***WINNER WINNER****

Well here we are...it has been just over 1 week that we started this blog and our give-away and now its time to announce the winner of that wonderful kit by My Scrapbook Nook.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped us spread the word about our challenge blog!!! 

I went through ALL of the comments and filtered the ones eligible for the give-away and the total number was 126..

So without further delay the winning number was....

and 108 is 

Miss Panagiota from Greece...

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to you Panagiota...you will LOVE this kit!

Please email me here to claim your prize...

So...I am sorry I don't have a kit for everyone... :o(  But what you can look forward to is our very first challenge tomorrow and the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING Guest Designer we have lined up for you....Oh most of you would probably know her...she is from Thailand...she designs for Pink Paislee and Lily Bee...she contributes to CK magazine...any ideas? 

You need to come back tomorrow and see who it is when we have our very first reveal ...and you will also see our EXTREMELY generous prizes from our very first sponsor...

Scrap Matrix – Where your journey to creativity begins .....

A little bit about our sponsor...

Scrap Matrix is owned by Rae Cooper who after being an avid scrapbooker for a few years, Rae has committed her future to trying to bring new and exciting products to scrapbookers/card makers and crafty people around the world. 
"Matrix" is defined as a place where things begin and it is Rae's  desire to bring you not only a beginning but a home where you can fulfil every part of your creative dreams. 
Scrap Matrix has a wonderful range of products for Scrapbooking Altered Art and Mixed Media - Including Rae's own brand new Laser Cut Designs called Out there Chippy, Dusty Attic, Tim Holtz, Flowers of all descriptions, Gorgeous Laces and Trims, German Scrap, Charms and Trinkets and the list goes on.... There are also gorgeous  kits available like this album shown here...... (insert image) Rae posts worldwide and only charges actual shipping costs!!!

Be sure to head on over and take a look..... you wont be disappointed! 

These are the sort of things you can find over there...

You will be amazed at the prizes they have offered! 

See you tomorrow!

Last chance to enter our giveaway..

Have you given your self a chance to win this kit yet?

You only have a few more hours to enter our giveaway...

All you need to do is:

*grab our badge from the side of this blog  and add it to your blog's sidebar

**post about our site and our giveaway on your blog with a link back to here and a photo of our badge and our prize

**make sure you are a follower and leave us a comment here to let us know you have done all of the above.

Hurry up! I am announcing the winner tomorrow and you never know if today is your lucky day!

Introducing Nerrida Mitchell, Irini Liolia and Gerry Van Gent!!

Hi everyone, its time to introduce a few more of our Design Team members...

Introducing....

Nerrida Mitchell - Australia 

Hi, my name is Nerrida, 

I live on stonefruit farm outside of Sydney, Australia and I have 3 girls, (2 big and 1 little).  My style is evolving but I always seem to go back to shabby with a few straight lines thrown in and also I love pretty and soft creams, pinks and white. I love adding little details of interest to my pages and lots of flowers (with 3 girls, what else?) LOL. 

I am on a few Design Teams being Kaisercraft, Annas Craft Cupboard, Australian Scrapbooking ideas magazine and Aussie Cards for Sale.

Hope I provide some sort of inspiration to you all.

http://www.forthememories-nerridamitchell.com/

Introducing....

Irini Liolia - Greece 

My name is Irini and I am a work at home mum (mom) so I have an extremely messy (creative) house!!I was born and raised in Australia, I left to travel the world in 1992 and have not been back since!

I now live in Athens Greece. Scrapbooking became a part of my life when I gave birth in 2003 to my son.My work is ever evolving....paints and misting are my passion and are always present in my layouts,

I love incorporating them with pretty paper and embellishments... I don't think I have a style I just love to mess it up a bit. Ι am currently on the design teams of Get Creative, These Are A Few Of My Favourite things, Sassy Lil Sketches and The Studio. I share my creativity and snippets of family life on my blog, here The limitations of thought

Introducing...

Gerry Van Gent - The Netherlands 

My name is Gerry van Gent. I`m a mom of two adorable kids (Alexander and Leanne) and a wife of a very supportive hubby. We live happily in the Netherlands. I`m a SAHM and I have plenty of time to spend with my kids and of course I have plenty of time for my hobbies...scrapbooking and photography.I got involved with scrapbooking while my frist child was born. I was looking for a different way to display my photos and while surfing Internet I found out about scrapbooking. Needless to say I was immediately addicted and never stopped since then.What I mostly like about this hobby is that I can show my creativity with paper, to show different ways to use it and I love to be creative and inventive. I love to hand-cut and hand-stitch. Besides that, I love using paint, ink, love to distress my paper, make my own flowers, love to stamp. My layouts have always dimension and I always do my best to show that through my photos. 

