More Than Words: November 2018

26 November, 2018

Introducing The More Than Words 2019 Design Team!

A new year is fast approaching and along with it comes a brand
new Design Team filled with fabulously talented ladies, some familiar designers
who have chosen to stay with us for another year and some fresh new faces
whom we cannot wait to introduce to you!

First of all, though, we want to graciously show our appreciation to all those who have taken the time to apply to our DT call, but who we were unable to pick this time around. We have loved learning more about each and every one of you and seeing your lovely creations and we hope that you will try again next time.
Thank you for your constant support!

Now, without further ado, here is our 2019 Design Team:

Admin DT Members

DI GARLING - Australia

HEATHER MCMAHON - Australia

NICOLE DOIRON - Canada

CAROLINE PARENT - Canada

Returning DT Members

ANAT WEKSLER - Israel

DAISY RAMSAY - Canada

FRANCE RINGUETTE - Canada

MARY TZALLA (formerly Catt) - Greece

ROSALIE DUKE-STANLEY - Australia

TORSA SAHA - USA

New DT Members

ALICJA STASZAK - Poland

DARIA SCHUKINA - Russia

EDITH CLOUTIER - Canada

HINA MIRZA - India

JESS MACKENZIE - Australia

NUNEKA BOX - Spain

PRIYA MISHRA - India

We are so looking forward to start creating with all of the above in 2019!

We will share with you a more formal introduction to each of our 2019 DT members

complete with biographies and links in a very special post in January.

***

Needless to say, we will be very sad to see some absolutely

fabulous ladies go seek new horizons and new creative opportunities

at the end of the year and we will miss them all greatly.

We also have PAMELA ELLIS, one of the 6 blog co-founders

and fellow Admin, who will be going on hiatus for an indeterminate period.

We wish her the very best during this time of rest from More Than Words.

A huge THANK YOU to all these departing designers!

You are the best and will always be considered part of the MTW family.

***

In only 3 days, we will be revealing our last Main Challenge for 2018

with our current DT! Be sure to come back and check it out!

23 November, 2018

November 2018 Mini Challenge - SHINE

We are excited to reveal to you our brand new Mini Challenge for November!

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

cards, tags, ATCs and postcards only.

ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards, are small works of art, about 2.5 by 3.5 inches

or 64 x 89 mm. Postcards are usually an A6 size, which is a quarter

of an A4 ie, around 4 x 6 inches or 105mm x 148mm. If your postcard

is bulky, you could always pop it in an envelope to mail it.

This challenge requires you to use a specific word on your project.

We must see the actual word.

You have only one week - until the last day of the month - to enter, so be quick!

Entry for the Mini Challenge is only

via our Facebook page under the relevant post.

The winner, as voted by our DT, will receive a $25 USD value prize

from THE DUSTY ATTIC, our fabulous Mini Challenge sponsor!

You can see all our rules under the RULES tab above.

Is this word inspiring you to make a mini creation? We sure hope so!

ASIA MARQUET - cards

NICOLE DOIRON - tag

TORSA SAHA - tag

CAROLINE ELLIAM - tag

HEATHER MCMAHON - card

ANAT WEKSLER - tag

DAISY RAMSAY - tag

VALERIE OUELLET - tag

MARTINA STOYCHEVA - card

We hope to see you SHINE in our November Mini Challenge

and sure are looking forward to see what you will create!

You have until 11:59 pm EST on Friday, November 31,

to share your entry on our Facebook page.

16 November, 2018

Special Guest Sponsor
CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS

It's time to feature another one of our fabulous sponsors today!

We are so very grateful for all our sponsors as More Than Words

just wouldn't be the same without them, and our participants not as happy!

Let's learn a little more about CREATIVE EMBELLISHMENTS

through their own words:

Creative Embellishments is a small family owned American manufacturer of laser cut products such as chipboard, wood veneer, stencils, rubber stamps and acrylic. We also design and manufacture our own flair buttons. We cater to retail, wholesale, kit clubs, card and scrapbook classes, and not for profit customers. Very often, businesses reach out to us for custom work that we design for them or images that they provide to us. Our mission is to offer fun, inspiring, unique designs to bring out your inner creativity. We highly value our customers (friends) and aim to provide premium quality products at great prices and excellent customer service.

