Prize Giveaway - A Reminder!

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to help us celebrate a whole year of Whimsical Musings weekly inspiration prompts by going back over our year of ideas and picking out a favourite to make.

There's a small giveaway to be won... 

Just check out the list {here}, create, and then uplodad to our Flickr gallery {here} with the tag WM#52 (as well as the tag for the week you are using - just for fun!) and you are in the draw.

Did I mention there's a small giveaway to be won? 

Pam and I will draw a name on Monday 3rd.

Have you heard that there's a small giveaway to be won??? 

Come on over and help us celebrate being 1!

Challenge #54 week of 27th August 2012

I was recently invited by a good blog friend, Clair, to participate in free online course she was setting up. I was delighted to be asked and honoured to be amongst some very talented paper crafters. And stitchers. Which is what the course was all about.

And so a prompt was born!

I had such a lot of fun creating layouts using differnent stitching inspiration and it struck me that this would be a great prompt for WM! I know that there's some stitchers as well as some quilters out there and if you don't usually take thread to paper, then here's the chance for you to give it a go!

If you want some ideas, you could go to Clair's site and check out the class where she talks about simple hand stitching, machine stitching, as well as inspiration from stamping, embroidery, quilting, string or cross stitch.

In the meantime, here are the two layouts I produced for the class:

And Pam is great in her use of stitching for her titles which I always love! For example here 

 And I know there are so many more exmaples of her stitching work in her Flickr photostream so be sure to go over there for more inspiration!

I seem to be having problems with formatting so I'll sign off now and hope for the best for tomorrow!

#53 Inspired by Grids

Another week is over. Does it seem to anyone else like this year is picking up it's pace? Time seems to be flying.

Anyway, I have two layouts to share with you, so I will get right to it.

Being that this blog is meant to bring you scrapbooking challenges with a twist, I tried to look for ways to change up the typical grid of 3x3 square photos. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that grid, in fact it is my fall-back option when I have a lot of photos. But with this challenge I wanted to show you how you can spice it up to make it interesting.

This first layout was completely lifted from this album cover {here}. Even the colors were inspired by it. I am a music lover so often I find inspiration in album covers and I have been keeping my eyes out for grids all week, so I was delighted when this popped up on my Pandora.

I was brave on this layout in that I used really old stickers left in my stash from the days I used to use themed product. Admittedly, the thought of theme product now makes me cringe, so I tried to find ways to use these stickers in a natural way to my current style and I think I pulled it off. I didn't use all the stickers on the sheet, but by adding small elements here and there I reinforced the story being told here.

This next layout is all about the ribbons. Aside from a few punched butterflies, this layout uses no patterned-paper whatsoever! I finally found a way to make a dent in my ribbon collection.

Again, I wanted to find a way to "twist" the concept of a grid... and that's exactly what I did here. I tilted the grid. I did this before even having pictures to scrapbook, so I didn't know how I was going to finish it off. I thought about tucking in the photos behind the ribbons, like those tufted fabric boards they sell for room decor, but in the end I found this printed instagram photo that perfectly fit into four of the squares. I added the smaller pictures from the photo strip because I wanted to tell a more general story and not just talk about the one photo.

How did you use this concept of grids?

xo,
Pamage

#53 inspired by grids

Happy end of the week everyone!

I'm keeping this really short and sweet today. I'm being a bad scrapper and a bad blogger right now but there just doesn't seem any time to do anything. :-(

Pam asked us to look at grids for our creations and she knows just how much I love them so this was great for me.

I turn to grids when I have a lot of photos to use and if I want to keep things simple and easy. They are so effective whether you make them symmetrical and structured or more fluid and abstract.

I've been doing the 12 on 12 project since way back in 2007 and I love to look back over those layouts to see how my months have changed. But I'm pretty way behind on creating the layouts even if I have all the photos taken. So this was the ideal opportunity for me to get one done. I'm a bit all over the place with them and will have to collate them all together to see which months are missing or I'll end up doing what I did recently and making two for the same month! he he!

But I went with this month's 12th to keep it simple and turned to my CKC June kit, Subtlety to make things even easier.

I actually love how this has turned out. Now if I could just get around to filling the gaps in this album.... ;-)

Challenge # 53 - Week of August 20, 2012

Well, we are off to a late start, but a start nonetheless to our second year.

And to give you a chance to catch up with some of those older prompts (remember our drawing for a prize at the end of the month) I am keeping this week fairly simple.

What do these layouts have in common?

