Challenge YOURself #141 Sketch "Mother's Day 2025"

Hello Scrappy Friends! 

Over at the Challenge YOUrself Blog this month we Challenge YOU to create a layout using this awesome sketch as your inspiration- and be sure to include YOU in one of your photos!!

Here is my Design Team Inspiration Layout.  I used the beautiful new Botanical Buzz Collection from 49 and Market!  I scrapped photos of my sons and I from when we went out to brunch for Mother's Day this year.   

This is such a beautiful collection! I love the colors and I think I followed the sketch - it was fun to use as  inspiration! I used the ephemera die cuts and rub-ons too!

Here are some close-ups for you:

I hope you like the sketch as much as I did and that you play along with us this month over at the Challenge YOUrself Blog!

Head on over and check out all the great inspiration brought to you by the Design Team - check out the rules and this month's prize too!

I can't wait to see what YOU create!!

((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

Mother’s Day 2025 CY #140

Hello Scrappy Friends!  

This month over at the Challenge YOUrself Blog we want you to use those stencils you have been collecting!! AND be sure to include a photo of YOU!

I created this layout with a photo of my beautiful Mom and me from Mother’s Day this year. 

I used the beautiful 49 & Market’s Flower Emporium by Vicki Boutin!  I decided to use the B side of one of the pattern papers that had blue tones and added part of a stencil using 2 colors of blue.  I then kept with the blue color by adding some of the many different embellishments that come with this collection. 

Here are some close ups for you- I also splattered with some Ranger Distress Sprtiz too!

I hope you can join us over at the Challenge YOUrself Blog this month!  Break out those stencils and let’s see what YOU create!! 

Take Care and Be Well!

~ ((HUGS)) ~ Sherri 

Challenge YOUself #119 - Sketch Challenge "Hope"

 Hello Scrappy Friends - I'm sharing our next challenge from over at the Challenge YOUrself Blog for the month of November!  This month we have a SKETCH for you - and just be sure to include YOU in the photo!  Head over to the Challenge YOUrself Blog for Challenge INFO and details - and LOTS of INSPIRATION from the rest of our AMAZING DesignTeam!

I selected a photo of my wonderful hubby and I from a great day we spent with my parents at a Sunflower Farm, here in New Jersey!  It was a BEAUTIFUL Day and they had all these great photo ops!!

I created the background using a sheet of Vicki Boutin's white foundations paper, and used water and Oxide Distress Inks in different colors. I splattered some white Picket Fence Distress Spray along with some of Vicki's Cosmic Watercolors to create this colorful base page - I am so happy with how it came out - especially since I created it and the whole layout with a broken left hand!! Good thing I am right handed!!

I used papers and embellishments from Shimelle's Main Character Energy, along with a bunch of "stuff" from my stash!   Here are some close-ups for you! AND if you follow the link - ALL FIRST TIME PURCHASES can get 10% OFF your ENTIRE Shopping Cart by using the code: SHERRIREF

I hope I've inspired you to play along with us this month at the Challenge YOUrself Blog! Be sure to visit that Blog for more inspiration and Challenge Details and I can't wait to see what YOU create!!

((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

Challenge YOUrself #112 - "Then and Now"

Hello Scrappy Friends  I had so much fun with this month's challenge from the Challenge YOUrself Blog!  We challenge you to scrap a photo of "Then" and "Now!" - just make sure YOU are in BOTH photos!!

I used the BEAUTIFUL New 49 and Market Vintage Artistry Tranquility Ultimate Page Kit and document a photo of my little brother Jack and me from 1963, and one taken this year, 2023.

I added some paper twin and maybe a few more layers - and I love how it came out!  Believe it or not - I've never used a kit for a layout - and I have to say - this was FUN!

Here are some close-ups for you:

I think we were pretty cute!!

This was a FUN Challenge - and I hope you will join us and play along at the Challenge YOUrself Blog!!

Take Care, Be Well and Stay Safe!
((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

My Little Scrapbook Store 52 Week Challenges!! Week 2

 Hi Scrappy Friends!

This year, My Little Scrapbook Store is hosting a 

52 Week Scrapbook Challenge!

We will be posting the challenges at the beginning of each month, and you have until January 2024 to complete your entries!  You can find out all the info and details on how you can play along, when you join the My Little Scrapbook Store Online Crops Facebook Page - Please come join us and play along!!!

Here are the January Challenge prompts:

I've completed 3 of the January Challenges so far - and I am excited to share them with you:

Here is my layout for Challenge 2:

We recreated some wonderful family memories on Christmas night at my Mom and Dad's home. When all of the family cousins were little, they would "sing on the stairs" while waiting for Santa to arrive! They were good sports and it was fun to capture and create this new family memory.

I used the FAB-U-LOUS Warm Wishes from Vicki Boutin!

If you don't have this collection - you can get yours here before it is Sold Out!  If you are a first purchaser from My Little Scrapbook Store - you can use the code SHERRIREF and get 10% off your entire FIRST Purchase!

