We Dare You: Scrapbook Challenges About Real Life [Paperback]

Kristina Contes (Author), Meghan Dymock (Author), Nisa Fiin (Author), Genevieve Simmonds (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2007

Feel like a challenge - a scrapbooking challenge? Then open the pages of this book and get inspired to create some of the most personal, funny and random layouts you've ever made.

Since 2005, the authors have posted scrapbook challenges - scrapbook Dares - on their website... challenges designed to really get you to think about your life, your art, yourself. In this book, the authors showcase some of the best challenges from their site along with over 25 new challenges to get your creative juices flowing. And the layouts inspired by the Dares, created by the authors and their amazing contributing artists, are the perfect jumpstart to get you thinking about your scrapbooking in a whole new way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Memory Makers (August 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599630133
• ISBN-13: 978-1599630137
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kristina has been published in Scrapbooks, Etc., Scrapbook Answers, Scrapbook Trends, Creating Keepsakes, and Cards. Kristina has contributed to several scrapbook idea books (including Imperfect Lives) and appeared in the movie Scrapped. Kristina is a founding member of The Dares and is on several manufacturer design teams.

Meg has been published in Creating Keepsakes magazine and scrapbooking idea books, including Imperfect Lives. A founding member of The Dares, Meg also is on the Scrapologie.com design team.

A Creating Keepsakes 2006 Hall of Fame winner, Nisa has been published in Imperfect Lives as well as Scrapbook Answers, Paperkuts, and Creating Keepsakes magazines. Nisa is on the design team for several manufacturers.

A 2006 Creating Keepsakes honorable mention, Gen has contributed to several scrapbooking idea books (including Imperfect Lives), and has been published in Scrapbooks, Etc. and Creating Keepsakes magazine. She also designs for the online store Memory Creators.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Memory Makers (August 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599630133
• ISBN-13: 978-1599630137
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best scrapbooking book out there November 10, 2007

By Snowy Marigold

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

From the moment I picked up this book I was hooked. I sat and read not only the text, but all the journaling on all the pages. This is the stuff of real life - sorrows, joys, passions, disappointments. As a single woman with no children I relished the diary-like pages with contemporary layouts. It's perfect for any scrapbooker who wants to go beyond kid and family pages to something more personal and reflective of her (or his) self.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone. February 2, 2008

By Lois Lain VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I have been scrapbooking for over a decade, and it's fun to see the new turn that the hobby has taken. As it appeals to a wider audience of people, we'll continue to see more diversity and differences in style... and that's a good thing.

That said, this book is not for everyone -- and it is not for me.

I consider myself an out-of-the-box scrapbooker, meaning I'm always willing to try something new and shake things up a bit. But I agree with others who find this book to be unappealing. I would have liked to see the Dares undertaken by a wider variety of scrapbookers, not just "throw all the stuff I can find on the page and try to make it cool and urban hip." As a result, it is very trendy but won't necessariy make it to the "classics" section of a scrapbooker's bookshelf.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I dare you to buy this book! March 12, 2009

By Francie Horton

Format:Paperback

I am not your traditional scrapbooker. In fact, I haven't really touched one since my sixteen year old was in her crib. But I wandered into a new scrapbook store in town to see if they had any supplies for "real" art. I'm snooty that way. ;) Where have I been for 15 years? There was so much fun to be had! And I had to have one of each.

So I came home and turned to my best friend, The Google, and researched scrapbooking. After doing a messy visual journal for years it didn't take long to find the kind of personal scrapbooking I like. If I find it a bit challenging it's only because it feels a little self-absorbed to be scrapping only about myself. However, the finished product is something my children will love to have someday.

More and more people are documenting their stories, their daily lives, sometimes their own minutiae. And they're not doing it in nice neat orderly rows, either.

While searching for scrappers online, I came across Kristina Contes and was blown away by her stuff. One thing led to another and I ended up on the EfferDares website. Naturally, I had to order the book.

This book is filled with many one and two-word idea prompts to get you started. Each prompt is explained. Then each of the artists' interpretations is shown. The chapters are titled The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Silly Wacky Funny, The Random, and The Best. There are a couple pages about the contributors and several detailing the supplies used and sources to find them.

The dares do more than scratch the surface. They encourage you to document your inner dorkiness, your inner loveliness, your collections, your regrets, fears, and guilty pleasures. Put it all down!

If you're looking for prompts and eye candy, this is your book.... Being a beginning scrapper I still need other sources for how-to and sketches. We Dare You is not marketed as a technique book so I wouldn't count this against it. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More Art Journal Than Scrapbook May 19, 2008

By Maggie Choo

Format:Paperback

Unlike the usual scrapbook stuff,this book shows designs that are more edgy and wild.Contributors show their work on different issues like their fears,anger and etc.It reminds me more of someone's art journal than normal scrapbooking.I do find the pages inspiring and hope to re-create some of those ideas into my art journal.If you are looking for ideas on how to journal in a more artistic way,you might want to look at this one.

17 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Scrapbooking about the Important Stuff & Stepping outside the box September 9, 2007

By Allyson Bright Meyer

Format:Paperback

I have been eagerly anticipating this book for awhile now. My copy finally arrived today and I'm not disappointed - totally worth the wait. I can't stop flipping through it and am totally inspired.

I love the scrapbook challenges presentd by the authors, particularly the ones about scrapbooking the harder things in life. All of the challenges encourage scrapbookers to record the real things in life, not just holidays & birthday gifts.

So often, when I look at the scrapbook art of others, I am inspired by topic, not just design. And so this book gives me several new ideas for scrapbook pages, which is perfect. It's also inspiring me to revisit some ideas of my own that I've toyed with in the past.

The pages are inspiring, and the art is beautiful.

You won't be disappointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet inspiration for non-traditional scrapbooking May 2, 2009

By Angela Miller

Format:Paperback

This book rocks! First off you must know that this book is for the anything goes, collage, found object scrapbooker. All right lets get into the book . . . It's full of very inspiring pages of all sizes (12x12, 8.5x11 and everything in between) on a huuuggggeeee range of subjects. If you are into creating pieces that are not focused around the more typical subjects (like b-days, x-mas, etc.) then this is the book for you. I am a 25 year old-un-married-childless-scrapper, and often find it hard to relate to most of the books out there, due to them being full of wedding, and child photos. So finding this book was a breath of fresh-air, the subjects of the dares tend to be very intro-spective and really help you to think about the things that make you tick, and will help you to produce very meaningful pages. The topics for the dares are definitely not original but to see how each individual scrapper attacks the subject is what makes them unique. You can pick up tons and tons of new ways to use your materials, the details on the pages are really awesome! I tend to buy buy buy when it comes to scrapbooking products and this book has really helped me to just use what I have, and that there is no such thing as the "perfect" embellishment or the "perfect" page. And if you're like me and struggle with journaling, you will find so many different ways to journal on your pages. This book is a must have for my inspiration library. :)