Happy Camper

If you didn't get a chance to swing by the NoelMignon facebook group last week, you really missed out... but there is still plenty of inspiration to be found from our "Summer Camp." 

This was one of my challenges from last week, using the "Our Summer" kit. My challenge was to use something from nature. I used some twigs and grabbed the twine from the kit and made a fun frame around my photo block. 

You can click here to see our amazing group members' take on this challenge... I was so blown away with the participation from this group! 

What a great week we had... I'm so pleased with all the inspiration I now have for more scrapping! Won't you come join us? 

NoelMignon Back to School Crop

Mark your calendars. You won't want to  miss it. I guarantee it!

Cassandra Cyr, you've been lifted!

This week, we've all been lifting some of our fabulous NoelMignon community members- they are so inspiring! 

I fell in love with Cassie's gorgeous fall layout using Crate Paper. All the layers and the rich colors are just incredible. Cassie's projects always have lots of details and a great design- and this one was no exception. It was really fun to lift and to be inspired by her style! 

I wanted my layout to feel softer and more delicate to fit my photo, so I used the great West Coast kit - the colors and lovely feminine details in it fit the feel of this layout perfectly. 

I loved Cassie's big fabric flowers, so I mimicked it on a slightly smaller scale with the fabrips in the kit. I popped a doily behind it to still give the same feel of a large circular element on that side of the page, but it works better with the size and orientation of my photo than a large flower. 

I think my favorite thing on Cassie's page was the strip with circular elements- what a fun addition! I will definitely be using that idea again! :) Thanks, Cassie, for your inspiration! 

Project Runway Inspiration

I love "watching my stories," hehe, and Project Runway is one of those guilty pleasures that I must catch up on every week.

Every season, I'm so inspired by what the designers do, and want to incorporate their challenges into my own scrapping.

On episode 2 of this season, they had their unconventional materials challenge, and this year was candy. It was so amazing to watch the designers transform candy into stunning outfits.

I wasn't about to use candy on a scrapbook layout, but I did take inspiration from this challenge. I particularly loved the dress pictured on the far right, and how the designer took candy shapes and had them form a whole new shape on the garment. I also loved all the gorgeous shades of blue! 

I used NoelMignon's West Coast kit, and adapted this inspo for my layout below. 

Taking the idea of using one shape to form a new shape, I cut out strips of patterned paper and had them create patterns and texture onto two ginormous circles for the background of the page. I feel like they add a lot of dimension to the page, but because of all the white space, it doesn't overwhelm the photos. 

It was really fun to do this! 

I'm currently working on another layout, using last week's red carpet challenge episode... I should be able to share it with you all soon! 

What have you done lately to challenge yourself? 

A scrappy challenge and note - book! :)

This month, the NoelMignon design team has been invited by the message board's own Michelle Rydell to partner up with Scrappin' the Music! Here are a few sneaks of my layout, using the Summer Wind kit (there's a couple left- hurry and grab them before they sell out!).... if you click HERE, you can see my full layout, along with the rest of the team's projects!

This month's prompts are really fun... you should totally join in! And the bonus is- if you do, you will be entered to win a $20 gift certificate from the shop! 

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My other little project I wanted to share today is another from the Summer Wind kit. A while back, Noel posted a great idea using the Fancy Pants Brag Book as a place to store all of the little "tokens of affection" she receives from her fellas. I fell in love with the idea at once and ordered a brag book... and then let it sit on my shelf until a week ago. Ha! 

I decorated it with the Summer Wind kit and a piece of My Mind's Eye chipboard from my stash. 

It is SUPER easy to just pop in a few notes, cards, photos, and other ephemera from my kids and hubs using some colorful washi tape. I love this easy process.... and then I can flip through, rather than looking through a box of these precious items! 

My take on the Creative Scrappers sketch

The gang at Creative Scrappers has teamed up with the NoelMignon Design Team with a great sketch: 

I decided to use the new Jack & Jill kit for my take on it. 

I loved this gorgeous background paper by My Mind's Eye, and it already had elements on it that went along with the sketch design. I didn't want to overload my layout with too many embellishments; I was afraid it would get TOO busy since I was using such a bold & bright color scheme. I added in paint splatters, small brads, and rhinestones from the kit to add in the small elements that the sketch called for. 

I love seeing how everyone interprets the same design differently and can't wait to see all of y'all's take on it! Make sure to go join in on the fun by May 1st and you can be entered to win a $20 gift card to the NM shop! 

