[some] assembly required

We Have a Winner!

2009-01-02T15:46:00.009-05:00

[SAR] is happy to announce Celeste as out December Challenge winner! I love how Celeste made this beautiful "jacket" for the candle. Knowing how creative she is, she will probably make one for every holiday!

Happy New Year! We hope that 2009 brings nothing but peace, health & happiness to all of you!

Sadly, I made the decision to retire the [SAR] blog. It has been a great ride. Working with Jolene & Patti on challenges every month has been very rewarding. We have had 2 awesome Guest designers in Kelli and Sheryl, thanks for lending us your creative talents ladies! I might post some altering challenges at SBO in the coming year. If you are interested, join us, it is a great community with some very talented scrappers!

Our many thanks to those of you who took the time to play with us!!

Tis the Season!

2008-12-03T14:20:00.026-05:00

Whatever your reason for the season, {SAR} would like to wish you HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Many times the holidays mean an extended family meal. This challenge is all about helping your table shine a little brighter ! We challenge you to alter something, candle holders, napkins, table runners, place mats and place holders come to mind, to add to your holiday table.

When you are done, take a photo of your beautiful creation and link it to us in the comments section of this post. We will add it to our Holiday Table gallery. If it is easier for you, please email us a photo. On January 1st we will choose a winner who will receive a lovely RAK of holiday crafting goodies!

{SAR} would like to welcome Sheryl Dachs as our Guest Designer this month.
My name is Sheryl and I live in a beautiful small town in the UK with my husband and two boys. I have been scrapbooking for about four years, being inspired mainly by my boys and the things I see around me - I'll scrap just about anything. I also make a few cards and started doing a few altered projects earlier this year - it's so nice to be able to make fun and personal gifts while using my lovely supplies!

Thanks for sharing your creative talent with us Sheryl!

Here are the Design Team's projects this month:

Sheryl:

Jolene:

Patti:

Jan:

Thankful Winner!

2008-12-01T15:38:00.005-05:00

{SAR} would like to congratulate Gracie as our "Thankful" challenge winner!! Please email us your address so we can get your Noteworthy prize pack to you!! Thank you to all of you who participated in November's challenge! We appreciate you sharing your talent with us!

Please check back tomorrow for December's challenge!

What Are You Thankful For?

2008-11-02T21:43:00.013-05:00

We all have something.
We all have someone.
We all have someplace.

That we are thankful for.
That makes our hearts sing.

That one thing.
That one person.
That one place.
That makes us smile.

What's yours?
Who's yours?
Where's yours?

The challenge this month is simple.
Alter a notebook. It doesn't matter
the shape or size. Store-bought or
handmade. Make it a place of gratitude.

A place for you to go to to remember
the important things in your life. Put
some photos in it, some words, some art.
Whatever. Whatever you think of
when you hear the word, "thankful".

So, pretty up a notebook with a "thankful"
theme and share it with us. Link us a photo
of your creation in the comments section of
this post or email us a photo by midnight,
November 30th. We will put it in our
Notebook Gallery. We look forward to
seeing your beautiful projects!

On December 1st we will randomly draw a winner
for a Making Memories "Noteworthy" prize pack,
including papers, journaling notebook, tiny alpha
stickers, glittered flower stickers and a few other
surprises!

Here is what the DT did with their notebooks.

Patti:

Jan:

Jolene:

October Winner!

2008-11-01T19:42:00.003-04:00

{SAR} is pleased to announce Karen as our Pumpkin

Challenge winner! Congrats Karen! Please email us

your address so we can send you your prize.

Thanks to everyone who participated this month. We

loved all the pumpkins that were shared with us!

Check back soon for November's challenge!

Fall is Here!

2008-10-01T14:47:00.019-04:00

Hay bales. Scare crows. Indian corn. Halloween Decorations. Pumpkins. Have you seen them start to pop up in your neighborhood? I have! They have inspired this, our tenth challenge! Alter a pumpkin! That's right, make your pumpkin the best on the block! Of course, it doesn't have to be a real pumpkin. Wooden, metal or plastic will do. Link us up with a photo of your pumpkin creation in the comments section of this post before midnight on Halloween night, October 31st. You can email us a photo if you would like. One lucky person will win this prizepack full of Fall & Halloween goodies!

Here is what the DT did with their pumpkins:

Patti altered a real pumpkin with stickers, vinyl appliques, chipboard and stickers! Additional photos in the gallery.

Jan altered a metal pumpkin with chalk board spray paint and some silk flowers. See the before photo in the gallery.

