Shari here…If you haven’t seen the winners of last weeks Tuesday Challenge it’s posted right after todays entry so make sure you check it out. Now for this week’s Tuesday Challenge…

Who says just because we’re adults we know all the answers and we never make mistakes? Certainly not me. I’ve always considered myself a rebellious soul so to me each new day is like a “do-over”. Every morning I wake up and feel blessed to have another opportunity to get it right this time. I try to get through my day with a positive attitude, kind words for my family and a patient approach to life. Every night before my head hits the pillow I realize I’ve not quite made it and I know I have to strive a little harder to be the person I want to be.

So what does all this have to do with digital scrapbooking. Well, everytime I open up my blank canvas and think about how I want to lay out a page it is a fresh start. I start with a stark white background and, with the talents of others I can design my page to be whatever I want it to be. The next day, when I take another glance at the previous nights work, if I don’t like what I see or if it just doesn’t reflect the real mood I was feeling, I can do it over again. That is the beauty of digital scrapbooking. An example of this is in mikelinz’ gallery. She totally re-scrapped a LO about one of her children’s home births and although the first page was wonderful there was a definite flare added to her “do-over” version.

So my challenge to you is to go back through some of your LO’s, pick one that maybe just doesn’t quite come across the way you wanted it to and do it over.

This was kind of tough for me because I really like most of what I’ve done but there was one page that just didn’t feel right and maybe because it was a page about me and I’m never really comfortable scrapping that subject. Anyway I opened it up, laughed at my ealier attempt at shadows and then started over with a clean canvas.

Here is my “do-over” of the same photo. (I love this photo by the way. My 12 year old took it. I love how it represents the real “Mom” in me. My hands filled with belongings of my family.)

I love my “do-over”, for now anyway. Who knows, maybe in a month or two I’ll be looking through my files and I’ll come across this newer LO and it just won’t feel right anymore. Yep, it will be time for another “do-over”. Isn’t life grand? And for anyone out there like me…well those “do-overs” are the greatest gift around because I’m still striving to be the person I want to be.

So my challenge to you is to go back through your LO’s, pick one that just doesn’t come across the way you wanted it to and do it over.

Here are a some great LO’s from our wonderful CT. The top LO is the original and the bottom is the “Do-Over”.

We’ll start with Brittney who I have a hard time believing would ever need a “do-over” but I must admit as much as I like her first LO I really love her second one.

Here is Tracy’s “Do-Over”. I love the story behind these LO’s.

Next we have Zakirah’s. I love the first one but the second one has real pop to it.

Kate’s first LO is darling but I love how she brought the color back into the photo in the second one.

Katie’s “do-over” goes from bright and bold to calm and peaceful and adds some wonderful journaling.

Moving on to Sya’s LO’s. I love the additional journaling that reflects Sya’ hopes and dreams. The new style of her “do-over” helps reflect her feelings behind the journaling.

Melanie N. “do-over” shows a real change of style and technique. Her first LO was a little flat but notice the shadows and added depth of the second one.

Stacy Hutch’s entry is a fun one for me because I have had the priviledge of seeing her very first digital creations to her current ones. It has been fun to watch her learn and make changes that reflect what she learns. I love how she enlarged the photo, in her “do-over” to make it the main focus and then added a punch of color to truly draw your eye to it.

Lindsey, who was my inspiration for this blog with her first “do-over” in the gallery, submitted one for the blog too. I love how she designed her first page with all of the children’s pictures up at the top but when you read the journaling in her “do-over” you can draw from her inner feelings about her choice to be a mother. She still included the pictures and the names and dates but the added journaling really touched my heart.

Krista was a brave girl and submitted her very first LO. I love this because to me this is what the challenge is all about. Looking back on where we started in this journey of digital scrapping and making the changes we need to make to newly express ourselves with the talents we are developing.

Tater too submitted her very first LO. Same darling photo only now just a little more focus on the photo by simplifying the rest of the LO.

Melanie F. thinks her very first LO was “boring” so she decided to do it over and jazz it up a bit. I would say she did a wonderful job of it.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Dacia’s entry. I love how her “do-over” has that roughed up rugged look just like you know it would feel riding your dirt bike out on the trail.

Wendy submitted her LO’s and somehow I missed getting them into the blog so here they are for you to enjoy. Sorry Wendy.  I love how she added the heart felt journaling on the torn note paper. It gives the viewer a better idea of what the photo represents to her.

Well there you have it. Do we have a great CT or what? Okay we have shared our “do-overs” with you now we would love to see some of yours.

To enter the challenge, post your layout in the Scrapmatters.com gallery and make sure to link it to the Tuesday Challenge under Forums. At the end of the week we’ll be selecting 2 winners of $5 gift certificates to the shop, one randomly selected and one “do-over” that just really catches my eye. Now off you go. Seize the moment and take this opportunity to make your “do-over” really count. Make sure you hold onto that original. It’s always nice to look back every once in a while and realize just how far you’ve come down this road of creating self expressive, memory preserving, journal writing, and artist inspiring digital delights.