CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration: April 2018

We're back with our mid-month challenge. Don't forget you still have until the end of the month to solve Case File No. 251. And did you know that you are welcome to submit as many layouts as you'd like for the challenges?

We'll be having a design call soon, so stay tuned for that!

So, are you ready for the new challenge? Grab you forensics kits, CSI players, and get ready for some serious sleuthing as we open Case File No. 252.

CASE FILE

Did you know April is National Decorating Month? We found the perfect Scene to celebrate at Bright Bazaar blog. This sunny, monochromatic Scene is lovely and refreshing, and we can't wait to see how you draw inspiration.

Feel free to interpret the Case File in any way that inspires you, or for our traditional clues, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

For our Russian players, Detective Anastasia has translated our Case File into Russian:

Правила на русском языке вы можете прочитать здесь.

SPONSORS

We're so excited to have seventeen generous sponsors this month! Holy llama that's a lot of sponsors! Our sponsors are among the best in the crafting industry, offering unique and trendy products. CLICK HERE to read more about these generous sponsors and the prizes they're donating.

Bramble Fox is offering a discount this month to CSI players!

GUEST DESIGNERS

We're excited have the talented design teams from Bramble Fox (see their layouts in our April 1 reveal), Cuts2Love, and Denim Tampons join us this month as Guest Detectives!

INSPIRATION

So...are you ready for some serious inspiration?

The Guest Detectives from Bramble Fox did an amzing job solving the Case File:

Jo's blog

Julie's blog

Thai's blog

Our talented Guest Detectives from Cuts2Luv solved the Case File like this:

Caroline's blog

How Caroline solved the Case File: For this case I was inspired again by the beautiful combo, this palette was amazing! I used also a text pattern stamp, some doilies, a picture of animals and some little hearts.

Badbarbie's blog

How Badbarbie solved the Case File: I used the color combo as base for my creation and I have a love of fun creating a background effect with alphabets and numbers. I’m crazy cat lady so it was a must for me to use a cat flair on my creation.

France's blog

How France solved the Case File: Yellow... A color I have to say I love but neglect to use on my pages. This image was refreshing, I wanted to capture a special moment in our family life of when we bought our cottage. That place was a ray of sunlight in our life. I felt it was the perfect moment to capture for this challenge.

My evidence: Stripes, dots, circles, numbers (roman clock), hearts (die-cut) & color combo.

For the testimony, I would say I was inspired by the word SHINE and chose my title SUNSHINE to reflect that inspiration.

How Valerie solved the Case File: I was inspired by the colors, puffy alphabets as a design and washi tape.

The Denim Tampons design team rocked the Case File too:

Lydie's blog

Sixela95's blog

How Sixela solved the Case File: I took the combo, the stripes, the triangles, the alphabet in the background stencil. I discover your challenges, I think it's great. I had a lot of fun to participate

Here is how the CSI Detectives have expertly cracked the case. You can read more about how the Case File inspired them on their blogs (links on sidebar).

How Nina solved the Case File: I was inspired by the scene; the stripes on the bedspread and the suitcases under the bed that made me think of travelling. From the list of evidence I chose: stripes, dots, circles, washi tape and puffy stickers.

How Debbi solved the Case File: This week's colour palette was perfect for our little Sous Chef's photos and I was able to use 12 of the clues, too..YAY..!! I kept the design simple even though I did a lot of stamping for the background and for my handmade embellishments. Don't you just love that quote from Thomas Edison..?? This was definitely a fun Case!

How Annie solved the Case File: I went old school with this one - used the colour scheme; also circles, heart, frames, text patterns; put some journaling in a frame and will add more to that top one when I've checked the details! From the inspiration image, I picked up the idea of home decor, thinking of fabric and paint swatches and creating different patterns with watercolour paints. The photo shows my step grandson Bailey, who is growing up fast into a real cool dude!

How Taru solved the Case File: My inspiration came from the challenge photo.

How Debbi solved the Case File: What first caught my attention in The Scene--besides the obvious monocrhomatic color scheme--were the numbers, so I knew I wanted to do something that related to numbers, and I found the perfect topic--my pounds to lose/pounds lost jars. I always love trying to use as many clues as I can from the Evidence list, and I did use most of them. My journaling, in the pocket behind the frame, was a Testimony clue. And obviously, I used all the colors from The Scheme. I used several stamps from our Denim Tampons, one of our sponsors. More details about the products I used, and my journaling, can be found on my blog.

How Lisa-Marie solved the Case File: I decided to do a dark background this time; and was mostly inspired by all the rectangles on the two photographs, which is why my layering comprises mostly those shapes. My eye was also drawn to the stripes and the diamond shapes - so I incorporated those by means of paper and my background. Lastly I used a few circles and doilies to finish my look.

