Challenging

Lush Life

This layout is from our trip to San Diego -- while the boys were at Warp Tour, David I went to Balboa Park.  These pictures are from the botanical building -- beautiful orchids and other flowers.  And the building with water garden in front is beautiful in itself.

I used the colors -- green, pink, and black -- from the monthly color challenge at Scrappin' Peeps.  I had chosen the background any way and then realized the pink mats would go well.  But the black really made the pics pop.  I was also inspired by the Random Challenge (Scrappin' Peeps again) to use photo collage in the style of leafrance.com.  Mine is not nearly as intricate as their collages, but has a bit of the stained glass feel with the black.  I originally had my photos placed differently, but the inspiration led me to their final positions.  I may go back and add some journaling or I may do it on the back.

Two from Seaport Village

It's been a while since I've posted.  I was about challenged out, so was off doing my own thing for a while.  But, I'm back gleaning inspiration from various challenges, like this one:

  This is actually last week's challenge at Scrappin' Peeps -- but I didn't get it down and photographed in time.  This is my version:

The background paper is DCWV.  And I didn't have to do much to it -- I added the tan shells paper (also DCWV), the turquoise swirly and vintage beach babe (G45), my photo and mats, and the journaling spot -- the borders and shells were already there.  This is from Seaport Village in San Diego -- where Scott got the captain's hat he's wearing.  Since then, whenever he wears it, SOMEone (and usually several) feel compelled to make comments about the hat.

For the companion page, I used this sketch:



This is September's sketch challenge from Scrappin' Peeps (the message board a bunch of old CKers started when CK closed theirs).

Here's my take on it:

I used the tan shell paper for background this time, added the G45 papers and some banners and colored shells I fussy cut from another sheet of the first page's background paper.  Journaling talks about how the boys and I have reach (sort of) a compromise.  They cooperate in my photos if I take theirs as well (including Scott with his finger up his nose and Ben in weird poses).  

Here's the two together: