Hello and welcome to an exciting new venture that I am involved in!! I was devastated with the closure of Scrap Around the World. Having served on their team for two years it broke my heart to see this amazing challenge blog disappear into the shadows! But fret not for now there is. . .

We are a brand new challenge blog that was born out of the need to fill a gap.

We, the owners of More Than Words, were all on the Design and Admin Teams

of Scrap Around The World. When we heard that it was finishing up, we knew it

would leave a hole in the challenge blog scene, so from that, we were born.

We are:

Di Garling, Heather McMahon, Nicole Doiron,

Pamela Ellis, Rachael Funnell and Valia Katzaki.

Collectively, we are More Than Words.

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We have two challenges each month - a Main Challenge and a Mini Challenge.

The Main Challenge has two inspirational parts - 
a "Word" and a "Creative Challenge".

Part 1: Be inspired by the "Word". You don't have to use the actual word on your 

creation although you can if you wish. We just need to see how it inspired you.

Part 2: The "Creative Challenge" might be a colour, a technique, a mood board, 
a sketch or a theme. Every month there will be something different 
to go with the "Word" to help inspire you. 

You must use both parts of the challenge to be eligible to win

one of our six prizes from our fabulous sponsors. You can find more 
information on our sponsors in the Sponsors tab above.

You can enter layouts, canvases or art journal pages,
using our Linky Tool on the blog. Our first Main Challenge will debut
on the 1st of January!

The Mini Challenge runs on the last week of each month and is for

cards, tags and ATCs only. This challenge requires you to use a specific 

word on your project. We must see the actual word. The challenge will open, 

and the word will be revealed, on the 23rd of each month (earlier in February).

Entry for the Mini Challenge is only via our Facebook page under the relevant 
post and our first Mini Challenge will debut on the 23rd of January! The winner 
will receive a $25 voucher from Dusty Attic, our fabulous Mini Challenge sponsor.

And just to sweeten the deal, all our prizes 

include free shipping to anywhere in the world!

You can see all our rules under the Rules tab at the top of this blog.

We really hope you will join in the fun!

We are proud and excited to introduce our wonderful Design Team.

"Hi, my name is Di Garling and I live downunder in Australia. I'm married to a very patient man, I have 2 grown up sons, 2 grandchildren & a little dog called Tilly. I owned and operated a Scrapbook shop for 8 years until I recently sold it and retired, although I still teach there once or twice a week. I think retirement
 is the best kept secret and I love it!"
Di's Blog!

"Hi! My name is Heather McMahon and I'm from Australia. I live on a small farm with my husband and will soon be an empty-nester as my kids head off to university. I've been scrapping for about 15 years and I never tire of it. Ok, I confess, I'm obsessed! I love the way scrapping keeps evolving and that anything goes when it comes to styles, products and creativity. I love the camaraderie among scrappy ladies and the way we can connect with people around the world. I also love to travel

 and have no end of travel photos to scrap!"

Heather's Blog

"I'm Nicole from Canada's beautiful East coast! I share my home with my fiance Yves and our fur baby Sugar the cat. I love reading, music, social game nights with friends, road trips and spending as much time in my scraproom as I can. I have a shabby chic romantic style and I love to dabble with mixed media techniques. I started scrapping in 2004 and started blogging about it in 2011,
and it has been a marvelous adventure ever since!"
Nicole's Blog

"Hello! I'm Pam! I'm a retired RN and live in a small northern town in Ontario Canada with my hubby. I am a grandma to 4 wonderful grandchildren who are often the subject matter in my scrapping. I love to garden, cross-stitch and read when I'm not scrapping. My style is for the most part shabby chic but I am open to new ideas 

and trends. I just love to try new things!"

Pam's Blog

"My name is Rachael Funnell and I live in the central west of NSW here in Australia with my awesome hubby and our 2 gorgeous kids. I have been scrapbooking for 6 years and in this time my style has changed a bit. At the present time, I am a big fan of mixed media with lot of texture, stamping, colours and layers. I have been fortunate to have been on a few design teams in the last 6 years and I am beyond thrilled to be part of this new challenge blog."

Rachael's Blog 

"Hello! My name is Valia Katzaki and I am from sunny Greece! I am a working mother of 3 and a passionate scrapper for the past 4 years. My style is a bit vintage, a bit shabby filled with tons of flowers with a touch of mixed media. I mostly do layouts but I love altered items as well. I can't wait to share this journey with all of you!"

 Valia's Blog

"Hi! My name is Elena Tretiakova. I live in Moscow, Russia, together with my dear husband and 2 sons. I'm in love with scrapping since 2012 when I began making cards. I like to test my creative ability and to always try to improve my skills. I like this wonderful therapy! My favorite style is shabby with some mixed media elements; however, I'm free to create depending on my moods and feelings."