How Laura solved the Case File: I used triangles, text, dots, numbers, and metal.

How Vivian solved the Case File: I was inspired by the traditional clues and colour palette once again. I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of free-styling! I added in a little bit of orange, to make the yellow-y orange of the bird make a little more sense.

I know that my green house dosesn't seem to go with the palette, but I wanted to document this time and our move in a simple way and did not want to make the picture black and white.

How Patty solved the Case File: I was inspired by the the cheery colors and reminded of the sunshine my two adult children bring to my life!

How Nina solved the Case File: Loved these colours. They made it so easy to make a simple, graphic page together with the triangle shapes. From the evidence list I picked circle, clouds and triangles.

How Carina solved the Case File: When I saw the photos and the prompt about home it got me thinking, and what makes a home. To me it´s all about family so I decided to make my page about that AND using the fab color scheme for this challenge.

How Jacynthe solved the Case File: I solved the case the traditional way using the five colours, although the shades vary somewhat. I chose a medium tone grey instead of the light grey suggested. There are stripes, diamond pattern, circles, washi tape, and numbers. I documented something about my home. The journaling is on the back of my layout. You'll have to check my blog to read it.

CASE FILE CLUES

Choose as few or as many as you are inspired to use!

EVIDENCE

stripes
dots
diamond pattern
text pattern
triangles
circles
doily
washi tape
light bulb/lamps
frames
banner/bunting
numbers
use the alphabet as a design element
clips
clouds
dry embossing
metal
puffy stickers
animals
hearts
mustache

TESTIMONY (JOURNALING IDEAS)

Topic: Document something about your home.
Prompt Idea: Get inspired by a word at Sunday Scribblings
Presentation: Put your journaling in a frame.
Writing Format: Write a numbered list.
Inspiration Words: fun, shine, edge

THE SCHEME

219.213.65 – yellow with a touch of green
248.240.141 – light yellow
253.255.251 – white
224.224.224 – light gray
59.59.59 - black

We trust we've left enough clues for you to solve the case!

The deadline for completing this Case File is Monday, April 30, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Be sure to link your layout using the link tool in the sidebar, and mention the Evidence and Testimony clues you used. Also, please title your link with your name and country.

Happy April! We're excited to start a new month. At CSI, that means new challenges, new sponsors, and new guest designers.

Our challenges stay open all month long. And did you know that you are welcome to submit as many layouts as you'd like for the challenges?

We'll be having a design call soon, so stay tuned for that!

So, are you ready for the new challenge? Grab you forensics kits, CSI players, and get ready for some serious sleuthing as we open Case File No. 251.

CASE FILE

Did you know April 1 is officially known as International Llama Month? April Fools! It's not really llama month world-round, but here at CSI, we're going to go with that because we know how trendy and fun llamas are right now. The adorable llama who's the star of our Case File is by British illustrator Aless Baylis.

Feel free to interpret the Case File in any way that inspires you, or for our traditional clues, scroll down to the bottom of this post.

For our Russian players, Detective Anastasia has translated our Case File into Russian:

Правила на русском языке вы можете прочитать здесь.

GUEST DESIGNERS

We're excited have the talented design teams from Bramble Fox, Cuts2Love, and Denim Tampons join us this month as Guest Detectives!

INSPIRATION

So...are you ready for some serious inspiration?

Our talented Guest Detectives from the Bramble Fox design team solved the Case like this:

Cristina's blog

Morag's blog

Niki's blog

Raechelle's blog

Bramble Fox is offering a discount this month to CSI players!

The design team from Cuts2Luv rocked the Case File too:

Badbarbie's blog

How Badbarbie solved the Case File: I was totally inspired by the color combo and the image because I breed alpacas. Actually I have 25 alpacas. I also used a lot of circles to create movement in my creation with texture paste and ornements.

Caroline's blog

How Caroline solved the Case File: I was inspired by the beautiful combo and the animal thing. I had this lovely picture of my kitty and Cuts2luv flairs from the meow kit were simply perfect match! I used flowers, texture paste, stamps and a big Hello as a title. I also used some sticker phrases to relate about my little fur baby.

France's blog

How France solved the Case File: I loved the youthful fun image included in the challenge. I opted to start my layout on a blue background, then added a white section. I chose whimsical papers to lighten up the page of my little dog Maya, she is just adorable and brings us so much joy on a daily basis. My evidence: solid background, textured papers (stripes & dots), Picture of my dog, Paper flowers, Hearts & flower stamps & word phrases & color combo.Testimony: This layout is how my little dog is ADORABLE and such a ray of light in our lives, we truly love her so much.

