Challenge #12 week of 31st October 2011

Pam sets the bar pretty high for the challenges and I was thinking all week about this. In fact, I'm constantly thinking about challenges for the future and noting down ideas here and there. We want to make this fun, interesting and inspirational so the prompts need to be set to get you (and me) thinking.

Today is Halloween in case you hadn't noticed ;-) I guess you guys over there in the US (and Canada?) can't really escape it. It's a pretty big celebration I hear. Over in the UK it's a smaller, quieter affair and here in Germany, it's something that's been imported and is now celebrated a bit but without really understanding what it's all about :-)

But, after all, it IS October 31st and I figure we should have a challenge that's linked to it in some way.

So, here it is:

Now, you can of course take it totally at face value and make a Halloween page. Scary, right?

I seem to remember that this is a Page Maps sketch.

Or you could take it a bit deeper and make a page about something you are scared of. Maybe something quirky that gives you the heeby jeebies or something serious like, *horror of horrors*, spiders. Gives me the chills just to think about those creepy creatures.

Or maybe you take it even deeper and write about your worries. Of course, it would be lovely if you didn't have any and I don't wish them on you. But generally, most of us have a few niggles here and there.

Where will SCARY take you this week?

You can share your projects with us at our Flickr group (Whimsical Musings), using the tag WM#12.

Hope to see you there!

#11 a little about my frogs

Well, we are finally up and running and of course I had a very difficult time meeting my deadline - which you can read about over at my personal blog. 

Like Lisa, this prompt had me thinking in all sorts of directions. I thought about making a layout based on my list of qualities I'm looking for, or discuss every "frog" that has come my way... In the end I went with a simple layout just talking about how I feel about my frogs. It is where I am right now. A real part of me.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I will try to replace them as soon as I am able. maybe then the journaling will be easier to read.

I am excited by the prospect that some of you will be playing along. Don't forget, if you did create a layout inspired by this prompt to post it to our flick'r group and tag it WM#11. 

I am curious to see where Lisa will challenge us to go next. 

xo,

Pamage

#11 Inspired by past frogs and the hope of princes

This week Pam challenged us to think about Prince Charming or maybe the lack of! Pam's still looking for her Mr Right and it got her thinking and therefore, us too!

So she prompts us to create a layout inspired by the quote:

"You have to kiss a lot of frogs in order to find your Prince."

I had so many ideas for this one. I could have made a dozen different layouts with different journalling starting points. I thought about it all week. What I had always thought I wanted. Who were my ex's. What they had in common. Who I was in those days. Who I am today. What have I discovered since I got married. There's a lot to say and this is a prompt I will be returning to over and over again.


In the end, one thought kept coming back to me. A line that seemed to be ever present. And one that sums up what happened to me when I met my husband over 13 years ago.


I created my layout around this and kept the title as the journalling. There was nothing more that needed to be said except, "Sometimes you don't know what you're looking for until you find it."

Too smushy? Hope not!


I'm looking forward to seeing what Pam comes up with - I'm guessing it will be more soul searching than mine might have been but I really intend to return to this at a later time. When I do, I'll link it up.


We are so excited that we seem to have some readers who are interested in joining us! Looking forward to seeing who creates this week.

Challenge #11 Week of 24th October 2011

This week is all about prince charming or the lack thereof. My recent dating woes has caused me to reflect on my hopes and dreams in terms of Mr. Right.

As single women or former single women we owe it to ourselves to think about the qualities we want (or wanted) prince charming to have.

The challenge for this week is to create a layout inspired by the quote:

"You have to kiss a lot of frogs in order to find your Prince."


Whether or not your have found your prince, or even want one, take this opportunity to discuss your hopes and dreams romantically, describe the person you are with, focus on one quality you didn't realize you wanted or needed.

I know next weekend is Halloween and this challenge should have perhaps focused on something a little more goulish. But if you know me by now, this topic is as scary as they come for me. So this is doubly fun. If you'd like to add a scary theme to the prompt you can focus on romantic woes and worst case scenarios.

Good luck and have fun with this one.

xo,
Pamage

#10 Inspired by Fall

Lisa's challenge was to be inspired by fall... except right up until this year I wasn't really crazy about fall. So I decided to take her prompt seriously and ponder on the things I do like about fall and came up with this layout.

I just made a list of all the things I love, of course an off-numbered list. I also challenged myself beyond the theme to  honor Lisa - and include a "cluster" or my version of one. I was inspired by the look of leaves collecting almost everywhere around here.

I hand-cut some leaves from fabric scraps and felt. Then I added a few buttons and presto.

