Better Living Through Scrapbooking Reveal Day!

Time for a new challenge!  Have you been playing along?  When you complete all four challenges for the month, you are eligible to win one of the great monthly prizes from our generous sponsors.  Take a look at them on my right sidebar.  You don't have to finish one challenge before the next one comes out.  You just have to complete them all in one given month to be entered for the goodies.  I love the concept of Better Living through Scrapbooking which is "challenges to heal your soul and inspire your mind."  Give us a visit.  I bet you'll find a challenge you'd love to do that will help you grow in this hobby!

Let me tell you about this week's challenge:
"Holiday paper challenge”
Use holiday-themed papers (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, 4th of July, etc.) to create a non-holiday themed page layout or mini album.

Choose at least two of the following:

1. Use photos that are at least five years old.
2. Use punches or a die-cut machine to hand-make embellishments or letters out of patterned paper for your page.
3. Use pop-dots to give 3-D dimension to an element of your page.
4. Use numbers in the title of your page.
5. Use rubber or acrylic stamps somewhere on your page.
 
 

 
When I pulled out this picture, the first thing I noticed was Shane's shorts. Look at all those colors! I thought of Hallowe'en in Wonderland right away. It is just the perfect match! Have you noticed lately that many holiday papers are useful all year round? That is such a great trend! Those fabulous double sides are a bonus, I think, and make patterned papers so much more valuable. Doesn't this holiday paper work perfectly for this every day photo?

I really like that although this paper seems busy, Shane's little face is the focal point. I've used four options on this page that I hope will inspire you. My photos is actually 20 years old. Boy, this little guy turned into a man quickly! Shane's matted picture, the word "play," and the banner are all popped up. I combined the last two options by stamping his age at the bottom. These were not options, but I added a couple of other techniques to the page. I've distressed all of the paper by simply rolling the edges. It's easy, and it adds great dimension! I also sewed on my page with one of the Granny Stitch'z template and purple floss from Bazzill. This template set is fabulous! It has 8 different edging stitches, and it's they are so easy and fun to work with. The purple floss is from the Crayons floss set. Both of these items can be found at a great price from Discount Cardstock.

Items used: Bazzill Eggplant Felt Cardstock, Granny Stitch'z Template, and In Stitch'z Crayon Floss Card (Discount Cardstock); Hallowe'en in Wonderland (Graphic 45); Journaling Block (Quick Quotes); Transparency Frame (Colorbok); Big Kids Slice Design Card (Making Memories); Black Buttons, Alpha Stamp Set, Swirl Clip, and Black Archival Ink (Close To My Heart); Hemp and Vintage Ribbon (stash)