Category Archives: Challenges

Jun 25 2012

Design team reveal: Lorrie McCullers (June challenge #2)

For this challenge, I wanted to change it up a little and make a card, mainly so I could use this cool car stamp!

(I got this stamp several years ago from a friend and I have no idea who made this stamp! If you know the manufacturer, please let me know so I can credit them.)

For this challenge, I used 2 criteria: a chipboard embellishment and plaid paper.

Materials used:

Paper: Hobby Lobby kraft paper, Basic Grey “Oxford, DCWV card base

Embellishments: Unknown stamp, Simple Stories stickers, American Crafts ribbon, and Colorbok chipboard buckle

Ink: Technique Tuesday, Colorbox Cat’s Eye Fluid Chalk ink

 

Jun 25 2012

June challenge #2

Good day, scrappers! I hope everyone is having a great month so far. Only a few more days till July so let’s finish out June with a fun challenge!

The second challenge for June is a (little bit) late homage to Father’s Day. Let’s honor a dad in your life with a layout, card, or other craft project. Here are your criteria (you must use at least 2 of the 3):

1. Use embellishments made of chipboard or grungeboard
2. Include a plaid patterned paper or embellishment
3. Include at least three brads

So put your thinking caps on and get your mojo flowing. To join the challenge, share your project on our Facebook page. The project with the most “likes” will be entered into our quarterly drawing (which will be held after this challenge is completed).

We have a short window for this challenge. You only have until July 4 to enter!

 

Jun 11 2012

Design team reveal: Lorrie McCullers

 

I am loving Graphic 45′s “Tropical Travelogue” collection, so I couldn’t wait to use it for our June “blue” color challenge.  The bright colors make it so different from other Graphic 45 paper lines and it is perfect for those beach or cruise photos.

This photo was taken on our Disney Transatlantic Cruise two years ago. It was the day after visiting Castaway Cay, so I am a little sunburned in this one!

Materials used:

Paper: Graphic 45 “Tropical Travelogue”

Embellishments: vintage stamps by Making Memories, ticket and ephemera by 7Gypsies, flowers by Prima Marketing, metal washer by Tim Holtz

Ink: Quick Quotes Powder Puff Chalking Inks in Amaretto and Blue Hawaiian

 

Jun 11 2012

June challenge #1

Welcome to June!

Are you thinking about ways to beat the heat? I beat your favorite ways to escape include water, right? Well, in honor of cool water of all kinds our first challenge this month is all about…

BLUE!

So show us those layouts, cards, and other projects featuring blue as your main color! Post them to our Facebook page by Monday, June 25 and show them off. The project with the most likes is entered into the drawing for our quarterly prize.

Jun 6 2012

A new look!

It’s summer time! Here in the South, it is already hot, hot, hot. School is out, vacations have begun, and some of us (*looks around guiltily*) have gotten at least one sunburn. And what better way to celebrate the best season of the year than a new look for the blog?! All of the same goodies are here, just in fun new colors and a more streamlined look. What do you think?

Now for challenge news. It’s not good, folks. We here at BLTS have been slaving away, coming up with challenges and awesome projects to inspire all you crafty peeps, but we must not be doing our jobs because no one is stepping up and answering the call! We feel lonely. Our Facebook page feels sad. We want to see your cool layouts, cards, altered art, or whatever you feel inspired to do. So we have extended the deadline for 3 challenges until Monday, June 11. The challenges are as follows:

April #2 challenge –

Theme: “Your Furry Friends”

Requirements (Use at least 2 of the 3):

1. Use “My Name Is (pet’s name)” as the title
2. Doodle or draw a border
3. Double or triple mat the photo(s)

May #1 challenge –

Color challenge: yellow and cream

May #2 challenge –

Theme: Mom — In celebration of Mother’s Day, make a project with your mom in mind!

Requirements (Use at least 2 of the 3):

    1. Include glitter, glitter glue, or glitter embossing powder
    2. Use paper lace
    3. Use at least 2 different types of flowers (kinds of flowers — roses, daises, etc. — or materials — fabric, paper, etc.)

So choose one challenge. Choose two. Heck, choose them all! We want to see your take on them! Just post them on our Facebook page and then get everyone you know to come vote for your project. The person with the most likes from each challenge will be entered into the quarterly drawing for a prize!

 

 

 

Apr 18 2012

Design team reveal: Lorrie McCullers

Hello crafty peeps! I am super-excited to share my take on this challenge because it’s all about my kitty cats! My husband and I don’t have children so we love to show off our “fur-babies” as much as we can.

This is Kitty and Minnie. They are two of the most spoiled cats on the planet. They were both strays that just showed up at our house. We’ve been wrapped around their little paws ever since.

For this challenge, I used 2 of the criteria: I hand-drew a border around my letters and I double matted my photos.

Hand drawn letter borders

I was thrilled to get to use paper from a company that I discovered at Winter CHA called “Glimpses by Signify Pink“. This paper (called “I Heart Cats/Here Kitty Kitty) comes from their “Sit. Stay. Love.” line that is perfect for your pet pages! I fussy cut the words “I heart cats” from the front of the paper, then used little scraps from the “Here Kitty Kitty” side of the paper that features these cute kitties.

