April Challenges

Hello everyone!  It’s Polly Karen back again with a look at our new batch of monthly challenges for April. Each month we have 8 brand new challenges that are posted in the forum Challenge Pad on the 1st day of the month. (the BYOC Challenge is posted on the 1st Friday of the month.)  You can use the challenges simply to inspire you to keep creating new layouts OR you can also earn yourself a fabulous coupon for your next shopping trip in the Lilypad Store.  (2 challenges = 10%, 4 challenges = 20% and 6 challenges = 30%).  Those who complete at least 7 challenges will be entered in a drawing for a $50 gift certificate!  Isn’t that an awesome prize?!?!  You’ll get lots of great memories captured in your scrapbooks AND you could win a fat gift certificate prize!!!  Pretty great, right?!  So let’s take a look at this month’s new batch of challenges!

1. Template Challenge – The Template Challenge for April is being hosted by Jenn (jk703).  All you have to do to play along is download the free template made by Lynn Grieveson and then create a layout using that template.  Here’s a look at the free template followed by a sample layout that Jenn made using it:

2. Random Challenge – Next in the challenge lineup for this month is the Random Challenge which is being hosted by Lynnette. Lynnette is challenging you to create a layout in which your page is divided up into four quadrants. They don’t have to be the same size, there just needs to be four quadrants. See the forum thread for some ideas of how to break your page down. Here’s a great sample layout that Lynnette created to get you started too:

3. Photography Challenge – The Photography Challenge for April is being hosted by Heather (HeatherB) and she is challenging you to take a photo of something unique to your specific community, like a landmark, a quirky storefront or even a local “character”. Heather created a great layout about the cool way her town decorate their utility boxes to prevent graffitti:

4. Journaling Challenge – Natasha (bcnatty) is hosting this month’s Journaling Challenge. She would like you to create a layout that includes journaling about a moment that you or someone you love had to walk through a challenge. Your journaling must include at least 5 sentences. Here’s a great sample layout created by Natasha:

5. Scraplift Challenge – Christa (cfile) is hosting the Scraplift Challenge for this month and she would like you to pick a layout from our brand new winner of the permanent Polly spot from MOC13, Beth’s (StoryKeeperBeth) Gallery and create a scraplifted version.   Here is a look at a layout that Christa picked from Beth’s gallery, followed by her scraplifted version:

6. Inspiration Challenge – Next is the Inspiration Challenge, hosted by Rae (bcgal00). Rae created a springtime mood board and would like you to create a layout that uses 3 things from her mood board as inspiration. Here’s a look at Rae’s sample springtime layout inspired by her mood board:

7. Style Challenge – Lori (lcpereyra) is hosting this month’s Style Challenge and would like you to create a layout in the pocket style this month. You page should have at least 6 pockets and should use a mix of photos and journal cards in the pockets. Here’s a look at a great pocket style layout that Lori created:

8. BYOC Challenge – Finally we have the BYOC Challenge.  This challenge will be hosted and posted by Stefanie (StefanieS) on Friday, April 3rd, when the BYOC Collection for April will be released in the store.  The challenge will be to use 90% of the products on your page from this month’s BYOC collection and from at least 3 designers.

Gallery Posting: (NOTE:  this is a slight change on where to upload your layout since the forum and gallery upgrade) When posting in the gallery, please post to the Member Gallery and then tag the appropriate challenge like “Scraplift Challenge” or “BYOC Challenge”, etc. and then you can tag all the designers of the products used too. The tags are super cool and make it so easy to find things in the gallery!

There is your quick peek at this month’s brand new batch of challenges.  Once you create your own layouts inspired by these challenges, be sure to post them to the member gallery and then tag the appropriate challenge as listed above.  Then be sure to also post them to the appropriate thread in the challenge forum.  See the thread HERE for further challenge guidelines and see the April Challenge Forum to get started!  Don’t forget to post all of your completed layouts in the Challenge Layouts thread so we can be sure to get you the proper coupon at the end of the month.  I’ll be back near the end of the month to shine my spotlight on some of the pages created for these challenges!  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!  Happy scrapping!

I’ve been married for nearly a quarter of a century and have two awesome kiddos currently off at college. I’m a bit of a hobby collector—I love learning new things and trying out creative projects. Right now, some of my favorite pastimes include painting, art journaling, making hand-bound books, crocheting, and reading. In the past, I’ve also dabbled in stained glass, cross stitch, knitting, printmaking, and sewing—if it’s artsy, I’ve probably given it a try!

My scrapbooking style is messy, full, and journaling-heavy. I usually start with my photos and the stories behind them, but sometimes a kit is so fun and colorful that I’ll go find a photo just so I can scrap with it. Bright, vibrant kits always draw me in.

Photoshop is my home base when I scrap. I especially love working with shadows on separate layers so I can warp them for a more realistic effect. The pen tool is another favorite—it helps me create text boxes that fit any shape or space. And templates? I absolutely cannot scrap without them.

If you’re new to all this, remember: Ctrl-Z is your best friend. And more importantly—be brave enough to suck at something new. That’s how the magic start

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