But you know me, I need my white space. I chose this Amy Tangerine paper for the background because it reminded me of fall, but every time I use a patterned paper background I feel overwhelmed. So I misted some white to try and recover some of the balance. The final result, with the leaves peeking through actually worked out quite well.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you guys can find ways to be inspired by fall.

xo,
Pamage

#10 Inspiration from right outside your window

Challenge #10 was inspired by the fact that Autumn is here and I LOVE it. There's so much there to be seen, felt, smelt. There were so many ways to approach this prompt and I'm really excited to see what Pam has to share today ;-)


I left it really late to get to grips with my own prompt and also took my chances with the weather but luckily for me, it was as wonderful today as it was last Sunday. I went outside with my camera and just took it all in. All those colours, the blue skies, the sun shining through the trees. What a shame I couldn't capture the sound of the rustling leaves with my camera too.


I just brought some images together and made a collage of those superb colours. I decided to take the challenge one step further and make the surrounding layout with non-autumnal colours, using my Counterfeit Kit, Balmy August. I just layered it up and am quite happy with the result. No oranges or browns necessary. 

Thanks for looking!


Lisa
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Challenge #10 Week of 17th October 2011

Another week, another challenge. And this week, it's my turn to provide the inspiration.

At first, I was unsure as to what to do but then when I stepped out onto my balcony this morning it was clear...

Step outside and use what you see as inspiration for your layout this week.

This is my favourite time of year and there is so much to love at the moment where I live:

• blue skies
• autumn sunshine
• colourful leaves
• misty morning
• late flowers
• dew on spider webs
• early sunsets
• cold, fresh air
• that "winter is on its way" feeling
• the rustle of wind in the trees
• that autumn "light"
• tractors and farm vehicles trundling past day and night harvesting the last of the crops
• the low sun in the sky
• the feeling of time moving on

What do you see where you are? What will you use as your inspiration? Take it whichever direction you like: subject matter, autumn quotes, colour schemes, choice of papers, nature photos, your perspective at this time of year... I see a myriad of possibilities and am excited to see how this takes you.

Make sure you say Hi in the comments and leave us your link if you join in the challenge. :-)

Lisa

x

#9 Another's voice...

although it was my challenge, I struggled to come up with a solid inspiration on this one. I wanted to find something handwritten by my mom and somehow incorporate that, but I never really took the time to dig for it. So I took the semi-easy route. I gave my sister two pictures and a journaling block and asked her to write something. Boy, am I glad I did! I love what she wrote, of course, but more than that I love that I got to document her English as it stands right now, misspellings and all. As she is about to embark on her college career here in the US and English is her second language, I think she will look back in a few years and probably cringe at what she wrote. I, however, anticipate the day when I can look back with fondness on this day and see how much she's grown. That is my inspirational twist for this week, folks.

Enough babbling though, here we go with the actual layout.

It's pretty standard of what you have come to expect from me. I have kept the 52 Scrapbooking challenges by Elsie Flannigan on my desk recently and flip through it every time I have gone to scrap for the last week - and I am loving the results! Her style is so playful and free that it reminds me that I should be having fun.

So thanks for stopping by and reading. The new challenge should be posting soon and I cannot wait to see what Lisa has in store for us for this week.

xo,
Pamage

# 9 Inspired by the voice of others

As soon as I read Pam's prompt for this week's challenge to use a different voice on our pages this week, I had my layout in mind.

Some months ago, prompted by something I think I saw on Cathy Z's blog (?), I decided it was time to get talking to my nephew and nieces to make sure I capture them right now. Living away from them, I worry that I miss a lot of detail and a questionnaire seemed to be a good way to find out what was making them tick - now!

My nephew was the first one to be questioned, sending him a letter of congratulations (and questions) on losing his first tooth, which I'm told he completed alone straight away.

Love all those wishes he wants! On my layout, I also used his (mis)spellings because I found that so endearing!

Next up was my oldest niece who had recently begun concentrating on gymnastics after being talent spotted. It was "Absolutely Incredible Kid Day" which seemed an ideal time to send her a sweet note and some questions too.

I love that she started off describing herself as "beautiful" and then changed it to "gorgeous" - much better a word I think!

And last but by no means least was the Diva in the family. Years younger than the rest, but petulant, demanding and utterly adorable all the same! I sent her a German tradition of a "Schultüte" for her first day of school and some questions.

This was the only word in her own writing - so cute!

And I got a drawing of a giant balloon being attacked by an enormous, multi-coloured shark on the back. Definitely worth keeping! ;-)

The pages were completed and brought back. And sat in a drawer. Every now and again, I thought about dragging them out and getting it done but it seemed such a lot of work and so it was put to the bottom of the list again.

Until this week.

