I'd like to (re)introduce you to...

Natasha Wescoat...I introduced her to you on Friday's post but I made a big fat tacky mistake and got her name wrong. I originally introduced her to you as Amy (woops!) but she emailed me and pointed out my error. Sorry Natasha! Make sure you go and visit her Etsy Shop and look at some of her beautiful paintings....LOVE those curly trees!

Thanks again, Natasha, for letting us work with your art for our inspiration piece this week! (and sorry for the name flub!)

What do you mean it's Friday - Challenge 82

Good LORD, how on earth does Friday manage to come so friggin' quickly! But lo and behold, just like clockwork (although it does seem a little sneaky...like someone's been messin' with the calendar) Friday is here, whether I'm ready or not!But I'm sure I lost a day somewhere... And since tardiness is one of my top five pet peeves, this is not making me all warm and fuzzy about how my hectic day has decided to unfold...but I digress!

We have the privilege of using this fantastic piece of artwork created by Natasha Wescoat - an artist I found while "hearting" sellers all over Etsy...she's extremely talented and just as lovely to talk to! She graciously agreed to let us work with her painting, which I totally loved borrowing elements from...I think the rest of the team did too! Make sure you visit her Etsy Shop and snap up some of her gorgeous paintings & prints...got my eye on a few already! We want to see what you can create using this piece of art as your inspiration! Upload your work to our Flickr Group and make sure to mention which week your page is for so that you can have a shot at winning the July Couture Collection, Spirit of Summer.

Jessi

Gillian

Ronda
(absolutely LOVE this canvas...so pretty!)

Chrissy

Tania

Vanessa

Susan
I think I'm gonna dig up a mask & dust off my Glimmer mist so I can try this look!
Oh, one more thing, this is Susan's last contribution for the month so if you're feelin' the love, be sure to share it in the comments section!

Wasn't that cool!

Y'know, the internet is so cool. In January I joined a book club over at Big Picture Scrapbooking and in the first few months, I was super involved and read my books diligently (and mostly on time) but since the summer - and the beginning of the sod season- I've kinda slacked off which, as much as it sucks...it is what it is. But in January, we read A Thousand Splendid Suns which inspired me to create THIS! Later in the year, I became acquainted with a great lady named Kim who lives in San Francisco. Kim emailed me and told me that she was going to be in my area (which is a pretty big deal if you consider how 'remote' the area is in which I live) and asked if it would be okay for her to come by for a visit. Of course, I told her that I'd love to have her come by and I didn't hear from her for a while...till tonight! She just came by to meet me and to check out my studio! Wow! What a cool experience! She was just LOVELY and I hope more brave scrapbookers from afar come waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up north for a visit! That was just too cool. Great way to end the day. Thanks for the visit, Kim!

June Flickr winner...late, I know

Well, event though the sun has been refusing to shine here, we're still busy. I'm not totally sure where the time even goes! But, while the time has been flying by, we did manage to wrangle up the team to vote on a winner for the weekly challenges for the month of June. We have tabulated the votes and the lucky winner is Jen Martakis for her "Mother" layout. Yay! Jen, you need to email me at info@lotuspaperie.com with your mailing information and your June Couture Collection will be on its way to ya for more wonderful creations!
Here's the winning layout:

There were a whole bunch of other beautiful pages submitted for June - way to go everyone, keep up the good work and keep those pages a-comin'!! Here's some of the other pages entered for June:

Remember to get your pages uploaded to our Flickr group by the end of each month so your work can be in the running to win your very own Couture Collection.

Challenge 81

What a busy week...just the way I like it! I have to confess, I've been so busy that I didn't get out to the studio to even make my page till last night...not my ideal creating circumstances but like my husband says, necessity is the mother of all creation! (can I get an 'amen')

This sketch was really great to work with. It was interpreted in so many different ways by our team and everyone did a fantastic job. I love how creative these guys are - I've found lots of things to scraplift from their pages myself!

