April 2017 Main Challenge DREAM & BLACK/WHITE +1

Happy April Fool's Day!!!

No worries, we won't be fooling you today... it's no joke!

We DO have a brand new Main Challenge to reveal to you,

and we are sure that you are going to love it!

Our Main Challenge is based on a word inspiration and a creative challenge.

The challenge is open to layouts, canvases and art journal pages only.

Make sure to carefully read our instructions below.

Word Inspiration - DREAM

Creative Challenge - BLACK/WHITE +1

What does the word DREAM inspire you to create?

You can choose to use the word somewhere on your project or simply be inspired by it.  Please explain in your blog post how the word inspired you, if it is not already obvious.  We love to read about your inspiration.

For the creative challenge, we ask that you use BLACK & WHITE as the main colours of your project.  You are however allowed to add one more colour to the mix if you want.  So BLACK/WHITE +1!  Take note that the extra colour should only compose about 10% of your project, black and white remaining as the primary focus.

VERY IMPORTANT!

You have to incorporate both requirements of the challenge,

the word inspiration AND the creative challenge,

on your project to be eligible to win.

Just look at our designers' projects and descriptions as example.

Also, remember to include our board image and a link to our blog in your entry post.

IMPORTANT CHANGE IN OUR CHALLENGE RULES!

From now on, you may combine our challenge with up to 2 other blog challenges only. Any entries combining more than 2 others challenges will not be eligible for a prize.

Please check out all our challenge rules in the RULES tab above.

KAREEN DION

Kareen: "Inspired by the word DREAM, I took a picture of my little girl while she was sleeping and I kept telling myself "I wonder what she's dreaming about." For the BLACK/WHITE +1 creative challenge, it's pretty obvious that I kept to that colour palette and added just a little touch of teal."

ELENA TRETYAKOVA

Elena T: "This month, I decided to create a canvas with a little selfie and use the quote 'Never stop dreaming!' as these words mean a lot to me. One day, I believe that all my DREAMS will come true.  When I first started working with the BLACK/WHITE colour scheme, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I added a little peach in the striped paper, and I absolutely love how my canvas turned out."

LILIBLEU

Lilibleu: "I used the word DREAMS directly on my page as my title because I think it suits the picture perfectly. With the BLACK/WHITE palette, I added small touches of blue as the complementary colour as it is my favorite."

EKATERINA ZENEVICH

Ekaterina: "For the April challenge, I prepared a canvas. I used the word DREAM on a black flair piece that I found in my stash.  The word in itself holds so much meaning.  For the creative challenge, I used 3 colours: the mandatory BLACK & WHITE 

plus a touch of turquoise."

SANDERIJN DE BRUIN

Sanderijn: "This challenge inspired ideas in my mind immediately. I wanted to use circles from the middle and black spray ink. I bought this gorgeous mask as soon as I saw it as it was exactly what I was looking for. The picture of the statue angel centered in the middle was part of my idea too. She represents to me a life where anything is possible, and DREAMS can come true. Just follow the journey with an open mind and heart and you will learn so many valuable lessons and life experiences. My layout is BLACK & WHITE + teal which I chose because it is my favorite. I wanted to give the extra colour a subtle role 

to emphasize the angel in its beauty and elegance."

ANGUREE VAN RENSBURG

ANGUREE: "I was inspired by a recent life event. I was very blessed to have a DREAM come true. It was a special occasion because I would have never thought it possible. Creating this layout reminded me of trusting myself more, to go with my gut and create with whatever is in my heart at that very moment. I love monochromatic BLACK/WHITE colour schemes and I challenged myself to add indigo which I find gorgeous, but with which I am not always comfortable."

KAVITHA

Kavitha: "The word DREAM is part of my title.  Along with the word, I was very inspired by the stacked up cushions and their beautiful BLACK & WHITE patterns, so I created a layered dimensional layout with some of the same patterns (chevrons, flourishes) from the picture. I added a little teal as my 3rd colour."

HEATHER MCMAHON

Heather: "I really love ice-cream and when I recently scored this triple-decker I thought all my DREAMS had come true! I made the photo black and white, and only left the ice-cream in colour to highlight the three yummy layers. I added splashes of pink to the BLACK & WHITE background to add some pop to the page."

JENNIFER MARIE

Jennifer: "The word DREAM is evocative of many emotions in me. My son was born with many health problems, and I dream that one day all this will only be bad memories and that he will be healthy and happy.  The BLACK & WHITE combo with a little glimmer of faint yellow help emphasize this feeling of hope."