So have you guessed what it is? The challenge is to use a grid. You can really fit a lot of pictures this way and you can keep a clean look or embellish as much as you'd like. Lisa and I have very different styles, yet both of us make use of this tool to make layouts that pack a punch in terms of pictures. 

and in case you think all grids have to be square, you can visit this page by Lisa {here}. For that extra whimsical touch, try to come up with a grid that is not square - either in the shape of the photos or the resulting shape. Twist it a little and make it fit your story and needs. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

... so go on and give it a try. The gallery is already brimming with plenty of examples, but if you have one you always default to share it with us on the boards. Remember to share your layouts with us and tag them WM#53.

Have a great week.

xo,

Pamage

#52 inspired by previous prompts

Celebrate good times,come on! (Let's celebrate)

Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)

There's a party goin' on right here

A celebration to last throughout the years

So bring your good times, and your laughter too

We gonna celebrate your party with you

Come on now

Celebration

Let's all celebrate and have a good time

Celebration

We gonna celebrate and have a good time

Ok, I think I'm showing my age now but anyway, this week is all about the party round here for our first birthday.

I challenged you to go back over our last year of weekly prompts and make a layout for one of your fabourites. 

There was a lot of choice and I couldn't find a favourite because I loved them all but there were so many that I could have done for the second or third time and a couple that I just didn't manage well or even at all. So that reduced the list down marginally. He he!

In the end I went with prompt #33 Inspired by old stash. This was a prompt I did actually make a layout for but then I destroyed it as I just hated it! I'm not sure I ever even posted it because it was just awful.

So I decided to have another go at it.

I decided to use my Beach-.house Counterfeit kit and then added in a few really old embellies - buttons, flowers, brads, word strips - as well as an "old" technique of mine - the twine wrap with a cluster. 

I really like how this turned out and as soon as I get back on my feet with regards to my creative time, you can bet I'll be working my way back through the list.

I can't believe we've been doing this a whole year now - it's been fantastic to see how it's developed and every week makes us happy.

Thanks to all of you for being a part of this  :-)

#52 Inspired by past challenges

I can hardly believe we have been doing this for a full year. Looking back I am amazed that this little venture has added 52+ stories to my efforts to document my life and that of those around me.

In clicking through each prompt I was again reminded of all the great challenges we had throughout the year... and some I wanted to take on again. I couldn't narrow it down, so I ended up creating 4 new pages! And that in itself should be cause for celebration.

dream big & dare to fail

for this layout, I took on Challenge # 2 to be inspired by Norman Vaughn's motto of "dream big & dare to fail". The first time around I had been intimidated by the boldness of his words and ended up making a trivial layout. This time I wanted it to have more oomph and true meaning to my dreams. But alas, I am still not daring enough to put them out into the universe, so they sit in a little pocket for my eyes only. The layout was also inspired by this recent pin {here}.

we go on the best dates 

For this layout I wanted to take on my own prompt, Challenge # 13 to be inspired by a triadic color combination. I decided to do one I hadn't done before, red-yellow-blue. When I think of those colors I think Elementary School and boy toys. So I was interested to see if I could pull it off with this goofy picture and I think I succeeded. The sketch came from October Afternoon's blog {here}.  Another cool element of this page is that I was able to use the menu from the restaurant right in the layout.

love life

I had been itching to re-do this prompt and do it justice probably since I first took it on. Challenge # 23 was inspired by my new room decor, but my initial resulting layout didn't have the feel of the room although it used the colors. I recently bought a 6x6 paper pad - MME's tangerine collection {here} and it had the perfect colors. (here's a little known secret about my work: I use a lot of 6x6 paper pads). I added a few more touches and turned out the perfect layout reminiscent of my room.

momofuku

for this layout I revisited Lisa's Challenge # 30 to be inspired by the current trend of geometrics. Although hexagons were all the rage a few months ago when this prompt first came out, these recent pins prove that the new trend is triangles {here & here} or maybe just coincidence.

Overall, I had a blast going over past challenges as looking at how I have evolved as a story teller. Thank you for all your support and I can't wait to start another year with tomorrow's prompt.

xo,
Pamage

ps: remember that you have until the end of the month to upload a layout to the gallery using the tag WM#52 for a chance to win a prize. 

Challenge #52 - week of 13th August 2012

Can I get a drum roll please?

Thank you. :-)

Pinterest find

This here is challenge #52 meaning that it's our Birthday!

Whimsical Musings is ONE today! 