  Elena's Blog

"Hi! My name is Helen Hapsi and I live in Chalkis, a seaside town in Central Greece. I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a bookstore shop assistant, a sea lover, a bookworm and a scrapbook addict. Family history and everyday life are my sources of inspiration and, for me, giving them color, texture and a touch of imagination 

simply is one of the joys of life!!"

 Helen's Blog

"Hi! My name is Jacqueline and I'm a SAHM to a beautiful little boy, Jet, age 4. I have been scrapbooking for around 8 years now, though only regularly since the birth of my son. I love bright colors, lots of layers and pretty flowers... Yep! Even on boy pages!!! I have been creative my whole life, drawing and painting since I was a kid and it shows in my creations, my love for everything mixed media! I am super excited to be part of this team with such talent from around the world. 

Thank you to everyone here at More Than Words for having me along!"

Jacqueline's Blog

"I am Julia Kissel from St.Petersburg, Russia. At the moment, I am a housewife, and I take care of my family and I try to bring bright colours to our little world. I learned about scrapbooking in 2012 and since then it is a big part of my life. I like to take pictures, cycling, fitness, cooking and baking, and can't imagine my life without traveling. In scrapbooking I like freestyle, adore mixed media, and sometimes even get in the mood to create something vintage or shabby."

   Julia's Blog

"My name is Kareen Brochu-Harvey but, in my scrap world, my name is KareenBH. I am 24 years old and I have been scrapbooking for 9 years now! I have an amazing boyfriend, but we don't have kids yet. I am a graphic designer and I am still in school to achieve higher education. I have 3 passions that combine so well, I love love love scrapbooking but I also love photography and traveling. Creative is my second name! I always have new ideas and I'm always trying to make them real! Some people like to call me a selfie girl and they are right about that! 90% of my pages are made with a selfie of me... probably because I don't have pets or kids yet and my boyfriend 

hates having his picture taken. My favorite product are my watercolours; 

I can't live without them!"

Kareen's Blog

"Hello everybody! My name is Lydie Denis, aka Lilibleu. I'm 43, married and a mother of 2 boys, aged 9 and 7. I live in the South of France in a sunny region that I love named Provence. Together with my husband, we run our e-shop called Ysandel, selling fantasy jewellery. I discovered scrapbooking during early 2009 after my second son was born. Now it's a real part of my everyday life! My kids, daily life and the beauty of nature are my main sources of inspiration. I love to give volume to my creations, using inks, modeling pastes and flowers."

Lilibleu's Blog

"Hi! My name is Mona Pendleton. I live in Phoenix, AZ, USA. I am married to my best friend, Scott, and between the 2 of us we have 4 children and 2 West Highland Terriers, Gretchen and Griffin. I work as a registered nurse in the operating room. In my free time, I exercise daily taking part in weight training, organized exercise classes, biking, hiking and running. I enjoy painting, stamping, paper crafting and sewing. I love to create various projects ranging from cards, home decor, tags, scrapbook pages as well as art journaling. I love to use a variety of mediums such as paints, inks, texture pastes and anything that allows me to be creative."

Mona's Blog

"I'm Valerie Ouellet from Québec, Canada, and I've been scrapbooking for 6 years now. I'm a stay-at-home mom, happy to be taking care of 3 little monsters which are often the main subjects of my pages. While I'm creating, my style is quite lively and colourful and I tend to use watercolour often and medium. I've been in the design team of 2Crafty Chipboard since July and I just finished my 4 month term for the guest team of Faber Castell Design Memory Craft."

Valerie's Blog


So there you have it - the new More Than  Words team! 
We look forward to bringing you exciting new challenges each 
month and to seeing what you create with them. 

Be sure to drop back in here on December 8th for a very special
New Followers' Contest with 6 fabulous prizes up for grabs!

Something Big is Coming!

I know right? It's so exciting!!! But I can't tell you. . .yet!
Please check back on December 1st for an announcement you DON'T want to miss!!!!!

I can't wait!! :)

believe-Scrap Around the World Mid-month Reveal

 It's mid-month reveal at Scrap Around the World and I have to say it sure has put me in the Christmas mood can you tell? My three granddaughters and I two years back on Christmas day. There is nothing like seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child!

  

This is the wonderful Mood Board we had to work with this month designed by Tiphanie Barbreau! How can you not want to scrap Christmas?

This layout was a bit labor intensive so here are a few close-ups of the details:

The papers are a mix of Bo Bunny and Kaisercraft. The gorgeous floral spray is from Prima as is the angel resin.