 I proudly design for Webster`s Pages and My Creative Scrapbook.

My blog  Gerry's Crafts 

Welcoming Steph Devlin to our Design Team + meet Carole Janson, LG Belarmino and Helen Tilbury....

The super talented Steph Devlin, of Australia is joining has joined our Design Team!!

I am sure you recognise this name and beautiful face but just in case, here is her blog....visit her and get to know her. This girl is amazing!

WELCOME Steph!!!

and this is what Steph says about her self...

• I was a full time dancer, who has a degree in choreography, a diploma in Interior Design and Certificate in Color Consulting.
• I am obsessed by color, and I think that is what drew me to scrapbooking, being able to express my love of color in a creative forum using pictures of my kids.  Perfect.
• My birthday is February 27 same as Elizabeth Taylor.  If only we shared the same bank account.
• I am a full time mum, studying Graphic Design.
• My family consists of 2 gorgeous girls, Emma (7) and Madison (3).  They are like Day and Night both in looks and in personalities.   A gorgeous spouse who i love dearly and a very neurotic dog named "Shakespeare".
• I prefer to scrap during the day in natural light.  I am absolutely hopeless at night.  Its my computer time !!!!
• My scrapping style is very feminine, eclectic and hybrid.  I love using digital images on my work, especially text, and have a obsession with blooms and all things pretty.
• I scrap as an expression of my art, but REVEL the fact that my artwork can surround images of my girls who I adore.  Being on this team will really stretch my storytelling, and I'm still so looking forward to that aspect of this genre.
• My biggest scrapbooking influences have been , Rhonna Farrer, Cari Fennell and recently Christine Middlecamp .  These ladies jointly reflect everything I would love my scrapbooking to be.
• I am a contracted writer for Scrapbooking Memories, and my artwork has been published in CK both in the US and Australia and just recently S.M.M. Scrapbooking in Sweden, Scrapbooking Russia and Scrapbooking Trends UK.
• Currently, I'm a DT member for Websters Pages and am on the 2011 GDT for Pink Paislee.  I am also a Co-Founder & Designer of The Color Room, a challenge site designed to challenge visual artists through color challenges and Designer & DT member at Imaginarium Designs, an exciting new chipboard company in Australia.  
• Can't wait to work with these amazing artists.  I relish in new challenges, and meeting new empowering women.  It seems we have a group of them here ....

My blog: http://www.stephdevlin.typepad.com
My gallery:  Scrapbook.com (http://www.scrapbook.com/myplace/index.php?mod=galleries&u=394209)

Now moving on to some more introductions....

Introducing ......

Carole Janson - Australia

This is what Carole says about her self...

I am more than excited to be on the Once Upon A Sketch Design Team. I live in Central Queensland with my 2 children Sarah 15 and Chaise 5 and my darling Husband Michael, we have been married now for 23 years.

I love being creative and designing with paper so Scrapping just seem to fit for me I love designing pretty and masculine projects and I love anything cute, bright and fun especially embellishments and most of all stickers. I have been scrapping now for more than 8 years and still love it, I love to create layouts, card basically anything that inspires me.

I am a 3 dimensional scrapper but I also love creating my on embellishments and fun bits and pieces for my projects anything busy in a clean way.

I am currently designing for Aussie Scrap Source wholesales and Pinkpaislee Karen Foster and Petaloo manufacturers.

I also love spending time with my gorgeous family, jogging and Jet Skiing with hubby when I can.

My blog is http://www.carolejansons.blogspot.com/

Introducing .....

LG Belarmino - The Philippines 

This is what LG says about her self ...

My name is Lady Grace Belarmino but everyone simply refers to me as "LG". I live in Manila, Philippines and have been married to Regie for 3 years. I am blessed to have a family who is very supportive of my craft to the point that they too, dabble with scrapbooking. We currently have one gorgeous 2 year old daughter Hannah, who serves as my model for most of my pages. I have a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and I Majored in Advertising Design.I currently work from home as a full-time Training Manager.

I started scrapbooking on December 2008, just a few months after my daughter was born. I was searching for the right hobby that incorporates my family and my passion for arts. It took me a few months of researching and reading about this hobby before I decided to give it a try. My first works were definitely a far cry from my current ones. It was the challenge of making a better layout that kept me going on. There was no looking back since then. I was hooked and I don't intend to stop. I have already created more than 500 layouts to date and it will continue to grow.