I also created this layout during a Facebook Live event for My Little Scrapbook Store - and used the January Sketch Challenge as inspiration.

You can find the video and watch the process on the 

MLSS Scrapbook Layout and More! Facebook Page - Here is the Link. 

Here are some close ups for you :

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will join us over at the MLSS Online Crops Page
and play along with us!
 I'll be sharing my other layouts in upcoming posts!
Stay Safe and Be Well
((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

Challenge YOUrself #109 - 2022 Wonderful Memory

Here's Challenge YOUrself #109, the first challenge of the 2023!

Can you believe it is 2023 already???!!!

This month we'd like you to create a layout about "2022 - the year in review." You can interpret it any way you like, for example, you can scrap about how one experience changed the year for you. Or you can scrap about different experiences you had and even put them in chronological order if you like, etc. 

Thankfully, 2022 was a year of more ups - than the downs that 2021 brought us!

I decided to scrap one of the very best "ups" for 2022.

I selected this photo to capture a memory of my Aunt and Uncle's 50th Anniversary. My little brother Jack was a junior usher and and I was a junior bridesmaid in their wedding.  I am so thankful and grateful we were all able to celebrate together as a family again.  This was our first time since Covid and after our vaccinations, that we were all together again!  Due to my husband's health, we had been extra careful and did not attend any for over 2 years!  It was great to be together with our family again!

This is a photo of my brother Jack, my mom, my husband Phil, me and my Dad in my cousin's back yard at the party. It rained for a bit, but it didn't ruin the fun time we all had together!
I used the beautiful 49 and Market ARToptions Alena Collection!! from My Little Scrapbook Store -
 Oh MY! Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!  I also added some acetate leaves from their Spectrum Sherbet Collection, some flowers from Little Birdie, some paper twine and charms from my stash too!

Here are some close-ups for you:

Thanks for stopping by! I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at the Challenge YOUrself Blog! I'd love it if you left a comment and the headed on over there for Challenge Rules and info, along with some more great inspiration from the rest of the Design Team! We can't wait to see what you create!!

Be Well and Stay Safe (((HUGS))) ~ Sherri

** I am also on the Design Team for the My Little Scrapbook Store.  It is an online family run store, and we have a Facebook Page called My Little Scrapbook Store - Scrapbook Layouts and More! We'd love for you to join the page and the FUN we have over there with monthly challenges as well.

IF you make a FIRST TIME purchase at the STORE - and use the the code

SHERRIREF you will recieve 10% off your entire purchase! 

Check it out! :-)

My Hero - Challenge YOUrself Blog's Challenge #104 -Tough Times

Hello Scrappy Friends! It's time for the next challenge from the Challenge YOUrself Blog!  

Challenge #104 asks you to document a Tough Time in your life, and to be sure to include YOU in a photo on your layout.

I am documenting a very tough time in our life.  My husband Phil had a Widow Maker heart attack on August 13, 2021.  It is a true MIRACLE that he is still with us, and we are blessed that he has a great team of Doctors caring for him. His heart was severely damaged and he was put on the heart transplant list as a "6."  A person with a 1-4 status is someone who is in urgent need of a new heart.

At the end of November, Phil's condition had seemed to worsen, so his Doctors had him go back into New York Presbyterian hospital for a right heart catheterization on December 1st, 2021.  They had anticipated that he would be bumped up on the list to at least a 4, and told us it was very possible that he would need to remain in the hospital and await a new heart.

We still put up our Christmas Tree at home before on Thanksgiving weekend. The BIGGEST one we have every had, and prayed that God would get him and our family through this very scary time.

The GOOD NEWS was that his heart function was not as bad as the Doctors had thought!!  They were also able to clearly see an old blockage on the right side of his heart, ( he had a silent heart attack years ago they said, and we never knew about it!) and come up with a plan to have one of the best Doctors in the world go in and try to clear that blockage. *That 4.5 hour SUCCESSFUL procedure took place on December 27th, 2021!

So here is my Design Team Inspiration layout with a photo of the 2 of us in his Cardiac Intensive Care Hospital room at NYP during his early December 2021 stay. 

49 and Market's Spectrum Sherbet Tidal Pool Collection was the PERFECT choice for making a layout with this photo. 

This man is my HERO , My HEART, My ALWAYS and FOREVER- he is certainly very BRAVE and STRONG, and UNSTOPPABLE, LIKE NO OTHER! These days, with the help of medication, diet, exercise, (and me hovering over his every move! poor guy!) he is back to cutting the grass, tending the plants and flowers around the yard, even doing laundry!!  He had a pacemaker/defibrillator "installed" in  April and has even been moved to a "7" on the heart transplant list - which is an "on hold" status!!!  He is certainly my Miracle Man for sure!!

We have a follow up appointment in Mid-August and are praying that his heart function has improved, and for continued good news! Please keep Phil in your prayers - we truly believe that the Power of Prayer got him where he is today!

