The Challenge YOUrself Final Blog Post

To the Challenge YOUrself Community,

Today, I am writing the final blog post for Challenge YOUrself. When I first joined the design team 13 years ago, I had no idea what kind of journey I was about to embark on—the hard work, the lasting friendships, the artistic growth, and the amazing adventures that would come along. The benefits of running this challenge blog have been numerous and rewarding.

To Lynn Lefebvre: 

YOU founded Challenge YOUrself in December 2013, and I was overjoyed when you selected me for the design team. Though I was new and inexperienced, you gave me a chance that I will never forget. I still miss your presence here, and I can’t thank you enough for the privilege of continuing your legacy. You instilled in me the belief that it is crucial to include ourselves in our projects—you’ve made me a better artist and a better person for that. Together, we’ve reached 150 challenges!  Yay!

To the Design Team Members: 

Words cannot express how thankful I am for everyone who has served on the Challenge YOUrself Design Team over the years. Your contributions to this site have been remarkable, and I want you to know how much your friendship and support mean to me. Whether you have been with Challenge YOUrself since the very beginning or joined recently, I have truly valued your patience, understanding, and professionalism, and I will miss you.  And of course, I have to mention just how talented I think you all are!  

Thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart.

Here is a list of all of our past and present design team members:

Lynn Lefebvre

Sharon Fritchman

Caroli Schulz

Cindy Alvarez

Kerry Bruce

Lisa Haiss

Tracy Pinkepank

Tehri Koskinen

Shawna Saucier

Angi Barrs

Erin Morehouse

JJ Sobey

Lesley G

Aurelie Cormier

France Ringuette

Jess Grey

Kate Blue

Sherri Caramico

Asa Johanson

Gemma Steele

Susanne Brauer

Taru Jenkohen

Carmen Henriquez

Maria Hernandez

Patricia Van Gelder

Rachel Lowe

Lisa-Marie Watling

Cathy Lu

Kimberly Skinner

Lori Stroup

Ashley Johnson

Laurie Leahey

Lauren Mullarkey

Maya Yang

Nancy Fan

Kristina Wurmbrand

Deanne Saunders

Monique Fox

Thank you all very much!!

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When I started reviewing Challenge YOUrself’s past for this post, I was all about the statistics. But then it hit me: it’s not about the numbers—it’s about the people! To everyone who’s ever been part of Challenge YOUrself, whether you’re an artist, scrapbooker, art journaler, visitor, follower, prize winner, designer, commenter, or viewer, your involvement has been incredibly wonderful. 

YOU are the reason our challenge blog has been thriving for 150 challenges!

I would love to keep in touch! If you’d like to stay connected with me or each other, please reach out.

Thank you for sharing your creativity with Challenge YOUrself for the last 13 years. I hope we’ve inspired you to keep posting photos of YOU in your artwork!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything!

Challenge YOUrself #150 . . . Top Three and Random Winner!

 Hi everyone.  It's time to announce the winners for the final challenge.

Challenge YOUrself #150:

But first, we'd like to take a minute to thank all those who joined 

us last month!

We want you to know that we absolutely loved all of your entries, and we couldn't have run this blog for so many years without your participation!  We feel blessed to have so many wonderful and talented participants over the years. Thank you all so much! ♥

We'd like to announce the DT's Top 3 favorites for our final challenge:

6.  Nicole Lacoste

5.  Rachel Lacoste

7.  Petra Jennings

Well done, ladies!  Here is a button for your blog :)

And drumroll, please . . .

The random draw prize winner is:

2.  Barbara Greenberg

Congratulations, Barb! You have 2 weeks to contact me at
sfritch@ptd.net to claim your prize.

And that's a wrap for our final challenge!

We'll be back tomorrow with some parting thoughts.

Our Final Challenge, Challenge YOUrself #150's Random Draw Prize!

 Hi everyone!

You can find this month's TIME TO SAY GOODBYE challenge here!

Before we get into our challenge, we want to show you our fabulous random-draw prize this month.

It's the ARToptions Rouge Ultimate Page Kit from 49 and Market.

Here are some photos:

Isn't it incredible? The ARToptions Rouge Ultimate Page Kit from 49 and Market includes the following pieces: 4 sheets of 12×12 patterned papers; 4 sheets of 12×12 laser-cut elements; 1 sheet of 12×12 thin adhesive-backed chipboard; and 4 metal clips and 4 ribbon bows. It's definitely an amazing prize!

There is plenty of time left to submit your projects for this month's TIME TO SAY GOODBYE challenge. You have until Saturday, July 4th at midnight EST!

DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE A PHOTO WITH YOU ON YOUR PROJECT!

What does Saying Goodbye mean to you?  To participate in our 150th challenge, you can enter 2 ways:

1) Upload your layouts using Pinterest, Instagram, Scrapbook.com, etc, at the link tool here

OR   

2) Visit our Facebook page and enter by uploading a photo of your layout by commenting on the challenge photo.  

Either way will work!

 

We cannot wait to see what YOU create for our 150th and final challenge!  

In memory of Taru Jehkonen

In Memory of Taru Jehkonen:

8-24-1968 to 5-13-2021

Today, we remember an extraordinary member of our design team who departed this world in 2021. Her name is Taru, and she resided in Finland. We recognize her remarkable talent and the invaluable contributions she made to our team!

Taru joined Challenge YOUrself in June 2015.  

Here's a paragraph that she shared when she joined our design team.

Taru was a truly talented and friendly member of our design team for 6 years, from 2015 - 2021. We could always count on her to create something amazing for our challenges, no matter how she was feeling!

Here are two of her beautiful projects:

CY#88:

CY#81

Taru, thank you so much for all your contributions to our team and the crafting world.

Rest in Peace, dear friend.

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If you are looking for this month's challenge, you can find it here:

You can enter 2 ways:

1) Upload your layouts using Pinterest, Instagram, Scrapbook.com, etc, at the link tool here  OR   

2) Visit our Facebook page and enter by uploading a photo of your layout by commenting on the challenge photo.  

 

 

Design Team Member Monique Fox

Hi everyone!  Today, we are featuring a beautiful layout made by our newest design team member, Monique Fox.  Monique has been a member of our design team since January, 2024.  

You can find Monique here:

Monique's Blog  Instagram  Gallery   Facebook

Here is the beautiful layout Monique made for our 150th challenge:

And here is a layout that Monique made for a past challenge:

CY#143

Thank you, Monique, for designing a beautiful layout for our final challenge. 

Thank you so much for being a part of our design team for the past two years! Despite being the newest member, you’ve created beautiful scrapbook pages for every challenge. Your contributions have been wonderful. Thank you!

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Now it's YOUR turn!  You have until July 4th at midnight to submit your projects for this challenge.

What does Saying Goodbye mean to you?  To participate in our 150th challenge, you can enter 2 ways:

1) Upload your layouts using Pinterest, Instagram, Scrapbook.com, etc, at the link tool here

OR   

2) Visit our Facebook page and enter by uploading a photo of your layout by commenting on the challenge photo.  

Either way will work!

 

 We have more fun things in store for this month, so check back often!

 

We cannot wait to see what YOU create for our 150th and final challenge!