WM#231 - inspired by flamingos

It may seem a little random but there are a lot of flamingos out there if you haven't already noticed. Scrapbooking products and for around the home - flamingos are on trend!

So when I challenged you to use flamingos on your layout, I was also challenging myself.

And I did it. 

The layout isn't a serious one - really just for fun - but I used several flamingo items on the page and recorded a little story about my love for flamingos and the fact that I have lots more product so I'm going to need to find more reasons to use it up!

Sorry the photos aren't stellar - just wanted to get a shot and upload it as soon as I got home!

I added my journalling to the back of this little journaling card.
It's not private but I liked the card and thought it was an ideal place to write a few words

Just a light-hearted page to show you that your page doesn't really need to be fixated on the flamingos themselves - just incorporate a few items, use flamingo pink or even just use a single element (such as the cute paperclip) I used all three of these ideas on one page and it was fun to just cut into those papers and get them onto a page.

Again, that's what it's all about, right?

I've got a photo and an idea for last week's prompt that I haven't yet managed to pull together. Hopefully in the next few days...

When's the last time you made a page - just because???

We love it when you share too and you can do that at either of our Whimsical Musings groups which can be found at Flickr (here) or over at Facebook (here). Whichever is better for you is great for us. We will find you! Tag your layouts with WM#XXX so that we know which prompt you followed.

Challenge #231 - week of 26th September 2016

I've been saving this prompt for some time. But if I leave it too long, the trend will be gone and it will be too late!

But sometimes, I don't want to use up all my "good" prompts at once! Or rather, maybe I should say, my own favourite prompts...

I'd like to challenge you to use a very on-trend motif. It's pink and can be found in home decor as well as scrapbook products these days! Can you guess?

This week, I'd like you to be inspired by flamingos.

I've been collecting some flamingo items over the last few months from Scrapabilly but either I've been reluctant to use it up because it's all so adorable, or I don't really know how to incorporate flamingos into my everyday layouts! I've never been anywhere with flamingos for example, nor do I have any particular affinity with them - outside the scrapbook stash I'm hoarding keeping for that special layout. So I'll be stretching my creative muscles with this prompt alongside all of you!

It would appear that I have far more flamingo supplies than any single scrapper should have!

I did manage to use a few foam flamingos and she small elements last year on two Scrapabilly layouts but I had to stretch why I was using them in my mind!

So, how will you find a way to bring flamingos to your scrapping this week? I can't wait to be inspired by you!

We'd love you use this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#231 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#231 in the write up text so that we can find it.

Challenge #230 - week of 19th September 2016

Last week I celebrated 10 years of blogging over at Recklinghausen Musings with a layout I shared here too (see post here). But it made me realised that 10 years ago was the day we travelled to Nova Scotia for our "beach holiday" and it's got the best memories. It's encouraged me to look back at the blog posts and the album I made.

Being new at scrapping and enthusiastic beyond my talents (!!) I made a full 12x12 album of that holiday and used my blog for the journalling. So looking back, I can see that 10 years ago today would appear to be the day that we had a minor emergency scare that gave us an insight into what lovely people the Canadians can be. We were helped out in our hour of need by complete strangers. My blog post title says it all "NEVER underestimate the kindness of strangers"

For prompt WM#230 I'd like you to be inspired by just that. Be inspired by the kindness of strangers.

This might be a difficult one to scrap because it's unlikely that you have photos of strangers or maybe you've never needed the help of one in particular. But think about getting lost in a town, being a helpless tourist on holiday, even someone giving up their seat for you on the train or bus. Your reaction to the situation might be an interesting direction or maybe you were the stranger helping someone else out. Even though you might have to get creative with the photographs, using something symbolic perhaps, I really think there are a few directions you could take this.

I don't have a photo of the people that helped us that day and to be honest, the event can be found in that huge album...

 just one page of three from this eventful day and look at that beginner style! *sigh* for Chatterbox papers though!

... but I have an inkling of an idea of where to take this prompt. *wink*

We'd love you to be inspired by this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#230 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#230 in the write up text so that we can find it.

