Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Challenge #69: Finale of the Finale


Did you think we weren't coming back to finish off the last challenge?
Christmas got the best of my time and I almost forgot to come back with the final Use It Tuesday post.
We feel very honored that so many of you joined us for our final challenge. And thank you to those who left such thoughtful comments on our final post. We truly feel lucky to have been able to have spent 69 challenges with this group of fine crafters.  Whether you've been her for 69 challenges or 1 challenge, we truly appreciate it. 
And now it's time for our final Design Team Top 2 Picks.  

Our first pick this week is from Christine Drogt. She made this adorable Christmas card using  washi tape and patterned papers from her stash.


And Helen G wowed us with her simple, but splashy card using scraps from her stash. Love these, Helen!!



Congratulations to you both. Here is the Top 2 Pick badge for your blog.


And that's it for the Use It Tuesday Team.

Happy Holidays, however you may celebrate. Best of luck in 2014 and remember, you don't need us around to use up your scrappy stash. Get in there, get dirty....and Use It!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Challenge #69: The Finale

Hello Users!

I would like to start by saying that on behalf of the Use It Tuesday Team, it has been an AWESOME 3 years playing with you!
{And I can't believe it has really been that long!}

Our core admin team has gone through MANY changes since the inception of Use It Tuesday!  From jobs to kids to babies to thriving businesses to international moves, we have seen it all!  Thankfully we made it through with the support of one another.

With all of that said, at this point in time, we just do not feel we can continue to support Use It Tuesday with all the love and attention it deserves.  We have made the difficult decision to close out 2013 by saying farewell to the challenge-blog world.

We hope you have been as inspired by us over the past 3 years as we have been by you.  We love you all and wish you much happiness as you continue to use your stash!

We hope you will join us in our final challenge, which is all about WINTER & HOLIDAYS!

***REMEMBER: All of our challenges call for you to use your hoarded supplies! A challenge requirement is to tell us in your post what you used!***

Please link your creation using Inlinkz by noon EST on Friday 20 December. No blog? No problem! Just use keyword USE069 when uploading to an online gallery and leave us a direct link so we can find your creation.

Please make sure to mention you are playing along with a Use It Tuesday challenge (a link is great too!) so we know you are participating.

The Design Team has outdone themselves this week. Here's some great inspiration to get you started:

Michele made this simply stunning card with her Bo Bunny rub-ons that were part of a larger collection kit.  We all have those left-overs, don't we?!  She has had these stashed away for over 2 years.  Looks just beautiful!


Nicole made this hilarious layout using her coordinating Bo Bunny papers and rub-ons!  How can a page about something 'ugly' be so perfectly festive?!



Jessica A repurposed this platter!  She had it set up for fall, then changed out a few things using her old chipboard letters and snowflake to make a wonderfully festive decoration!!  She also added some flocking to the pinecones to give them a touch of winter!  Fabulous idea!


Valentina loves a vintage Christmas and this card does not disappoint!  She used a Christmas stamp that had yet to be inked , the sticker is from an old set of Simple Stories and finally, the kraft paper is from an old My Mind's Eye paper collection.  It all coordinates beautifully!






Jessica B made a super quick card using her stash!  Her paper is 4 years old, the wreath is 2, and the Merry Christmas tag layered in there hails from 2012.  This is a wonderful inspiration for those of us who need a quick project idea!



Tracy had the genius idea to use die cuts as a circular border!  She had been hoarding them for over 5 years and now says her stack is a little smaller!  Her paper is also from 4 years ago.  What a fun way to use it!!


Tammy is showing us her Elf on the Shelf, Sam!!  She made this darling page in her December Daily using Echo Park's Christmas paper line from last year.  All her embellishments were lovingly placed and saved from the stash drawer!



Heather made this festive card by opening a stashed 6x6 paper pad that had been hiding in her craft room!  She topped it off with the perfect sentiment from a 4 year old pack of Stampin UP rub-ons!  We also recognize that cranberry ribbon purchased from the SU clearance rack a few years ago.  I just might have a FEW rolls in my stash, too!


