Friday, April 27, 2007

Challenge #1

Our houses are full of stuff.
Items that decorate and things that clutter.
Necessities of life and objects of desire.

And then there are the things that bring a smile to our face in the middle of a rainy day or just by walking by. The object that may just be mundane to any family member or visitor; but to you, it stirs up a memory that overwhelms you. It can be a well worn shirt, a bric-a-brac from a vacation long ago or even a new pair of shoes.

Something. Anything.

I want you to create a layout about this object. And journal what comes to mind.



















"Just Wanted You To Know..."

Artist: Melissa Raphael
Blog: random pieces of me

Me? Melissa. I am happily married to Andy (almost 5 years) and mommy to Tanner (just turned 3!). I am a preschool teacher, but have a million other things that I would rather be doing. Like scrapbooking. And blowing bubbles with Tanner. And eating chips and salsa with a tall glass of Pepsi while watching Heroes.

I started scrapping just over 3 years ago, right after Tanner was born. I had heard about scrapbooking before Andy and before Tanner, but didn't think it was me at the time. I was single and unattached, what was I going to scrap? The dinner I had on a Thursday night or the magazines I read by the pool? To me, scrapbooking was about preserving memories. And, I thought those memories had to be of people, not objects. Of events, not the everyday routines.

Guess I was wrong.

After Tanner was born, I wanted a way to remember him as a baby. More than just his baby book (which is not even up to date). I got into scrapbooking. A quick trip to Michael's and I was ready to go. I remember my first page. It was of me, in labor, at the hospital.

And, it took all day to complete. But, it got me hooked.

If I had to classify my style, I would call it simple. I don't like a lot of stuff on my pages. I love to use little accents, such as brads and buttons. And, I am a hand-written journaling kind of gal.

I really love to buy scrapbooking supplies, and usually stock up on goodies from Making Memories or 7Gypsies. I also love to play with KI Memories, Scrapworks, and Scenic Route.

28 comments:

~Telah said...

Great layout! Great site! I love those little shoes...how cute. I am going to try to come up with something this weekend to submit.

Jude said...

Hey guys, everything looks great! Telah, you are our first official comment I think! :)

Linda said...

this is so cool. i love the lo...love the info about Melissa and all that...fun stuff. Congrats for getting it going.

Amber Ulmer said...

hey girls... found the site from muh girl, Judes blog... LOVE what Im seeing!!! Ill definately be joining in !!! xoxo

Anonymous said...

Cool! Love the concept of this blog...definitely going to be a stopping spot for me every week! I'll see if I can whip something up for the challenge (get back to you soon, heh-heh)!

Congratulations on the launch of your new site...such a positive and awesome idea!

Anonymous said...

(My daughter just got a pair of pink crocs for her birthday and the 'pink' is so her!)
this is a great challenge! - I have so many things that I kept when my grandparent's houses were being sold and I want my kids and their kids to know what "stuff" came from where. I'll have lots to choose from for this challenge!

Vee said...

awesome site!!
think I will try to whip something out for the challenge as well

Leigh-Ann said...

i like your eye on beauty in the small things. Nice finding more out about you Melissa.
This is a cool site :)
Smiles,
Leigh-Ann

Anonymous said...

Great job Mel! I am so glad someone has noticed your talent. I am so behind you on this thing too. I hope it is just a springboard for people to discover the undiscovered talent out there. Starting with you.
Love ya Mel!

Julie Ann Rachelle Interior Design said...

Great blog!

Heidi Joe said...

YAY! I know Melissa from our tag swap, so I mosey-ed on over here...

This is such a fun blog and I can't wait to do the challenges! The LOs that are already posted are seriously blowing me away. Love it!

Tenny said...

great idea for a blog! and just fun because everyone should name themselves on a "design team." thanks liz ness for mentioning it:) and i might even get around to posting a lo, you guys just seem so cool, how could i not?!

Anonymous said...

well ladies, I have taken the photos and I am going to scrap them tomorrow and post! Hey I want my 15 minutes!!!
love the concept and the title and how you are all "cool like that" winks!

Edleen said...

this is awesome!
will try and play along too :)

cheers!
from Singapore :D

Daffie Online said...

Great blog! Fun first challenge :-)
At the moment I am having some sort of scrappers block, but I might join one of the next challenges :-)

Cheryl Wray said...

SO excited to find you!!! Wandered over here from Jessi's blog, where she was showing you some love!!
I'm definitely going to work on this challenge--is there one a week? a deadline? anything like that?
Love challenges, so I'm really excited about you guys! (And cool to see some familiar faces here too!)

Cheryl Wray said...

And oh, Melissa, a nice drink and Heroes sounds perfect to me too!

elizabeth said...

wow! great blog! was blog hoppin' and found ya'll and i'll def. be back. so i don't know if i am doing this right, but i just post a link to lo right? this is an older lo that i did but i love it to pieces :)

http://members.aol.com/emma81399/sc7

Anonymous said...

Love this blog... great challenge... knew immediately what I need to take a picture of... Found this blog through Kal's blog. Thanks for all the instant inspiration on a Monday!

Anonymous said...

here is my take on the challenge...
http://pattyschaffer.typepad.com/capture_the_details/2007/05/stuff_challenge.html
it was fun! patty :-)

Greta Adams said...

in my bloglines you go...

will have to participate in this.

Is there a deadline?

Hilary said...

Love this site.
Adding to my list of favorites.
YOU GIRLS ROCK.

Anonymous said...

Okay, here's mine: http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/gallery/details.ihtml?idx=50668

Loved this challenge (made me so nostalgic while I was working on the piece) -- thanks so much y'all!

beth said...

my layout is up on my blog for the first challenge. looking forward to the next one. http://bethjohnson5.blogspot.com

Edleen said...

hi Girls!

i did mine and here goes:
http://javascrapper.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

liz mataraza said...

sounds like fun! i'd love to join in!

Dawn Bibbs said...

Ok ladies, I'll bite. Melanie suggested that I go for this challenge. So, here I am.

I didn't see where we had to only do a 1 pager...I normally do 2, myself. So hopefully that's alright.

Well, here is my submission (I'm a Pepper)

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c152/dawn_bibbs/ImAPepper01.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c152/dawn_bibbs/ImAPepper02.jpg

By the way, I think this site is awesome...great idea.

Linda said...

Here's my link...thanks for the fun challenge..
http://lifeinfullcolor.blogspot.com