 The pinecone is another Prima resin that I colored with Tim Holtz  inks in Expresso and then sealed with some clear gloss gel. The little believe brad is from Bo Bunny. I used my Tim Holtz poinsetta die to cut the two big flowers.

I added berries and bling to brighten the wreath. I am still getting the knack of manipulating paper to do what I want. My ribbons could be alot better I need to practice!! I need lessons from my good friend Marilyn Rivera on this!! No one can fold and shape paper like her!!

Closer look at my die cut pointsettas. You can see all around the wreath is a gold shimmer. I used Prima's gold flakes to achieve this. It was messy and at times frustrating but overall the effect was good.

Pop on over to our blog to see what the rest of our talented team created! You won;t be disappointed!

All the best! :)

thankful

Another fabulous sketch this month at Blue Fern Studios!!

This is my take on it! 

My cutie pie Emily! I think she is model material don't you?

This is the sketch I had to work with.

Have to say I am really loving the Blue Fern papers and chipboard! It's a new addiction!! I need another room sigh. . .

I used the Chipboard Butterfly Friends and cut it into two to frame both photos. I primered the pieces with gesso then used Lindy's Stamp Gang embossing powder in Geranium Coral mixed with some glitter powder and heat embossed the finish.

The other side.

I used a piece of Shabby Brick Bits to fill out the middle a bit and support the bottom of the photos. I used Shimmerz Tauping You'll Call Dimensional paint on top of fiber paste.

For my background I used clear gesso (it's my new backup for mistakes) then masked the flowers with a stencil from TCW Mini Daisy Splash and moulding paste. I used two colors for misting Shimmerz Bamboo Leaf Spritz and Prima's Cotton Candy spray. I then went back and stamped a few spots with clear embossing powder and added some more texture with additional colors. A few stamps around the page with my sunflower stamp from Blue Fern Country Garden set. I fussy cut the mushroom off of the Calling Card sheet.

All flowers are from Prima and I used Blue Fern's Autumn Anthology papers. I added a few microbeads in butter for more fun texture. The resin is also Prima of course!

Well that's it for this post. Off to do another I love these papers!!! :)

All the best! :)

Scrap Around the World November Reveal

This month brings us a warm and cosy Mood Board designed by the talented Tiphanie Barbreau! It evokes all those wonderful sentiments that only the holidays can bring take a look!

Delightful isn't it? Now I am all psyched about Christmas! This is one board you don't want to miss! I can't wait to see what everyone does with it!

Remember to read our rules thru carefully!!!! 

And check out these awesome prizes!

1st PRIZE

$50 gift certificate from Creative Embellishments

Creative Embellishments is a family owned company created by

 Michael & Nicolle Kramer, a husband & wife team, designing &

 manufacturing unique, high quality chipboard, wood,

 rubber stamps & flair products since 2013. 

We offer fun, inspiring products to add to any project! 

We are expanding into other product lines such as acrylic & stencil 

embellishments SOON. We also custom cut for individual

 orders & have a wholesale store for retailers, kit clubs & classes.

 Do your shopping HERE! If you own a store, register for our wholesale section HERE. Be inspired by our blog HERE & follow us on Instagram HERE & YouTube HERE.

2ND PRIZE

$35 worth of chipboard from 2Crafty Chipboard

{image is for illustration purposes & you will receive assorted chipboard product}

2Crafty Chipboard is an Australian owned & operated manufacturer & wholesaler

 of laser cut chipboard products, located in Sydney, Australia.  We have been in

 operation since October 2006 & have more than 1 000 designs on offer.  We

 pride ourselves on quality products that are versatile & up to date with market 

trends, as well as offering unbeatable customer service, with quick turnaround

 of jobs large & small. Visit our website HERE & our blog HERE!  We are happy

 to quote on personalized jobs, whether it be a single title for a customer,

 or large jobs for retreats, classes, etc. If you are a retailer & would like to

 stock our products, please contact us for more information. 

3rd PRIZE

$30 value Goodie Bag of die-cut chipboard from Scrapiniec

{image is for illustration purposes & your prize will be a mix of products}

Scrapiniec is the first Polish producer of die-cut chipboard for scrapbooking. 
 We make individual orders & fulfil even the most unusual requests. 
 We are characterized by reliability, high quality products
& friendly customer contact. 

 You can visit our blog HERE & look at all our amazing designs in our 
online shop HERE!  We are also very present on social media & 
would love you to join us on Facebook HERE, Instagram HERE, 
Google Plus HERE, Pinterest HERE & Twitter HERE!

