Inspiration Elevator Challenge #4: Imperfectly Perfect

You may recall from last month's challenge that the purpose of this challenge group was to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow. 

This month our challenger was the very talented Lisa Moen.  Lisa, like most of us, doesn't always take the "perfect" photos. In fact, sometimes, the imperfect is all you have to tell your story. This month Lisa challenged us to use those imperfect photos to tell an story. Here's what she had to say about her challenge:

"I was digging through some old 1980's photos the other day and realized how bad some of the pictures were. Cameras have come a LONG way since then!

I have lots of pictures I haven't scrapped because they were/are poor quality pictures and I am sure you have pictures like that too. So let's dig out those blurry, bad pictures and tell the story behind them!  So my challenge to you this month is to use a bad photo and journal about it."

I must admit that I don't usually keep or print poor photos! Thanks to digital cameras and a huge PURGE a few years ago, I live in a happy, good, photo world. Finding a BAD photo was the first challenge I faced! Luckily I was able to find a photo a friend took when Adriane was only 4. I had blown the photo up to 5x7 and the quality turned out terribly. I couldn't bear to part with it though because her smile is so serene. Once I had my photo I was on a roll.

I began with white card stock and added water colour paint by drizzling it along the top of the page. I dried each colour in between with my heat tool. This prevented the colours from being muddied.

I also added a banner and used little bits from my "BIN OF NO RETURN" to embellish it.

Finally, I added some popped up clouds, and stitching for texture and dimension.

In the end, I loved how this photo made me feel. In fact, in thinking of when this photo was taken and how she has changed, I actually shed a tear.

 
Silly, I know. But thanks to Lisa's challenge I scrapped a photo that should evoke those memories for a long time to come. Thanks, Lisa! I hope you will stop by and see what the other designers on this adventure have created:

Lisa Moen 

Laurel Seabrook

Cathy Harper

Sue Sykes

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

Ann Jobes

Christa Uttley (that's me!)

Laura Whitaker 
 Audrey Yeager  

I invite you to play along with any of our challenges and add your comment below with a link, we would love to see what you have created..

Until next time, keep doing what you love to do.

Christa