April 2018 Main Challenge NATURE & ANIMAL

We are excited about a new month which means a new Main Challenge

 starting today and we think that you're going to love it!

Let's not waste any time and see what we have in store for you!

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

Word Inspiration - NATURE

Creative Challenge - ANIMAL

What does the word NATURE inspire you to create?

You can choose to use the actual word somewhere on your project 

or simply be inspired by it.  Since words are an integral part of our challenges, we want to know how this month's word stimulated your creative process, so please do explain in your blog post how 
it inspired you if it isn't obvious in your work.

This month, our creative challenge is to use either an ANIMAL IMAGE or an ANIMAL PRINT on your project. You can scrap about your special pet. You can add a sticker or flair depicting a bird or a bear. Or maybe you have a gorgeous zebra print paper in your stash or a paw print punch 
in your punch collection that you've been waiting to use. 
Follow your animal instinct and let your creativity go wild!

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

Now let's see what our fabulous designers have come up with!

ANAT WEKSLER

Anat: I took this peacock photo the first time I took my daughter to the place I grew up in. This guy and his friends walk and fly around the houses, stop and pause on the grass without any fear. That's how green, beautiful and full of life this place is, a real NATURE's paradise. When I saw the ANIMAL creative challenge, I immediately was inspired to feature this majestic bird on my project. 


MARTINA STOYCHEVA

Martina: This month my inspiration came from a singer and her song. The girl on the picture is Juliet Simms. I was inspired by her the moment I saw this month's board because, as she sings in her song, she is a 'wild child' and that is her NATURE. I chose to go with a leopard print patterned paper as my background, also inspired by Juliet since she is wearing leopard printed leggings in the video for this song. The ANIMAL print challenge was perfect for this layout about her.


HEATHER MCMAHON
Heather: This challenge inspired me to scrap about a stunning NATURE walk we did in some mountains. Not only were we surrounded by natural beauty, but some butterflies joined us for part of the walk. I used these butterfly photos for the ANIMAL part of the challenge. This walk was an amazing experience!


JANICE NICHOLLS

Janice: This month's word inspired me to scrap these photos of Tessie taken outside. We adore our little grand fur baby. Puppy-sitting is so much fun! She is such great company and a wonderful little walking companion. She loves being outside in NATURE, digging holes, chewing her bone and playing with her toys. She will find a random spot in the garden, lay down, sun herself and sleep/doze. When she wakes, she has a twitching moment and does laps of the garden as fast as she can...  it's so funny to watch. For the creative challenge, we could use either an animal image or animal print on our creation so I opted for the ANIMAL image. The board also inspired me to use a cluster of photos on my page.


SIVAN AMEDI

Sivan: For me, NATURE symbolizes freedom and breath of relief. I therefore chose to make a layout with pictures of butterflies which I really love because they are amazing creatures of the ANIMAL kingdom. They have always intrigued me. How from their cocoon they become so spatial and beautiful. How is it that even though they are considered 'bugs' in nature, it is very rare that people are disgusted by them. Do you know that they usually only live for 3 weeks? But, they go through so much in that short period of time. They go through a special process that gives me a lot of inspiration in life. 

VALERIE OUELLET

Valerie: The word NATURE inspires me a lot. I added some fussy cut of foliage and flowers on my layout. I chose to use an ANIMAL image in this photo of my son at the zoo with a goat. It's a very beautiful memory for me!

ASIA MARQUET

Asia: To me NATURE is my inspiration! It's as simple as that. In general, I don't use photos of my family in my creations, so I often use images of nature itself. The colours, the unspoiled beauty of it, the feeling peace it gives me are the main sources of what i create. I can't live without nature. I seem to be lost in big cities. I need green around me... animals, birds singing, smell of flowers. This is my heaven on earth. I used a photo of an elephant on my project because to me he is the king of all ANIMALS... proud, strong and beautiful.

AGA BARANIAK

Aga: This month's challenge has inspired me to make a full colour layout which is something totally different than my usual style. I used watercolour paper and was inspired from NATURE in the colours, flowers and leaves with which I decorated my page. I added a beautiful watercolour flamingo to represent the ANIMAL creative challenge. I hope that my composition will inspire you.

