In Between and Inside Jokes: Creative Prompts 11 & 12
What happens in between? And what are the origin stories of the little jokes and sayings we share. Plus scroll down for new releases
Welcome to the month of challenges, creating around the theme of “These Moments Matter”.
Over the month, we will be setting four challenges a week that anyone can play along with. Find the finer details below1
And here are today’s challenges!
INBETWEEN (a challenge from Rachel)
Our month of challenges is open to any type of scrapbooking, journaling or paper crafts and this challenge led me again to working in my sketchbook journal.
My challenge to you is to use this single word as the prompt in itself. The one word prompt can be taken as literally or as loosely as suits to get another page scrapped or project completed.
You could take the prompt as inspiration for your photo, as a way to craft your page or project or to build a composition, or you could for example document what happens between big moments or the transition between seasons and how that influences your life.
My spread is honestly a representation of a little creative burnout, i’ll be real here!
This week is a little full on for me, I’m in the middle of several work deadlines which i’m struggling to meet which is stressing me out, I’ve taken time out for a workshop at my daughters school, and the fast rate at which my work week is ending and the weekend is approaching is quite alarming!
I did start a junk journal page for this prompt, and also a digital scrapbooking page, but nothing was quite gelling for me and I gravitated back to my sketchbook.
I had printed out some of Lynn’s art from her ‘Day’s Like These’ Collection and whilst my initial idea didn’t work out it morphed into a nice little collage session allowing the ‘inbetween’ prompt to take form in the context of days just like the one i’m having today.
You know, those odd days where you are a little out of sorts, a little out of your depth, and actually you just need to slow down and the let the day be what it is?!
I added those cute little stickers (Tim Holtz idea-ology) to title the page ‘it is what it is’.
A discarded sheet of planner paper was repurposed and has been geli printed on and even though it wasn’t the right size I was brave enough to pop it through my printer and printed some of Lynn’s papers (that I’d blended together in photoshop) on top of it. This was torn quite small and added to the corner for a bit of contrast with the packing tape.
There’s also a bit of a french newspaper there which has been printed on with inks, lots of messy threads, some paper confetti and some ink splats.
If you ever want to add personal journaling but don’t want others to read it I like to scrawl notes on scrap bits of paper and then tear them up and include them in my collage.
I have no idea if this spread is finished or not, you’ll see the other side is blank. When I get around to doing the other side it may spill into the original one or I may (or may not!) add a few more bits to it.
Meanwhile, Lynn chose to remember and record a relatively brief but incredibly momentous period of time.
Bonus points for choosing a photo of herself in a chasm in between rocks on a Spanish beach? It was blended on top of another photo from the same period of time.
INSIDE JOKES (a challenge from Lynn)
Whether it’s family or friends, when you have been together long enough you develop a shared language, and a ‘back catalogue’ of sayings or funny actions.
These ‘in jokes’ might not mean anything to outsiders but, silly as they may be, they a reminder of your shared history and connection and definitely worth recording.
For this challenge, think of a silly saying, catchphrase or action you share with loved ones that is your own little ‘in joke’. What is the history behind it - can you remember how it started?
For me there was only one contender for this challenge: the catchphrase we trot out whenever we joke about buying a sports car, or a chateau or see some overpriced ‘tat’: “It’s just too expensive honey, sorry”.
For the past decade and more, we have probably said it at least twice a month, always accompanied by a giggle, snicker or smirk. But when it was first said by my partner, dismissing an antique plate I was considering buying from a rough and ready French market, it didn’t strike me as funny (it was the ‘sorry’ that did it!). So when we make our silly little shared joke, we also remember (with a layer of regret) how badly we communicated back then. And celebrate how far we have come.
As a child, Rachel had a certain way about her like an ‘old soul energy’, earning her the nickname ‘Doris’ from her Godmother and Mum.
It started as a playful inside joke, a nod to her quirky mannerisms, and somehow it stuck. Over the years, "‘Doris’ (or the slightly cheekier ‘Dozza’) became a family staple, a name her Mum and sister still use to this day.
