A Challenging Challenge (edited)

Last week I wrote about a challenge at my not-so-local scrapbook store. This week I tried to tackle what I thought would be a relatively easy challenge. I made the obligatory trip to the store, bought the required items, gathered my photos and actually carved out some time to scrap. It was going well until I reached for one of my favorite punches and realized I couldn't use it! The guidelines of the challenge state you must use the listed items and you can only use additional items that have been purchased at their store. Darn! That ruled out most of my options. While I have contributed many a dollar to maintaining this store's financial well-being, I can't exactly tell you what I've bought there and what has been bought via other scrappy sites. And due to the inconvenient location of the store, a quick trip to purchase additional supplies was out of the question. However, I pushed ahead and this is what I came up with. The layouts are extremely simple, but what more can a girl do when she only has 3 items to work with...lol! I had to use one of the 2 new Basic Grey lines, either Marrakech or Porcelain, Core-dinations cardstock and any Technique Tuesday item.

The first layout was made using Marrakech paper along with cardboard and chipboard stickers. I layered tons of stickers to create the flower border. I also used the Ali Edward's "Loving Words" Technique Tuesday stamps.

While the title is a subtle sentiment, I think it says it all..."there is no doubt - i just love you."

I created an additional layout using the Marrakech line. The colors are so bright and fun!

My frustration with this layout set in when I automatically reached for my ribbon stash and had to stop myself. I tried to purchase ribbon at the store, but could find no good options. So I created some faux ribbon with the paper. Again, I used the "Loving Words" stamps. I think these stamps have quickly become some of my favorites.

(edited) The final layout is probably the simplest of all, but for whatever reason, it is my favorite. The photo of this layout doesn't do it justice. I'm not as fond of the Porcelain line because the colors are softer and I tend to always lean toward the more vibrant colors. I originally had this layout as a "mostly cardstock layout". But you know how an idea will come to you after walking away for a while? My struggle had been the use of patterned paper. Couldn't get it to look right to save my life. Well, last night...ahem...or this morning (3:00 am), it came to me. I like this much better.

All accents are stickers from the Porcelain line. I traced the butterfly on cardstock, cut it out and adhered the sticker with pop dots.

I used Technique Tuesday Technique Tiles for the hearts, using the Cuttlebug dotted swiss embossing folder to "embellish" the smaller heart. Thank goodness I remembered that I bought this embossing folder on my previous trip to the store. The word "bloom" was included on the sticker sheet or I would have been in a pickle trying to create a title. lol!

So that's it friends! It was the best I could do with what I had. Now I just have to find the time to get the layouts to the store before Saturday at 6:00 pm. Something tells me I won't be participating in anymore of the store challenges...it's suppose to be a challenge, but I was counting on it being less stressful...lol!

On a side note, if you are interested in trying to win some awesome new paper, be sure to go HERE! Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend! Until next time!