#229 - inspired by using products by a manufacturer no longer in the scrap industry

I've just blogged over at Recklinghausen Musings about this layout if you'd like to see the back story to my little blog anniversary creation.

But, for now, you knew that I'd used BasicGrey, didn't you? Urban Couture is so 2006 (or it might even have been 2005, before I started) and I think these were some of the first papers I ever got myself. I loved them so much that I used them in a year review album and then I bought myself the whole collection pack - maybe even twice!

I tried to bring it up to date with some modern techniques - splatting, distressing, layering - and matching them up with some newer products - washi, mist, Thickers, mini alphas. I also tried really hard to convince myself to use some of the fibres I'd bought to match the minimal collection pack. But I just couldn't. I think those fibres might have to go into the recycle bag...

I'm not sure about that tag on the right there but overall, the layout pleases me. If nothing else, it gets a small amount of my hoard stash of BG onto a page where it belongs!

We love it when you share too and you can do that at either of our Whimsical Musings groups which can be found at Flickr (here) or over at Facebook (here). Whichever is better for you is great for us. We will find you! Tag your layouts with WM#XXX so that we know which prompt you followed.

Challenge #229 - week of 12th September 2016

Come on, 'fess up! You have some, don't you? I know you do. Lurking in the back of your stash cupboard? Or maybe yours is front and centre like mine? You know, that stash that you are hoarding saving because the company doesn't exist any more and the page you use that last piece on needs to be perfect!

This is going to be hard ladies, but I'd like you be inspired by scrapbooking product made by a manufacture that doesn't produce scrapbook product any more.

The list feels endless over the years since I've been scrapbooking - 2006 - so I'm sure that there are many out there whose list is even longer: Making Memories, Sassafras, Cosmo Cricket, Chatterbox, Glitz, Hambly and of course, my all time favourite, BasicGrey *sniff sniff*

I think I have some of each of these somewhere in my room and I savour each piece of them - Sassafras, Cosmo and BG all the more...

A few favourites are:

Clockwise: Cosmo Cricket - Dutch Girl, Gretel and S'More Love (adore Mr Campy too);
Sassafras - Indie Girl, Sweet Marmalade;
Making Memories - Passport; Hambly - anything I have;
BasicGrey - Konnichiwa, Carte Postale, What's Up. Scarlet's Letter, Sultry
and an all time favourite, Infuse

But it's time to get them out of the protected, quarantine area of your room and highlight their beauty on a page! You've hoarded them for a reason - you love them - and you can love them all the more when they are showcasing a beautiful set of photos in your album. I promise this will be easier than it seems at first glance :-)

We'd love you to be inspired by this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#229 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#229 in the write up text so that we can find it.

#228 - be inspired by growing things

Prompt WM#228 asked you to be inspired by growing things and I have to admit that that bright red tomato I featured in the post had already been made up into a layout for the Scrapabilly August Kit des Monats. It would have been cheating to use it as my layout for this prompt but just in case you missed it over at my personal blog, here it is for you:

So, having made this one about my wonderfully successful tomatoes, I knew I had to come up with something else. We've got a lot growing round here so it didn't take long to find another story, matching photos and a suitable layout:

I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge September kit, Sundance and while it's a little tongue in cheek, I'm rather pleased with my ironic title. Fun stuff. And even though it was a bit of a squash, I managed to fit three photos onto the page with one of my favourite designs - the off centre band, which can be horizontal or vertical. It seems to work every time.

Do you have a go-to design for certain numbers of photos or topics?

We love it when you share too and you can do that at either of our Whimsical Musings groups which can be found at Flickr (here) or over at Facebook (here). Whichever is better for you is great for us. We will find you! Tag your layouts with WM#XXX so that we know which prompt you followed.

Challenge #228 - week of 5th September 2016

Last week was about the first stirrings of autumn - yes, I know that I might be wishing away the last few weeks of summer but I LOVE autumn so much. And this is the direction I'd like to encourage you this week too.

If you follow me on Intagram, you might have seen this shot

and this one.

