Found another great challenge blog: Another Freakin' Scrappy Challenge!  Realized the deadline for their June challenge is, um, tonight, so I threw together this entry. 

They're having a Design Team call, at which I think I might throw my hat... in that spirit, I'll also post this page that I made for a DT call awhile back! 

OK, Wonderful Hubby being very patient and playing iphone games while I work, so I better go to bed! 

ScrapFit #70

Thank you, ScrapFit Challenge blog.  You make me feel like I worked out, when I haven't come within a mile of my gym for two weeks. 

I did work out though.  I flexed my imagination muscle.  HA.  (rimshot, ba-dum CHING)

Here's what I came up with for their 70th challenge:

I was pumped about this one, because I've been looking for an opportunity to use the "Polaroid" function on Picasa for awhile!  I loved Polaroids; I'm a junkie for instant gratifcation (and blurry tiny plastic-paper shots?). 

I guess Polaroids are hip now?  They just stopped selling the stuff in 2009.  If only they had known!  Ah, the irony of Polaroid going bankrupt because of the digital photography movement only to have people use their computers to edit their pictures to look like Polaroids. 

OH MY GOD it's HOT.  Guess the summer is HERE!  Which means, for the Nugget, two things: he gets to wear his swimsuit to day camp any day he wants, and he gets to wear nothing when it rains!

This layout was for a challenge at My Creative Sketches, whose sketch of the month looked like this:

My Scrapfriend Star was glad I substituted stars for the butterflies and flowers, because I LOVE butterflies and flowers and she HATES when I put them on my son's pages.  :)  Hey, I'd love if he eventually likes the scrapbooks that I've put together, but let's face it, they're probably for me.  At least until he's 30-something or has kids of his own.  And I like flowers. 

My other layout is for Color-Me-Scrappy's Sixth Challenge.  I loved this color scheme; you could go kind of punk rock/80's pop with it if you wanted. 

When I saw this picture, then this paper, this song popped into my head, and it all came together!

So delish!  Now, how long before that damn song is out of my head?

Sadness!  Scrapbook Calls & Challenges, my go-to spot to find, well... scrapbook calls and challenges... is closing!  Nooooo!  Where will I get my fix.  Guess I need to maniacally follow as many of my favs as possible. 

Anyway, this week, two challenges.  Color-Me-Scrappy #5, which I was excited about because the palette was heavy on neutrals, and I am more, shall we say, colorful?  (Refer to blog header)  Here's what I came up with.

Best parts of creating this page:
* tried to shop my own supplies before raiding Archivers.  That enabled me to use this awesome fence paper I've had around and loved but wasn't sure what to do with.
* Used Picasa to edit the picture colors to better match the theme
* Love the tiny keys from Tim Holtz. 

Second page for today was an entry for My Creative Sketches.  The sketch they're working from this month is:

I was looking for an excuse to scrap my daughter wearing my latest yard sale purchase, and this was just the time.  My take:

ARGH!  Bask in her adorableness!  I do. 

A little less scrappy than normal this week, with my Hubby out of town.  Just me and the kids holding down the fort, so my weekly Archiver's crop was postponed.  I did get out there to pick up a couple things (ah, the ever-present siren's call of Archiver's), and of course, an hour after I left, I got their weekly coupon in the mail!  How dastardly of them!  Impeccable timing.

Speaking of the siren's call...  here's one of my much-photographed Bean.  I had to decide between a bunch of shots for the smaller picture, and I had better ones of her smiling and such, but I just love her little expression in this one, I couldn't pass it up. 

And wow, doesn't my carpet make a lovely background?

Oh, I should holla at the sketch source, from The Big Book of Scrapbook Pages, which I have had checked out from the library now for at least three months.  Thrifty (cheap?) scrapbookers of Durham who also fulfill your inspiration needs at the public library, my apologies.  I promise I'll buy it.  With my coupon, even!

Paper Mixing Bowl #3

Ooh, almost forgot to post this one.  Coming in under the wire!

From The Paper Mixing Bowl, whose challenge blog I LOVE!  I'm not so much of a cook, more an eater myself.  But these "recipes" are a blast to put together.  This is my first try at their challenges and it was a lot of fun trying to make all the pieces come together.  I don't love how the scan came out, the top of the page looks wobbly when it's really straight, so I was going to take a picture instead, but I don't have time!  ah, excuses excuses!  Without further ado...

Color-Me-Scrappy #4

REFRESHED!

Had my weekly visit to Archiver's (aka, scrapbook wonderland) with my scrapfriend, Star (see her blog here).  Hoowhee, did I need it; about an hour before heading there, my son and I had the following conversation:

Nugget: (upset that it was time to turn off the TV and go to school) "But this is MY TV, mama."
Me: "oh!  You bought this TV for yourself?"
Nugget: "no..."
Me: "well, then it's our family's TV and it's time to turn it off and go to school"
Nugget: "I'm sick of this crap, mama."
Me: "What did you say?"
Nugget: (looking at me with most innocent face EVER) "I didn't say nothing, mama."
*pause*
Nugget: "I said I'm sick of clapping mama."

Yes, he's 3 going on 13.

Anyway, if you want to find me on Thursdays, I'm usually in Archiver's cropping room, chatting and munching chips with the other Thursday regulars, getting our craft on.  I used to get all stressed out about how many pages I got done during these visits, and having something to show for my time, staying on top of things, to try to feel less guilty about having a day off, but now, I just enjoy my time.  If I get two pages done, oh well, I still enjoyed myself.  I have other hobbies that, as much as I enjoy them, drive me semi-crazy (cake decorating: basically me and my entire kitchen covered in powdered sugar, totally pissed that I can't get the fondant to lay flat at the bottom of the cake).  Scrapbooking is my zen hobby.  Well, as zen as I get, anyway.

This week's page is for Color-Me-Scrappy.  I've participated in each of their challenges, and I think their format is pretty cool.  It's really amazed me how much inspiration you can draw from just a few swatches of color!

The colors this time around were perfect for our annual visit to the strawberry farm earlier this month.  So, two birds one stone, I guess: a challenge entry and a page for the Nugget's scrapbook!