Challenge #168 week of 27th April 2015

Every now and again, I like to look at the calendar to see what days are being celebrated either where I am, or in fact, anywhere else around the world.

And ... apparently on Friday 30th April, it's National Honesty Day in the US.

According to what I found online, "on this day, anyone participating may ask any question they choose and the opposing person should give a truthful and straightforward answer." Simple, huh?

So, this week, let's be inspired by honesty.

How could you interpret this prompt?

You could take the definition of Honesty Day above and ask someone some questions and note down their answers on your page. 

You could think about the things you know to be true such as my layout below that was created as part of LOADs some years ago.

Maybe it's time to tackle one of those more "difficult" topics, being honest with yourself for example. And for this, there are many ways of keeping those thoughts private such as under vellum or in a pocket.

Or would you like to give your child or someone you know some specific advice or your honest point of view on a "tough" topic.

You could make a "truth" list like my 100 little things I love about my husband

Or how about dealing with a topic that was a little sensitive in the past but has turned into a bit of an in-joke over the years. Again, no need to have all those words out on view if you don't want them to be.

Where will National Honesty Day take you this week?

We love it when you share, so don't forget to link up at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#168

#164 inspired by feathers

I'd started this layout some time ago when I was coming to the end of a kit but then left it to sit around incomplete. Something I don't normally do.

I'd had a bunch of die-cut feathers and just wanted to bunch them all up to form a messy banner. These types of banners are proving a bit of an addiction right now and I love making them as full and interesting as possible and including lots of loopy twine and thread as well as anything else that takes my fancy.

So I tracked down the layout which already had the matted papers and the banner and just finished it off.

The title came to me while I was driving and listening to a podcast (no idea which one any more) and that's what drove the photo selection and the journalling.

To comply the layout, all I needed was a photo, a tag for my journalling which is hidden, some splatted mists and a scatter of sequins.

I pride myself on not having any PhDs (Projects Half Done) and knowing that this layout was hanging around was niggling me! So happy to have completed it.

Were you inspired by feathers or in fact, any of the previous Whimsical Musings prompts (full list can be found in the page tab at the top)? Don't forget to link up your creations over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#164 or (whichever number challenge you have taken). We love to see your creations.

Challenge #167 week of 20th April 2015

This week, I'm getting all trendy on you. 

Inspired by a recent topic on the Paperclipping Roundtable - episode 243 - (catch the episode here if you haven't already) and then noticing the trend online in the last few weeks, I think we need to talk pineapples!

Yes, you read that correctly! This week, I want you to be inspired by pineapples.

Now, I'm not saying that this is something that I necessarily want to include on many of my layouts as a motif - although I can actually think of several Philippine layouts that could have a pineapple on them without looking out of place! - but I've seen many projects around that have a certain *something* about them. Fun, quirky, summery and über-trendy. And if they're talking fruit on PRT, then there must be something about it!

And then when I saw this layout on Pinterest this morning, I knew that Pineapples had to be the challenge for us this week!

Sherri Funk for Pink Paislee

This layout is so much fun on so many levels and that huge stitched pineapple right there in the middle is right up my street! Maybe this could be something I could try lifting and combining with one of those Philippine stories although I'm not sure I have a single fruity pic from my time there!

I've pinned a few pineapple themed items - stamps, dies, layouts, cards, prints - onto the Whimsical Musings Pinterest board if you need a little more inspiration and I'm now on a mission to track down another layout I saw last week before listening to PRT that had me scratching my head as to, "Why?" Now I know why!

Free printable available on the Oh So Lovely blog

As always, we love to see your creations based on our prompts. So link up over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery and don't forget to tag it WM#167. Hope to see your sweet creations over there this week!

Challenge #166 week of Monday 13th April 2015

I'm excited. Someone I know is going to be heading over the ocean next month to come to Europe and have a look around. That in itself is a cool adventure. But on their itinerary is the incredible city of Paris!

You all know how much I love Paris. It's just so beautiful, so romantic, so French. I'm not saying that it's the most beautiful place I've ever visited (it's close) but to quote Audrey Hepburn, "Paris is always a good idea."

I'm excited for my friend and a little bit envious too. I would love to be going to Paris for the first time. To see all of that beauty and Parisian flair through new eyes. To see that the reality very much matches the imagination.

So today, I'd like you to be inspired by Paris. 

Is it on your list of dream locations? Maybe you'll be inspired by the architecture? Have you always wanted to learn French? What about a film set there that's in your top ten? This week might be the week to create a page about a trip you made there XXX years ago! Or is standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower looking out across the city on your bucket list? Show us how Paris is inspiring you this week.

I've made a lot of layouts about Paris over the years and it's interesting to see how my style has changed so much since most of them! But here are just a few of the different aspects of this incredible city I've captured.

In fact, I just recently made a layout about my last trip to Paris, back in November 2009 but unfortunately, i can't share that yet because it's for a magazine but maybe this is my time to get out all those other photos and get them into pocket pages for example. I will continue to ponder my own direction with this prompt. 

Be sure to share your creations with us over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#166.

Challenge #165 week of 6th April 2015

Hope you all had a lovely Easter.

Can you believe it's already April? One quarter of the year is already over and no doubt the rest of the year will also fly by. But spring is definitely in the air round here so I wanted to give you some inspiration along those lines.

I came across this wonderful mood board on Pinterest created by Little a designs (blog / flickr board). and thought it would match that criteria nicely.

Little a Designs / Find this board on Flickr here

There is so much in this photo to inspire you and drive your creations - from the different textures of threads, ribbons, yarn and buttons through the different colours, the stitching, the shapes, the colouring pens! Take your pick.

But make sure that you share your spring inspired creations over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#165 so that we can come over and ooo and ahhh all over it! :-)