Jolene altered 2 wooden pumpkins with paint, a crackle medium and then took a heat tool to it to bubble up the paint.

Remember to check the Pumpkin Gallery throughout the month to see what others have done with their pumpkins. Happy Fall and happy altering!!

September Winner!!

2008-10-01T09:50:00.006-04:00

{SAR} would like to announce Kelli as our winner of the Lunch

Pail Challenge! Congratulations Kelli and thanks for playing with us!

Check back later today for October's Challenge!

Lunch a Munch!

2008-09-02T10:11:00.001-04:00

It's back to school time at (Some) Assembly Required. For September's challenge, please alter a lunch pail or similar container and link us up by midnight on Tuesday, September 30th. You can also email us your project. One lucky winner will receive the following prize pack filled with goodies!
Lunch pails can be found in the $1 section of some major chain stores such as Target and JoAnn Fabrics. You can also find some incredibly cool ones in flea markets and antique stores. Check out your attic - there might even be one there hiding there from your childhood! You choose the theme and final use. We are excited to see all the variations. Here's what our DT created:

Jan used a Maya Road tin and altered it to hold a custom-made tag album of her family's favorite places to visit. The inking and distressed edges are the perfect touch for a travel-themed project. Additional photos are in the gallery.

Patti altered a mini lunch pail with warm and cozy colors to house her favorite tea collection. She could also use this as a cute gift for a friend's birthday - perfect for those chilly mornings which are just right around the corner. A photo of the back of this tin is also in the gallery.

Jolene altered this mini lunch pail and created love notes for her son's lunch. The messages were printed on the computer, and images were stamped and hand-colored. The cards were then laminated so that they would be protected from spills at lunchtime and could be reused whenever possible.

Be sure to keep checking back to our Lunch Pail gallery to see what others create. Now is anyone else hungry besides me??

Beadazzling Winner!

2008-09-01T22:09:00.000-04:00

We have a winner! Many thanks to everyone who joined us for this challenge. We got such a nice variety of projects this month. Congratulations to Jo-Ann who is the proud winner of our SAR prize pack. Please email us your address so we can get your prize in the mail!

We Have a Winner!

2008-08-05T17:11:00.006-04:00

We have shuffled the deck and have chosen a winner by random draw!
VICKI please send us your email so we can get your prize to you! Isn't
her "Full House" project adorable? Congrats Vicki!

Beadazzling!

2008-08-01T12:00:00.008-04:00

Welcome to August! It's incredible how fast the summer is flying by. We hope you are enjoying every minute of it. This month's challenge is to use beads in your altered project in some way. You may create and/or alter the beads themselves, or you can simply use beads in the creation of your altered project. Email us a photo of your finished creation or leave us a comment with a link to your blog or gallery by midnight Sunday August 31st. The winner will receive a lovely prize pack from SAR. Be sure to check out the Beads Gallery for some beadazzling inspiration!

Here's what the SAR DT created for this challenge:

DT Patti: Patti made her own paper beads!

DT Jolene

DT Jan

We Have a Winner!

2008-07-01T15:04:00.005-04:00

Congrats to our June winner Patrizzia on her amazing ribbon barrette creations! Please email us your address so we can send you a gift certificate courtesy of Strano Designs.

GREAT JOB!

It's In the Cards - Challenge Seven

2008-07-01T13:51:00.012-04:00

Who feels lucky? July's challenge at (Some) Assembly Required is to use playing cards in an altered project of your choice. You might choose to alter the cards themselves or simply use them in projects such as these by the DT:

Patti:

Jan:

Jolene:

Please email us your playing cards creations or link us to your blog or gallery by midnight on Thursday July 31st. One lucky winner will receive a lovely prize pack from SAR. And check back to see the Playing Cards gallery as we update with your projects. The gallery also has additional images of the DT projects - take a look!

Stay tuned - we will be announcing the winner of the June ribbon challenge shortly!

A "Tweet" Winner!

2008-06-03T13:20:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to Kristin, she was chosen by the KT Crafts DT

as the winner for our May Birdhouse Challenge! Here is a look at

her beautiful birdhouse! Thanks for playing with us Kristin!!

Ribbon Makes The World More Colorful! Challenge 6

2008-06-01T17:55:00.030-04:00

That's right! June at {SAR} is RIBBON month!

We are very excited to have Strano Designs

as our sponsor this month! Strano carries the
most beautiful grosgrain ribbon-stripes, dots

and solids in every color under the sun! In fact,

this post is written in the gorgeous colors of

India, most recently shown in Martha

Stewart Living magazine!