How cute is this paper?

Materials used:

Paper/cardstock — Bazzill and DCWV cardstock; Glimpses by Signify Pink “Sit. Stay. Love.”; Bella Blvd. “Making the Team”; Basic Grey “June Bug”; Sassafras “Monstrosity”‘ American Crafts

Embellishments — Basic Grey letter stickers

Ink — American Crafts Precision Pen; Quick Quotes Powder Puff  Inks in “Blue Moon” and “Midnight Confessions”

Apr 18 2012

April challenge #2

Hello crafters! I hope everyone is having a great April so far. This month is flying by so quickly. I’ve been busy getting ready for a big weekend crop event here in GA. I will be leading a make-and-take project which I will share with y’all next week.

So are you ready for our next challenge?

The theme for this challenge is “Your Furry Friends”. Yep, that’s right, it’s all about pets! Don’t worry if you don’t have a furry pet; we want to see all pets, so feathered, scaled, and all other pets are welcome too!

The requirements for this challenge are as follows (use at least 2 of 3):

 1. Use “My Name Is (pet’s name)” as the title
2. Doodle or draw a border
3. Double or triple mat the photo(s) 

Just make a card, layout, or home decor/altered art piece at least 2 of the requirements for this theme challenge and post it to our Facebook page by the time the next challenge goes up (May 9).  The winner of the challenge will be the project that receives the most “likes” on Facebook. The winning entry will go into the quarterly drawing that will take place after the end of the second June challenge.  So post those projects and get your friends to vote for you!

Apr 4 2012

Design team reveal: Lorrie McCullers

Happy April!

This month’s first challenge was to use pastels. If you know me, you know that I’m not a super “pastel” person. If I were a package of markers, I would be labeled “BRIGHTS”! However, I created this little altered art piece using pastels and I love it! Very girly and a cute addition to my scrap room. Click the picture for a larger, more detailed view.

Click the picture for a larger, more detailed view.

This is a paper mache “L” that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I covered it with scraps of paper from my stash using Mod Podge and then just added on things from my “fancies jar”. My “fancies jar” is my glass jar of little goodies like postage stamps, small buttons, keys, pins, shells, bells, and more that I have been collecting for ages. I wanted a vintage feel to this project so I knew I’d find something that would work in my jar. So if you find yourself with a bunch of little odds and ends, don’t toss them out… make your very own “fancies jar”!

Materials used:

Paper — Heidi Swapp, Marah Johnson for Creative Imaginations, 7Gypsies

Embellishments — The Girls’ Paperie dress form and heart die cuts and “follow your heart” stickers; Making Memories postage stamp, ephemera die cut, and metal crowns stickers; Heidi Grace and Prima flowers; Heidi Swapp “Ghost Clock” clock face; pearls, key and buttons (unknown)

Ink –  ColorBox Cat’s Eye Fluid Chalk Ink in “Chestnut Roan”

Adhesives — Mod Podge, Glue Arts glue squares

Apr 4 2012

April challenge #1 and an announcement!

We’ve got two exciting new things going on here on Better Living Through Scrapbooking. The first new thing is our first April challenge!

As always, the first challenge of the month is a color challenge. For this month, it’s all about PASTELS! So get some inspiration from those spring flowers and those Easter candies and show us your layout/card/home decor/altered art project featuring pastel colors.

To join in the fun, post your project to our Facebook page by the time the next challenge goes up (which will be April 18th).  The winner of the challenge will be the project that receives the most “likes” on Facebook, and the winning entry will go into the quarterly drawing that will take place after the end of the second June challenge (I am working on a pretty great prize for the drawing but I can’t tell you yet!). We would love to see your creations!

Now for the second exciting thing happening here at BLTS: Lorrie is taking over! Beth, our wonderful site owner and DT member has been running BLTS for a while now, but with her work and her other DT commitments, she just doesn’t have time to run the day-to-day stuff. So I (Lorrie) have stepped in as the new owner/administrator! Beth and I will still be posting our projects as usual, but you are going to see some cosmetic changes to the site. We will also be holding a design team call in the very near future!

Thanks to all of you for your continued support!

Mar 21 2012

Design team reveal: Lorrie McCullers

This layout was so much fun to make! It’s about my wonderful friend Kerry. She and I met several years ago when I hosted a crop and we hit it off immediately. We are both scrappers, both New Kids on the Block fans, both Disney addicts, both fans of cheesy 90′s dance music… the list could go on and on! I am so lucky to have her as a friend!

For this layout, I used two of the three challenge items: ribbon (fabric embellishment) and a brad (metal embellishment).

Materials used:

Paper/cardstock– Hobby Lobby kraft cardstock, Fancy Pants, Bella Blvd., My Mind’s Eye, Sassafras Lass, American Crafts, Teresa Collins

Embellishments– GCD Studios chipboard embellishment; Colorbok stickers; American Crafts chipboard embellishment; Girls’ Paperie die cut; Making Memories letter stickers and flower;  button, brad, ribbon (unknown)