I've left the island!

Well, I was voted off of Survivor - Scrapper Island over at PersonalScrapper.com. I was happy to have made it into the final four though. Even more so, I was thrilled to find out that since I made it into the top 6 that I will be able to guest design for them later this year. That was my favorite thing about the winning "prize package" - guest designing.

For my last week of Survivor, I completed 6 challenges. Here they are:

We had a "photojournalism" challenge to use a photo that tells a story. I thought this shot of Tom filling out the NCAA tournament bracket said it all.
We were also asked to complete two previous challenges. For one, I completed the "brad shape" challenge (semi-circles along a couple sides). The quote on this page was perfect for Kevin: "Forget Love, I'd rather fall in Chocolate"!!!

Another past challenge was to use "red, blue, the word sweet and a picture of me". This layout was my most detailed. I hand cut all of those gears out of patterned paper (what was I thinking??). I also sewed on the page and painted and inked the chipboard circle in the center to get it just the right shade. Now that's dedication!
This page is one of my new all-time favorites. I was asked to use a sketch that I had submitted in the beginning of the challenge. I had just taken this picture and opted to print it in b/w. I am so blessed to have these three guys!!!
There was a favorite room challenge and I decided to scrap Blake's room. He's the oldest like I was, but he's luckier because he actually gets his own space! I'm so glad we can give that to him. This page was just fun to make.
My least favorite challenge was to use my name (or initials-but come on, J & W???) on the layout with descriptive words about me. It was easier to use phrases.
This past week has been a crazy one. The boys baseball league had their opening ceremonies on Friday night and the boys played in tournaments all weekend. I will get pictures posted for that soon. :)

Kite Flying

Yesterday was a perfect day for kit flying! Blake's Cub Scout Pack had their monthly meeting at the lake and it was fun seeing everyone's choice of kite. I took the boys to pick out their kites. Blake chose a big shark shaped kite. Kevin went for a smaller "Cars" kite that came in a little pouch he could hook on his belt loop (and his was "no assembly required"!). The first picture is the boys showing off their new sunglasses. No, Blake isn't mad - he's trying to look tough!
Can you see the "shark" outline in the sky above Blake? Somehow I managed to get a picture of just our two boys in field. Really, there were a lot of other kids there, too!We had a great first two days of spring break - BEAUTIFUL weather! Now there is a chance of rain for the rest of the week. :(

Survivor Challenge 6

I wanted to post the Survivor challenges I did last week. Many of you saw them when you voted for me, but here is an up close look.
My first challenge was to scrap an inanimate object and to journal from that angle. I chose Kevin's bear Roar E. You might not be able to tell, but in the center of every starburst on this page, I inserted a brad.Challenge #2 was to create your own flowers for a layout. I used my new Janome Sew Mini sewing maching to stitch fabric, then I twisted it around to make a sort of rosette. I layered that over flowers I cut from felt and finished them off with a button. This one was fun and a step outside of my box.My most difficult challenge was to create a page based on a reality TV show. I chose TLC's "What Not To Wear" - hello...I graduated in 1992, so you know I had plenty of photos of outfits to choose from for this one. I was more than preoccupied last week, so the above layouts weren't my best work. I was really hoping to win immunity with the layout I submitted. The Design Team judged the layouts, but I wasn't selected. Still I was very proud of the layout I made. It includes pictures of the other five finalists. The two that were "voted off" this week are the two in the lower left corner.
I have six challenges to complete for round 7 that are due April 13. I just finished #3. So far I am REALLY happy with all of them. I can't wait to share them with everyone.

Survivor

I have been a member of a monthly scrapbook kit club, Personal Scrapper, for a few years. Erica, the owner, puts together the best assortment of the newest supplies. I have enjoyed participating in several of their contests and online crops. They give the best prizes! I was excited when they introduced a new “Survivor” challenge. Everyone who knows me knows how competitive I am! How could I not participate in an attempt to “out crop, out scrap, and out last”??? The game has gone from 25 to the final four and I’m one of the remaining four!!! Here’s a rundown of the weeks’ challenges:

Week 1: I was assigned another member’s layout to lift. (Wrapped in love)

Week 2: Originally we were divided into two teams and each team chose a theme for a layout - we did "family". Then I had to create a layout based on a sketch drawn by another member.

Week 3 was a little harder! (1) We had a team challenge assignment to make a layout using something red, something from the kitchen and either paint or ink. I used a cookie cutter to trace out the trees for my christmas cookie layout.

(2) We had to make our own creation out of chipboard. I made my own stars. (6th Man)

(3) I was supposed to scrap something “current”, it happened to be Feb. 29 the day I was working on this, so I scrapped that day. It doesn’t get any more current than that!

(4) We had a “progressive layout” challenge where we were given supplies to add to the layout every day.
(5) For the “create your own stamp” layout, I used a empty roll of ribbon. I dipped it in paint and stamped the background design on my page. I continued the circle theme throughout which was appropriate for Rolie Polie Olie. (You loved Rolie Polie Olie)

(6) We also had a progressive layout challenge. Every couple of days we were asked to add an item to the layout.

For immunity this week, we were given a list of supplies to use. We could ONLY use the items listed. I was able to complete 14 layouts and won immunity! (I’m not going to post all 14 of them though!)

Week 4: For the “game on!” challenge we were inspired by a favorite board game. (Sorry!)

The spring ahead challenge was to scrap a future goal.

For immunity, we had two challenges…A before and after layout and a layout where we created a brad design.

Week 5 brought on the "all about me" challenge - I had to create five layouts about myself. I really liked four of them. I'll spare you my 1994 Halloween costume layout! I scrapped about a gown I got in high school and still have (the gown). I took some silly self-portraits and created a layout to document my crazy car singing. (rock star) My two favorites were a fun "girly" layout with a self portrait and added a flower to my hair (a) and one simple one with shots of my childhood toys.

For immunity, we had to submit a white space layout. I won!!! ( i {heart} u)

New Layouts

I scraplifted some layouts out of the F/M issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. I loved using the Technique Tuesday Fundamentals Rings.

This is a 2 page layout for Blake's album with pictures from my nephew's birthday party in January.

I love this layout for Kevin about his room:
Here is our Easter dinner layout at Steak& Shake (we were on our way home from Evansville). I like how the circles resemble a record.

Last but not least...Kevin turning his back on me because he didn't want to finish his dinner (he finally did).