RibbonStiff is another cool product that

Strano carries. Once applied to the back of your

grosgrain ribbon, you can punch, die-cut, emboss

and stamp your ribbon! You can even add rub-ons

to the RibbonStiffed side! I told you it was cool!

So, here is the challenge for this month! Alter

something, anything, with ribbon! Yes, you can

use other product, but we really want to see what

you can do with ribbon! If you need some ribbon

or just some inspiration that looking at beautiful

ribbon can bring, visit Strano Designs.

When you are done with your ribbon project, please upload

a photo of it to your blog, Photobucket or your online

gallery. Leave us a link in the comments section of

this post by midnight, June 30. If it is easier for you,

please email us a photo. We will upload it to our

Ribbon Gallery.

Now go, make something more beautiful with ribbon!!
In the mean time, here is a little inspiration from the DT!

Patti:

Jolene:

Jan:

We Have a Winner!

2008-05-02T15:49:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the delay! {SAR} is pleased to announce that
MARTI is April's challenge winner! Congrats Marti!!

"For the Birds!!" Challenge 5

2008-05-01T16:00:00.028-04:00

KT Crafts is sponsoring {SAR} this month! If you haven't been over there to check them out, please do! They are a great bunch of creative gals who love to play with paper and glue! While you are visiting, be sure to check out their store! They are offering a Gift Certificate as a prize for the winner of this month's challenge. WooHoo!

Speaking of this month's challenge...the DT from KT Crafts has chosen a fun one for us this month! Birhouses! That's right. Time to feather your nest, so to speak! I know that Michaels and JoAnns has a lot of different styles in stock right now. Or maybe you are one of the lucky ones whose DH is handy and can make you one. However you come about one, make it pretty for our fine feathered friends!

When you have finished your birhouse, take a photo of it and upload it to your blog, your favorite scrapbook website or to Photobucket, then leave us a link to your photo in the comments section of this post by midnight on Saturday May 31st. You can always email us if that's easier for you. We will put them in our Birdhouse Gallery. Come play with us this month! Most of all - have fun!

Here is a little inspiration:

Barb - KTC DT Brittany - KTC DTDawn - KTC DT Elisabeth - KTC DTVicki - KTC DT
Patti - DT
Jan (front and back) - DT

Jolene - DT

May Sponsor! Oh Yeah.. A New Challenge too!

2008-04-28T23:12:00.003-04:00

We at {SAR} would like to welcome KT Crafts as our May sponsor! The DT there have chosen our challenge for May! We will be altering birdhouses! The winner will receive a Gift Certificate to the KT Crafts store! Here is a little bit about them. If you get a chance pay them a visit.

KT Crafts is an internet based scrapbook store that first opened in 2002. Since then the industry has grown and during that time the store has grown as well. KT Crafts currently ships anywhere in the world and offers a great selection of basic supplies as well as the newest products. There is always a sale going on so be on the look out for discount codes!

KT Crafts also offers a wonderful community of paper crafters from around the world. The design team has a variety of styles and talents and can benifit any scrapper. The community is welcoming, warm and offers weekly challenges, games, contest and much more! Stop by and check them out!

Check back in on Thursday, May 1st for April's winner!!

Taxes Done? Treat Yourself!

2008-04-16T17:11:00.009-04:00

Whew, another tax day has come and gone! Now, there is only one more deadline to meet! April 30th! (SAR) wants to see your treat containers! Turn those boring boxes, bags and buckets into something pretty enough to give as a "Welcome to the neighborhood", "Congrats on the new baby", or "Just because I love you" gift filled with yummy candy or cookies! Post a link to a photo of your treat container here in the comments section. Need some inspiration? Check out our gallery! We can't wait to see your creativity! Happy altering!

"You're So Sweet!" Challenge Four

2008-04-01T08:47:00.011-04:00

March winner

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for our March Shapes and Letters challenge. We are excited to announce that Shelley May is our winner! We will be sending you our awesome prize pack including two shapes from Say It With Letters and some other scrapbook goodies.

Who doesn't like to receive a treat? You know what they say, "the packaging makes the present!" So, why not do something sweet and alter a treat container. Fill it with some homemade cookies or a favorite snack and give it to someone, just because.

Our challenge to you for April is to get creative with your containers! Think before you throw it away. Pringles cans, coffee cans, deli containers -- they can all be altered. Creative Imaginations makes paper containers, or you can alter a paper mache box. Cricut makes a cartridge just for cutting Tags, Bags & Boxes. You can even download templates from the internet.