4th PRIZE

$25 worth of products from 13@rts

{image is for illustration purposes & does not reflect exactly what you will receive}

13arts is a Polish manufacturer specializing in scrapbook 

papers, embellishments & mixed media, artistic 

mediums. See our store HERE where we ship 

worldwide! Our blog HERE is full of inspiration 

& we have a monthly challenge where all our 

welcome! Please follow us on Instragram 

HERE, Twitter HERE, Pinterest HERE 

& Facebook HERE!

5th PRIZE

Prize package valued at $20 from 7 Dots Studio

{prize is exactly as shown}

7 Dots Studio was born from dreams & for dreams. 

We are a European scrapbooking manufacturer of high quality scrapbooking

 products – paper, stickers, die-cuts, collage sheets, 6 x 6 pads, collection kits, 

chipboard, stamps & stencils.  Our collections are created by amazingly

 talented artists - from clean, graphic designs to mixed-media grunge.

 You can always be sure of high quality, thick papers, perfect for mixed media. 

 We feel so blessed & happy at how much our products are loved by crafters

 & artists all around the world!  Please visit our blog HERE, our Facebook page

 HERE & follow us on Twitter HERE, Pinterest HERE & Instagram HERE.

6th PRIZE

15 Euros worth of products from Scrap-Unlimited

{image is for illustration purposes & you will receive a selection of product}

Scrap-Unlimited is a craft supplies manufacturer from The Netherlands, creating

 & selling the most amazing selection of embellishments for the crafting industry. 

 We offer shabby chic, vintage & steam-punk inspired embellishments, ribbon,

 flowers, metals, mini-books & mini novelty items.  Check out our online store

 HERE for SO MUCH MORE!  LIKE us on Facebook HERE & follow our

 highly inspirational blog HERE & our Pinterest board HERE.

7th PRIZE

15 Euro gift voucher from Mixed Media Place

Mixed Media Place is a treasure trove of different media for creative minds,

carrying a wide variety of embellishments & tools to get your projects going. 

The world of mixed media is a place of limitless possibilities - we are here

 to help you to spread your wings & fly!  Find our blog HERE, LIKE us

 on Facebook HERE, follow our boards on Pinterest HERE

 & do your shopping HERE!

8th PRIZE

17.50 Euros worth of products from Danafix, France

www.copicmarqueurs.com is an online store 100% dedicated to all 

Copic products. All Copic products made & assembled by the European

 importer are available in stock & we offer fast, international delivery!

9th PRIZE

$15 prize from Studio75

{Prize is exactly as shown}

Studio 75 is a Polish manufacturer of scrapbooking papers & items

such as chipboard albums, notebooks, spiral bindings & magnetic sheets.  

We have our own online store HERE, a bustling Facebook page HERE

 & a highly inspirational blog HERE!  Come & visit us - let's connect!

10th PRIZE

Over $15 worth of scrapbooking supplies

from Design Team member Tusia Lech {Poland}

{Prize is exactly as shown}

This prize includes: Finnabair beautiful Glitter set, 7Dots Studio sticker 
& die-cut sheets, Prima Antique Mirrors & BBP washi tape.

RANDOM PRIZE

Scrapbook kit from Scraps of Elegance Kit Club

{The random winner will receive the SOE July 2015 kit valued at $36.95}

Scraps of Darkness & Scraps of Elegance are monthly scrapbook kit clubs
 that cater to scrapbookers who are looking for an alternative to what other 
kit clubs offer.  Our kits are designed for artists who wish to take scrapbooking
 to a level beyond.  We strive to include the latest & greatest items on the market
 that will enable you  to create not "just a layout", but a work of art. Visit our blog
 HERE,our Store HERE & sign up for our kits HERE & HERE! Please LIKE us
 on Facebook HERE, follow our boards on Pinterest HERE, subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE & find our tutorials HERE!

 RANDOM FOLLOWERS PRIZE

$50 gift certificate from The Dusty Attic

The Dusty Attic is an Australian owned Laser Cutting business that designs
 & manufactures craft items & embellishments for the paper crafting market.  
We began in July 2009 & are located in Perth, Western Australia.  We are proud 
to be able to make our mark on the scrap booking & craft industry with our great
 range of products. We are continually creating new designs to keep things fresh! 
  We love seeing the creations our customers have made & also love to hear your 
feedback, as this helps us with new ideas.  We have an on-line store from which 
you can get all of your Dusty Attic supplies. Visit our store HERE and our blog 
HERE! If you are a retail business & would like to stock our range of unique 
products, please contact us for details on how to open up a wholesale account.

The deadline for this challenge is Monday 30th November  2015.

HAPPY NOVEMBER & THANKS FOR PLAYING!!