I started this hobby to preserve memories in an artistic way. It was not for fame or recognition, but simply for the joy and fulfillment that the craft brings. Being accepted in design teams, winning prizes, and being published are only additional perks. What I am really passionate about is telling MY FAMILY'S STORY in the best way I know how, and that is through scrapbooking.

I am currently designing for Kaisercraft, Cosmo Cricket, Pebbles Inc, My Scrapbook Nook and Scrapbook Circle. You can learn more about me by visiting my blog at  http://scrappinworld.blogspot.com/.

Introducing...

Helen Tilbury - South Africa

This is what Helen says about her self...

My name is Helen Tilbury & you can find my blog @ http://helentilbury.blogspot.com

I live in Durban, South Africa.  The weather is more often than not hot & humid & you can find me tinkering away in my little home studio with my air-conditioning set to 21 degrees celsius!  I have a wonderful & tolerant husband who allows me to pursue my vocation liberally & we share 4 precious children aged 17, 16, 13 & 10, plus 3 over-indulged fur babies (cats!).

I am currently part of the Challenge Design Team over at Scrapbook Challenges  - a wonderful Ning community full of supportive fellow papercrafters.

I am a work-at-home mum & could always make an extra buck as a taxi-driver as my kids have me driving all over the province regularly for sports matches & social activities!  I am a fashion designer by profession but my love of scrapbooking & photography has long since super ceded my love of fabrics.  I have enjoyed an enduring affair with pretty paper & embellishments for 7 years now & can't imagine a life without the smell of new papers & the anticipation of my next delivery of scrapbooking goodies in the mail!  I don't believe in labelling my style as I design to suit the mood & subjects of my pages but I endeavour to always push my creative limits & constantly grow with my craft.

I will be back tomorrow with some more introductions.

There are only 4 days left to take part in our giveaway....see below or click here...

And stay tuned for the announcement of our first GUEST DESIGNER....and our FIRST challenge which will go live on April 1st!

Meet Natalie, Trudi and Lou!

 

Natalie Elphinstone

 

My name is Natalie and I am addicted to scrapbooking. I started playing with pretty paper about 3 years ago because it seemed like the 'thing to do' once you have a baby, but it's evolved into much more than that for me now. First and foremost I scrap to preserve the memories. The big events I'm sure I'll remember, but I like to scrap those everyday moments, the funny things my kids say and do, and my hopes and dreams for the future. I wholeheartedly agree with the philosophy of including journaling on my pages and you'll find my messy scrawl across most of my layouts.

Secondly I love to scrap for the creative outlet it allows me. I'm lucky enough and honoured to be on the design team for Handmade by Suzanne (an Australian online store) and From Screen 2 Scrap (a challenge blog) and have Guested for many more, including most recently the Pencil Lines sketch blog. 

In my 'other life' I am married to the most supportive husband, and have two gorgeous girls aged 4 and 1 who comprise the vast majority of my scrapping subjects. I grew up on a farm but moved to the 'big-smoke' to pursue my career goals. I currently live in Melbourne, Victoria and work full-time as a doctor, specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. I love my job but it doesn't allow me nearly as much time as I would like to devote to my obsessive 'hobby'!!!

You can check out more of my life and times preserved in scrapbook form on my blog Scrap Doctor.

 

Hi, I am Trudi Harrison

I am so excited to part of the Once Upon A Sketch Design Team. I live in regional Victoria with my 2 girls aged 3 and 6 and my ever patient and totally supportive, ‘scrap widow’ husband. Presently I am a SAHM. I adore all things beautiful and creative and over the time there have been many hobbies which I have enjoyed. Without a doubt though, Paper Crafting has become the one which I am truly passionate about. My passion has burned brightly for the last six years and I love absolutely everything about this wonderful craft.

My preferred scrapping genre is 12 x 12 layouts, but I also enjoy creating off the page and cards. I have a particular fondness for patterned paper and chipboard/ wood products and love combining them together.

I currently design for the Australian manufacturer Kaisercraft and the online stores Scrapping Outback and Debs Creations. I have also been published with the Australian magazines Scrapbooking Memories and Scrapbook Creations.

When I am not 'domesticated engineering' and creating, my world is busy with my young children, husband, family and friends.

