I love the dMarie Challenge Board!

By:Anissa Stringer

Just a month or so ago I started visiting the dMarie Challenge Board. I don't often add much, but I do enjoy a good challenge, so when the opportunity came up to participate in one, I jumped at the chance.

The challenge lasted for about 2 weeks, and the main rule of this particular challenge was that you had to use only supplies (with a few exceptions) that you already had on hand. I thought this was great since I will be the first to admit that I own some die cuts and stickers that have been around for several years, waiting for just the right page. I got to work on my pages within a day of the start of the contest...and found myself drawn to my scrapbooking area every free minute of the day. When my daughter napped, I scrapbooked. When my husband came home and she turned all of her attention to him, I scrapbooked. And, of course, when she went to bed for the night, I scrapbooked.

I created my first (and second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth) mosiac pages (and variations of the mosaic page) to use up several series of photos that I wanted to scrap but couldn't choose just a few representative photos from. I even started an album just for me, that's all about me. I scrapbooked a page about a surprise birthday celebration when I turned 30, and another about all of the craft projects I have done over the years. And although I haven't done it yet, I will also be adding pages to this new album that celebrate the best and worst parts about my personality.

Of course, most of the pages I scrapped were for my daughter's album --but after completing 50+ pages, I suddenly found myself running out of cardstock and certain embellishments. As a result, I completed another 20+ pages that didn't count toward the challenge, but most certainly counted in real life!

At the end of the challenge I found that I am now ALMOST caught up and will soon be able to start on the heritage photos that I have been putting off. Most importantly, though, I had fun and got a lot accomplished in a very short period of time. So if you've never participated in a challenge, give it a try! I know I'll be a part of the next one that comes around! Thanks, ladies!


Tomorrow at dMarie Daily: DMarie does it better...in every way, by Abby Ross