Month of Challenges wrap up

I am proud of myself for creating all 31 challenges at The (dash) Lilypad. It was definitely worth the effort. I will definitely miss checking in for the daily challenges and the camaraderie of my scrapping buddies that kept me full of can-do attitude. (thanks, everyone!)

Instead of a straight show and tell, I'd thought I'd do a little wrap up with what I've learned in the past month:

• I learned new techniques both in Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro: Watercolor Effect, a new method for realistic brushwork, learned more about overlays and a new method of tweaking shadows
• I learned to make faster choices when creating a page, which improved my scrapping speed. Pick it and stick it! (Is that Katie Scott who says that?)
• It's okay to shop your stash instead of buying the latest and greatest. Actually, it's probably BETTER to use what you have before getting new stuff. I love that I got to use neglected product.
• It's also okay to reuse kits you love. There's no rule that says you can't use the same paper 5,000 times if it makes you happy. 
• It's okay to use awful photos if they tell your story (more like a re-affirmation for me).
• Creating begets creating. I thought I'd be burnt out after making a layout a day, but it's not so. I am inspired to create even more! 
• It's okay to make mistakes, get it wrong and fail. Success comes from trying again. 
• Make it work for you. I used a web based collage maker for a couple of challenges. I tweaked technique challenges to work in my creative process. I have no regrets. 
• Scrapbooking is good therapy for the scrapbooker. Be authentic, be deep, be funny, be emotional. The pages are for you. If others glean insights into your life in the future, awesome! But if you create for someone else no one will get that artful authenticity, not even you. Hide your text if you don't want to share with the world, but get it out of your head onto the page. 

Now, for my last few pages. You can see my complete body of work for this challenge HERE. 

Clean and simple (but no one said not colorful):

Mix alphas... and I happen to love this girly page of our girly kitten, Katniss. I watched a Wilna Furstenburg video while creating this and I think the influence shows up on my page:

The final page: scrap an old photo. This is of my mom in the kitchen before I was born. I think she still has the pots and pans, or at least the big 2 quart one. I think I made chili in it for my dad the last time we visited.

The last two pages I created with Just Jaimee's new Storyteller Collection. I am in awe of how she captures the mood of every month with color. If you see me scrapping with it all month long, it's because I'm not afraid to use what I love over and over again.