We all love laser-cut chipboard! It is safe to say that over the last 10 years

chipboard has become one of the most must-have stash for every paper-crafter and we are sure that designers will use them for many years to come.

Creative Embellishments however not only offers lots of very innovative chipboard designs, but many other essential scrapbooking products.

You can find more about each designer showcased below as well as

all the Creative Embellishments product line by visiting the following links:

WEBSITE - BLOG - PINTEREST - INSTAGRAM - FACEBOOK

We are so very proud to spotlight the gorgeous projects

from 4 awesome designers from the Creative Embellishments DT

who have been inspired by our November Main Challenge

FUTURE & STARS

DANA TATAR

Dana: I think about the FUTURE every day. I'm especially excited to see what the future holds for my daughters who are a bright light in my life. I incorporated STARS unto my design in several ways: with a stencil, with a stamp, with chipboard and other star-shaped embellishments. I used letter stickers to include the word 'future' in my journaling which reads: 'No matter what the future holds,

I know you both are going to shine!'

On her fabulous star-spangled layout, Dana used the Star Bokeh stencil, Grunge Stars stamp as well as the Nested Stars chipboard

and Star Light Star Bright chipboard words.

DEBBIE SHERMAN

Debbie: I'm about to make one of the life changing choices in my life and for me it's been overwhelming... retirement. For this challenge, I chose to think of something in my near FUTURE and that would be the change of seasons, from a colourful Fall to a snow-covered Winter. I live in a part of America where I have four seasons and I love them all for different reasons. Winter is a time of rest after playing and working hard throughout beautiful Summer and Fall, just like what the future holds for me. I incorporated the creative challenge by stenciling in

a few shiny STARS on my background.

Debbie's page is beautiful, in part thanks to the beautiful Flourish 13

and Flourish 15 chipboard pieces from Creative Embellishments.

MARILYN RIVERA

Marilyn: This challenge inspired me to create a canvas because I think of the FUTURE with hope and happiness. I was also inspired by this quote by Jim Rohn: 'Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.' For that reason, I added a lot of chipboard STARS to represent an illuminated future full of opportunities, and of course, the creative challenge.

Marilyn created her exquisite canvas by using the Fairy Dust 2 stencil

and awesome chipboard designs Social Hash Tags and Star Pieces.

NANNE HARRY

Nanne: As a new grandmother, I love looking towards the FUTURE and seeing how my granddaughter develops: from the first smile to clapping of the hands, those first words and from crawling to walking. Only the future knows what's next. For the creative challenge I added lots of little STARS to my background

using a stencil and texture paste.

Nanne's stunningly sweet page is full of Creative Embellishments goodness, from the Twinkle Star stencil to the Distressed Script and Distressed Crackle stamps, as well as the following chipboards: Vintage Flourish Set 1, Large Clock Face 3,

Mini Circle Panel, Fairy Wing Set 1 and Milestones Word Set.

SANDI CLARKSON

Sandi: One of the most immediate events in my FUTURE are the upcoming holidays. As a grandmother, I especially enjoy seeing things through my grandchildren's eyes. I always wonder which traditions will be passed down through the generations... and what new ones may come along. The inspiration word prompted me to scrap this photo of my sweet little grandson who hopefully will someday be a Santa to his own little family. My STAR shapes are evident in both the stenciled background, multiple chipboard star shapes and the flair.

We all love Christmas-themed projects and Sandi's is no exception. On her fabulously festive page, she used the following chipboard pieces: Falling Stars Border, Spiral Tree and the Christmas Sentiments word set as well as the Falling Stars stencil; the Distressed Crackle and Grunge Music Note Border stamps and some beautiful flair from the Shine Flair Gold collection.

We love Creative Embellishments products so much that we thought we would share with you some of our favorites starting with CHIPBOARD:

They also have some very intricate WOOD VENEER designs!