Now, I am not a gardener. At. All. My balcony boxes are more than enough for me to manage and I'm happy if I don't kill any plants I get. But back in spring, I was given four tomato plants and now I get to harvest the fruit. I am beyond thrilled at this little miracle of nature. This tiny cherry tomato is the first I have ever grown and I can tell you that it tasted amazing!

This week, I'd like you to be inspired by growing things.

This could be house-plants, flowers, garden plants, fruit or vegetables. Maybe a story about your first garden or how your relatives gave you your love of getting your hands into the dirt. Do you have a dog who just can't resist digging up everything you plant? Or do you relish the harvest time to put howe-grown food onto your table for the family? I can think of many different ways to take the inspiration this week.

We'd love you to be inspired by this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#228 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#228 in the write up text so that we can find it.

#226 - be inspired by where you come from & #227 - be inspired by a pinned colour scheme

What?!? Two posts in one day. Could this be the start of something new? Lisa managing her own prompts within the week? Maybe. Let's take it one prompt at a time :-)

But as soon as my August Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, Sundance had been made up - late as always - I could see that several of the colours from WM#227's colour scheme were included. So I used the Adobe Capture app to create this palette.

The orange and pink tone came out a little darker than I had planned but when I looked at my kit, I had almost everything I needed to match. I tracked down some deeper aqua alphas and made up this mini page kit to inspire me.

The top design is the b-side of the teal balloon paper from my kit and in the end, I used both sides. I also changed out the pocket page card and the doily while I was making the page but all in all, the kit seemed to give me everything I wanted.

So then I decided to tie up the colour scheme with WM#226 from the week before which was to be inspired by where you come from. I've made several pages about being British, or my home town, or my adopted home country and town so I decided to go for a different interpretation. About me.

Following on from my Forgeries on the Fourth post over on my blog (here) I decided to dip the main word of my title to soften the colour of the woodgrain letters. I like how they came out even if the paint dried a little textured.

A little gold and aqua ink tied in with the other colours on the page.

I also added in a small amount of twine at the last minute to add a little more texture and detail.

The journalling is personal and therefore hidden. I don't normally journal in blue but I forgot and just used the pen in my hand. And I really messed up some of the writing itself so I may change out that card for another attempt at better journalling! The photo is one of the selfies I took in my 30 Days of Selfies challenge back in April. It was good to get another one used up.

So there you have it: two prompts on one page and right up to date. I am in love with this page and am so happy that I pushed myself to get it done while I had a quiet afternoon.

We love it when you share too and you can do that at either of our Whimsical Musings groups which can be found at Flickr (here) or over at Facebook (here). Whichever is better for you is great for us. We will find you! Tag your layouts with WM#XXX so that we know which prompt you followed.

#217 - inspired by "your vibe attracts your tribe"

Back in June (WM#217), Leslie asked us to be inspired by this...

... and I loved it right away.

My creative friends really are my tribe. We understand each other. We are there for each other. They are some of the best friends you could ever have and I'm so grateful for the chance to call these wonderful women, my friends.

And of course, from time to time, I've had the chance to get to meet them in real life. What a thrill that's been. 7 and counting so far...

I've made layouts about meeting them over the last couple of years but this layout was specifically prompted by Leslie's quotation. Fellow Master Forger Julene was in Europe on a river cruise up the Rhine and so of course, Cologne was the perfect meeting point. We only had a few hours together but it was great to get to know each other for "real" and to show her a little of my new home country.

I used the August Scrapabilly Kit des Monats (you can check it out at the shop here) featuring the gorgeously bright and happy Let's Party collection by Echo Park as well as die cuts from the Carpe Diem collection by Simple Stories. This was a fabulous layout to make and features those totally scrap worthy colourful buildings in Cologne!

I meant to share it before but am missing a lot of follow through at the moment! Better late than never. I have plans to be better... let's see.

Don't forget that if you follow one of our - now - 227 prompts, we'd love you to share with us either over at our Flickr group (here) or in our Facebook group (here). Just tag it with the number of the prompt you've used and we'll find you! (WM#XXX)