Plumo's blog

How Plumo solved the Case File: I let myself be inspired by the color combo and the flowers to create this layout. I found the case's picture funny, so I chose to use funny pictures too. I choose photos where my daughters are having fun in front of the camera lens.

Sandra's blog

How Sandra solved the Case File: This case challenged me a lot, I got out of my comfort zone by using some elements like cactus, pastel colors and cute animal. I also got inspired by circles, textures paste, fabric, flowers and textures. Have fun!

Torsa's blog

Valerie's blog

How Valerie solved the Case File: I was inspired by the colors, fabric, flowers and fuzzy cut.

The Denim Tampons design team did an awesome job solving the Case File:

Aurore's blog

Lydie's blog

Maska's blog

Here is how the CSI Detectives have expertly cracked the case. You can read more about how the Case File inspired them on their blogs (links on sidebar).

How Nina solved the Case File: We have lovely memories of Ernest Hemingway´s home in Key West, where 55 friendly descendants of his son´s cat Snowball lived peacefully in the house and garden. Some of them had the special feature of 6 toes, like Snowball had. Just look at the cat on the right!I picked the following clues as evidence: animal/cats, cacti, flower and circle.

How Debbi solved the Case File: I have a confession to make: I created the Case File with the express purpose of creating a layout about this story. Tracee and I went to visit our local llama farm to take some pictures, and the llamas had disappeared! The sign was empty. The fields were empty. The llama barn was empty. So we took some pictures anyway--sad face selfies, with the intention of scrapping the story of us going to the llama farm. I used several of the Evidence clues: solid background, llama, cacti, flowers, word/phrase stamps; and the Testimony clues: document a memory about an animal; journal directly on the background. I used the white, pink, and green from the The Scheme.

How Lisa-Marie solved the Case File: I absolutely LOVED this challenge and from the moment I saw the image, I knew EXACTLY how I wanted the basic design of my LO to look! I used several semi-circles on this piece, which echoes the saddle on the llama! I also used smaller circles - much like its rosy little cheek! Then I used alot of hearts and heart inspired paper, as to me, the little cactus on the bottom left is shaped quite like a heart!

How Annie solved the Case File: No llamas in my stash, but I loved the whimsical feel of the inspiration image and tried to capture that in this page. I used all the colours; several pieces of Evidence from the Case File - clouds, flowers, stamping, solid background; and I wrote some journaling straight on to the page. This was SO much fun to make

How Magali solved the Case File: I solved the Case with the combo color, phrase stamp, tiny brads, solid background and circles.

How Wendy solved the Case File: Decided on inspiration from the little blanket on the llama ! It reminded me of sewing and quilt making hence this story!

How Anastasia solved the Case File: Love this color scheme. I used ... textured paper for clouds, clouds, animals, circles, fake zig-zag stitching, tiny brads, stamps, phrase stamp and decorative border. Wrote journaling directly on the background, though it didn't turn out as good as I expected.

How Natsuko solved the Case File: I didn't have any llama elements, so I chose a picture of my daughter feeding a monkey. The funny thing is, we go inside the cage instead of them, because they are wild. They get the food from us outside the cage. I used textured paper for the background, fussy cut some flowers, used textured paste to create a pattern and zig-zag stitched with the colors of the color scheme.

How Carina solved the Case File: That llama on the pic is so cute and I love the colors of this scheme. I ended up doing a layout about our sweet kitty that passed away at the beginning of this year.

Image may contain: Carrie Williams, smiling

How Carrie solved the Case File: I had this great plan to use photos of my son when we were housesitting at an alpaca and llama farm (I mean, how perfect was that?!). When I tried to find them on my hard drive, they were gone. Poof! Vanished. So I went with a kitty theme instead. I used the traditional case file and solved the case with a solid background, textured paper, clouds, animals, a rainbow, and flower, and journaled about my memories of my first cat, Pie. (Lo and behold, I found the alpaca pictures just before I uploaded my project!)

How Nupur solved the Case File: The fun, happy , playful pastel colour pallete made me think that there is always something incredible which is about to happen, have faith and never lose hope. Believe in the magic of fairy dust. WIsh upon. The amazing pop of colours in the scene made me appreciate the little things we have in life. Its all about the beginning and you must start here...

How Laura solved the Case File: I went old school using solid background, clouds, zigzag stitching, stamps, stamped words, and circle

How Libeeti solved the Case File: This time I took the free style way.I was inspired by the airy feeling of the inspiration photo and by the colors. My journaling is about my Mom's love for flowers, how she cultivated her garden on our balcony.

How Debbi solved the Case File: I started out not planning to be "traditional" but then I found this rainbow/cloud die in an older Snap Collection and the rest is history..I loved the colour palette for this little fur baby, Maggie, on the day she found her new home and stole all our hearts.