10 Day Marriage Challenge + A free printable

 

I found this 10 day Marriage Challenge by The Vanilla Tulip via a Bloglovin update email (how fantastic are those?!) and was instantly hooked. And my sweet, sweet husband is a such a sucker for my requests. So we immediately started with gusto and quickly slowed our momentum, but are officially done now, well over the 10 day mark! Oh well, being finished is the always the goal! This was such a legitimately fun experience and we truly learned new things about each other! And got a sweet action mini book out of it!

This was one of the easiest mini books I’ve ever made and it is completely done. No work. No follow-up. Done.

To prepare:  I had Terrell go through my Project Life 4×6 stash and pick out some cards he liked, then I chose some matching ones for myself. I purchased a $1 classic mini album from target and just slipped the cards in. For a fun twist, I challenged myself to find 10 new ways to take photos that represent us. I shared a few using the hashtag #10daymarriagechallenge on instagram if you would like to see more.

Then, every day we would grab the pre-chosen cards, write our answers and share! On days I had more time I experimented with a few fun ways to write on the cards, used some stamps and printed out some of our answers, used embellishments, etc. Some nights it was just straight writing, dating and slipping the cards in. The was a super quick and easy book that has some really fantastic ideas/memories in it.  As for the photos: I regularly print photos for my project life, so I just included these photos in the next batch I did and slid them into the open pockets in between our answer cards.

We didn’t spend an hour each night doing this challenge, as the original blog recommended. But we seriously LOVED this activity. It made us laugh a ton at each others answers (in a loving way of course) and some days were very thought-provoking and hard to choose only 10 things! And we had a really intentional date night where we did the last day together, which was perfect timing since our life is about to change in a huge way and setting goals for it together is very important!

I made a printable card to go in the front cover so you know what questions we are answering (as we didn’t write them on each card). I wanted to share the card with you in case you wanted to do your own and make it one step easier for you! I’ve left space for you to add in your names and date (if you so desire). It will print out to fit on a 4×6 card vertically. You will need to print it first on normal paper, then tape your card to it to ensure accurate printing and run it through again for exact placement. If you use it please share by tagging me on instagram @Lk_hooper or by using the hashtag #laurenmadethis

Have you done any marriage challenges?! Let me know how they went and if you recommend them! I love a good challenge!

Click here to download the card: printable marriage challenge list

These are the questions from Vanilla Tulip. (I condensed the explanations down on the printable card)

Day 1- What are your Top 10 favorite characteristics about one another? Why? (wife writes 10 for her husband. And the husband will write 10 for his wife

Day 2- What are your Top 10 favorite characteristics about yourself? Why? (Wife writes about herself. Husband writes about himself)

Day 3- Where are 10 places you have never been to but would love to go? Why? (again, these are individual lists.  You each write your own)

Day 4- What are 10 of your biggest pet peeves? Why? (in general, not necessarily with one another)

Day 5- What are your 10 things you hope your kids learn from you? Why?

Day 6- If you won $100k tomorrow… what 10 things would you buy yourself? Why? (you cannot save it or spend it on anyone else. You MUST spend it all on yourself)

Day 7- What are 10 things that you would like to improve on personally? Why?

Day 8- If you could invite 10 people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be? Why?

Day 9- What are 10 things that your spouse can do for you, or does for you, that you really value/appreciate? 

Day 10- ***Do this one over a date-night dinner***  What 10 things do y’all want to accomplish in the next year? Do this list together and once you are done talking about it and putting the list together, put it in an envelope and store it.  Then make a point to open it in a year!

New York Mini Album

I’m here with another installment of my love for minibooks!

Don’t forget I’m giving away one very much like this here and you still have time to enter the contest!

This one is more ‘hybrid’ than my past ones. I am in LOVE with making mini’s, but the more and more they get looked at (which is more frequent that I thought) the more I worry about their longevity. So, I combined some pocket pages into the mix this time. Pretty much I just gutted a Sn@p album. (It’s actually the insides to the album I used to make my planner) These albums come with those chipboard dividers that have tabs on them. I used those as my front and backs and as always just mod podged paper, photos and embellies onto them. Then for the insides I used a few different styles of the 6×8 pages. Some I just slipped 6×8 spreads in like this one below. Others I used Project Life cards and photos to just slip into the pockets to fill it quick and easy. Almost everything is in a page protector, a few inserts and memorabilia are just hole punched and in between 2 page protectors. But for the most part these pages are well protected and should last longer and handle lots of touching better! I completed this book in 2 sittings (excluding printing pics). I printed all my pictures with no real idea how I would make it work and paired down as I went. I sat down for an evening and picked all my papers, paired them and cut them. The next day I added all pictures and embellishments and journaling in just a few hours.

 You can read all about our NYC trip here. But for now I’ll just let you browse the book! Products used (as best I can remember) are listed at the bottom. If you have any technique questions please leave them in the comments and go enter to win an album here!

       

This is possibly my favorite page of the album. Not only because it features our lovely friends, but there’s just something about the design layout. I loved that paper on the left too much to put anything on it. Then there’s the simplicity and layering of celebrating our friends and their accomplishments and their generosity. It’s just my favorite.

As much as I like this book and the hybrid technique, there’s just something about the cruise mini that just keeps calling me to look at it and touch all its exposed embellies…

Products used: Basic Grey Carte Postale collection, Sn@p Album , Project Life cards, Studio Calico papers, wood veneers and embellishments, Amy Tan thickers, Smash book tape and journal cards, Elise Joy stamps, lots of random papers and embellies from my stash, Polaroids