For April we invited Sarah Tirrell-Baker to guest design with us. Her soft, shabby-chic style shines through in her lovely treat box. Here's what our designers came up with:

Sarah - GDT

Jan

Patti

Jolene
Included in this month's prize is some great stuff from Li'l Davis Designs. Check out that Rickrack & ribbon, a Junkitz accordion album, fun chipboard from Scenic Route, some Bazzill, Making Memories rub ons & 7 Gypsies stickers. Everything you need for some fun vacation, week-end getaway layouts.

Can't wait to see what you all come up with for our April challenge! Link us to your projects from your blog or online gallery to this post by Wednesday April 30th at midnight. (You can email us a photo of your container if that's easier, too.) Keep checking back as we update the Food or Treat Box gallery. Once again, thanks for playing with us at {SAR}!

What SHAPE are your LETTERS in?

2008-03-27T15:22:00.003-04:00

You still have a few days to enter our Shapes or Letters challenge. Just link up your project to the original post to be entered for a prize pack including two shapes from our sponsor Say It With Letters. Thanks again to Deb Damboise for the wonderful shapes and letters we used this month!

It’s time for our April altering item reveal. We’re thinking “happiness is homemade” and with that in mind, have come up with the idea to alter any food or treat container. This simple altering challenge can be anything from an empty coffee can to a clear bag tied w/a scrapped tag and pretty ribbon. The springtime blue sky is the limit!

As always, thank you for being part of the fun at {SAR}! Stay tuned for the March RAK winner, to be announced very soon.

Shapes and Letters and a Winner...Oh My!

2008-03-01T16:32:00.014-05:00

We'd like to start by saying a great big thank you to everyone who participated in our Cigar Box challenge! We received so many different entries and are amazed at how creative everyone got with just a basic box shape. We are also excited to announce that Vicki is the RAK winner - big congrats! If you haven't seen the boxes already, please take a look through the Cigar Box gallery.

On to the March news! We have joined forces with Deb Damboise from Say It With Letters online store for our altered letter or shape challenge. If you haven't heard of this shopping source, get going over there right now! Their shapes are custom cut, hand sanded and unfinished. They are made from sturdy 1/2 inch thick MDF (super smooth surface for painting, decoupaging or embellishing.) There are even keyholes cut in the back for easy hanging on all shapes. Deb has provided some shapes to include in our March prize pack: 3 inch X & O letters and their new mermaid shape (shown below). Thanks so much, Deb!

You can find wooden and paper mache letters and shapes at a variety of discount stores and most of the major craft stores. One additional note about Say It With Letters - they are able to do custom orders for unique items and wholesale orders as well, so just send them an email with any questions you might have.

We will be accepting altered letters and/or shapes throughout the month of March. Just link us to your blog or gallery upload in the comments section of this post or email us your image. Then keep checking back to the Letters & Shapes gallery as we add your projects. Here are the Say It With Letters projects made by our designers:

Patti West

Jan Tatomir (letter on altered canvas)

Jolene Johnston

Happy altering!

Get Hoppin'!

2008-02-24T12:19:00.004-05:00

There are just a few more days left in February - there's still time to participate in our altered cigar box challenge. Be sure to leave us a link to your finished creation in the original challenge post in order to be entered in the RAK drawing. And this year you even get an extra day in February to participate...so get hoppin'!

More exciting news! (Some) Assembly Required has secured a sponsor for our March challenge, and the prize will be sweet! For those of you wanting some advance shopping time, the next item to alter is a shape or letter(s). You can choose wood, paper mache, or whatever floats your boat. Shop around your local craft stores or check back here on March 1st for our awesome sponsor who sells a wide variety of supplies that are perfect for this challenge. See you then!

Lotsa Love From the SAR Girls

2008-02-13T20:56:00.005-05:00

With great love we show you a sneaky peek of the RAK for February cigar box challenge. It includes a Maya Road chipboard album, band aid tin, clear badge album, several clear stamp sets and other goodies to satisfy your scrappy mojo. Don't forget to link your completed cigar box to our challenge post by February 29th to be entered in the RAK drawing. We love ya!