All great artists have FLAIR, don't they?
Well, Creative Embellishments sure has some!

While going through the Creative Embellishments website,
you will also find lots of very intricate STAMP sets

... as well as STENCILS!

Thank you so much to Creative Embellishments

for joining us our Special Guest SPONSOR this month!

We hope that you will take inspiration from their designers' take on our challenge
and you will play along with the November Main Challenge!

You have until November 30 to link up!

08 November, 2018

Announcing our October WINNERS!

We cannot wait to put a smile on some of your faces!

We are thrilled every single month that passes on the number

and the impressive quality of entries to our main and mini challenges

and we thank each and every one of you for sharing your projects with us!

We wish we could award more prizes so that the list below could be even longer.

After once again a very difficult vote, here are our lucky winners for October!!

MAIN CHALLENGE WINNER

(as voted by our DT)

MARIE JOHANSSON (entry 3)

Congratulations Marie, you're the winner of our October Main Challenge!

Marie, please contact Tracey at tracey(at)lindysgang(dot)com

to claim your $50 USD value prize from LINDY'S GANG.

RUNNERS UP

(as voted by our DT, in no particular order)

PATRICIA (entry 33)

Patricia, please contact Janene at janene(at)49andmarket(dot)com

to claim your $25 USD value prize from 49 AND MARKET.

DOTS TO LINES (entry 27)

Dots To Lines, please contact Nick at nick(at)7dotstudio(dot)com

to claim your $25 USD value prize from 7 DOTS STUDIO.

GUYLAINE (entry 38)

Guylaine, please contact Helene at helene(dot)magenta(at)gmail(dot)com

to claim your $25 CAD value prize from MAGENTA.

BADBARBIE (entry 36)

Badbarbie, please contact Anna at anna(at)piondesign(dot)se

to claim your $25 USD value prize from PION DESIGN.

RANDOM WINNER

(selected via Random.org)

VIDHI JADEJA (entry 26)

Vidhi, please contact Vanessa at salesat2crafty(at)optusnet(dot)com(dot)au

to claim your $25 USD value prize from 2CRAFTY CHIPBOARD.

MYSTERY WINNERS

(hand picked by our Admin team)

LIZZY HILL (entry 22)

We absolutely love how Lizzy documented this special trip to visit with her son. What best way to spend her precious LEISURE time and what an original way to journal about it on her page! We also love her paint SPLATTERS.

Lizzy, please contact Tanya at fabrikadecoru(at)gmail(dot)com

to claim your $25 USD value prize from FABRIKA DECORU.

SHARON FRITCHMAN (entry 10)

When looking for a contender for our mystery prize, we search for something that ultimately catches our eye and we all agreed that Sharon's gorgeous fall photo was a winner! She took this incredible shot while on a LEISURE walk in her neighborhood. She used just the right amount of SPLATS on her background to keep focus on the picture.

Sharon, please contact Aga at shop(at)agabaraniak(dot)com

to claim your $25 USD value prize from AB STUDIO.

MINI CHALLENGE WINNER

(as voted by our DT)

CATHY FRAILEY

Cathy, please contact Jennifer at dustyattic(dot)hq(at)gmail(dot)com

to claim your $25 USD value prize from THE DUSTY ATTIC.

Lastly, here are a few HONOURABLE MENTIONS who have not made it

into our Top 5, but who received a high number of votes from our DT:

PAPIEROWE PODARUNKI (entry 20)

JESS MACKENZIE (entry 40)

LISA (entry 21)

SMOKASCRAP (entry 25)

AUSSIE ANNIE (entry 2)

JENNIFER WALTH (entry 34)

ADRI DU PREEZ (entry 35)

CATHY LU (entry 12)

KOYEL78 (entry 41)

Congratulations to all our winners

and again a huge THANK YOU to all our participants!

We encourage all you merit winners, honourable mentions and participants whose project was featured on our Facebook page throughout the month to grab your badge from our left sidebar and proudly display it on your blog.

To lean more about all our wonderful and generous sponsors,

click on the SPONSORS tab above.