Pinterest find

Pam and I would just like to say THANKS to each and every one of you who comes along every week and says hello. It's been an amazing year and we have enjoyed every single one of the comments, gallery uploads or discsussions.

You guys rock and make this thing so special.

So, we'd like to celebrate and what better way to celebrate than to celebrate with all of you. Our Whimsical Musings friends (and you are going to want to read right to the END of the post today... just saying!)

Our challenge to you this week is to go back and find one of your favourite prompts from the last 52 weeks and either do it for the first time or even do it again!

And because that's a whole load of prompts to go through, I've made a list for you to check out. I hope all the links work but if not, you can find them all in the archives in the side bar.

Challenge #1.     Inspired by colour – warming yellow based colour scheme

Challenge #2.     Inspired by words - “Dream Big & Dare to Fail”

Challenge #3.     Inspired by connections

Challenge #4.     Inspired by Pinterest – colour and texture

Challenge #5.     Inspired by Anthropologie

Challenge #6.     Inspired by sketches

Challenge #7.     Inspired by Stacy Julian and 9 products + 9 words + 9 techniques

Challenge #8.     Inspired by Ebay or Etsy

Challenge #9.     Inspired by the voice of others

Challenge #10. Inspired by what’s right outside your window

Challenge #11. Inspired by words "You have to kiss a lot of frogs in order to find your Prince."

Challenge #12. Inspired by scary

Challenge #13. Inspired by a triadic colour scheme

Challenge #14. Inspired by maps

Challenge #15. Inspired by being grateful for something about ourselves

Challenge #16. Inspired by birthdays

Challenge #17. Inspired by photos we love

Challenge #18. Inspired by the details of Christmas

Challenge #19. Inspired by the scraps on your table

Challenge #20. Inspired by life’s turning points

Challenge #21. Inspired by completing the story

Challenge #22. Inspired by new beginnings

Challenge #23. Inspired by colours - chartreuse, citron, coral and pink with a hint of teal

Challenge #24. Inspired by hand-written letters

Challenge #25. Inspired by "I spend most of my time _____"

Challenge #26. Inspired by sketches

Challenge #27. Inspired by going green

Challenge #28. Inspired by longing

Challenge #29. Inspired by Dr Seuss

Challenge #30. Inspired by geometrics

Challenge #31. Inspired by spring

Challenge #32. Inspired by a relationship not yet scrapped

Challenge #33. Inspired by old stash

Challenge #34. Inspired by an Easter table setting

Challenge #35. Inspired by silver linings

Challenge #36. Inspired by the Earth

Challenge #37. Inspired by questionnaires

Challenge #38. Inspired by Mondays

Challenge #39. Inspired by clusters

Challenge #40. Inspired by clothes

Challenge #41. Inspired by super heroes

Challenge #42. Inspired by Jubilees

Challenge #43. Inspired by advertising

Challenge #44. Inspired by little girls

Challenge #45. Inspired by social media

Challenge #46. Inspired by just thinking

Challenge #47. Inspired by large photos

Challenge #48. Inspired by ice cream

Challenge #49. Inspired by names

Challenge #50. Inspired by the Olympics

Challenge #51. Inspired by living colourfully

And if all that inspiration wasn't enough incentive, if you link up over in our Flickr gallery with your creation from this week's prompt (or rather choice of prompts!) with the tag WM#52, then we will put you in the hat for a little prize drawing. We'll pull a name on Sunday 2nd September and announce it on Monday 3rd September along with our regular weekly prompt.

So, pick a prompt, create, link up using tag WM#52 and hum Happy Birthday along with us!

Have a wonderful week and once again, we'd like to thank YOU for stopping by each week and making this place special.

Sending you Monday love, Lisa & Pam

#51 - Inspired by Live Colorfully

hey there gals. Posting a little early this week as I have a weekend of "living colorfully" ahead of me. I am still waiting for those photos of you guys wearing bold colors. But in the meantime, I will share the layout I created for this prompt.

I am sure more stories will come down the road for his one, but in the end I decided to make a page about how I embrace this motto in my own life. I love making pages that gather random photos with no story and tie them together with a title and some simple journaling. To me, these stories are more significant than event pages because they paint a more complete picture. The pictures used on this page span 4 years and yet they fit together nicely. 

Enough chatting, though, let's get on to my page.

 
I kept the colors and patterns to a minimum because I didn't want to overwhelm the photos as I really wanted the story to shine. With a prompt like "live colorfully" you would expect me to use bold and bright colors. And while the page is quite happy, the colors take second plate to everything else going on.