My blog: 'Suits Me To A T'

Hi I'm Lou....:)

I am passionate and enthusiastic about all things Scrapbooking. I am inspired by new products and new techniques.I like to dabble in a tiny bit in Mixed Media and Altered Art...however I am just learning to "spread my wings" so to speak.... in that area...

I love to incorporate texture and dimension in my layouts and OTP projects. My current style could best be described as Vintage / Shabby and hopefully a little bit elegant with my traditional style LO's. However, I admire many different styles of scrapbooking... from Grungy to Elegant from Highly Embellished to White Space and I could go on and on.... I truly believe we all have our own Style and need to be true to ourselves whilst at the same time embracing and admiring styles that are not like our own....

Currently I am on the Design Team for Pages in Time an international forum site.

I have had my work featured on The Color Room recently, and have won international scrap challenges including Lets Get Shabby...

My main reason for scrapping Vintage Photos is that unfortunately I don't have any children... (I am Mum to 3 gorgeous Beagles...:) Cosmo, Merlot, and Shelby ) and honestly there are only so many travel shots that one can scrap...:) And I have found that vintage photos suit my style.... and the supply is endless and I find them so inspiring!

My other passion in life is Nursing... I work as an Emergency Nurse in a rural hospital in North Queensland, and I love it!

My Blog - "Pretty Posies and Paper Trails" can be seen here: http://prettyposiesandpapertrails.blogspot.com/

New Design Team Member + meet Irma and Rossella

the lovely

Carole Janson of AUSTRALIA is our newest DT member...

WELCOME CAROLE!!!!

Please visit her blog 3 Dimensional Me where  I am CERTAIN you will be inspired to start scrapping this minute. Carole's work is magical...detailed,  and you will be staring at it for a while, trying to take in all the little bits and pieces on her work!

So how would you like to know a little more about our Designers?

INTRODUCING....

Irma Peredne

Here is what she says about herself...

• I emigrated to USA from Lithuania when I was 11 years old.
• I am a curious 21 year old trapped in a 30+ year old body (time passes lightning speed after having kids).
• My birthday is April 8.
• My professional career is Occupational Therapy, but currently I'm practicing it 1x/week; My full-time career is that of Domestic Engineer with a specialty in conflict resolution (i.e. temper tantrum management). 
• My family consists of 2 boys, a spouse and a very aloof cat.
• I prefer to scrap alone when my family sleeps, so that I may disconnect from everything around me, and enter a state of creative flow.
• My scrapping style is very eclectic - the only unifying factor is my focus on journaling. There's journaling on 99% of my layouts, and if you don't see it on the face of the page, then it's usually typed up and placed behind the page in the page protector. Writing for me is the easiest step in creating a layout.
• I strive to scrap "keeping it real". Which means that my aim is to record the stories of our life - the good and the bad - resisting the inclination to 'make pretty' the not so happy aspects of our life experience.
• Ideally, I would scrap as if no one would see or evaluate it; I always struggle with how much of myself should I share with the world in my scrap-art. I feel I'm holding back...
• Two of my biggest influences have been Ali Edwards, and recently Sabrina Ward Harrison. I would like my style to evolve to some middle ground between Ali's sense of minimalist, graphic, clean design and Sabrina's messy, artsy, raw, soul-bearing honesty and candor.
• This is my 1st sketch DT position! (thanks to Nadia for believing in me ;) I am a scrapbooking  Hall of Fame winner 2008; I've been published in Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbook Trends magazines, and lately asked to work with Kuretake.
• I feel that this blog is a new path to some, unforeseen form of greatness: Whether that will be in new friendships forged, or existing ones strengthened ;) Perhaps it will lead me to improve and develop my own inner artist.

My blog: http://irmaperedne.blogspot.com/
My gallery:  Flickr

INTRODUCING.....

{Rossella}

This is what Rossella says about her self...

My name is Rossella, I'm Italian and I have been scrapping for about 2 years.

I love to create LO, cards, mini album, using many embellishments, ribbons, buttons, scraps of paper! I love stamps of all kinds but in short, I love to scrap!
In my spare time I like to get together with my girlfriends and go shopping and have a good chat!!! Who doesn't like that hey?

I really enjoy photography and I am always thinking about how to achieve a good page to keep my memories! My favorite color is purple. For scrapbooking I prefer to work with the whole range of cool colors. What more can I say? I do not have a defined style, I like to look at the material and decide how to combine it together!
My rule is relaxing and fun!

In the "no-scrap" life, I love my boyfriend but I'm not  married at this time. We are in love about 13 years! :) I'm an optical and I work in a shop of optical articles!