Kaboom! This page was the perfect solution for Pam's wonderful inspiration. I used a page from a Nic Howard class I'd taken over at BPC as the basis for the design and have made pockets on the back to hold the original pages with all their own answers which were too many to fit onto the layout. The photos are current too so I really feel like I have this moment in their lives captured to a degree. And that makes me smile!

Challenge #9 Week of 10/10/11

New week and time for a new challenge. This may a hard one, but as always, the challenges are meant to push us in new directions and see what results. The challenge is to use a new voice - change up the POV. Ideally, we would get someone in our life to hand-write the journaling for us, but since that may be difficult... us scrapbookers can find ways to improvise to make sure we include other's voices. Ali Edwards always finds ways of doing this, including bits written by her husband, daughter and son. It is so meaningful to her to capture all sides of their story. I think it is important we do too.

Consider these alternative approaches:
- using emails sent by others
- re-purposing old cards: birthday, greeting, anniversary, etc.
- including to do lists or other doodling left behind by another member of our immediate circle
- adding old letters either directed to us or perhaps heirlooms collected through the years.
- copying facebook statuses or wall posts

Feel free to adapt the challenge to fit your needs and your story, but push yourself to find a way to use words that are not your own (with permission of course) and you will be glad you did.

Good luck and remember, Lisa will be back next week with a new challenge.

xo,
Pamage

#8 Inspired by Etsy

Well, isn't this a great prompt? I just love Etsy and derive a lot of my inspiration from there already. I really searched deep to try and find something that spoke to me. I finally found it here. That stained glass piece by Pam Rulhman served as the inspiration for my layout.

Surprisingly, the photos were selected after the choice to use the stained glass look... but once I knew the design it was easy to make the connection with these pictures. The popbars just have that stained glass feel to them. I love how playful it turned out. I will definitely be trying this in the future.

Thanks for reading along.

xo,
Pamage

#8 Inspired by eBay or etsy

I challenged Pam to get inspired by eBay or etsy.


Type your name into the search and see what you get - you might be surprised by the results.


This time around, I used both of these online stores to get ideas and found that "Lisa" brought up piles and piles and piles of Mona Lisas. So I thought that maybe it was telling me to create a page about Paris!


I have so many photos of our time in Paris that this was easy and I incorporated it with my August Counterfeit kit to make a romantic layout I'm pretty pleased with.

Thanks for looking!

Lisa

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Challenge #8 Week of 3rd October 2011

This week's challenge is an idea that I got from a previous LOAD which was also similar to a prompt that CKC used some time ago. Either way to work it is such an interesting concept!

Either:

Go to Ebay and enter your name into the search field and get inspiration from the results!

This was interesting as you'd be amazed at how many Lisa's there were and all sorts of weird and wonderful items for sale.

But there was a book written by a Lisa something or other which featured a blue monochrome cover with lots of branches that I thought was interesting. And that produced this layout.

Or:

Go to Etsy and just find inspiration from browsing through some pages.

When I did this it reminded me a lot of the prompts from the Ebay prompt so I combined them and entered my name into the search field on Etsy and then looked through the results.

This beautiful iPad cover caught my eye quite quickly as the Amy Butler fabric is gorgeous and the lines of the cover are just great. I really liked the flap with the button and decided that I would take this element onto my layout. 

 

Have fun with this one - I can see you coming up with an amazing inspirational layout. I feel like this prompt is perfect for you!

#7 Inspired by Stacy J & a multitude of techniques

For #7 Pam set the prompt of using a previous Stacy J challenge from National Scrapbooking Day where she had used 10 words + 10 products + 10 techniques to make a layout about someone she loves. Pam's all about the odd numbers so she changed it to 9 of everything!

I managed to combine three challenges in one go with this layout (Whimsical Musings, LOAD day 2 and CKC)

LOAD #2, Counterfeit Kit Challenge #6, Whimsical Musings #7

• And finally, for my 9 products, I decided to have 9 different embellishments: buttons, twine, flower, pin, alpha, paper trim, recycled doily, cut-out paper element decoration and a kraft calender spot
• And my 9 techniques were: inking, layering, distressing, sanding, clustering, tying, strip journalling, fussy cutting and recycling.

Thanks for looking!
Lisa
x

#7 Inspired by Stacy Julian

I just loved this challenge and was excited to play with this page. I stumbled upon this photo of my best friend and I ... so instead of making it about someone I love, I made it about the things I love about us.

I cheated a little and used more than 9 words, but I relied on that 9 item list to convey the story. Choosing the products was the most fun because I just picked up unrelated items that I loved and pieced them all together. And for the techniques, I kept it to ones I usually use. Didn't try anything new here. Didn't re-invent the wheel. What I did do was have a lot of fun making a page I feel expressed exactly who we are.

xo,
Pamage