PAMELA ELLIS

Pamela: I always relate NATURE to exotic animals. Since I was a child, I have loved flamingos! I could never figure out how those skinny legs held that body up, and of course, their pink coloring is sublime! They are definitely my favorite feathered friend so it seemed perfect to use this ANIMAL photo as the central focus for my page.


TORSA SAHA

Torsa: To me, NATURE is an immense source of beauty... beautiful flowers, beautiful birds, beautiful animals and so much more! My layout has all of it! For the ANIMAL creative challenge, I have used a picture of a horse, 

and on my badge there is also a horse image.

ANGUREE VAN RENSBURG

Anguree: I was inspired by this photo of us with our chocolate Labrador on the beach. It reminds me of how NATURE provides a pleasurable escape from everyday life. The sea and the beach always have the ability to calm my soul and allow me to breathe and smile even when things are hectic or stressful. Since my dog is my favorite ANIMAL, the creative challenge inspired me to use this photo.

NICOLE DOIRON

Nicole: Of course, the obvious thought that comes to mind when one thinks of NATURE is our wonderful outdoor world of fauna and flora. However, I was inspired by the other definition of the word. A person's character is called his or her nature, and this layout is a tribute to my oldest niece's beautiful nature. She is funny, happy, kind and carefree, and I hope that she continues to be. I opted to go with ANIMAL print for the creative challenge, extending the zebra print in the photo to the patterned paper on the page, as well as on the gems.

HEIKE'S AUGENBLICK

Heike's: I took this photo in the wild NATURE of South Africa which I found was perfect for the ANIMAL creative challenge. I also used a butterfly stencil with modeling paste on the background. I used the word inspiration 
as my title on a chipboard from Scrap FX.

CAROLINE ELLIAM

Caroline: My favorite way to enjoy NATURE is clearly at the beach. This is the only place where I can forget everything else and just enjoy the moment. I had this cute picture of my niece to represent this challenge. For the ANIMAL creative twist, I added a badge depicting a crab image as well as a seahorse ornament.

ROSALIE DUKE-STANLEY

Rosalie: I love the hidden NATURE in our backyard and the beauty of the Christmas beetle with its glorious iridescent colour. I have built up the page with layers so that the photo was the main feature in all its bright colours 
in order to best spotlight this intriguing ANIMAL.

FRANCE RINGUETTE

France: My son is a NATURE fanatic, especially when it comes to animals. Ever since he was young, animals have been his passion. During our vacation last Summer, we were able to get this precious moment captured. Funny how ANIMALS are! Here, the monkey is playing in my son's hair, just as they do in nature.

DAISY RAMSAY

Daisy: This picture reminds me of all the good moments we spent, Kimo and I, playing in NATURE. Kimo is crazy in love with the woods and the creek that cross my backyard. On my layout, I used roots, art stones, flowers, foliage and butterflies to complement my photo of this sweet ANIMAL. All these elements of nature recall this environment where we experience a lot of pleasure, me and my best friend. 

MARY CATT

Mary: NATURE is full of miracles, and one of them are butterflies which I love so much. Their life is a huge miracle of nature! I decided to add a photo depicting lots of them as well as a few chipboard butterflies for the ANIMAL image 

part of the challenge.

What an amazing reveal from our just as amazing DT!

Now, let's take a look at the prizes up for grab this month!

All our prizes include free international postage!

MAIN CHALLENGE WINNER

(as voted by our DT)

$50 CAD value prize from MAGENTA

4 RUNNERS UP

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

$25 USD value prize from PION DESIGN

$25 USD value prize from 2CRAFTY

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

$25 USD value prize from LINDY'S

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

$25 USD value prize from 49 AND MARKET

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

RANDOM WINNER

(picked at random from all eligible entries)

$25 USD value prize from 7 DOTS STUDIO

(image below is for illustration purposes only)

MYSTERY WINNER

(hand picked by our Admin team - an entry not in our Top 5, 

but that has that special something that captured our attention)

$25 USD value prize from FABRIKA DECORU

We are very grateful to all our generous sponsors for these fabulous prizes. To learn about any of them, click on the SPONSORS tab above.

We are looking forward to seeing your entries into our

April Main Challenge NATURE & ANIMAL!

Link up your projects using our LinkyTool in the right sidebar

by April 30th at 11:55 pm EST.