My blog: http://arcobalenodiross.blogspot.com/
My gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31078879@N02/sets/

- DT Italy Scrapbooking Association

http://fantasiablog.blogspot.com/

- DT Skatchalicious (Italian sketch blog)

 http://sketchalicious.blogspot.com/

- DT ARTarE (since July 2010) 

http://artareideepercreare.blogspot.com/   

http://artare-matrimonio.blogspot.com/

- DT Get Yous Sketch On

http://getyoursketchon.blogspot.com/

- DT The studio Challenges

http://thestudiochallenges.blogspot.com/

I will be back tomorrow with some more introductions.

There are only 4 days left to take part in our giveaway....see below or click here...

And stay tuned for the announcement of our first GUEST DESIGNER....and our FIRST challenge which will go live on April 1st!

One more Design Team member to announce...

Hi everyone !!! WOW...your response has been amazing in the last 2 days. THANK YOU so much for supporting us and we will endeavour to come around and visit all your blogs when we can!

Now we have one more person to add to our little family of designers here...

its Gerry Van Gent  joining us all the way from The Netherlands...

How exciting!!...Please visit her blog and get to know her a little better if you don't already...

Don't forget our giveaway below....one lucky winner will receive a most amazing My Scrapbook Nook kit...

See below or click here

Meet our **DESIGN TEAM** + our first GIVEAWAY!!

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments and the support you have shown us in just one day! We hope you continue to support us and we hope today you are inspired by the announcement of our Design Team...

Here we go...

Please welcome to our team...

Carole Janson - Australia
Irma Peredne - USA
Gerry Van Gent - The Netherlands

Lou Dahlstrom  - Australia

Bente Fagerberg - Sweden

Nerrida Mitchell - Australia

Trudi Harrison - Australia
LG Belarmino - Phillipinnes
Helen Tilbury - South Africa
Irini Liolia - Greece
Rossella Palladino -Italy
Heather Jacob - Australia

Natalie Elphinstone- Australia
Steph Devlin - Australia 

Yoohoo!!!How very exciting that these absolutely talented ladies agreed to jump on board. Please visit their blogs and get to know them if you don't already...and notice that I have put their location next to their names? That's so you all know that this challenge blog will be open to anyone that wants to participate anywhere in the world. I have already had a few people asked me if they can take part in this as they do not live in Australia so to answer your question YES! You can! We will be working with sponsors that are from all over the place so we hope you do join us...

Speaking of sponsors...

Our very first one that is supporting us is My Scrapbook Nook and guess what you have a chance to win..????

Yep...this absolutely stunning March kit from the Nook is full of the latest Emma's Shoppe from Crate Paper, My Minds Eye Stella and Rose, Webster's Trim and American Crafts ribbons and thickers...You don't want to miss this...

So what do you need to do to be in the running for this?

Simple...help us spread the word that this challenge blog is alive.

Here is what you need to do...

**grab our badge from the side of this blog  and add it to your blog's sidebar

**post about our site and our giveaway on your blog with a link back to here and a photo of our badge and our prize

**make sure you are a follower and leave us a comment in this post to let us know you have done all of the above.

Remember this is open to anyone and you have one week, until the 30th of March. We will announce the winner on March 31st!

Welcome to our new challenge blog...

Hello everyone!!! We are very excited that you found our brand new sketch challenge blog and hope that you will stay a while and get to know us a little better.

I have been thinking for a while about starting a site like this, and with the support of my good friends and fellow site administrators Irma Peredne and Lou Dalhstrom I finally took the plunge and started this blog...

So what are we about???

The main aim here is to get people journalling...telling their story. It seems as though people are not journalling on their pages as much as they used to. I have to say I am guilty of that too...A lot of us these days tend to go for more pretty or artistic pages and forget the journalling, which is probably the reason we all started scrapbooking.

How will this work?

Twice a month, we will provide you with a sketch as inspiration and ask that the only other requirement will be to add some journalling on your pages...or cards..Yes ...this is also for cardmakers..you can adjust the sketch and make a card from it...and try to add some journalling somewhere. Also beside traditional layout scrappers and card makers, artists that do art journals, and/or altered art are also welcome. Only requirement is that you use the sketch AND add some journaling.

All of the winners will be picked by out Design Team and you will have the chance to be our Guest Designer or to win a prize as well.

In the coming days we will introduce the rest of the Design Team and we hope to have the first challenge up by mid April.

Stay tuned.