While the joke occasionally wore thin—especially when DORIS was bellowed dramatically across a busy supermarket aisle to her utter embarrassment—it was always delivered with affection and plenty of laughs.
Rachel didn’t have a childhood photo of herself to hand for this page so she used this fun paper tag with the perfect eye roll type and ‘ugh really’ expression from one of our collaborations in place of a photo.
Designated Chat Threads for today’s Challenges
Remember, in order to be eligible for the drawing for a chance to win exclusive premium content and goodies here at Pixels, Paper and Paint - Life in Pictures by Lynn and Rachel, you will need to share your finished pages or projects within the designated ‘chat threads’ for each challenge so that we can can keep track of them and validate your entries.
Share your pages for challenge prompts 11 & 12 in the following chat threads:
To share your inside jokes pages post them in this thread here
To share your inbetween pages post them in this thread here
For help with participating in Substacks Chat feature see here, and if you get lost and lose these links, you can find all of our chat threads here.
A few of you have found a little quirk when you click through to the chat thread from the e-mail in your inbox and are welcomed with a message with an error saying the page is private. This is because you are not logged in when arriving to the substack platform. You need to be logged in before you can view and participate in the chat threads - let us know if you have any problems!
PS don’t forget you can always pop to the site to keep up to date with the challenges. There is a designated section there for you which you can find here.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or difficulties you may have and look out for a bonus e-mail from us on Sunday with more inspiration from our talented creative team members that we hope will give you lots of page design ideas for this weeks challenges.
NEW RELEASES | STILL DREAMING / FOUNDATION
And finally, a quick note about new creative assets you can find in our stores this weekend.
Lynn has a romantic, optimistic collection themed about hopes, dreams and daydreams.
And whilst the Memory Pockets Monthly Catalogue is now fully retired, you’ll find Rachel re-releasing her favourite items back into her shop.
This week she has her ‘Foundation’ pieces available for sale. These are gorgeous neutral and staple items that are great to scrap with as a stand alone collection or can be used to stretch your stash and work alongside your other Kits and Collections.
You can find both collections on sale at The Lilypad AND at Oscraps - be sure to check out the bundled collections which offer the best value!
At the end of the challenge month, participants who have completed all 20 Challenges/Creative Prompts will be entered into a draw to win a ‘forever’ pass to access exclusive premium content and goodies here at Pixels, Paper and Paint - Life in Pictures by Lynn and Rachel.
Runners up and participants who didn’t manage to complete all of the 20 Challenges/Creative Prompts will be entered into a drawing to win spot prizes for passes with limited access to exclusive premium content and goodies here at Pixels, Paper and Paint - Life in Pictures by Lynn and Rachel.
In order to be eligible for the drawing for a chance to win exclusive premium content and goodies here at Pixels, Paper and Paint - Life in Pictures by Lynn and Rachel you will need to:
Ensure you are subscribed to this publication when the draw takes place in February.
Ensure that at least 75% of each finished page or project used digital art from either Rachel Jefferies Designs or Lynn Grieveson Designs. You can find our creative assets at The Lilypad and Oscraps.
Share your finished pages or projects within the designated ‘chat thread’ for each challenge. You’ll find the links for each thread where you can share your pages and projects posted with it’s associated challenge.
Please note that whilst our digital assets are available to purchase at the LilyPad and Oscraps, these Challenges and Creative Prompts are not associated or affiliated with either store, and so by sharing them in the designated threads here, we are able to efficiently keep track of your participation to validate your entry into the drawings at the end of the challenge month.You are very welcome to, and encouraged to share your pages and projects in our designer galleries at the LilyPad and/or Oscraps. We will be checking into our galleries throughout January and awarding some spot prizes of coupons to spend in our shops! When posting your pages and projects in the galleries please note in the description box ‘Created for the ‘These Moments Matter’ Month of Challenges by Pixels, Paper and Paint - Life in Pictures by Lynn and Rachel.
Oh gosh - we have so many inside jokes in our family!! The one that comes to mind immediately is a sad hurtful one, so I'm going to spend some time thinking about a funny one!!