Here are some close ups for you:

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my story.  It is fun to document the FUN times, and can be tough to document the TOUGH times - but they are BOTH part of our lives, and saving those tough ones, is just as is important, so that we don't forget how strong we can be, when we have to be!

Stop by the Challenge YOUrself Blog for all the Challenge, Entry and Prize info and I hope you play along with us this month!

Sending LOVE and ((HUGS)) to you and your family!

Take care, be well and stay safe,

~Sherri

Challenge #103 - Challenge YOUrself Blog -" FAMILY "

Hi everyone!  I hope this post finds you and your family well!  Today our family is off on an adventure! We are driving from NJ to Cleveland, OH to attend the wedding of our nephew this weekend!  We rented a large van and 7 of us are driving out there!!

Spending time, and taking adventures with my family is one of life's best BLESSINGS! 

I love the prompt for this month's Challenge YOUrself Blog!  

Life to me is ALL ABOUT FAMILY!

I selected a photo of my parents, husband, 2 sons and me from our 2015 Disney Cruise to Alaska!  This photo was taken one of our excursions. The color of the lake is amazing and we will never forget all of the wonderful memories we made on this trip!

I used the beautiful Vicki Boutin's Fernwood Collection for this layout.  

I even had some fun and used my sewing machine!

Thanks for stopping by!  

I hope I've inspired you to play along with us at the Challenge YOUrself Blog!

I can't wait to see what YOU create!!

Stay Safe, Be Well, LOVE your Family!

((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

MLSS February Sketch Challenge "You are my Heart"

Hi everyone - I want to share a layout I made for the My Little Scrapbook - Scrapbook Layouts and More Facebook page! February Sketch Challenge.

Here is Sketch:

It is a 2 pager - but I decided to only use the page on the right.

Here is my layout:

This was an important layout for me to make. My husband Phil had a Widow Maker heart attack on August 13th, 2021.  He was moved from our nearby hospital here in New Jersey, to New York Columbia Presbyterian hospital in New York City on August 15th.

He was in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit from the 15th to the 28th, and on life support machines for almost the first week. He was in very critical condition and it was a very scary time. I drove into NYC everyday and stayed from 10am to 8-9pm. 

We are blessed that he was in such a great hospital and that he has an amazing team of Doctors taking care of him.  While he has heart failure due to damage done from the attack, and he has a long road ahead, as has been put on the heart transplant list as a "6" - he is doing so much better and getting stronger.

This photo was taken 10 days after arriving at NYP, 12 days after his massive heart attack.  We have been blessed with so much love, prayers and support. I shared this first photo of him on my social media with Phil sitting up in bed, smiling and giving a "thumbs up!" 

There is a journaling tag tucked behind the photo that I have yet to journal on as it is hard to put into words how I felt that day - but I will journal something eventually.

Anyway - I LOVED the colors and layers from this Simple Stories "HEART" Collection that I used to capture the blessing that I see in this photo. 

Here are some close ups, and a few process photos. I've listed the items used below some of the photos and at the bottom of this post.

YAY Phil!!!  I LOVE YOU!

This chipboard heart and heart beat is from a very cool Etsy Shop "Some Assemblage Required"  I used a teal gel pen to color in the heart beat, and painted the heart with Vicki Boutin Gold Glaze Creative FX and topped it with Nuvo Glimmer Paste "Celebrate Gold"

I love the large chipboard shape that I covered with the yellow patterned paper and then stenciled over it using a Brutus Monroe Jagged Heart Stencil and Ranger Distress Oxide Ink in Salvaged Patina. How sweet are those washi tapes too!

How cute is this heart!!  LOVE that Nuvo Glimmer paste!!

I also used the Distress Oxide Ink in Salvaged Patina with this fun Dotted Line Layering Stencil from Stamper's Anonymous.

You can see the beautiful gold and glimmer from the VB Gold Glaze and the Nuvo Glimmer paste that I painted on parts of the heart.

Look at that Nuvo Glimmer paste shine on that heart!  I also watered down some of the VB Gold Creative FX and splattered it all over the layout.  I cut out the teal "REMEMBER" from another sheet from the collection and popped it up for more dimension.

Below are a few "behind the scenes" work in progress photos for you:

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope I've inspired you to get crafty with it and try something new!

Treat each day as a GIFT as each one is precious!

Be Well and Stay Safe ~ (((HUGS)) ~ Sherri

Items used:

Simple Stories "HEART" Collection:  Chipboard Stickers, 2x2 Elements, Washi Tape, 6x12 Simple Set Cardstock Stickers, Papers used were: I Love You, Forever in my Heart, Treasured Memories, Element #2, I Never Forget, Remember, 4x6 Elements, Forever
Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous Dotted Line Stencil
Brutus Monroe Jagged Heart
Ranger Distress Ink - Mustard Seed and Oxide Ink -Salvage Patina
Ranger Distress Stain - Picket Fence, Tarnished Brass
Vicki Boutin's CreativeFX Gold Glaze
Nuvo Glimmer Paste - Glitterati Gold
Thickers - Navy
Some Assemblage Required Chipboard shape