VALERIE OUELLET

Valerie: "I used the word DREAM as my title because I used a picture of my boy who seems to be dreaming. I created a BLACK watercolour background on a WHITE watercolour paper, and I love how it all turned out!"

AGA BARANIAK

Aga: "I have made a page that tells us that no one should ever stop dreaming and pursuing his or her DREAMS. I really do try to make all my dreams come true since I strongly believe we should take all opportunities that life has to offer, and not only wait for good fate and a piece of luck.  My layout is BLACK, WHITE 

with sparkles of gold."

PAMELA ELLIS

Pamela: "This challenge forced me out of my comfort zone, so I decided to go all the way and do a journal page! I found the eye symbolic of many things in life, as love and DREAMS are in the eye of the beholder. We have to visualize our dreams to make them happen.  The BLACK, WHITE and blue makes for a very 

inspirational art journal page."

ELENA MARTYNOVA

Elena M: "When I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming an adult. Now I DREAM of becoming a child again for just one day! Do you think of this too? I used a monochrome colour scheme which is very rare for me, so it was a real challenge. I added some pastel blue to my BLACK & WHITE because I remember that I loved it as a child."

DI GARLING

Di: "I used the word DREAM in a motivational quote that I found matched the beautiful picture. I was very inspired by this creative challenge and loved all those textures in the challenge image. All those gorgeous BLACK & WHITE cushions screamed texture to me. I opted to add a little bit of green, 

just enough to tease the eye."

CAROLINE ELLIAM

Caroline: "The word DREAM inspired me to use a quote that really means a lot to me: 'Own your dreams! Life was meant for a great adventure!'  I think this is a wish of all parents... to see their children achieve their dreams.  For the creative part of the challenge, I chose to stick to the BLACK & WHITE colour combo.  It is not something I'm used to and so I found it a very good challenge."

NICOLE DOIRON

Nicole: "I love to watch my furbaby Sugar sleep! And while I watch her sleep, I often find myself wondering 'What do cats DREAM of?'  I have no doubt that there must be mice and birds in there somewhere, but does she sometimes dream of me, her human friend, bearer of food and cuddles? It would be so interesting to find out! For the creative challenge, I combined a few BLACK & WHITE patterned papers 

with a touch of kraft."

Are you seeing the world in black and white by now?

We have to say that this neutral colour combination makes for a very beautiful reveal thanks to our talented designers who never cease to amaze us.

And now let's take a look at the prizes up for grabs this month!

All our prizes include free international postage.

TOP 5

(as voted by our DT)

MAIN CHALLENGE WINNER

a $50 USD value prize from 2 CRAFTY CHIPBOARD

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

Here is more information about this month's 1st place prize sponsor:

"2Crafty is an Australian wholesale manufacture of laser-cut chipboard, with thousands of designs, diverse in nature and always up to date with market trends. We pride ourselves in our reliable and quick turnaround of jobs, both large and small, and high quality products as well as unbeatable customer service. We cater to both local and international markets and are happy to quote on personalized jobs, whether it be a single title for a customer or large jobs for retreats, classes, etc. We also have a large international design team who inspire us daily on both our blog and all our other social media. If you are a retailer and would like to stock our products, 

please contact us for more information."

4 RUNNERS UP

(as voted by our DT, in no particular order)

RUNNER UP 1

a $25 USD value prize from 49 AND MARKET

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

RUNNER UP 2

a $25 USD value prize from 13ARTS

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

RUNNER UP 3

a $25 USD value prize from PION DESIGN

RUNNER UP 4

a $25 USD value prize from SCRAP AND CRAFT

RANDOM WINNER

(one entry picked at random from all eligible entries)

a $25 USD value prize from LEMONCRAFT

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

MYSTERY WINNER

(one entry hand picked by our Admin team which has not made it into our Top 5,

but that has captured our attention someway, somehow)

a $25 USD value prize from FABRIKA DECORU

LUCKY COMMENTER

(one blog follower who has commented on any of our April blog posts or FB posts)

a $25 USD value prize from CUTS2LUV

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

We are very grateful to all our generous sponsors for these fabulous prizes!

To learn more about all of them, click on the SPONSORS tab above.

We are excited to see your take on our

April Main Challenge DREAM & BLACK/WHITE +1!

Link up your project using our LinkyTool in the right sidebar

by April 30th at 11:59 pm EST.