what does it say about you when you don’t even like your own challenge? i thought this would be a fun and unusual way to journal. a way to get a few facts down in a different way. a way to spice up your page.

well i’ve tried it and i hate it.

design problems beyond design problems.

one word answers needed.

but i suppose that’s what a challenge is all about, so with that glowing description, i offer you this week’s challenge.

a crossword puzzle.

there are plenty of free puzzlemakers out there if you just google “free crossword maker” but i’ll give you a couple of links to get you started. and i’ll get back to you on my layout.

and if no one wants to play this week, i completely understand.

crossword puzzle maker

another

another

i’ll post more layouts once they are done. but here’s heather’s, she’s a trooper to say the least.

Clever title right? LOL! I just couldn’t think of anything witty!

So, the challenge this week is to journal about before and after. Before and after marriage. Before and after kids. Before and after shocking pink hair color. *wink* You could list the differences, or you could journal about the journey from start to finish. Now, go get creative!!

Heather’s…

Emily’s:

little-ducky here.

ever since I saw this layout by suziebeezie, explaining my purse to an alien, I’ve been wanting to do something similar.

so here’s my challenge: list the contents or ingredients of something. or make a list of choices, like a dinner menu, or make a multiple choice test.

I’m tempted to say, “don’t simply make a list” because we’ve done lists before. this time make it a list with descriptions, like a menu, or like suzie’s page.

if you run out of ideas, try diagraming something. like your cat’s brain.

or open your fridge, dump out your purse, go look in your junk drawer and explain the contents.

I haven’t finished mine yet; I’ll post it as soon as I do!

Ducky’s:

Heather’s:

Ah, summer.

As a kid it meant riding my bike to the neighborhood pool, coming home sunburned, and spending the evening waiting for the familiar song of the ice cream truck. As a grownup who makes a living as a wedding photographer, summer means my Saturdays are booked a year in advance and I have to RSVP no to many a cookout.

This week I’m challenging everyone to create a layout about something that screams summer to you. Maybe it’s a staple of summers when you were a kid (remember those long ice pops that turned your tongue blue or red or orange?). Or maybe it’s an annual summer vacation location. Whatever it is, capture summer in a layout.

Here’s mine:

And Ducky’s

Emily’s:

Heather and Suzy: Coming soon!

For many of us, journaling is the most difficult part of the scrapbooking process (which may be why you come play our little challenge and we thank you for that!).

So this week, take a break and let someone else write your journaling for you. Hand over the photos of your recent trip to the zoo and ask your kids to tell you their favorite part of the day. Have your significant other write about their job, hobby, or favorite band. You could even use something you already have (a love letter or an essay your child wrote for school) and create a page around it.

Here’s mine:

Here’s Heather’s (her sister wrote the journaling about her niece…both featured in the photo):

this week, find a little humor in life. try adding a joke to your journaling, or journaling about something that is really funny, something your brother/sister/neice/nephew/uncle/husband/etc. said or maybe something your dog did.

there’s lots of things that you could focus on, just make it funny.

Heather’s:

Suzy’s:

We all have women in our lives that we admire. This is the challenge where we honor them! Create a LO about a girl/lady/woman you admire. It could be because of her looks, her smarts, her achievements, her talents…what ever. She could be real, or a character, or a celebrity, or your next door neighbor. Celebrate your love for a fellow woman. Check out these awesome examples…

Heather’s…

Ducky’s…

Steph’s…

synonym: noun, a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or other words in a language.

my challenge for you, dear {precious} friend, is to take a short trip {brief junket} into your good old {venerable} thesaurus.

you may choose {elect} to go one of two ways {directions}:

• write your usual {customary} journaling, then substitute new {fresh, vibrant} words for your boring {tired, worn-out} ones, or
• flip {riffle} through your thesaurus {tome} (or website) and let inspiration hit {surprise} you.

I found {discovered} a really fun {fascinating} website, virtual thesaurus. after some time {a spell}, the trial version will shut down {discontinue}, at which point you just reload the site again. here is a screen shot of my search for beauty {resplendency}.

and here is a piece I did {produced} for {to commemorate} mothers day:

heathers:

So I may have been the last person to hear about the six word memoir phenomenon, but I discovered it on Cathy Zielske’s blog last week and immediately thought that it would make a good challenge.

The idea is to tell the story of your life in six words. Sounds impossible at first, but click here for a history of the idea and for lots of great examples and then give it a try.

Here’s mine to get things started. I took a light-hearted approach, but I know there are some of you talented writers out there who can touch the heartstrings in six words. Please warn us if we’re going to need Kleenex!

Heather’s page (with apologies as I was out of commission for a week. I don’t think you’ll need kleenex for mine…)

I can’t figure out how this new version of wordpress works. i can’t figure out how to load pictures and i can’t link, so you’ll have to bear with me for a while. but here’s the challenge, sans pictures and links: it’s a random word challenge. there’s a generator online that just throws out words, if you don’t like the first word, i’ll give you the option of trying again 4 more times, but that’s it. you have to use one of those five words as a jumping off point for your journaling. i think this will be fun because everyone’s pages are going to be SO different.

google RANDOM WORD GENERATOR to find the link.

for your word and get creating!
remember, you only have to use the word as a jumping off point, it doesn’t even have to be in your title or journaling, just explain how it inspired you.

University*Foundation*Expressway*Copy*Wrath

here’s my take on the challenge, my word was “traveling”:

And Suzy’s (her word was “frown”):

Here’s Heather’s page. Her word was “Entrance”, it can be pronounced two different ways, can you tell which one she used?

and Steph’s is using the word “Human”