Better Living through Scrapbooking Reveal Day!!

We all do it.  We buy paper and then we get home only to look at it again and think..."boy is this paper ugly!"  I guess we should say that it's just not our favorite - LOL!!  So that is what the 4th challenge for the month at Better Living Through Scrapbooking is all about - your least favorite paper.  Search your stash for sheets or scraps of paper that aren’t your favorites, and use them on a layout!  Chose at least 2 of the following:

1. Use a 12x12 sheet of “ugly” paper as your layout background.
2. Use at least 3 scraps of “ugly” paper somewhere on the page where they can be seen.
3. Use 2 4x6 photos, any orientation.
4. Use “stitching” somewhere on the page. It can be actual sewn stitches, or your stitches can be hand drawn, created with a template, or stamped.
5. Use color mist (such as Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, or a homemade ink or paint mist) anywhere on your page.

Would you like to see mine?

It’s not in the right colors for me, and it’s somewhat muted. But here it is – having sat in my craft room wondering when it was going to be loved!

This challenge was the perfect time to bring out this paper. I have used three of the challenge options on my layout. I used the cardstock and printed paper as my background (#1). I also used three other different papers from the set on my layout (#2). The faux stitching was done with a white Uniball (#4). That always a little something.  I like the pictures very much! But even though I “cuted” this up – just not sure. The funny thing is that now I have to make a matching page – LOL!!

Items used: Recollections Rockets and Sprockets; Bazzill carstock; White Uniball; Ranger Glossy Accents; American Crafts Thickers

Let's see what you can create.  Link it up to Better Living Through Scrapbooking when you're done.  This is the last challenge for August!  If you do all four, you are eligible to win the monthly prize!!  Check out my sidebar to see those goodies!!

I really hope you get the chance to play - either this week or the coming months.  As an instructor, I am always looking for ways to grow in paper crafting.  I appreciate - and love - what Better Living Through Scrapbooking is all about.  The challenges are fantastic, and I think that you'll find you would grow in them, too!  There is a newsletter you can sign up for right here, and you'll get great tips and articles.  This month there is a great sketch in the newsletter, and here is what I did with it.

My cat, Miss Sassy, and our dog, Miss Chanel #5 (yes, she was named after Coco Chanel by our 21 year-old son!), are a constant source of photo inspiration in this house. I do believe they think they are human!!

Let me tell you a little about how I make “designer” buttons. It’s so quick and easy if you take clear buttons and scraps of whatever paper you are working with. Put a little Ranger Glossy Accents (or CTMH Liquid Glass) on the back of the button. Set it down on the top of the paper. Let it sit a couple minutes to adhere. That’s it! You can use your paper piercer to poke through the button holes to thread with your choice of floss. Easy peasy, and it adds a nice touch!

Items used: Imaginisce Apple Collection; CTMH Colonial White CS; CTMH Clear and New England Ivy buttons; Hero Arts Hello Flags stamp (I stamp on the wrong side of the paper, fussy cut my banners and mount them on matching paper); CTMH white hemp; Chicks with Lasers die-cut