The Story of Rising to the Challenge

I think there's something hard-wired in me that responds best to a challenge. I find that when I sit down to scrap I need to have some specific purpose in mind - whether that be DT work, a challenge blog, a certain story that I need to get out of my system, or an upcoming event. I love the feeling of conquering the task I guess.

The task can come from anywhere, or from anyone. I don't really mind. For these two cards I'm sharing today the challenge was actually set by my Mum. She asked if I could make her a card for a wedding, and a card for a new baby boy.

Well... that I can do!

For the wedding card I turned back to my favourite Studio Calico kit for the year "Sugar Rush" because I knew it was filled with lovey dovey Valentine's themed papers - which would work perfectly well for this too.

Whilst the baby boy card became an exercise in using up as much scraps and old stash as I could find!

I really haven't got a very organised system when it comes to storing my embellishments. If truth be told, I have a 12x12" box on my desk and any packet of journal cards, stickers, flowers, rubons, whatever... it all goes in there. I keep my kits together, but that's a different story.

There's packets of embellishments in that box that date back to when I began to scrap seriously in 2010. I give a lot of stuff away (on my Instagram, and Facebook and here too) so it doesn't get too overwhelming, but I'm certainly not one to just throw stuff away.

I love the chance to occasionally go through it and find as much coordinating product as I can to pile onto one project like this! Mix in just a little touch of new stuff so it doesn't feel dated and no one would ever know right? Spot anything you recognise?

The Story of February 14th

Hurray for love! We've got some friends who've decided to get married on Valentine's Day this year which is super-exciting. Seems like a good day to get married right?

The February Studio Calico Sugar Rush kits are filled with perfect supplies for me to throw together a card for the occasion. Hearts of course was where I started. I love the plastic wonky hearts that came in the Main Kit. They're soft and flexible and have just the right amount of opaque-ness (surely that's a word?!) in my opinion.

Then there was the white-on-kraft die cuts that come in the Main Kit too. Because there was actually the word 'February' I decided that I could incorporate the description of the wedding date right into the card. Maybe it'll help serve as a reminder of their anniversary in years to come ;-) Yep, 11 years on in my own marriage and my husband still sometimes gets confused about our anniversary.

The other papers I used for the card actually come from the Rock Candy Add On Kit. This kit is unfortunately already sold out. The Add On Kits all went in record time this month - they were soooo popular! The Main Kit is still available though. But just a reminder, if you're a subscriber you actually get first dibs on the Add Ons as you get exclusive access 12 hours earlier than non-subscribers. That's a great way of helping you secure what you want at reveal. 

There's some great offers on at the moment if you want to sign up for a subscription....

Use the codes: HFSTAMPSB if you sign up to the Scrapbook Kit, HFSTAMPCARD if you want to sign up for a Card Kit subscription, and HFSTMPPL if you're Project Life Kit inclined! The offer is valid until the 26th. Click right here to sign up!

But wait! There's actually an even better offer if you're already a subscriber! I'm fairly confident I'm going to take advantage of this one myself ;-) I really want to start getting the Card Kits as well!

Use the codes: SB4TEN to add a Scrapbook Kit subscription, CARD4TEN to add a Card Kit subscription, and PL4TEN if you're thinking of doing Project Life this year. Again, the offer is valid until the 26th. Click right here to sign up!

Sugar Rush Reveal Part 2

It's HERE, it's here! The Studio Calico Sugar Rush Kits are now ON SALE to everyone. You really should rush because these are bound to sell out quick :-)

I blogged my first 3 layouts here, and now it's time to show you the rest. I just could not stop creating this month! Part of it was because I had more time to play around this time, but mostly it was because these kits really spoke to me. They're just my style and colours! And even though there's a bit of a romantic Valentine's Day theme to them you'll notice that none of the following 3 layouts have anything to do with love!! Well... not in an obvious way!

4. "Things to Remember on a Bad Day"

I used mainly the Gum Drop Add On for this layout, with a bit of the Main Kit thrown in too (the pink alphas, cloud, deer, and plastic hearts). It started with a story I wanted to tell. Well, not a story as such. If I wrote in a diary then this would be a diary entry, but I guess that's why I scrapbook instead. It serves the same purpose for emotional therapy by journaling it all out.

