Takin' on the Challenge

I've found myself in a scrappin' funk recently. I'm sure the biggest part has been NOT scrapping. I've been doing the "mom" thing for the past several months. You know...driving the kids to every possible activity that they are involved in. Unfortunately, to the detriment of doing my own thing. I've missed being able to sit down and scrap. Okay, part of that has to do with not being able to see my desktop. Different problem, same result. So, with the advent of the new year, I decided to take on a challenge. Sometime last year, I picked up an awesome book by Elsie Flannigan. It's called "52 Scrapbooking Challenges". And it's filled with...you guessed it...52 scrappin' challenges. Ideas to spin off from and make your own.

Now, Elsie's style is a bit different from my own. She's eclectic (...I can do that...), very lumpy bumpy (...ditto for me...), quite colorful. But she's also quite a bit hip and funky (...not so, me...). And while I can think "out of the box", Elsie doesn't even know there IS a box to think outside of. She just DOES!

So, to help keep me on track, I'm gonna try to keep pace with Ms. Flannigan and tackle her challenges. I'm a tad bit behind so here's my hand at Challenges 1 and 2.

#1: WORK THOSE WORDS - Elsie asked us to journal on strips of paper. I found the perfect quote for my photo and did just that! And don't you just LOVE the cool blocks that are in the middle of this park in Spokane!















#2: FOCUS ON ONE PHOTO (convert to B&W) - I snapped this pic through the window while Samantha rehearsed for "Nutcracker". I cropped it down so she was the focal point, then added some fun dance-themed papers that pal Trudie sent my way (thx, GF!). Oh and they're designed by one of my favorite scrappin' ladies, Danelle Johnson (another winner, my dear!).
Journaling reads: "It's her passion...dance! So each year, Samantha auditions for the Nutcracker, setting aside other things that may come along so that she can focus on her art. To her, rehearsals are just as exciting as the production...well, almost. She dances with her whole heart and soul. It's what she was born to do."