Another Mercy Tiara challenge comes to a close. Like over a week ago now. Oops. 
But you all know me. Actually I DID finish my layout in time I just didn't blog about it. No, really I actually did!
As usual I had the deadline breathing down my neck. For the month of April, March challenge winner, LeeAnn (aka LeeLee Scraps on YouTube) came up with a beautiful mood board for us to work with. It was designed with the northern hemisphere Spring in mind which is no issue for me since I don't scrap chronologically A copy of the mood board is posted below.
I had hoped to make TWO videos to go along with this challenge given the improvement in our setup, but alas it's just one and a rather longwinded "kit" walk through at that. I have been reassured many of us make not-so-great videos when we first start, but it doesn't reassure me too much! I ended up just filming the papers I chose to go along with the mood board - a kind of kit, but only the papers. There are still a few technical issues I'd like to iron out but we're almost there!
I tend to just make up kits containing paper only since I often have more than one sheet of the same paper and many more papers than embellishments. I can add those as I go.
So after the challenge was posted in Mercy Tiara's Facebook group, this is what happened (aka a look into PinkCraftyMama's "interesting" creative psyche. Proceed if you dare!):
I have such a hard time narrowing down papers in a kit and this is no exception. It's made harder when the mood board is so full of the colours and motifs I love. If I had to pick just three colours that jump out at me from the mood board, it's pink, aqua and yellow. My most favourite combo and most of my stash is one of these three I'd say!
After saving the mood board at the beginning of the month, I just thought about it for a bit. Several days later LeeAnn posted a video of her own choices and interpretation of her mood board. I loved this little insight into her thought process and her interpretation. This video is linked below.
LeeLeeScraps April 2017 Mood board Challenge Video
In summary, I felt the mood board included flowers, watercolour, stripes, rain/clouds/umbrellas, an animal, geometric shapes (triangles in particular) doilies, bunting, wood grain texture, fabric texture, brush script typography, hearts, circles containing colours and patterns, scallops, bright rainbow colours but mostly pink, aqua and yellow and plenty of black and white. Phew!
I had at least one specific layout in mind when I assembled the mood board, so it might have turned out differently had it not been the case. Given the size of the kits I think I'll only let myself take anything extra from my box of scraps.
Green was something that struck me about this mood board. Odd since I'm not normally drawn to green I don't dislike it, but have a hard time using it. I guess I mean a grassy emerald green like the leaves in the watercoloured flowers.
The other thing I really appreciated about LeeLee's video was the shout out she gave to scrap lifting. This us something I have had to do if I want finished layouts in my albums. Arthur* just doesn't let me do it all right now and I have found (through trial and error) that this part of the process is one I struggle with (at least at this point in time).
Sometimes I can do more than others and it took a long time to accept that I simply had to eliminate part of the process. I'd wistfully gaze at past cards and layouts I made without the use of sketches, but gazing at empty page protectors makes me feel worse.
Many very accomplished scrapbookers use sketches or lift others too. This gave me the idea of starting a kind of miniseries on this blog (and over on YouTube). There are MANY ways to use these and some dos and don'ts too. Scraplifting is so much more than just "copying" someone's work.
Meanwhile, here is MY moodboard video and links to all the relevant channels appear at the end of this post.
PinkCraftyMama's April Moodboard Video
The vast amount of paper doesn't worry me. I love these colours and patterns so much that I'll the rest of the paper kit to my other paper kits (!) and keep working with it. I definitely have some rainy day photos to scrapbook.
I knew the moment I saw the "Lovely Day" paper from Dear Lizzy's Lovely Day collection that I wanted it for this layout. Oddly, not an awful lot in the story about flowers. A little bit in my sister's home decor (photos were taken at her house), but that's about it! The red is probably coming from SCD's* shirt, but there really isn't any navy blue. Some black yes but I think I prefer navy. Perhaps I confuse that red shirt with another red and navy one he has??
Now before I get any further, no we don't encourage underage drinking, He had just a sip and doing it this way keeps alcohol from being a taboo and all of that.
In any case, this story is about an invitation for dinner and margaritas which had just the perfect timing! I printed the photos about 3x4 since the quality wasn't great and strangely for me, I had a rudimentary plan in my head for what I wanted this layout to look like!
I wanted what I call a "1/3 2/3 split" where 4" of the page has one paper and the rest in another, Combine that with the colours and main print I wanted, I certainly was way ahead of where I normally would be in my process!
I found this older page by Shimelle and it seemed like the perfect one on which to base my layout. I wanted the floral on the left so I had to mirror image the layout and I also loved the addition of acrylic paint.
"Concrete Planning"
by Shimelle Laine for American Crafts
I used Heidi Shine (yes I do mean Heidi Shine not Heidi Swapp Color Shine) in Navy since I had already used it on the DIY Thickers
The other Thickers needed surgery to make the "O" I didn't have left.
I also used a 3x4 card which had been "frankened" since the text and border were from 2 different cards.
The addition of the critters simply happened. Started with one die cut and then another and then it really needed a third.
The other think I knew I wanted from the start is that Kelly Purkey stamp on the bottom! I added a couple more for balance - One by Shimelle on the right and another Kelly Purkey Stamp on the left. The pages preceding this one in the album haven't been made yet, but put the story in context which is why I didn't need to put the back story into the journalling.
Other papers used on the layout came from Shimelle Laine's Little by Little and True Stories, Amy Tangerine's Finders Keepers, Paige Evans' Oh My Heart
Do I love the end result? Not so much. I definitely don't hate it, though. I admit I pulled up a bit off the bottom the following day and added another strip of yellow to give the illusion that the yellow box is a bit bigger.
Otherwise, probably too much "stuff" and too little contrast maybe? Patterns too busy? Pages like these typically happen after a break of even a few weeks since I want to use "all the things" not knowing when I'll scrap again. The solution is to scrap more often. Oh if only it were that simple!
Anyway I do want to try this page again - in its original "right to left" orientation and with acrylic paint.
So please subscribe both to this blog and my YouTube channel for more. I'm going to make a superhuman (for me) effort to do more and more often. It makes me excited, because I feel much better within myself when I scrapbook regularly and this had a flow on effect to other areas of my life.
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