Challenge 22 and A Special Announcement :)

Good morning friends! We have a new challenge that is going to be SEW much fun, an awesome prize, amazing design team projects -- and a special announcement... so grab a cup of coffee and take it all in :)

First up, this week's challenge!

This is such a hot trend - whether you use a sewing machine (my nemesis.. lol), your paper piercer, needle/tread (my favorite way to go), or a faux-look (love the talented stuff I see on blogs with just a pen!) - we hope you join in the fun this week.

And if you do, one random project will win this sweet prize! My partner in crime fellow founder Abby is offering October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker 8x8 pad and chipboard! Perfect for this challenge, don't ya think? I'm no modern homemaker, but I want this! LOL!

The design team had a fun time stitching up this week's projects :) Take a look!

Melissa

Melissa said, "We've been getting a little teaser of spring here in Michigan, so I was inspired to do a springy layout, especially since I was able to get the brand new Springtime collection from Echo Park from one of my local scrapbook stores a few days ago. The colors and patterns are so fresh and bright! I really enjoyed working with this collection and daydreaming about spring. :)"

Shannon

Shannon's layout is brought to you with determination! Her daughter accidentally got her camera lens wet and she was unable to fix it. Her hubby brought a camera home from work, just so she could share this layout. Didn't she rock the challenge?!

Jan

Look closely at that center photograph..

Jan said, "I tried to think out of the box for this challenge and decided to do some hand stitching on my photo. I added some machine stitching along the borders of my layout as well."

Mindy

Mindy said, "I don't get to play with "boy" colors often, but I thought why not!  I stitched around the circle and as well as here and there on the layout!  Now I think I'll have to start looking at the "blue" stuff when shopping!"

Patti

Patti said, "

My altered metal cake plate project was "sew much fun"!!!

I chose to work with jillibean soup pps. After punching several squares (2 sizes), I lightly adhered them to a piece of cs. Using a small zig zag stitch on my sewing machine, I stitched around each square. After cutting into the shape of a circle, I stitched down the brown trim. 

I am so happy with how my "home sweet home" project turned out!

"

Tessa

Tessa said, "I don't know how to sew :(. I do a lot of hand stitching on my layouts, but I don't know how to use a sewing machine. I've made it a goal to learn how this year, so as soon as I get my hands on a machine, I'll dive in. After brainstorming this layout, I decided that I really wanted to do some machine stitching, so I called my mom :). I took my ribbons and cardstock over to her house and she sewed the ribbons onto my page with her machine. I love every little crease, wrinkle and pucker. It's just the texture I wanted :)."

Suzanne

It's been a while since I worked on my wedding album, but I knew if I was going to do a lot of hand-stitching (an did I ever!!) I wanted it to be an extra special layout. This is one of my favorites in that album! And my poor hubby isn't in it LOL.

I hope we've inspired you to join in the sewing fun ;) The link for your projects is below!

But I promised a special announcement...

Next week, The Paper Variety will be hosting our first BLOG HOP! Mark your calendars for next Wednesday, March 2nd. You won't want to miss this...

Have a great week!

-Suzanne