Layout Tag!

One of my favorite things about being a part of the community on the NoelMignon message boards is this fun game we have called "Layout Tag." The basic gist is that we are given a layout to draw inspiration from to create our own layout; we submit it back to Noel and she sends our layout to the next person to do the same thing with. It's kind of like a game of "Telephone," with a scrappy twist! 

I created this layout for our most recent game of Layout Tag during this summer, and today was the reveal (ours ends up taking quite a while because we have a lot of people that play along!). I'm so glad to be able to finally share it.

(click here and here if you want to check out the other participants!) 

(created with a mixture of the Jump & Jive kit and Mary Ellen kit- both of which there are a couple still available!)

Lily Bee Challenge!

I'm hosting the Lily Bee blog today with a little challenge.... come check it out!

Lily Bee Challenge

Hi friends!

I'm hosting a challenge at Lily Bee today, and I'd love it if y'all would join in!

Here's a sneak peek.... come on over to see the rest! :)

A little lifty

Noel challenged the design team to scraplift one of the message board members, so I picked my sweet friend, Shannon. I loved the design of the layout you can find of hers, here, and I used it for inspiration for this layout of Chunka Munka.

[Er, Ariana.

We have GOT to stop calling her that. Poor thing will be 10 and we'll be still calling her "Chunka." hehe]

I used the glorious "Jump & Jive" kit (10 left!). I'm in love with the colors in this kit. They're not all colors that I normally gravitate towards, but I'm discovering that they are new favorites now. That's the fun in a kit to me- getting my out of my comfort zone from time to time and stretching in new creative areas!
ETA: I just realized I said I didn't naturally gravitate towards these colors, and then I clicked "Publish" and saw that this layout matches my blog background. HA!

It Takes Two Challenge

The newest challenge for NoelMignon is called "It Takes Two," and here's what we are challenged to do:

All you have to do is follow the rule of twos. ;)Anything you put on your LO you have to put two of. So that means if you are using Patterned Papers, then you must use two and only two. (Tip: Definitely pick double sided papers as you get more to work with that way!) Or if you are using Metal in some way (brads, stick pins, plaques, or flair buttons....), then you must use two pieces of metal, and only two. Does that all make sense? :D I hope so!

So this is what I came up with, using the Truly Scrumptious kit.

I fudged a little bit with it, because I'm sneaky like that. ;) But here's my "twos":

-2 pop-dotted, fussy-cut banners

-2 blue rhinestones

-2 highlighted words

-2 "photo mats" ;)

-2 photo corners

-2 die cuts

-2 cute pictures

I thought I would struggle more with this one, because I tend to think in threes with scrapbooking & design, but it came together pretty quickly!

Make sure to go check out the other girls' layouts, and join us in this challenge!

I just gotta be me challenge!

Noel challenged us to do a layout that is true to our style... it came out of a conversation on the message board that you can read more about, here. It's really cool to see how everyone's specific personalities and styles come out, whether or not they realize it!

This is how I described my style:

When I scrap, I tend to stick to the same design, because it is not really my strength and I start to stress about doing a "great design" and then it ends up all wonky looking! You'll see a lot of layouts from me with a photo (or a strip of three photos) centered or off to the side. My favorite part of scrapping is the embellishing and layering, so that is what I devote most of my energy to. I love to start with a fairly neutral background (kraft, whites, pale yellows, and grays are some of my faves) and then layer with paint or mists, patterned paper in rectangles & squares, ephemera, masking tape, and punched shapes. I love to add lots of distressing with inks & painted-on mists, tearing, and shabby chic/feminine touches. You'll always find some of my own handwriting on my layouts, too. I've had my work described as "haphazard" before and you know what? It fits me. :) Layout created with the Sweet Sue kit (7 left!) from NoelMignon!

No patterned paper??!! Are you kidding me?

Noel decided to torture us- ahem, I mean- challenge us to do a layout without patterned paper. We could use anything else... just no patterned paper.

After I picked myself up from passing out on the floor, this is what I came up with (using the new Office Party kit- 8 left!).

(Blue Mist, Shimmerz Mud Pie, Core'dinations Cardstock & October Afternoon alpha stickers from my stash.

Go try the challenge out. You may surprise yourself. This was actually a really fun & creativity boosting challenge! (P.S. There is a prize involved.)

And just for cuteness' sake... the Chunka Munka: