January Case Files - First Reveal | Due Date: February 4

Happy New Year, CSI Investigators!  We're excited to bring you a new month--and a new year--of fun and inspiring challenges and lots of beautiful inspiration. 

For this first reveal, we'll be sharing inspiration from the design team and guest designers for our first Case File. On the 15th, we'll be sharing inspiration for our second Case File. 

PRIZES

CSI has been running our challenges for 11 years, since 2012, and our savings have dwindled over the years, so we no longer have the ability to provide a monthly gift certificate, but we do have enough to give away a prize every 4 months this year, so we'll be awarding a $20 (U.S. dollars) gift certificate to your favorite online craft store (must take Paypal) to one lucky player according to the following schedule--so the more you play, the more chances you'll have.

January - April Case Files will be awarded on or after May 4

May - August Case Files will be awarded in on or after September 4

October - December Case Files will be awarded on or after next January 4

You will see the customary due date on the Case Files because I'll check those for guest designers, but feel free to go back and play with Case Files that have expired. As long as they're in the albums by the May, September, and January dates listed above, you'll be eligible for the prize.

We'll also be inviting some players whose work catches our eye to serve as Guest Detectives along the way.

CASE FILES 

I don't know about you, but I still have a huge stack of Christmas photos to scrap. With Christmas falling near the end of the month, we decided to extend our time for scrapping Christmas into January. The Scenes are wintry, so winter could also be a possibility. As always, you don't have to scrap these topics. Draw your own inspiration from The Scene on the Case File, or you can use the traditional clues, which can be found at the bottom of this blog post.

Image credit: Yu Kito Lee

Image credit: Tabula Rosi

The traditional CSI clues can be found on our Facebook page in the first entry under the album. Just click on the Case File images above. They are also posted at the bottom of this reveal.

To submit your layouts, click on the Case Files in our sidebar, which will bring you to the individual albums in our Facebook group.

GALLERY FAVE GUEST DETECTIVES

These talented ladies' work caught our eye in previous months' challenges, so we invited them to be guest designers for the month.

Lillian Morvik

I have three children (21, 18 and 13) and a husband. My family lives on an island on the west coast of Norway. I am an engineer and work at a yard where we build oil-platforms. We are a busy family, so it is sometimes hard to find time to scrapbook. Therefore I really appreciate the time I get to just enter the scrapbooking world. I most like to scrap layouts, and I love CSI and its concept. I scrap new and old pictures, mostly of my kids, and I like to tell the stories as well. I do not have a particular style, but like to try things I see and get inspired by, and I like to start with a sketch, and make it my own way, as I play along .

Here's how I solved Case File No. 402: I have used stripes, snowflakes, white stamping, presents, deer, stars, hearts, enamel dots, trees, yarn and craft papers. I have documented my son on Christmas, getting new skis- and longing for snow. He went skiing inside all evening.

INSPIRATION 

And now, are you ready for some serious inspiration? Here's what our design team created with this month's first Case File. We will share creations for our other Case File on the 15th of the month.

The CSI design team masterfully cracked the Case. We'll share how we solved the Case on Facebook and Instagram.

Note: Debbi's layout was inspired by a sketch from Scrap a Sketch.

CASE FILE CLUES 

Choose as many or as few as you are inspired to use! You don't have to use all of the categories of clues. Use what inspires you, or challenge yourself to use as many clues as you can. Or just use the image to inspire you as you wish!

Testimony Links: Photo a Day Challenge

Testimony Link: January prompts and 4-line poem inspiration

We trust we've provided enough clues for you to solve the Cases! You have until February 4, 2023, to solve both cases. We can't wait to see what you'll create! Upload your creations in our Facebook Group (album links in sidebar).