Project Life - May / June

Hi Everyone!  Carol here!  Here's Project Life for May / June!  

I haven't done Project Life for a couple of years now. I did it for three years, and loved it, but then it reached a point where it was too much. I've meant to do Project 12, because I LOVE that concept, but still, haven't been able to get that together. Maybe next year!

So, I'm just going to show you a GREAT sketch, and what I created using that sketch!

This is the fabulous double page layout by the amazing Becky Fleck of PageMaps fame! This is one of the May 2013 sketches:



So, I decided to document the passage of time. This is "A Year In The Life". I added the ". . . well almost", because that last photo was taken when Emily was 11 + months! Just shy of one year old!

Here's a closer look at each side of the layout:





I used my fabulous DT kit which features Fancy Pants Trendsetter! Love this collection! 

So, your challenge is to use that fabulous sketch! That's it! Let it inspire you somehow! If you don't want to make a two-page layout, just pick one side!

Create a new layout for this challenge.

Upload your layout in the gallery and link back here by June 30th for an entry into this month's prize drawing.

Have FUN!

Are you ready for our annual Throwdown competition?

Are you ready to get cooking?  It’s that time again here at Memorable Seasons, time to gear up for our annual Throwdown competition.  This year we are going to throw in a little twist; we are looking for someone to name as the first ever Top Chef!  Sound like fun?  Make sure you stop by and join us for tons of recipes that mean we are cooking up fun in big quantities!

Details:  Every Tuesday the DT will be offering an appetizer challenge that will have you creating a tag/card and then each Friday you will receive a main course challenge.  The DT will provide you with a recipe to cook up your creation with, but it is up to you to add just the right touch of spice to have you named as the weekly top chef.  Random prize drawings will occur each week and on the final week, our Top Chefs will come head to head in and all out war for the prize pack and honor of being named the first ever Top Chef of Memorable Seasons.

Stop by Thursday, June 6^th for your first appetizer recipe (normally posted on Tuesdays) and the main dish recipe will be offered up on Friday, June 7^th.  Can’t wait to see what you can cook up!

Reveal Day with our May GDT, Colette!

Hi everyone! Colette here. Oh my goodness! What a fun month we're having here at Memorable Seasons! And the highlight for me is being the Guest Design Team player for May! I was tickled to bits when I was invited to join the talented Memorable Seasons DT for a month. AND ... I was even MORE excited when I discovered I was going to be working with some Fancy Pants products for my projects!

How did they know that Fancy Pants is my favorite manufacturer? It seems I love nearly everything they produce. And, Down By The Shore is no exception. It's another winner, in my book. I love the bold colors, fun patterns and the little bit of whimsy of this line and really enjoyed playing with all the products.

Just LOOK at the awesome stuff I got in my kit! Seriously ... it was like peeking inside a CIRCUS tent!

And the reverse sides were just as good! 



And, I couldn't help myself ... I just had to order some extras that I thought would coordinate well with the items in my kit! And while I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them ... I never do until I actually start scrapping ... I know that they'll be fun to play with ... if not this month then on future projects for sure!



I could barely wait to tear into the red corrugated paper! You know how I'm obsessed with texture on my pages and the red cardboard was so easy to work with ... and a lot less messy than painting plain cardboard. 

Manufacturers go to a lot of trouble designing products within a line that coordinate with each other. The 12" sticker border strips is a perfect example. Each one cute on it's own .. but I wanted to use them together. So I created an outside border on my page using four of the sticker strips. Then, the red corrugate paper became my base for layers of patterned papers. 

I must admit, I was a bit intimidated by the anchor pattern. Somehow I had it in my head that I needed a 'nautical' photo or theme to be able to use the anchor pattern. Until I realized that the anchors are just another repetitive shape and there was no reason not to use it like I would any 'geometric' pattern. I popped that up by mounting it on a piece of foamboard and then finished it off with some random splatters, drizzled glitter, and a couple of cute embellishment clusters. 







Well, after completing the first page I had some strips of red corrugate laying on my desk that had been trimmed off from the first project. I'm not one to let a good scrap go to waste so I decided to create a corrugate border on my next page. This time I started with the reverse side of the Echo Park number pattern as my base. Then added 1/2" red corrugate strips as another layer. 

My photo for this page is about our pathetic attempt to take an arm's length self-photo with an iPhone. It turned out blurry and unflattering. But, that's NOT going to stop me from scrapping the moment. I figured I could get a little 'grungy' with this page and wanted even more texture to the background. I've got a Tim Holtz brick embossing folder that I thought would be cool. But, I could only emboss a 4 x 6 area at a time. And it couldn't be any wider than 6" or it wouldn't run through the Big Shot. So I cut my paper in half, embossed each piece a couple of times to cover the majority of the surface, then adhered both pieces to the page butting the seam together. It wasn't going to be a problem because I knew that most of the 'seam' would be covered up with layers. I finished the background by doing some random stamping and splatters on the embossed brick, then adhered it with a few strategically placed strips of washi tape.





