Thursday, March 25, 2010

I loves me some Paper Poppy!

So this kit was beautiful. It was jam-packed. It had a lot of variety. It had a gorgeous, vibrant colour palette.

But guess what? It's not a palette I'm used to. So of course, when I started playing with it, I was stumped. Crud. I waited ever so (im)patiently for this kit to get here. What do I do now?

So I dug through my old photos looking for colour inspiration. I knew that somewhere, I must have some photos that would be worthy of this bright and cheerful paper. I mean, I figured out how to mix lavender eye shadow with blue mascara in grade seven. Surely, I can make this work.

Plus, I only needed one photo since I planned to adapt this March challenge sketch by Helen Croft at Scrap A Little. It can't be that hard...right?

And then it occurred to me that maybe I've just not captured "cheer" on camera. "Hogwash, self," I replied. "I seldom go a day without cheer. Surely, I have caught it on film at some point or another."

Apparently, I said that to myself back in the 90s while I still used a 24mm.

But what made it worse was that the whole time I was putting 110% (or some other superlative sports metaphor) into finding a photo that would work, the palette was taunting me. "Make cards out of me," it goaded. "Beautiful, cheerful cards. Your niece and nephews will love me. Spread the love, Teri. There are enough yellow and red goodies here to make cards for 163 of your closest friends."

But, "No!" I said. "You will not win this fight, bright colour palette. You shall be defeated."

So I tied my cape around my neck. (That cape may or may not have been metaphorical. Either way, it paints a formidable picture). I huffed, and I puffed. I used my spidey-senses and ran faster than a speeding bullet. And guess what happened?I was victorious! Take that, bright colours!The title reads, "Summer is fun at 26". In fact, I love how this turned out. It really made me step out of my usual comfy box and try some new things. I even managed to work a couple of extra challenges into this one. Apparently, no challenge is too much for Captain Cheer.
These handmade flowers are my entry for the Paper Poppy's handmade flower challenge. I used the scallop-circle-punched book pages that were included in the kit, and I used my Stampin' Up chalks to add a some colour before folding up the edges a little and adding floss stems. The chalks and the little birdy rub-on in the centre of one of my flowers are also my entry for the Practical Scrappers' challenge to use something that's at least one year old.

But none of those things sounds befitting a victorious and powerful superhero, so I left them to the end of the post.

So, to the Paper Poppy Kit Co., thank you for introducing me to beautiful new colour combinations that I never would have tried on my own. This challenge has done wonders for my creativity.

Now if only you could help me out of this comfortable lavender-eye-shadow-and-bright-blue-mascara box I've been living in for the last fifteen years, I'd be much obliged.




17 comments:

  1. Love it Teri!!! You did an amzing job! Wanna do my DT page for me??!! Totally stumped too. I need to look to you for inspiration!

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  2. Teri, your LO is sooooo AWESOME!!! I LOVE everything about it. I love the title work and your flowers with the floss stems and bows are the cutest!! The banner hanging from the butterfly trail is brilliant!! I also love the zig zag stitch too! You combined so many challenges here. WOW!! I have to go back and look at Helen's sketch now. I never ended up doing it. Yay to the teenage years make-up trends. I plucked my eyebrows really thin in the late 70's because it was so in style. They never did grow back so now, if I want a normal eyebrow I have to use special eyebrow powder that the nice lady in the shopper's fragrance department sold me. Yes, she gave me back my eyebrows. I also feel the need to "poof" my bangs a little. It drives my girls nuts but I can't help it if the early 80's were formidable years for me. ;) Can't wait to see your next creation! This was a hard colour palette to work with. I resorted to old B&W's.

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  3. I love your layout! And way to make it over that mountain. This is how I fell in love with kit companies...it never failed that I always got something that I would not have picked out myself. It always challenged me to try something different, new, and fresh...I fell in love with scrapbooking all over again! Well, girl can't wait to see the next project that your stumped on because you do a great job when you are stumped!!!

    And as far as the eyeliner and mascara...we might have to work on that one. But just because you like the color combo in Paper Poppy's March kit...yellow, green, and red, don't think for a second that you can wear those colors on your eyes!!!!!

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  4. Ok, I think I peed a little...just kidding, but it really was funny! You really crack me up. That layout is fantastic, girl. I love, love, love those flowers. Super sweet. You seriously kicked that bright paper's butt, Captain Cheer! Hold on to your cape though, sister, because April might be even brighter. LOL! As for the eyeshadow and eyeliner, go neutral....light pink and brown. Works with everything!

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  5. Thanks for stopping by! I love your scrapbook page. It's really cute. I love you wear a cape will scrapbooking...LOL

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  6. What a great page!! I like all of your embellishments... Thanks for using your stash with us this week at Practical Scrappers..

    Amanda:0)

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  7. Hi Teri! What a completely entertaining blog post! I love what you did with your Paper Poppies kit, especially the 'summer' banner and butterflies. Thanks for playing along with our challenge at Practical Scrappers, SuperGirl!

    Heidi :)

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  8. Oh this is the perfect page for the perfect age. Well done!

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  9. Hi Teri! Thanks for liking my kitchen. It really doesn't look like mine because it is never that clean! LOL I will miss my sunny walls. The condo has browns. My DD's love it, so it must be in style??? Next time you come to Ikea you guys should come for coffee. We live like a 15 minute drive down the Henday.

    The answer to your question is yes. I'm really excited but kinda scared too!! LOL I am already looking for pictures and told my daughter that she has to come over wearing something that will match the kit paper colours. She gave me a strange look. ;) BTW Probably good that you have given up purple eyeshadow and navy mascara, but who am I to judge. I poofed my bangs this morning. hee hee When I was in grade 7 it was either green or blue eyeshadow. Yuck. :( Hope you are having a fun weekend!!!

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  10. coool ! I loved bright blue mascara !!! especially Dior's lol !

    fab layout with the new kit !!! fun elements & love the banner for the title !

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  11. Oh wow!!! I wish I was creative enough to make pages like this!! So cute! Great job!! Thanks for linking up in my link party!

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  12. GORGEOUS!!! Love how it turned out. Your post totally cracked me up! LOL And I can relate - I had the same problem when I got my Scraptacular kit for April - the pp was absolutely adorable and by a manufacturer I like, but way more "cutesy" than my usual style. It was honestly a bit of a struggle, but I saw it as a challenge, and I do love the results I got - I guess that's the beauty of kit clubs - you get to try new stuff you wouldn't ordinarily and push yourself as an artist :)

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  13. Great layout!!! I love the journaling because it reminds me of my husband and I when we were that age, over a decade ago "boo hoo I'm old" :D :D :D but my favorite thing is the stiching on the page, I am so jealous because I can't sew to save my life...one day I will attempt to play with the sewing machine that has been looking at me for ages as I scrap ;) Thank you for your sweet comments on my blog.
    Have a wonderful week!!!
    BTW, I might just have to get a cape to scrap in :)

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  14. I saw that this layout won on Practical Scrappers, I didn't realize it was yours! It's gorgeous!!

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  15. What a great layout! I'm afraid I don't have any scrapbooking skills. :o(

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my Felt Travel Melt @ Our Journey!

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  16. loooove this layout!! beautifully done!! great story with it too!! lol :)

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