January 2016 Main Challenge PERSONALITY & SELFIE

It's finally here!

The 1st day of 2016 (HAPPY 2016 EVERYONE!)

and thus the reveal of the first More Than Words Main Challenge.

Our Main Challenge is based on a Word inspiration and a Creative Challenge.

This challenge is open to layouts, canvases and art journal pages only.

What does the word "PERSONALITY" inspire you to create?

You can choose to use the word somewhere on your project or
simply be inspired to create from it.  Please explain in your blog post
how it inspired you, if not already obvious. 

The creative challenge is to use a "SELFIE".

It is as easy as that!  All of the DT have used a selfie of themselves

on their project in order to introduce themselves to you during our very first
 challenge, but for your project, you can use a selfie of yourself
or anyone else (kids, husband, best friend, etc).

Or, if you have no selfie, any photo of you will be fine.

DI GARLING

Di: "I was inspired by the "personality" word to list what I feel are my personality traits, the main one being that I am a very happy person so I took a whole bunch of HAPPY selfies (I had to take about 20 to get 2 that I was happy with!!).  I think this layout depicts my personality perfectly."


ELENA TRETYAKOVA

Elena: "My selfie has been taken during a wonderful time at a wedding at the coast.  Being a very happy person overall who loves to have fun, I had an amazing time! A lot of sun, beautiful flowers and good mood inspired my project!"


HEATHER MCMAHON

Heather: "My title, 'I make my own destiny', came about from realizing that I'm happy with my life right now because I have planned and worked hard to achieve what I have. This page has all my fave scrappy things - the teal colours, white background and gorgeous Dusty Attic chippies."


HELEN HAPSI

Helen: "I tried to reveal some aspects of my personality such as being creative, always wanting to discover new things and trying to be true to myself!"


JACQUELINE MOORE

Jacqueline: "The selfie photo I have used for the January challenge is of me at the beach in Margaret River.  To me, this says so much about my personality.  I love the beach, the sun, the heat and I could spend the whole day in it!  I have added shells to my page to represent this and have chosen colours that to me 

feel very calming and laid back."

JULIA KISSEL

Julia: "This is my 'Summer Memory' layout, or 'How I learned to do a selfie!'  Bright greens, warm sun and blooming garden fragrances inspired me to use
such a bright palette, as bright as my personality!"


KAREEN BH

Kareen: "I'm always saying that I have 2 personalities. Today, I show you in this layout, my bubbly personality.  I love selfies!  I'm always taking one so this part was a piece of cake for me.  I have created a colourful background with texture to represent my way of making things in life more magical, more wonderful and more colourful!  I'm always dreaming about everything.  

I also added flowers and bright pink because I'm a real Princess! haha"

LILIBLEU

Lilibleu: "The picture has been taken just after I moved to my new home.  I took it especially for this challenge since I pretty much never take any selfies.  I think it represents me quite well, for it allows the viewer to get a catch of my enjoyment of life as well as my quiet and gentle nature."


MONA PENDLETON

Mona:  "I was inspired by the word 'personality' to share my adventurous side!  I love the great outdoors so I took this selfie while on a mountain hike,
getting my daily dose of nature and exercise."


NICOLE DOIRON

Nicole: "I had so much fun creating this layout using a selfie I took during a Summer stroll in the woods a couple years back.  I used several kraft stickers with different adjectives that describe a few aspects of my personality and what I strive to be every day of my life.  Considerate, honest, humble... that sums me up pretty well!"

PAMELA ELLIS

Pamela: "I really dislike having my photo taken, let alone selfies!  I am very insecure about my looks so I tend to avoid photos all together or fade into the background if I can.  My page reflects my character.  I used bold papers, a side of me that is rarely seen but exists, and then whitewashed them to make them more subtle which is more like the person I am in public.  The quote is something that I am striving for everyday to live my life the way I imagined it should be, or will be."


RACHAEL FUNNELL

Rachael: "I'm a REAL homebody so for this 'selfie' challenge, I have used this photo that I took where I love to be... my home!  The quote by Katy Perry is one of the many ways to describe my personality."


VALERIE OUELLET

Valerie: "I don't take selfies often, but I used the idea behind the word 'personality' to have a retrospection about my scrapbooking inspiration and my life.  I'm a simple girl with a simple life  who loves watercolor, doodling and bright colours."

VALIA KATZAKI

Valia: "I probably am the last dinosaur on this planet who doesn't take selfies!  I had to take 50 or more to get one partly right.  I may look wild because of the platinum pixie hair and the tattoos, but there is a softer side in me, which I strive to conceal.  Those who know me are aware of its existence.  So I go wild with graphite paste and scissors, but I am also a sensitive girl with pink, glitter, 

and what else? Prima flowers!"

We hope that all these wonderful creations from our DT will inspire you to play along!

Be sure to check out our RULES
to make sure that you are eligible to win one of our monthly prizes.



All our prizes include postage!

MAIN CHALLENGE WINNER
a $50 USD store credit from DUSTY ATTIC

Here is more information about our 1st place sponsor this month:

"The Dusty Attic is an Australian owned and operated laser cutting business, which designs and manufactures craft items and embellishments.  Founded in July 2009 and located in Perth, Western Australia, we are proud to be able to make our mark on the scrapbooking and craft industry with our great range of products.  We are continually designing so we can bring our customers new and fresh designs.  We love seeing what beautiful creations our customers have made with our products."

Next, 4 runners-up will each be awarded a prize valued at $25 USD.