Rachel pretty much pulled it ALL out of her scrap drawer to make this gorgeous winter inspired card.  She had the card and the doily just laying around and found the gems at the bottom of a box!  The topper and paper were left over from a kit.  Such beauty put together from scraps!


And our last but definitely not least Guest Designer for Use It Tuesday is Liz!  She made this gorgeous layout using a 10 year old snowman sticker AND repurposing snowflake confetti from a 2008 holiday work party!!  She even repurposed corrugated cardboard that was packaging for patterned paper!  Thank you, Liz!  You rocked it!



Thank you for playing with us over the past 3 years!  
We can't wait to see what you create! Now go clean up that stash and Use It!!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Challenge #68: WINNERS!!

"Anything Goes" week here at Use It Tuesday is always a popular one. This week, we had 115 gorgeous entries. Let me tell you, picking just two to highlight for you was a tough challenge. 

So, we didn't!
For this challenge, we changed things up slightly at Use It Tuesday and will not draw a "winner" to be a future Guest Designer. Because of this, we instead decided to take our time wandering through the gorgeous entries and each Design Team member selected one entry they wanted to share with all of you.
If you were one of the entries we chose to share, congratuations!
If you weren't, it doesn't mean we don't appreciate the time and effort you put into visiting us, creating for our challenge and them coming back to post it. There were simply too many gorgeous entries to show you all of them (it would be a VERY long post). 

Of course, if you are reading this and have time, you are always welcome to go back through our InLinkz entries and leave some comment love for your fellow crafters. We all appreciate it!

Now, let's take a tour through this week's Winner's Gallery!

We start with the selection from our fearless Challenge leader and founder of Use It Tuesday, Siobhan. Siobhan started Use It Tuesday 68 challenges ago (almost three years) with the goal of inspiring us all to get into our craft room and use those accumulating supplies. Thanks to her, the drawers and cupboards would probably be bursting by now. 

Siobhan chose Melissa Miranda's absolutely adorable owl gift basket that she made for her child's teacher. Isn't it adorable? She used brown papers from her stash to create this unique 3D project.


Tracy picked Brenda Ragsdale's beautiful layout. Being a scrapbooker herself, I know that Tracy has a soft spot for the layout entries we get here at Use It Tuesday. This week, Tracy loved the layers that created an eye-catching creation. She's also a huge fan of the Teresa Collins collection Brenda used.



Tammy selected Kathy Jo's elegant Christmas card, falling in love with the subtle bleaching and gorgeous color combination. She also loved the gorgeous embellishments Kathy Jo pulled out of her stash.


Steffanie S was Michele's pick this week.She loved that Steffanie took some old patterns that didn't work for her and used the "B" side instead. She also loved the simple ornament shapes and fussy cut presents. Gorgeous and festive!!


Next up is Doreen Vasquez, who caught Becky's eye this week with the gorgeous colors in her layout. Plus, the fact that pretty much everything on the page was hoarded in her stash.


Heather wanted us all to see Shirley's beautiful card. Heather has so much trouble with "busy" background papers, so loved how Shirley really made it work with this card. Plus, the coloring on the image - just highlights in the same shade as the paper - is really eye-catching!



Jessica B found this delightful altered project on JanR's blog. Jessica loved how simple and cute it was. The fact that it was resurrected from the "altered projects graveyard" is fun too!!


Valentina picked Lauren Tomacek's advent calendar. This unique project itself is from her stash. It was first created in 2010 and Lauren updated it to be fresh again by replacing the main display panel and decorations. Valentina loved the cute trees she made from saved twine from bouquets.


Jessica A wanted to share the creation from Issys with us. Issys created a super sweet holiday mini album for her friend using empty cookie boxes plus ribbons, tags and buttons from her stash. Check out the pictures of the inside on her blog. It is adorable!!


And that's it for our Winner's Gallery! Once again, thank you to each and every person who entered.


Our last challenge of 2013 will be posted tomorrow, Tuesday December 10th.
Come on back and see what we're up to this week!