***

Our November Main Challenge FUTURE & STARS

is currently underway and we hope that you will join in!

Link up your project by November 30 at 11:55 am EST.

03 November, 2018

2019 DT CALLOUT REMINDER

We are looking for new talented and fabulous designers

to join the More Than Words team in 2019!

If you are a skilled papercrafter with a strong online presence and would love to be part of our amazing team, then we would love to hear from you!

#1. The term is for twelve months from January to December 2019
(with the January project due by mid-December 2018).

#2. You will be required to create one project per month for our
Main Challenge and assist with commenting duties.

#3. You are also welcome to contribute projects to our monthly
Mini Challenge and to vote on challenge entries.

#4. You must have the ability to take great photos
and have strong photo editing skills.

#5. You must have an active blog and also be active on

various social media, especially Facebook & Instagram.

HOW TO APPLY

Send us...

*** Three recent layouts that show us your style and skill.

*** Links to your blog and any social media on which you share your art,
ie. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, etc.

*** A short biography including your name, where you live,
what DTs you are currently on and when they are due to finish,
as well as what experience you have in general.

We may require a few DT members to help out with some administrative duties like social media posting and sponsor coordinating so please mention if that would interest you, keeping in mind that it is NOT a requisite.

Applications close 9th of November 2018

Send your application to :
mtwchallenge@hotmail.com

Please put your name and country as the subject.

We look forward to hearing from you!

01 November, 2018

November 2018 Main Challenge
FUTURE & STARS

We have another fabulous Main Challenge to reveal to you today,

and we know that you will find much inspiration from it!

Our Main Challenge is based on a word inspiration and a creative challenge.

Word Inspiration - FUTURE

Creative Challenge - STARS

What does the word FUTURE inspire you to create?

You can choose to use the actual word somewhere on your project

or simply be inspired by it. Since words are an integral part of our challenges, we want to know how this month's word stimulated your creative process, so please do explain in your blog post how
it inspired you if it isn't obvious in your work.

We believe that the future is bright, as bright as the stars in the sky that we wish upon! For this month's creative challenge, we would like to see those STARS on your project. You can choose to make your project twinkle, sparkle or shine if you desire, but most importantly, we must see at least one star on your creation.

Please check out all our challenge rules in the RULES tab above.

Now let's see what our fabulous designers have come up with

inspired by the FUTURE & STARS challenge!

FRANCE RINGUETTE

France: Traveling is a big part of my motivation and what keeps me going. In my FUTURE, a must on my bucket list is to see the Northern Lights up in northern Canada. For the creative component of the challenge, I was inspired by the beautiful skylight and chose to add STARS tainted with the inks I used to create my layout.

JANICE NICHOLLS

Janice: The word FUTURE inspired me to scrap this layout about Matthew and his work. My journaling reads: 'Matthew, we are so proud of what you have already achieved. Work hard, always listen and learn everyday. Everything you do now is for your future. One days you may be your own boss.' For the creative side, I have punched STARS from strips of paper and added both to my layout.

CAROLINE ELLIAM

Caroline: Each year, we fix family goals. One thing on our bucket list is to visit in the near FUTURE our friends who moved to California. We hope to get there next Summer! Let's see if life will allow us to achieve that dream we have. For our creative challenge, I added a starry badge and some wooden STARS.

ANAT WEKSLER

Anat: She is my past, present and FUTURE! My sunshine! She's my daughter! I wish her a brilliant future, to shine like a star as she deserves. On my layout, I used some STARfish images because of my Ariel (the Little Mermaid)

and some chipboard STARS to add much more shine.

HEATHER MCMAHON

Heather: The FUTURE is going to be challenging for my family, friends and the community we live in as a massive industrial wind turbine project is under construction across our beautiful rural countryside. It's going to have a huge impact on everyone here and many people are struggling with it. Some will leave or have already left. The torn paper indicates the many lives that have been torn apart and we've tried to stitch them back together as best as we can. The STARS show that there is hope that our community can deal with

what's coming and can get on with their lives.

