To everyone who's ever gotten a kit thinking it'd be perfect... and then got stuck scrapping with it... share your story... here is mine...
I've done quite a lot of AJ-type scrapping recently and wanted to scrap something practical today, so this looked like it was going to be a quick and easy couple of pages. Once that was out of the way, I was planning to get some other scrapping done too. Little did I know... All in all, this two-pager took me about 6 hours to scrap. I started with Anna's newsletter freebie from a couple of months back, though only the base masks and some scribbles of the original template remain. While selecting and arranging the photos, I took a stroll down the memory lane (never mind that this was just a few months ago) and did more reminiscing than scrapping... and then I got stuck embellishing. Like totally stuck... didn't know where to go from there...
So, I grabbed my AirPods and went on a wild adventure chasing a serial killer all the while playing with the flowers and the foliage. Initially, I'd been drawn to this kit because of its colors which I thought would go well with the photos taken on a black beach. Well, the papers did, but the greenery in the photos clashed with the foliage in the kit and the seven or so different clusters I built just didn't look right... I even considered scrapping the whole thing (pun intended) and starting all over... but then thought better of it. I am a resourceful scrapper after all. Pulling colors from the photos, I started recoloring elements and playing with the blending modes to preserve their original texture...
...and... lost track of time... with hubby away on business and the son upstairs doing his teenage things... unable to walk properly after a recent foot surgery, I sat there like in a trance, layering and clustering, arranging and placing, blending and masking... I didn't manage to get much done today... But my son made delicious burgers for dinner, and I spent a delightful Sunday, doing what I love - scrapping and listening to a book. Definitely cheaper than therapy...
Despite all the obstacles your double page turned out beautifully! Absolutely adore how wonderfully everything blends together so beautifully! 
I do tend to 'overthink' things and can easily (and joyfully) sit here in my room and scrap for hours on end, trying out different techniques etc. but when I get to that 'getting frustrated' point where it's just not working, then it's time to just leave it and go do something else. I can easily spend a LOT of hours on a layout.
I mean Jenn! 
I will have to check out the Sherlock podcast, sounds cool! Thanks!!