In the digi world, there is store after store and kit after kit and more product than anyone could ever use in their lifetime.  The number of gigs of digi scrapping materials we have on our hard drives should say something about how much is out there.  More and more, kits are overflowing with sometimes 10-15 papers and TONS of elements.  It is easy to get swept away with all the cool stuff that is out there and there is a temptation to just “put it on our page because it looks cool!”  It is also easy to spend most of our scrapping time “finding the perfect element” rather than getting the memories recorded.  But what do you do when you are limited to FOUR products?  Well, you do MORE WITH FOUR!

I asked four fabulous scrappers to limit themselves to just these four products (all from the current DIGI FILES).

And these were the rules: The purpose of this challenge is to challenge scrappers to use MORE WITH FOUR. We want to show other scrappers some of the cool things about digital — the ability to alter, to resize, to recolor, to use more than one of the same item, etc. There are some great advantages of digi and there are so many things you can do with just a few supplies.

• You will be given four digital products.
• You are to create a layout or hybrid project using these four products only
• For a digital layout, in addition to these items you can use paint/inking, paper tears or tearing actions, and fonts (NOT other alphas).
• You can alter the items shown as long as the item is still recognizable.
• You need to use some of each of the items.

THE MORE WITH FOUR product list:

1. The alpha from Flergs TROUBLEMAKER mini kit
2. Papers from Pineapple Plantation’s VINTAGE VALENTINE mini kit
3. Flowers from Melissa Bennett’s LOVE STRUCK mini kit
4. The metal “hardware” from Shabby Miss Jenn’s VINTAGE LINENS mini kit

And here are the fabulous results.  This challenge pushed scrappers out of their comfort zones  It made them strive to be creative with what they had rather than just digging in their stash for more. I love how each of the scrappers took the challenge in their own direction and made beautiful layouts that they can be happy with!

Leslie made this gorgeous layout celebrating her pregnancy. I love how used the flowers to replace the letter “O” in bloom.  The scalloped paper also adds to the page, mimicking the bump of her belly. Here is what Leslie had to say: “At first, I thought this would be an easy challenge to take on, but as I opened up the 4 products I just sat and stared. However, once I started on the page, it all started to fall into place. It was definitely one of the faster pages I’ve ever done.”

What you can try: In your title, try using elements in place of a a letter or two.

Gina created this wonderful journal-filled page. I love that the journaling became part of the page design and she was able to tell a really important story in the process. And the pictures are so, so adorable!  Gina had this to say: “Working with only four products was really HARD!  I ended up going with a text-heavy subject so I could fill the page that way.  I hate to have too many blank areas!“

What you can try: Take Gina’s example and use journaling as the pain part of your page.  Tell a story that is longer than you usually have room for or that you have been putting off because you don’t know how to make it fit.

This beautifully simple page is by Emily.  I love the way she scattered the flowers across the page, giving it a flowing and feminine feel.  The fact that some of the flowers are “flowing” right off the page and past the border adds to that sense of movement. I also like the fact that she rounded the corners of her patterned paper in order to soften the layout. This was Emily’s response: “This challenge definitely pushed me out of my creative box. I am used to using a lot more elements, but it was fun to be challenged with only using a few!”

What you can try: Take some of your elements and make them flow off the page.  Literally “break out of the box.”

Cathy’s gorgeous layout is the epitome of sweet!  I love the little flowers and the way her title is the main part of the page.  I also adore how she used her photo to split the title in two.  Here are some of Cathy’s thoughts: “This was fun! Being limited to 4 products forced me to be a little more creative with how I used my elements and paper. I covered some of the flowers in patterned paper using a clipping mask (one of my most used digi techniques) and I “cut out” some circular embellishments out of one of the patterned papers to add to the title. I used the metal brad prongs in two different ways: as a way to attach one of the blue flowers to the page and to accent my journaling in the top left corner.”

What you can try: Try using a photo to split your title.  Be sure to do what Cathy did and make the split at the natural syllabic split.  This way, the eye and mind effortlessly move across the page and keep the title as one.

After seeing these layouts, Steph and I just had to give it a try!

I made a two page layout about my thoughts on being a mother of boys. I extracted the screws from the picture hanger by Shabby Miss Jenn and used them to adhere the flowers.

What you can try: Take an element and use only part of it rather than being confined to using it “as is.”

Steph’s page is a great example of some of the wonderful parts about digital scrapbooking.  In order to keep with the colors in her photo, she recolored the apha to green and recolored the flowers to bring out the colors in her daughter’s t-shirt and the palm trees.

What you can try: Try recoloring an element that you love to make it work in a different color scheme.

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Okay, here is your challenge! We want YOU to try more with FOUR!  Or, if you would rather, you can take one of the “what you can try” suggestions and apply to any new layout using any products.  The point is that we want you to be challenged and stretched.  Link us to your NEW layout in the comments for this post before Monday and we will be giving some lucky scrappers coupons to the sponsoring designers stores.  We can’t wait to see what you do!

P.S. Today is the last day to have a chance to buy THE DIGI FILES for a chance to win some great prizes. See this post for details!

P.P.S.  We have gotten several email from people having trouble signing up for the newsletter.  After the server move, we had some trouble accessing the database.  However, it is now fixed so if you had trouble signing up, you can try again now.  And there just may be some goodies coming in the first newsletter

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