HMITM Challenge 184

Life in the Wharton household has been crazy choatic and hectic and it doesn't look to be easing up anytime soon.  So imagine my shock, delight and panic when I open my email on Friday asking if I'd like to GD on How Much Is Too Much.  Of COURSE I want to play along!!!  Hmmm but how am I going to manage??  Simply by putting everything else on the back burner until Monday morning! 
This challenge recipe was FUN and in theory, SIMPLE.
Use ONE holiday photo - This was taken 12.30.09 during a visit home for the holidays
Use 8 patterned papers but none can be holiday specific to my photo- I used patterns by Basic Grey, CratePaper, Bo Bunny, MME, Creative Imaginations, & Teresa Collins.  All of mine were scraps and some were double sided.  For example, on of the BG papers was Figgy Pudding (no no no) but the back side was black and white stripes! 
Incorporate the word Happy - 2" chipboard letters covered in Basic Grey ~ Nook&Pantry
Holiday embellishments - Santa image by Tim Holtz, metal embellishments by Making Memories, altered snowflakes, holly die by QuikCutz.
Other supplies used are: Stickles, Distress Inks by Ranger, Orange Pearl Pen by Viva and misc. ribbon.  My garland was created by punching 1 3/8" circle and folding in half off center.  Then I distressed the edges.  With a white gel pen, I traced an extra circle scallop below my "garland" and then added sparkling Stickles "beads".

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.  Hope you enjoyed!

How Much is Too Much? #176

It's Christmas in JULY!!  It's popular, you see sales, craft fairs and now scrappy site How Much Is Too Much has jumped on board...  Seriously??  Dang.  I don't do well with Christmas layouts.  First my pictures only reflect the chaos that commences every Christmas morn.   Poof done in thirty minutes, can we go back to bed?   So when DT member Fi challenges us with this... I thought crap.  But then after chatting with several participants... guess what?  I'm not the only one who has crappy Christmas pics.  Then I thought of ALL the shots I took to get ONE... A layout was born!
The challenge recipe called for the following to be incorporated into the layout:

2 + photos [at least 2]
1 x Christmas tree image, any size
5 x patterned papers, i.e., Christmas patterns,
5 x metal embellishments, and any other embellishment in increments of 5

The two COLOR shots are my pictures... After MUCH editing and photo-shopping.  (sigh)

Five patterned papers... four torn and rolled and mounted on the background patterned paper.

Five... I used five "out-takes" in a faux film strip.  I used five "ornaments" with 5 patterened papers from scraps. One contained my 1 Christmas Tree.  4 metal snow flake brads & 1 metal corner mount = 5 metal embellies. And 5 clear acrylic snow flakes.  A touch of journaling and I called it DONE.

Whew....