We Dare You by the "Dare Girls"

Reported by Emilie Ahern

Okay. Idea books in general don't tend to inspire me too terribly. The thing is....if you buy a book written by one person, even if you adore their work, you get project after project in the same style. And many idea book topics don't appeal to me.

But, at the last CHA, when I had an opportunity to get this book, I jumped all over it. Mainly because I had heard all of the praise about the challenge blog (http://www.efferdares.com/) on which this book is based. But also, I can admit it, because of all of the controversy surrounding one of the authors, CK's Hall of Fame fallen angel, Kristina Contes. Yeah...it's true.

The subtitle of this book is Scrapbook Challenges about Real Life. And this statement is completely true. It is a series of challenges split into differing categories. The categories are...

the Good
the Bad
the Ugly
the Silly, Wacky, Funny
the Random
the Best

Hoochie Hoops, my take based on the Dare titled Bling (pg. 18)

Within each category you will find multiple challenges based on that topic with accompanying layout by (at least) each of the four contributing authors, Kristina Contes, Meghan Heath Dymock, Genevieve Simmonds and Nisa Finn. What immediately appealed to me were the topics. One of the reasons I scrap is because I want to know myself inside and out. These dares cause you to really dig deep and scrap all of the parts of your life, not just the shiny-happy parts, but those are in there too. Some of the dares are titles, themes, scrapping techniques, etc. There is a wide variety to inspire you.

I also found the four designer's work to be very different from each other in many respects. This means that whatever your style, you will probably see something you identify with.

Dear Teenage Me, my take based on the Dare titled Little Me (pg. 64)

Many of the dares included in the book can be re-done over and over again. The topics inspired a myriad of creative possibilities to race through my mind...and, to me, that is the test of a truly great idea book.

With 127 pages, over 25 dares, over 100 project examples and endless possibilities, I found this book to be helpful, informative and inspiring. This book was published by Memory Makers and is available for sale at amazon.com, half.com and memorymakersmagazine.com. It retails for $22.99, but can be found for a more affordable price at the mentioned online stores. It was the cheapest on half.com.

Obsessed, my take based on the Dare titled Obsessed (pg. 14)

I also fell in love with Kristina's work in the process. Her layouts spoke to me every time. No matter what you think of the HOF situation, I think you may gain great insight into this woman's world by checking out this book.

Pros:

• Well thought out challenges which can be used to inspire multiple layouts from each dare.
• Many of the projects include new and innovative techniques that will appeal to the more advanced scrapper.
• Many different scrapping styles mean you will likely identify with a Dare Girl whose style matches yours.

Cons:

• Subject matter may not appeal to all scrappers. If you feel like you are just trying to race to document all of your children's birthdays before they leave for college, this is probably not for you.
• Some techniques in the example projects are for the intermediate-advanced skill level. Some scrappers may find them daunting.

I highly recommend this idea book. It is the best I have ever purchased. I would love to know what you think! Do you have this book and love it/hate it? Do you like scrapping challenges or would you rather just scrap chronilogically?