April 2010: Scrapper's Portfolio & Tracker

[Robin Carlton]

Hey Chicklets!!

Can you believe we're already a quarter of the way through 2010?! Time is going by so quickly, but we really hope you're getting lots of layouts scrapped as a result of our Monthly Portfolios! This month we have some really fun inspiration (we hope lots of you will play along with #11 just to have some fun with us), and we know you're eager to get started, so let's get to it...

For ease of reference, we've created a printable checklist of this month's portfolio. Click the link below to download and print!

As always, you MUST use primarily Sweet Shoppe products to complete your challenge layouts.

April 2010: Sweet Shoppe Scrapper's Portfolio

One Point Tasks - 20 Primary Points Possible

1 - Lift a layout by Jule, our Treat of the Month for April, and get to know her better in this month's special feature.

2 - April Showers: How does your family spend its rainy days?

3 - Use the super cool art at Love On A Bike as inspiration to create a page of your own.

4 - It's Math Education month, so put an equation on your layout! (i.e. You + Me = Silly)

5 - Mad About Plaid - create a layout which primarily features plaid patterns.

6 - April 2nd is Peanutbutter & Jelly day - create a layout about this timeless pair.

7 - Fast Food Frenzy - the very first McDonald's opened in April 1955. Scrap a layout about your love or hate of the fast food giant.

8 - April 15th is Tax Day in the US! Create a layout about taxes and you. Do you wait til the last minute to file? Do you owe? How will you spend your refund?

9 - Easter is Sunday, April 4th. Create a layout about your family's easter traditions. Are you more religious or bunny based in your celebration. Document this special day.

10 - Use the AMAZING color inspiration at House of Turquoise to create a layout that celebrates this gorgeous springy color! Don't miss checking out the links to various rooms to see the color in action throughout various areas of the house too!

11 - Scrap a hottie. No really. We want to see layouts of hot guys.

12 - Use the color blocked style at Jack!e as inspiration for a layout of your own.

13 - We are lovin' the limited edition Liberty of London collection at Target. Scrap a layout using their colorful florals as inspiration. There are tons of great floral prints in the shoppe, so check out Target's Liberty of London goodies and get scrappin with that vintage floral vibe!

14 - Are you a hoarder of Cadbury eggs? Each year at Easter, there are candies you can't get any other time of the year. Scrap a sweet tribute to your favorite seasonal sweet.

15 - Check out the amazing paper gallery of Jody Wenke and lift one of her fabulous pages! Don't forget to link us to the original layout you chose to lift from her gallery too.

16 - Opening day is April 5th, and grilling season can officially begin again! What does your family love to grill? Scrap a backyard bbq or tailgate page.

17 - We love the simple clean font work on the packaging at Philosophy. Use it as inspiration for the font work on one of your own layouts.

18 - Getting chatty - use a talk bubble(s) on your layout.

19 - Cool Site - check it out and use it as design inspiration for a page of your own.

20 - Behind Closed Doors: Your Fridge. Shoot it & scrap it, but DON'T clean it!

Two Point Tasks - 20 Primary Points Possible

21 - Gender Bender - use a girl kit to scrap a layout for your boy or a boy kit to scrap a layout for your girl!

22 - Things We Forget - use this cool site as inspiration to create a page. Pick a note you love from the site and scrap it or do an experiment of your own leaving notes with thoughts/lessons for loved ones, around work or at school and scrap your experience.

23 - Patterns @ Piece - use patterned papers to do some paper piecing on your layout. Check out the darling clothesline that's a great graphic example at the fabric site Saints & Pinners.

24 - Ah-ha! Check out the meaningful ah-ha moments shared at Mutual of Omaha and scrap an ah-ha moment of your own.

25 - Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day by planting a tree with your family on April 22nd and scrap your experience!

26 - Young Me / Now Me - use the great inspiration at zefrank.com to duplicate a photo from your youth today and scrap the pair of pics.

27 - Ad It Up! - use this wild and colorful ad as inspiration for a layout of your own.

28 - Whisk together the following ingredients until they're blended to scrappy perfection. 4 patterned papers, 3 of the same element (buttons, flowers, ribbons, etc), 2 photos and 1 LARGE alphabet or number.

29 - Use the thought provoking inspiration at Baby Love Letters to choose a topic and create a layout which includes a letter to your child, a loved one or even yourself. (let us know which love letter prompt you were inspired by in your portfolio point tracker post too)

30 - Create a layout inspired by the sweet quote shared at CK's Scrapper of the Year Elizabeth Kartchner's Blog. Don't miss looking around the rest of her blog for lots of eye candy and scrappy sweetness too!

Five Point Tasks - 10 Primary Points Possible

31 - We discovered this amazing quote by Mary Anne Radmacher at Scrapbook.com. Choose 3 of the following lines and create a layout for each line which celebrate the sentiment expressed (3 layouts total).

Live with intentions.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends.
Continue to learn.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.

32 - Book of Me 2010 - this year SSD is encouraging you to create a Book of Me Album! So often we focus on scrapping everyone else in our lives, but we're challenging you to record more of who YOU are on a regular basis throughout the year too. Pick 3 of the 5 topics below and scrap 3 layouts to earn 5 points:

32a - A bit about what I do...
32b - I have a degree in...
32c - Inside my purse is...
32d - My best friend is...
32e - My favorite pair of shoes is...

Ten Point Task - 10 Primary Points Possible

33 - Recycled Mini Albums - In honor of Earth Day, this month we want you to create a mini album from items recycled around your house! Your album can be on any topic you like, but you must used recycled materials as the base of the album. Don't skip this challenge because you're afraid of hybrid - you can do it! Here's some amazing inspiration...

Recycled Envelope Album by Andrea Gourley
CD Album by Jen Tapler
Starbucks Coffee Sleeve Album by Sara Lively
Toilet Paper Album by Woppie

Flex Tip - Be Creative! If the challenge is asking for a TOP 10 of your favorite TV shows, feel free to scrap your husband's or child's favorite shows instead! If it's asking a question, feel free to ask the question of a loved one and scrap a page for them instead. The only time this wouldn't apply is to your Book of Me album which should be a stunning tribute to YOU!
___________

DON'T FORGET! As you complete layouts for our challenges, you'll be tracking them yourself in one post that you'll update throughout the month. For April, all layouts and points need to be posted by 11:59pm EST at the end of the day on May 1st. If you're joining us for the first time this month, have a look at the amazing portfolio tracker thread from January, February or March to see how it's done!

1) Post to claim your tracker spot for the month.
2) When you finish a layout for a challenge, upload it to the gallery and right click to get the image information for your layout.
3) Return to your tracker spot you claimed in this thread, and click edit to add the image of your layout to your portfolio. You'll want to add your layout in order of the numbered list above and include that number and the points earned above your image.
4) At the very end of your portfolio, please keep a running tally of the total points earned to date.

PLEASE NOTE: Portfolio points may NOT be carried over into the following month as each month begins anew with a fresh set of inspiring challenges! Additionally, you may NOT use the same layout for more than one numbered task - each task requires a new layout.

Please don't post chatter or comments in this thread as we'd like to keep it clean and easy to check at the end of the month. If you want to give praise to your favorite prompts or layouts, feel free to chatter as much as you like in our General Info & Chatter Forum. Thanks!!

Hoping to get your inspiration in bloom,

Robin