Are you up for a challenge?
Now that most of you have received your August-September newsletters in the mail, I want to elaborate on a new venture for Scrapbook Generation I'm personally looking forward to hosting and participating in...Designers Challenge Club!

I'm pretty sure that we've all seen articles in the scrapbooking magazines where a few people are given the same supplies and then challenged to come up with creative projects using just those few supplies. It's always fun for me to see how different people using the same papers and embellishments manage to come up with totally unique layouts or cards.

Recently, Stacey and Allison and I participated in something that was essentially the same. I'll tell you more about it later, but we were each given the same packet of supplies and asked to make samples for a scrapbook company to display at its booth at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) summer show in Orlando. When we brought our layouts and cards and home decor projects here to the store to deliver to the company, we had the best time looking at what each other had made, with me usually saying "why didn't I think of doing that!" Although we had each used the same papers and ribbons and stamps and other goodies, the similarities ended there! Same supplies...entirely different outcomes because we each have different styles! I got some great ideas from the projects Stacey and Allison had made.

I want Designers Challenge Club to do the same thing. I want it to be all about stretching and expanding our creativity and drawing inspiration and ideas from the work of others. If you join the club, you will meet with us once a month, on the third Thursday evening at 6 pm. At each meeting, you'll receive a packet with $15 worth of coordinating products, including patterned papers and embellishments. At home, you'll create cards or scrapbook pages or mini-books (in any combination that pleases you) using only materials in the packet and items on the "acceptable" list. (Stop by SG to pick up the brochure that explains items you can add and items you can't add!)

The following month, you'll bring the items you've created to the club meeting. We'll display all the creations, and have a discussion time to talk about interesting techniques. You'll be able to take photos of all the projects. We'll also have a members-only blog where photos of all projects will be posted, and where further comments can be added.

Now for the formalities. You must pre-register to participate in Designers Challenge Club. Because of space constraints, membership is limited to 30 people. Once you join, you will be a member until you tell us otherwise. The $15 materials fee will be billed to your card on the third Thursday of each month. If you need further information, I'll be happy to answer any questions either here on the blog, in person, or by phone.

I'm really looking forward to this new "experiment." The times when I've been restricted to a limited amount of supplies in making a scrapbook layout, I've found that it has forced me to be more creative and more innovative. I'm so excited about the fun of getting to see what a group of gals (of all ages, probably) can come up with when they take on this "designers challenge."