If you're inspired by this page too, we welcome you to participate in our monthly challenges and to post your creations to our Flickr Group by the end of the month. You aren't required to use the same products as us but if you've got 'em, you might as well! Show us your stuff and you could be the lucky winner of the current Couture Collection.

Ronda

Vanessa

Chrissy

Gillian

Jessi

Tania

Well, Tania is one industrious scrapper this month! She's always got extras for us but this is just crazy! I don't even wanna know what her shelf of albums looks like! LOL Beautiful extras Tania!

Susan
This is such a pretty monochromatic page! Susan is also on a DT for The Paper Element and this page was created using their Green Apple line. Gorgeous!

Don't forget to link up your scraplifts of Susan's pages in THIS post to win some of Susan's favorite scrapping goodies...

Quick!

Head over to the classes blog with your calendar in hand and mark off the dates for the upcoming classes...there's a schwack of new projects that are gonna ROCK!!! I haven't had time to make the samples yet but they're coming...I promise! If you have any questions about the projects, just ask...I'll try to answer them :) There's limited space so be sure to register right away so you don't miss out!

Challenge 80

Okay. I'm a big fat blog-slacker. I've been doing other things...plain and simple. I have been knitting up a frenzy and going kit crazy (You should see the upcoming Couture Collections!) But now we get down to the nitty gritty of Friday's business...the challenge!!!

This week's challenge is a simple composition with easy-to-translate design elements borrowed from this super movie poster for The Cool Ones. This challenge is a great opportunity to play with all sorts of fun and creative concepts. If you haven't yet tried the 6x12 layout size, now's your chance...if you've never tried mosaic photo tiles, this is the perfect opportunity...see what the gals did with their layouts this week. Incredible work as always. I think my two favorite parts of each week's post are checking out the DT's newest pages and checking the Flickr group for yours! All the great comments on my pages on SIS TV make me smile too :)

So if you are interested in potentially winning your very own Couture Collection, create your pages from this month's challenges and post the to our Flickr Group (be sure to note the week that your page is for) before the end of each month. You can use any supplies you wish to create your pages with so don't be shy! Get scrappy!

Jessi

Another ATC from Jessi to inspire those of us brave enough to pursue another addictive format!

Gillian

Chrissy

Vanessa

Tania

Ronda

Some close-up details for your viewing pleasure...

Love this beaded heart!

This is Susan's beautiful page for this week's challenge...just lovely! I swear, you guys who have girls are so lucky (in the scrapping department, to be exact!) I love my little boys but holy smokes, it's so hard to justify the use of pink on their pages! Wonderful contribution, Susan.

Don't forget that in THIS post you can scraplift any one of Susan's three favorite pages to win a prize pack of some of her favorite products...post the link to your page in the comments section of the original post (see the above link) by the end of the month and the winner will be announced early in August!

Challenge 79

I think summer's finally here. The sun has shone (the rain keeps trying to return, BLECH!) and my mojo - even though it's tired from last weekend- is alive and well. There are photos to be scrapped and memories to be made!

Check out this week's challenge...we've got a 12x12 layout and a smokin' kit to boot! Everyone's interpretation of the sketch is amazing - makes me wanna scrap some more!- So have a look below to see their fantastic artwork.

Of course, we want to see what you do with this week's challenge too so go on to the Flickr group, upload your pages created from this week's challenge and maybe you'll be the lucky winner of the July vote! The winner of June's vote will be announced soon so keep your eye on the blog for that announcement.

Vanessa

Ronda
Tania
Chrissy

Gillian

Jessi

Get a load of this...Jessi has been bit by the ATC bug! I haven't taken the plunge yet but it's only a matter of time. Fantastic way to use up scraps.
Here is Susan's first page of the month. I LOVE that Bling cardstock...just the right touch of shine & sparkle... gorgeous page, thanks Susan!