1st RUNNER-UP
this prize package from COLOUR BLAST
(exactly as shown below)



2nd RUNNER-UP
this prize package from COUTURE CREATIONS
(exactly as shown below)



3rd RUNNER-UP
a gift certificate from THE SCRAPBOOK DIARIES



4th RUNNER-UP
a prize package from 7 DOTS STUDIO
(image below is for illustration purposes only)



In addition, we will draw 1 random winner from all eligible entries.

RANDOM WINNER
a prize package from STUDIO 75



And last, but certainly not least, we will randomly award a prize to
1 lucky blog follower who has commented on any of our January blog posts.
There is no need to participate in our challenge to be eligible for this prize,
but you do need to be a follower and leave us some comment love.

LUCKY COMMENTER
this prize package from GRAPHIC 45
(exactly as shown below)


To learn more about all our wonderful sponsors,
click on the SPONSORS tab above!

We cannot wait to see your interpretation of our
January PERSONALITY & SELFIE challenge!

Link up your project using the LinkyTool in the right sidebar

by January 31st at 11:59 pm EST!!

Come back in a week when we reveal the winners of our
New Followers' Contest!  Be sure to follow if you haven't already!!

What to expect at More Than Words in 2016

Only 1 week left before we reveal our very first challenge!

Let's take a quick look at what you can expect from
the More Than Words challenge blog every month.

The 1st day of the month marks, as you know, the reveal of
our Main Challenge open to layouts, canvases and art journal pages.
You will have until the last day of the month to link up your project for
a chance to win 1 of 6 fabulous prizes (1 winner, 4 runners-up & 1 random).

On the 8th, all our winners for the month prior will be announced!
This includes a random commenters' prize which will be awarded to a blog follower
who will have left us some comment love the month prior!

We will have a special treat for you on the 16th...
a Special Guest Spotlight during which we will introduce to you
a very talented and prominent designer and their take on our current challenge.

And last, but certainly not least, on the 23rd (or a few days earlier in February),
we will be hosting a very fun Mini Challenge just for cards, tags and ATCs.
You will have until the last day of the month to share your Mini project on
our Facebook page for a chance to win a prize from our Premium Sponsor!

In summary, we offer you every month
4 inspiration-filled blog posts, 2 awesome challenges, 
8 fantastic prizes and creative inspiration for everyone!

So make sure to mark those days on your 2016 calendar
to not miss any of our posts!!

Before we go, just a quick reminder that there is only 2 weeks left
to enter our New Followers' Contest by:

FOLLOWING OUR BLOG
LIKING US ON FACEBOOK 
FOLLOWING US ON PINTEREST 
CONNECTING WITH US ON INSTAGRAM

The more places you follow, the more chances

you have to win 1 of these 6 amazing prizes:

Please share with all your scrappy friends!

to each and every one of you!  See you in 2016!!

First Challenge Reveal Sneak Peeks

Two weeks have gone by already since our launch,
and we couldn't be more pleased by your positive reaction
and encouraging feedback!  We appreciate each and
every word of support you've sent our way!

The New Followers' Contest is going wonderfully!
We want to thank all of you who have followed us so far,
and we hope that you will spread the word and invite all your friends
to join the More Than Words scrappy family.

The first and main requirement is to:

FOLLOW OUR BLOG 

Next, we strongly encourage you to:

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST

CONNECT WITH US ON INSTAGRAM

The more places you follow, the more chances

you have to win 1 of these 6 amazing prizes:

Six winners will be picked at random from all our followers 

and announced right here on the More Than Words blog on January 8th.

We are so excited about our first Main Challenge reveal on January 1st
that we thought we would give you a sneak peek!

Awesome, aren't they?!

If we've piqued your curiosity, then be sure to join in on the 1st day of 2016!

New Followers' Contest (with 6 fabulous prizes!)

As we have promised during our very first post a week ago,

we are back today with a very special

More Than Words
 New Followers' Contest!

This contest is fairly easy... all you have to do is follow us!

We have no doubt whatsoever that you will love the More Than Words
challenges and you will want to play along, so we hope that you will connect
with us not only on our blog, but also on all our social media sites.

Let's start with the most exciting part of this contest... PRIZES!

Each of the 6 founders of More Than Words is donating a fabulous prize:

Di Garling

DT Coordinator & Facebook Manager

Nicole Doiron

Guest Coordinator & Pinterest Manager

Rachael Funnel

Winners Coordinator

Heather McMahon
Mini Challenge Manager

Pam Ellis

Sponsor Coordinator

Valia Katzaki
Instagram Manager

HOW TO WIN ONE OF THESE FABULOUS PRIZES, YOU ASK?!

The first and main requirement is to:

FOLLOW OUR BLOG 
by going to the Google Friend Connect "Followers" gadget
 in the right sidebar and clicking on 'Join this site'.

This is very important as you will need to be a blog follower

to participate in our challenges!

Next, we strongly encourage you to:

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK



FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST

CONNECT WITH US ON INSTAGRAM



The more places you follow, the more chances

you have to win 1 of the 6 amazing prizes above!

Becoming a follower of our blog is however mandatory to be eligible to win.

Please feel free to share our contest information with all your
scrappy friends and invite them to follow us too!!

Six winners will be picked at random from all our followers 
and announced right here on the More Than Words blog on January 8th,
a week after our first Main Challenge reveal on January 1st.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

Welcome to the More Than Words Challenge Blog

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 would be closing 
at the end of this year, we knew it would leave a considerable 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.

----------------------------------------

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!