 
I knew I would never find an alpha with 4 l's, 2 o's and an e, so I didn't even attempt it. Plus, I was starting to miss my watercolors. I drew up my words with pencil and then traced over them with a brush, mixing colors as I went to create this ombre look. I then outlined it with my precision pen and when i realized my pencil marks wouldn't go away {embracing imperfection}, I added my white gel pen.

 

I added my journaling straight onto the cardstock {being bold} before I realized that it didn't really tie in to the title, so I added the little yellow strips to bring the two together. 

 I hope you enjoyed thinking of ways to interpret this prompt. I really do hope you are all finding ways to live more colorfully. If you create a page we would love to see it, so please remember to share on the gallery and tag it (WM#51). Check back for a new prompt soon.

xo,
Pamage

ps: did anyone notice? no splatters. I wonder if that phase is over for me. probably not! ;)

Challenge # 51 - Week of August 6th, 2012

Hello! Welcome back to our little blog {who is almost celebrating it's one year anniversary}


the prompt for this week was born Sunday morning as I was in the car playing co-pilot, DJ and toll funds administrator. I looked down at my lap and noticed this message on the inside of my phone cover pictured below. Then I simultaneously noticed my nails, wallet and pants - and chuckled to myself. I kid you not, this photo was not staged in any way. I was wearing bright yellow pants, "Who the Shrek Are You" nail polish and had my purple wallet and pink Kate Spade phone cover out. Coincidence? Totally. Surprising? Not at all.


 


So you may have guessed it, your prompt this week is to be inspired by the phrase "Live Colorfully". In compiling my monthly collage of photos on my personal blog {here} I came to the realization that I lead quite a colorful life. The colors and patterns I use on my pages surround my everyday life. Polka dots, stripes and whimsical flower prints in all my happy colors cover everything I own. Clearly this prompt will not be hard for me. 


But if you are intimidated by color and your personal style or house decor is more muted beiges and classic whites, then I challenge you to consider these additional ways in which you can indeed live colorfully. Both prints below, as well as the slogan, belong to Kate Spade and her line. 

Live Colorfully

... and this one

Live Colorfully

I love all the ideas in the second print. So you don't have to limit yourself to just dressing or decorating with bright colors. The concept of "colorfully" is much bigger than that and I truly live to embody it. Let's take a little time this week to examine how we or those around us put this into practice.


I cannot wait to see what you all come up with this week while we celebrate our more colorful sides. And in the spirit of celebration, wear something colorful this week and share with us! Remember to tag this as WM#51 and check this space next Sunday for our interpretation.


xo,
Pamage

#50 Inspired by Olympics

Well truth is this prompt stumped me. It took me by surprise and left me seriously mulling over it. Mid-week, I struck genius when I remembered a time I participated in an event dubbed "Wacky Olympics"... but today when I visited my High School album, I proudly discovered I had already told that story, with pretty good journaling too {hooray for good storytelling}.


So I went back to the drawing board.  I decided I was taking this all way too seriously. Lisa gave us free reign to interpret this as we wanted, and what if I had no particular Olympics story I wanted to tell? I decided some of you might be in the same predicament. Well, I took to pinterest and after entering the word "Olympics" on the search bar, my screen filled with the iconic rings. I chose to be inspired by that symbol of the olympics and their color for this layout.



The subject of course is not sport related at all. But I am glad I told a story that was on my list and that has a place in my albums rather than create something for the sake of fulfilling a prompt. I love how everything came together once I had an idea. The little bits I pulled out all seemed to fit the story perfectly - such as the rain badge, as we got rained on our way to the theater... or the little trumpet... or the arrow stamp which reminds me of the logo on his drum set.

the torn paper came straight from the set list I took from the stage once the show was over. I covered it with vellum to give it a little more dimension as well as blend it in a little more. 

 

the title was also inspired by his drum set {seen clearly on the third picture} and I think this repetition ties in the circles to this page, rather than some random olympics colored rings. 

 

Thank you for playing along with us for another week of Whimsical Musings. I hope my take on the prompt, although a bit far fetched, gives you ideas of how you can adapt this to your own storytelling process and gives you permission to cheat a little. Go ahead.


If you create a page closely or losely inspired by the Olympics please share with us over at the gallery linked above and remember to tag your photo {WM#50}. I will be back shortly with the new prompt.


xo,
Pamage