Handsome Fellow

Hello Sassy People!

I believe there is a time in every crafter’s life when he or she gets burned out or lose their creative flow. I was there about a year ago. I would get ideas, but when I would go into my crafting space, things would not go right and I would be frustrated and leave. Although I was afraid, I took a well needed break. The reason why I was afraid was because I did not want to be so far gone that I did not return to something that was once enjoyable for me. 

After not even going in the room for months, I entered the zone. I felt on papers, I organized some items, I purged, and then something happened. I was inspired again! I rediscovered old items and rekindled love for machines I pondered on getting rid of. I was in love with the craft I started to despise! 

One of the first things I did was enter a challenge on one of my frequently visited forums. I had not used my Explore except for once (just to make sure it worked) and there is sat. The Cricut Challenge Forum allowed, actually forced, me to learn Design Space and use the Explore. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it cut. While the program lacks some features I use in other software, it is easy to use. This month, I joined a “lift” challenge as well. 

Why did I share all of this? Well if you ever get to that place, it is ok to take a break. When you finally feel inspired, join a challenge or two. Challenges make you accountable for creating (at least for me) and you can have encouragement from fellow scrappers! It was exactly what I needed after my slump.

Today, I am sharing a “lift” from a young lady who goes by Liljenny1. The challenge is to lift a layout of the person who signed up for the challenge ahead of you. While there was a lot to choose from in her gallery, I chose this one. It is a pretty clean and simple design. This is the first traditional scrapbook page I made in over a year and the first one of my son! This photo was taken on Resurrection Sunday. Here is my version:

I used navy Bazzill cardstock as the base. The photo was matted on white Bazzill cardstock. The pattern papers came from the DCWV Guy Stack and the Swagger stack by Fancy Pants. I did a few fishtails on the ends of those to add to the design (and to make it my own). I used brads I had in my stash to add a little interest to the page. The sentiment is from the Lovely Floral Cricut cartridge. It is on foam squares for dimension. I also added a little journaling to the page in a white gel pen and that is it! 

I hope you enjoyed today’s project! Remember to check back regularly for more inspiration, Kenya~