real prize using up our stash? You never know - if we still have a few unused stash items after a few months, then those items may just go into a giveaway. We hope you will join us in our quest to bash some stash in 2020. If you accept the challenge to play along - link up on either my blog or Lisa's blog (or both if you choose) so that we can see who is joining us each month!

Here is the May challenge:

This month we will be creating a kit with 10 papers (7 papers that are 3 years or older and 3 newer papers), 5-7 scrap papers, four embellishments (3 that are 3 years or older and 1 newer embellishment), and this month we will concentrate on using flowers on our projects.

Here is my May stash bash kit:

I have picked papers from an older Carta Bella line - Hello Again - for my older papers and embellishments. Here are the papers and embellishments that I have chosen:

I have always loved this collection and I'm not sure why I haven't pulled it out to use it before now! For my older embellishments, I have picked the 12x12 coordinating sticker sheet, my box of wood veneer pieces, and a die cut pack from KaiserCraft. I'm not sure if it is older than 3 years but the colors in it match perfectly.

Here is a look at my new papers:

These papers are from the I Am Mom collection from Echo Park. I had a hard time narrowing down which papers I wanted to use from this collection, but I finally settled on a small floral, a tone on tone graphic print, and a stripe. The "B" sides on the floral and the tone on tone paper may show up in a layout, too! For my new embellishment, I chose the coordinating 12x12 sticker sheet. 

Here is a look at the scraps I picked. They will mostly go with my "new" papers, but the navy and turquoise/mint will go with both.

And since we are concentrating on using up our flowers this month, I pulled a few packages to see if I can use some of them:

When it comes to using flowers for a challenge I always think - I don't have many flowers to choose from...well, once I started pulling all of these packages I think I can put that thought right out of my mind! And these aren't even all that I have! There's still more sitting in a drawer just waiting to be used! Not all of these will go with the papers I have chosen, but quite a few of them will so let's see if I can get some of these used up this month!

Since this is a just for fun challenge the rules are not set in stone BUT we have them to help you focus on what really matters using your stash & to help spread the word of our fun challenge so others may join in!!  You know you have at least one friend who needs to use her stash!! 

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 - #lisaandlorisgreatstashbash2020

Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog to see the beautiful kit that she put together, too. I hope you are inspired to pull out some of your stash and play along with us this month. If you do play along with us - be sure to link up below. We would love to see your kits and your projects.

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

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