Another fun thing I did on this page was to use the Fancy Pants packing as the pattern paper behind my photo. The 'patterned stripe' is actually the photo jacket that lines the inside of the package when you buy the full line of Down By The Shore papers! Like I said ... I don't let ANY good scraps go to waste! bbwahahaha




Down By The Shore suggests beachy photos. And this line DOES have a tropical feel to it. But, sadly, we're no where near a beach here in Arizona. The next page features a photo of my peeps on a very hot Arizona afternoon last summer. We went to a local resort for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and sunburned faces, swimsuits and flip flops is what we consider tropical around here! 



A few highlights on this page? The 'faux embossed' orange strip of paper on the right where I die cut some journaling from the paper then adhered the letters to another strip of the orange. And, isn't that little string tie envelope so cute? It even holds the souvenir room keys from the weekend. Can you spot another border sticker strip? And, did I mention how much I love this red corrugate paper? 







Okay, it's pretty easy to see that I'm having a blast playing with these papers! And, I'm loving how the pages are turning out. But, I felt like I had to at least attempt to do something with the octopus and the whales! bbwwahahaha Thankfully, I was able to into the Memorable Seasons gallery for some inspiration! 

Lisa B is our Memorable Seasons Member Of The Month! WooHoo! And, I definitely wanted to play along in that challenge! So I headed over to Lisa's gallery to find something to lift/inspire. It was tough to narrow it down to just one. 



But, I had this photo of cousins in the pool and the orientation worked with this layout by Lisa and allowed me to get a little octopussy and whale-ish on the page! ohhh, isn't this just so stinkin' CUTE??!!! And, adding some googley eyes to the creatures sure didn't hurt the cute factor. 







Now just tell me ... who wouldn't love to get this card? Especially if there was a gift card tucked inside the little bag on the front!!! 





Can you tell how much fun I had working with these awesome products? Seriously, I would highly recommend you get your hands on some Down By The Shoreand play! It's been such a privilege to hang out with the DT this month and I want to thank Wendy and the awesome creative staff here at MS for the opportunity. But hey, we're not done yet! Stay tuned for a couple of fun challenges that I'll be throwin' your way this week! 

Guess who is our GDT for May!

So can you guess from the sneaks attached who the May GDT is?  I can tell you we are in for a treat!  Check back tomorrow for a full reveal!

Song Title/Lyric Challenge!

Hi all! Megan here and it's time for another challenge! 

Sometimes I struggle with the title or journaling for my layouts. It's always hard trying to find something creative that also expresses the sentiment of your page. Well, I found a great place to turn for title and journaling help is to song titles and lyrics. So my challenge to you is to create a layout (or two cards) with either a song title or lyrics somewhere on it. 

Here's my example using my Fancy Pants Trendsetter Kit! 

Rules: 

• Create a new layout or 2 cards for this challenge. 
• Please upload your creation into the gallery and leave a link in the challenge thread on the forum by May 31st. 
• And have fun!

It's challenge time!

Hello, friends!  Jennie here and I have a new challenge for you!  It's a MIXED MEDIA challenge!  For some of you, this is old hat.  For me -- it's not! I definitely need the practice.  SO, let's rock this challenge!

I'm talking about gesso, paint, etc.  Mist doesn't count, though you can certainly use it in addition to your other mediums.  Don't worry if you don't have fancy options -- acrylic paint or watercolors will do just fine!

Here's what I came up with:

I can't wait to see what you make.  For this challenge create a layout or two cards using multi-media mediums.  Upload to the gallery.  Link back the challenge in the message board by May 31 for a chance to win the monthly prize!

Come join the team at Memorable Seasons!

It is that time again, to begin the search for some new DT members.  We will miss our current team, (although some may be returning), they have inspired us greatly over the course of their terms. We all sincerely thank them for all their hard work and dedication to the store and us members here at MS.

Here are the details for our DT call and we would love for you to apply and also share the information wherever you are able.

Memorable Seasons http://www.memorableseasons.com/ is holding a Design Team call until May 25^th, a decision will be made by June with the new team starting in July.

Memorable Seasons is an on-line scrapbook store, gallery and message board dedicated to documenting all the seasons in your life. We are searching for a few designers to complete our team.

To apply, please email the following to wantenucci@gmail.com
1.  Your full contact information: name, phone number, email address, and mailing address. Include your message board name if you sign up for the gallery under a name other than your given name.

2.  Links to your online gallery, blog and/or resume, if available
 
3.  A short paragraph about why you would like to be one of our designers and what you would add to our team.

4.  A list of your current scrapbooking commitments – other DT work, etc.

5.  Attach the following items
photos or scans of 3 total projects to include
• your favorite layout
• one card
• one altered item or an additional layout

Restrictions:  Only US addresses at this time.  Also, we prefer those who are not currently on a design team affiliated with an online store (etsy’s are fine). Manufacturer, sketch site or kit clubs with no stores attached are okay.

Design team members will receive a monthly kit sometime after the 10th of the month. You are required to create and share at least 4 projects using mostly the items in your kit on the 1st of each month. One of those 4 projects must be a card. Other requirements include choosing a layout of the week, issuing DT challenges, posting to the blog and FB on a rotating basis, active participation on the message board, on line crops, and any other promotions that may come up. Term is 9 months with an option to apply again after sitting out one term. If selected to join our team your 9 month term will begin in July 2013.