2 great digi-scrap challenges

I could NOT do anything else today before I posted about two FABULOUS finds.

FIRST -- Susan's AWESOME blog on the topic of DIGI-SCRAPLIFTING!! Sorry to shout but this is the coolest site I've found in a while! It's really more of a daily scraplift challenge, where Susan picks a LO she loves from the Two Peas gallery, posts it on her blog and challenges others to SL it with her and post their versions. Her intro along with an explanation of scraplifting is here. Something I really love about Susan's reasons for doing this is that it is all to help her to improve her own scrapbooking skills -- something I have being trying to do, but I've been at a bit of a loss to figure out how to go about it. Scraplifting on its own is great, a springboard to use when my own creativity has stalled out and I need something to get me creating again. But Susan's point about using it to help us to develop our skills and to learn new techniques is a very important distinction, I think.

BTW -- I'm not a regular on the pea-boards, but I noticed a message over on the DigiScrap pea-boards when Susan chose this layout by Shawn (Auntie Pea) that I had JUST added to My Favorites at SBB. I am actually a very regular tagger of LO's for My Favorites!!). That being said, I also have to admire Susan's ambition in doing this DAILY! I can't possibly keep up that pace, but I do hope to join in every now & then. (I have other resolutions that take precedence!)

NEXT -- I am so digging the new Virtual Vault Challenge over at SBB. The thread by Amy is here. I have SO many of my early layouts that I just CRINGE at when I do my twice-yearly printing spree -- this was one that I was dying to redo.

Before

After

Alhtough I didn't add all that much in the way of technique, I DID pick up some very important SHOPPING skills in the last few months! The kit in the 'new' LO is Ashley Olson's Beach Cottage, available at SBB.

Also, I learned to make stamps in PSE from .png files -- I wanted to add a starfish or something to this LO, and the 'sticker' in Julie Howard's 'By the Sea' kit,
also available at SBB, (which I LOVE!!) was too delicate for my LO, so I turned it into a stamp and "stamped" a couple of times so it had a little more weight.

This morning, I got some very useful comments from Angeloup:

"I like the new photo placement, and also your journaling (taking it off the tag makes it less "fussy" and easier to read)"

Now THAT is a very useful comment -- the kind of info I can really use to sharpen my skills!

Thanks a bunch!