March Dust It off Challenge by Christy

Design Team Member Christy said:
When the " Dust It Off" March challenge was announced at Scrap Our Stash, I started rummaging through my stuff wondering what item I should dust off. Should it be the heat embossing tool that I rarely use? How about finally getting out my sewing machine? It has been sitting in my closet unused for years and I have always wanted to try sewing on paper. How about those stacks of snaps? I really had wanted them in so many colors and have used so few. As I continued to shuffle and organize my things, I came across a stack of old magazines, many of them dated all the way back to 2007. That's when a realization hit me. I always like to bookmark pages I want to scraplift. Yet...when was the last time I had done just that.
   Often times, a new magazine comes out, I get excited to read it and so I file the old one away to use later. The same goes with on-line inspiration. I see a page at a website or gallery and save it in an idea file on my computer. I just never go back and use the ideas I have gathered. So I decided that for this challenge, the first thing I would do, before dusting off my tools and supplies, would be to dust off some of my inspiration.
   My first choice came from the February/March 2008 edition of Scrapbooks ETC. It's " one more page you can put together in a flash".


Fancy Pants papers, stickers and border
Creative Memories alphabet
Making Memories tiny type alphas

 I really like these simple 15 minute style pages. The basic design bones are right there...just add photos and embellies and you are done., literally, in a flash. Making quick pages like this is helping me learn to spend less time choosing supplies. I make decisive, quick decisions and am able to scrap faster.
quick tip: If you have older sticker or alphas, update them with glossy accents(or similar product). Glossy accents is a clear adhesive. When you layer it over an older sticker or even a paper die cut shape, you can create those more modern epoxy looking stickers that so many of us love. On the page above, I dusted off some 8 plus year old Creative Memories alphabet stickers and added glossy accents to the top.
 For my second page, I chose to dust off some Internet inspiration. I am sorry to say that I do not know who made this wonderful page. I have had it for at least a few months in my computer file. Whoever you are...thank you for this gorgeous page to inspire me:

Now here is my take:


Cosmo cricket papers, border stickers and die cut
October Afternoon papers, rub on alphas and "made with love" sticker
Bic Mark it in woodsy brown

I chose to hand stitch versus machine stitch. I should have dusted off my sewing machine but I was a bit too lazy to drag it out of the closet. I used my 3-D adhesive to add a little pop to some of my fussy cut elements. Quick tip: the words Cherry Pie  in the title are actually the name of the paper. I often look at the strips with the paper name to see if I can use them on a page somewhere. I hate throwing anything out. In this case, they were exactly what was needed in the title.

Now, I invite you to dust off not just tools or supplies, but the things that inspire you. Share your projects with us here at Scrap Our Stash!  See all the details HERE!
Be sure to scroll down - there is always something new at Scrap Our Stash.