TORSA SAHA

Torsa: This month is my 12th marriage anniversary and we have been together since our high school years. I can see my FUTURE only with my husband; in every ups and downs of my life, I want him beside me. We want to grow old together like this old couple in the photograph. For the creative challenge, I used

metallic STARS on my page.

MARTINA STOYCHEVA

Martina: As you probably already know, the girl on the picture is my daughter Ava. She is the reason I found scrapbooking and also the center of a lot of my creations. For me, she is the personification of FUTURE... a bright, beautiful and unpredictable future. For the creative part of the challenge, you can see that I turned my layout into a night sky. I love the night sky... the colour, the moonlight

and of course the STARS.

VALERIE OUELLET

Valerie: My layout represents what I would like for the FUTURE. I wish that my family will live in harmony, love and help each other always. We work hard to get there and I trust the future. For the creative challenge, I added some

little STARS here and there on my page.

ASIA MARQUET

Asia: Like a small girl I still believe that dreams come true, that if I wish upon a star, my dream will come true and my FUTURE will be good and bright.. and mine! I added a large hand-drawn STAR on my art journal page to represent the creative challenge.

HEIKE'S AUGENBLICK

Heike: I decided to create a layout with a quote from Hans Christian Anderson 'To travel is to live'. That quote described exactly the FUTURE that my husband Joergen and I have always wished for as a young married couple. Two years ago our wish came true and we started our adventure... visiting Italy, Spain, France, England, South Africa and Australia! I hope that we can see so much more of our beautiful world. For the creative challenge, I painted STARS on the background.

ROSALIE DUKE-STANLEY

Rosalie: This is my FUTURE, my gorgeous granddaughter Amelia. When I look at her I can see where my family's future lies and I feel so much joy. I have added embossed metal STARS as well as stenciled ones in and around the layout.

NICOLE DOIRON

Nicole: When I first saw the word for this month, I had no idea what I would scrap about. But while looking through my photo stash, I found this picture of my nieces taken during a Cheers competition a few years back and thought it would be perfect. When I think of these two fabulous girls, so talented and full of potential, I can't help but know that their FUTURE will be bright. And of course, since they are bright shiny STARS in my life, it was perfect for the creative challenge as well. As you can see, I added many stars on my page, from stenciled ones to wood, chipboard and cork.

AGA BARANIAK

Aga: This month I have made an art journal page which says that dreams always come true when we try to reach for them. To represent this theme, I used the quote 'Take the FUTURE in your hands'. There is always some good STAR in the sky that will guide us to success and for the creative challenge I added a few stamped stars to my page.

ANGUREE VAN RENSBURG

Anguree: I was inspired by this wedding anniversary shoot we did 3 years ago. Looking at the past, we have achieved so much together until now and yet a new adventure awaits us each day. I loved the quote about the FUTURE being made up of little moments in the present, reminding me to be grateful for every moment of happiness. It reminded me that the way we think and the way we choose to react to our current situation truly shapes our future. I added lots of STARS

to represent the creative challenge.

SIVAN AMEDI

Sivan: This challenge comes exactly in time with our anniversary day! I was inspired to create a layout with my best friend with whom I have shared my life for 8 years. I wish for us the best FUTURE together. I added some STARS all over the layout which represent the fact that he is my star, my best guide for life

and I am so blessed to have him.

DAISY RAMSAY

Daisy: We have a small 11 month old husky dog. We find her so beautiful with her brown fur and her light blue eyes that in the near FUTURE we will make her have beautiful little puppies. We have already experienced this event with our first husky, and we are very excited to start again. The STARS on my creation

represent a dream that will become reality.

MARY CATT

Mary: My family is my everything... my past, present and my FUTURE! When I'm thinking of the future, all I just want is to grow old with my husband and watch our kids live their lives happily. To incorporate the creative challenge, I used a stencil with STARS and I added some metal stars as well.

We hope that our fabulous DT creations

have inspired you and that you will play along with us this month.

One look at the prizes up for grab and we know that you will not want

to miss this challenge for a chance to win some of these goodies!