I don't think scrapbook layouts have to always be sunshine and lollipops. I think they should be real life. And real life throws you some bad days occasionally. That's why I thought the stamp in this Add On was perfect for my page, and why I turned the Gold Dipped Leaves into raindrops by trimming off one end to suit the theme better too.

Earlier this year I had a really difficult week at work. It's easy to forget that the field of Obstetrics has difficult situations and bad outcomes too. And usually when it's bad in Obstetrics... it's real bad. I won't go into the details but it really rocked me emotionally. The type of rocking that made me think thoughts like 'is this what I really want to do for the rest of my life?'

And then came a moment that reminds me why I love this job and why I get so much satisfaction from it. Ironically it started off difficult too... a baby's life hanging in the balance. It was stuck in the birth canal, giving us only minutes to try and deliver it. After some nail-biting moments of watching others attempt some manoeuvres I was able to rush in and try a different technique to deliver this baby safely to it's anxious parents. The impressed and grateful Dad asked what my name was (yes in the emergency of the situation I had failed to introduce myself properly!) and immediately named his new daughter 'Natalie'. What an honour! What a life-changing moment! Yes I love my job!!

So the pages of journaling are hidden behind my photo in this type of book which is attached to my page. It allowed me all the space I needed to write it all out, whilst keeping the details obscured from view.

5. "Countdown"
On a much lighter note my next layout is about scrapping my New Years Eve photos!

I've used the whole mix of kits on this one. The papers, Amy Tangerine stamps, Silver Triangles and Chipboard Cameras are from the Jelly Beans Add On. The kraft die-cuts are from the Sugar Rush Main Kit, whilst the Gold Alpha Stickers and Clips are from the Gum Drop Add On. The Chipboard Stars are from Rock Candy Add On, and did I mention there's a digital stamp on my photo from the Card Kit Digital package?!!

It was all those gold and silver bits that made me think of celebrations, and New Years Eve was a recent one obviously! It was one of the first opportunities I had to test out my new dSLR camera and I was really happy with how these photos came out. I'm no expert, but it sure makes a difference from my iPhone pics ;-)

6. "Mr Whippy Came By"
My last layout took me right back to the beginning again as the only thing on here that's not from the Sugar Rush Main Kit is the Silver Triangles from the Jelly Beans Add On.

Inspired by the Ice-Cream Die Cuts from Life Love Paper, I used those Silver Triangles to represent the cones, and Enamel Dots for sprinkles. That was a little genius moment if I do say so myself ;-) I literally did a little fist-pump when I thought of it!
But if you follow me on Instagram then you're probably asking yourself how did a layout about ice-cream make me teary?

The story goes like this: it was my niece's 1st birthday and we were having a party in the sunshine. There were lots of kids around and plenty of family too of course. Suddenly we heard the chimes of a Mr Whippy coming around the corner. I bet he wasn't anticipating having 25 customers at one stop, but it was the perfect moment for us! As we go rushing out the front to buy ice-cream my Grandmother states "can I have one too? I've never had Mr Whippy before and I'd like to try it". 80-something years my Grandmother is, with all that life-experience behind her and I still get the privilege of sharing this 'first' (and possibly only) moment with her.

So there you go! Have I convinced you to fall in love with Sugar Rush as much as I have?! LOL!
Check out the whole release here, and perhaps sign up for a subscription so you don't miss out on a thing (think: shopping 12 hours earlier, exclusive deals, freebies, and more!)

Happy Scrapping,
xx


Sugar Rush Kits and Coordinating Supplies I Used:

Sugar Rush Scrapbook Kit Rock Candy Add On Gum Drop Add On Jelly Beans Add On Sugar Rush More Colour Sugar Rush Printables by In a Creative Bubble Sugar Rush Printables by Hello Forever Love You Cut Files by Hello Forever Sugar Rush Cut Files by Life Love Paper Sugar Rush Lili Niclass Digital Stamps Sugar Rush Card Kit Digital Stamps Sugar Rush Project Life Digital Stamps More White More Vellum Mister Huey's Inky Black Mister Huey's Garden Mister Huey's Ocean Mister Huey's Double Yellow StazOn Black Hero Arts Shadow Ink: Pool Hero Arts Dye Ink: Blue Dew Drop Ink: Platinum Planet Prima Chalk Ink: Old Rose Versamark Watermark Ink Zing Embossing Powder: White Tiny Attacher Martha Stewart Glue Pen Precision Pen Glossy Accents This to That: Foam Circles

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