For those of you who are Design Team
(DT) members, I'm sure you will relate to this post. For those of you that are
not, I'm sure you will get a couple of giggles along the way. Enjoy!
In mid-November I received a PM (private message) on Splitcoaststampers asking
me if I would consider joining the Stampin' Up! Creative Crew Design Team. Say
What?!? Me?!? Really?!? Seriously?!? No Way!!! So after recovering from the initial shock re-reading the message
and processing what it said, I ran through quite the gamut of emotions. The
first was that there was NO WAY! I'd just received an invitation to be part of
a Design Team. Second, there was NO WAY! I was qualified to join such a team of
talented artists. Third, there was NO WAY! I was going to accept the invitation
because, quite frankly, I'm really not "that good"! And finally there
was NO WAY! I would be able to produce four (yes, FOUR!) projects per month for
FOUR consecutive months. Heck, I hadn't created four projects during all of
2013, much less sixteen projects in the first four months of 2014. *YIKES!*
Nope, Not Gonna Do It! was my final decision, and that was that! Until .... I
made the mistake of mentioning it to my overly encouraging and supportive
husband who said, "Oh yes you are going to do it!", and my mother who
also said, "Oh yes you are!" ... and since our cats, dogs,
donkeys, cows, and chickens can't talk (well, speak human anyway), their opinions didn't count, although I am SURE they were on my side!! *sigh* After stalling a bit longer, it was clear that I was losing my battle so with great hesitation, I replied to the private message and
accepted the position!! *gasp!*
And that my friends, was probably
one of the worst BEST stamping decisions I had ever made!!
As the DT, we receive instructions each month of what we are to create for the
following month. Although the assignments haven't all been easy and I've
struggled at times, I have always been pleased with my end results; ranging from cards, and scrapbook pages (I am sooo NOT a scrapbooker), to 3-D
items. I have to admit, the limits of my creativity have definitely been
stretched beyond what I had imagined possible, and I have enjoyed
every.single.minute I have spent working on my DT projects. If I were to be
completely honest, I'm kinda sad that I only have one more month on the Stampin'
Up! Creative Crew Design Team because I have thoroughly enjoyed my time
as a team member. Oh Well - this just means it's time to seek out more design
team opportunities! So without further ado, the January assignment and my
projects are below. I'd love to hear what you think of them!!
Theme:
January in Michigan can be like a Crystal Ball:
Icy, Shimmery, White, cool blues, soft pinks, all mixed up with some earthy
tones of red berries, evergreens, and tree branches all coated with clear
stuff!
Designer Series Paper (DSP)/Color Focus:
Show us your take on Fancy Foil Designer Vellum, using some
cool wintery colors listed above.
While visiting my in-laws during the
Christmas holidays, my MIL had an adorable little lamp sitting on her table.
When I commented about how cute it was, she quickly picked it up and revealed
that it was a votive candle in a wine glass covered with a shade. SAY WHAT?!?
It was at that very moment that I knew EXACTLY what my project for this
assignment was going to be. So I cheated grabbed a piece of paper and
the shade and traced a pattern. It wasn't long after we arrived home that
VIOLA! project #1 complete. Mission Accomplished!
(click to enlarge)
Catalog Focus: All the world is glittery! Show
me something with glitter, it can be a glitter technique, glitter sheets,
anything that glitters!
Wow, I had no idea where to
begin on this task because I am so NOT a sparkle freak, much less a glitter
queen!! So after wandering in the desert for forty years sitting at my
desk for a long time, things slowly starting coming together. Since I needed a
wintery theme with soft pinks and blues, I decided to use the oldest, most
versatile, non-retired stamp set in the Stampin' Up! catalog, Lovely as a Tree.
It was perfect!! Next, I knew I wanted to use embossed vellum to soften my
background, but how was I going to attach it because it is a pain in the
b*tt to work with adhesives show through it. Ugh!! That is when I decided
to use a MOJO Monday
Sketch ( #303) for the layout which solved the problem. Now
there was plenty of space to adhere the vellum without it being visible and the rest of the card fell into place. Hallelujah!! On to project #3.
(click to enlarge)
Holiday focus: January is National Hobby month, share
something crafty besides a card, it can be a wreath, a banner, a tablescape, or
picture frame, a headband, some jewelry, something crocheted with our crochet
cotton, it's totally up to you.
Shabam!! Score!! Done!!
That's right -- a twofer!! On to assignment #4.
(click to enlarge)
Scrapbook Focus: Whether you're digital or traditional, or
even if you don't really scrap at all - maybe you prefer a framed art piece or
a This & That journal - Whatever you decide show us how you would use the
attached layout.
I had no idea of where to even
begin to begin on the task at hand because of three underlying facts 1.)
As I mentioned above, I am not a scrapbooker, 2.) I am not one to post pictures
of my family openly on the internet and since I will be a popular and
famous, in high demand, household stamping name one day our projects are posted in a
public gallery, I knew I wouldn't use any family related pictures for
reasons of blackmail later on, 3.) Scrapbook pages of random people and
their pets are just weird, unless you are a doting grandparent, of which I am
not; although I do have the *cutest* 1.5 year old white lab on the
planet!! Where was I, oh yes!, a scrapbook page!! After spending another
forty years wandering in the desert more time sitting at my desk at a
complete loss, I finally had an AHA! moment! I should scrapbook the design process I used for this
month's challenges!! Yep - that was it!! I gathered up the materials I needed
and went to work incorporating all of the papers, colors, textures,
elements,and embellishments that I had used on my projects into the page. Not
long after that, my page came to fruition and I was done with my January
assignments.
(click to enlarge)
So there ya have it ... all in a days, or twos or threes, work!
In the words of Winston Churchill, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
I hope each of you has a blessed day and can find the courage to continue!!
~Hallie
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