"This Isn't Your Grandpa's Cigar Box!" Challenge 2

2008-02-01T13:25:00.001-05:00

From Jolene's earlier post, you already know that we would like you to alter a cigar box (or any low, flat box with a lid) for this month's challenge. I found mine for free at a local cigar shop! Jolene found hers in her Dad's attic. Patti bought hers at Michaels. They can be found. Maybe make a call or two before heading out to find one. When you find one, check out its construction for ease of altering. Some are a lot easier to alter than others.

Please link us a photo of your creation in the comments section of this post or email us by Februay 29th. (And it's leap year, so you have one extra day in February to play along.) A winner will be drawn randomly from all entries and will receive a cool RAK chock-full of alterable items and goodies. Good luck, and we can't wait to see your work!

SAR is pleased to announce that Kelli Smith has joined us as a Guest Designer this month! She is a talented scrapper and altered artist who currently resides in Bergen County, New Jersey with her hubby, 3 adult daughters, 2 cats and her baby-the dog! Kelli has been scrapping since the early 80's when her first album, full of high school memories, was created using construction paper and knick-knacks. Scrapbooking has come a long way since then and Kelli is enjoying the ride! She was a Guest Designer at SBO in late 2007 and is currently on the Paper Potamus DT.
When Kelli isn't creating, you can find her teaching at the local high school, traveling throughout the US or hiking. She is thrilled to be a guest here at SAR! Thanks Kelli!!

Here are photos of the DT's cigar boxes. Check out the cigar box gallery from time to time this month to see more! Happy altering!

Kelli

Patti

Jolene

Jan

We Have a Winner!

2008-02-01T10:55:00.002-05:00

By way of random draw, DAWN has won our first
ever SAR Challenge RAK! Congratulations Dawn!
Thanks for sharing your talent with us!
Please email us your address!

February Challenge Item

2008-01-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

We have received some great comments and suggestions and wanted to give you a little advance notice and shopping time for our next challenge item. For the month of February we are asking you to alter a cigar box. You'd be surprised where you can find these little gems. Try a local cigar shop - they are often free or only $1-2. You can also find new ones made of paper mache, cardboard or wood at many major craft stores such as JoAnn's, Michael's, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby, etc. (It's worth giving them a call before you go.) There might even be an old one hanging out in someone's attic! Any type of low, flat box with a lid will be accepted for this challenge. We'll be back on February 1st with our altered cigar box examples and the winner from the January clock challenge. Please email us with questions!

We Are Not Above Bribery!

2008-01-14T18:46:00.000-05:00

Here is a sneaky peek at the RAK one lucky person who

has completed our challenge will win by way of random

draw at the end of the month! Good luck to all!

Share Your Projects With Us!

2008-01-05T16:16:00.000-05:00

We have received some questions about how to share altered projects with the (Some) Assembly Required viewers. Here's how:

First, create an amazing piece of altered art to match the current challenge. We would like to see newly created altered pieces for our challenges if at all possible.

Then email a JPG of your project (resized to roughly 600 x 600 pixels) to our email address.
OR

Upload your altered project to an online gallery (scrapbook-related, PhotoBucket, etc.) or post it on your blog. Copy and paste the URL information from your blog or gallery into your comment at SAR, and we will take care of the rest. Your project will be permanently added to the SAR gallery and can be viewed by anyone who clicks on the link for that challenge.

Hope this helps! Please email with additional questions. Can't wait to see your projects!

"Excuse Me, Do You Have The Time?" Challenge 1

2008-01-02T12:27:00.001-05:00

Father Time has reset his clock and we thought ours needed a little attention too! That's right! It's time for our first challenge here at SAR! We would like you to alter a clock! Easy, right? Alter one that you have in your home already, buy a new one to play with or make one out of something very "un-clock" like!! Whatever works for you. Most of all, have fun. Enjoy the process. When you are done, link us a photo of your clock in the comments section of this post by January 31st so we can put it in our Clock Gallery. We will have a random draw at the end of the month for a really nice RAK.

We would like to give a shout out to Jen and her team over at Caardvarks! Her awesome site inspired us to create this blog! Stop by to say hi if you get a chance. Thanks, Jen!

Come and play with us, won't you?

Happy New Year & Welcome!!

2007-12-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

Happy 2008! A new year, a new adventure.
Welcome to our little crafty place on the web!
We love all things altered and decided an alter
challenge blog was just the ticket! Please join
us for monthly altering challenges. We will post
a new challenge on the first of every month.
Please link us to your projects through the
comments section of that post. We will have
a random draw at the end of the month for a
nice RAK! Look for our first challenge on
January 2nd!!

Here's to a happy and healthy 2008!
Hope you will join us for some creative fun!