Challenge #312 - week of 19th November 2018

We were invited to friends for dinner at the weekend. What a great evening it was! I don't think I've laughed so much for a long time. Who said that we get more serious as we get older? Not round our way.

It's taken us a long time to develop a good circle of friends here and that's what I'd like to think about today.

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

I know that we've been inspired by relationships and connections over the years but it surprised me that friends has never been explicitly selected.

Here are just a couple of pages I've made about friends recently...

This prompt is wide open for any interpretation you'd like to make. New friends, old friends, school friends, school friends, how easy it is for you to make friends, what type of friend you are, what type of friend you look for, different categories of friends, funny stories, sad stories and everything in between! Literally, a thousand ways to talk about friends this week. You might even have a scrapbook supply from a friendship line or a word element to use. Take this prompt and run with it! I'm sure you could come up with a list of a dozen pages or more to create with just the single word "friends" to inspire you.


If you're inspired then I really hope you'll share and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Challenge #311 - week of 12th November 2018

Yesterday, across parts of western Europe and the English speaking world, we remembered those fallen in times of war as part of Remembrance Day. This is commemorated every year on 11th November and at 11am, a two-minute silence is often signalled by The Last Post and a reading of a verse or two of poems written during WWI.

In 1918, "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" the guns fell silent as part of the armistice which had been agreed and signed some 5 hours before, marking the end of World War I (1914-1918).

It's a big thing in Great Britain and this year was especially poignant as it marked the 100 years since that time. I wore my poppy with pride and had my own two-minute silence.

So, this week I'd like you to be inspired by "lest we forget".

This doesn't have to be a sad story or even anything to do with loss or remembrance as such. It could be a story that you've been meaning to tell, or something you want to make sure is recorded or something you just don't want to forget yourself. Of course, it can also be a more serious project if you have something you want to put down on paper. I'd just like you to be inspired by the idea of looking back and remembering. To be honest, the phrase "lest we forget" definitely sums up one of the reasons I scrapbook. I often say, "If I don't tell my story, who will?" And that's what it's all about for me. Stories that would otherwise get forgotten.

Take this prompt in any way you'd like today but I'd love to see some recorded stories.


I always hope you share your creations and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Challenge #310 - week of 5th November 2018

Welcome to November - my favourite month. 

There is so much to love about November and I'm determined to enjoy it all. So far, we've already had a birthday celebration, a city light festival and an amazing firework display - and it's only the 5th!

And, it's Bonfire Night in the UK today so having fireworks last night here in Germany was a fabulous substitute!

But we've been challenged by this British celebration before so I can't have that. But don't forget that if you haven't made a firework page, check out prompt WM#144 - be inspired by fireworks and maybe this is the week for that too.

However, recently I was walking through town and noticed some pretty gorgeous window decoration in a men's wear shop. As soon as I saw them, I knew I wanted to use them for a WM prompt at some point. As autumn has arrived at last, today is the day.

This week I'd like you to be inspired by geometric animals.

Aren't they gorgeous? I just couldn't resist. There's something about each of the faces that just has me melting - especially the wolf.

I think you could easily find a link between one of these and a story to tell. Take the animals as themselves - hiking, zoos, trekking, a trip through the wilderness, something on your wishlist to see or go. There are the colours in the designs - gorgeous combinations for this time of year. There are the geometric designs which have been so cleverly used to create these 3D faces staring out at us. Use one or all three to inspire your own page and/or story.


If you're inspired then I really hope you'll share and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Challenge #309 - week of 29th October 2018

It's Halloween week and I'm sure many of you have decorated and are getting ready for trick or treat'ers knocking on your door. Some of you might even be getting dressed up in your creepy costumes.

We used to do that too which was a lot of fun, but these days I tend to just note that the day is here and move on! Halloween was always a mini-celebration when I was a child which was fun even though we didn't go from door to door. But there would be party games at home usually involving apples or sweets which was good enough for me.

I don't think I've ever done a regular Halloween prompt here so I'm going to continue that by offering you an inspired colour scheme courtesy of Design Seeds. { candied hues } was posted on 31st October 2017 which is totally on cue. 

So, be inspired by a candy colour scheme!

{ candied hues } image via: @rotblaugelb
Design Seeds - original source here

I think this picture really has some of the main tones you might find at Halloween so if those are the photos you want to use, that should be a great combination. But the purple, pink, brown and orange would be perfect for autumn thoughts or nature walks. I really think this is a lovely range of colours that are ideal for a whole range of projects and memories - see where you go!


I hope you'll share and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

#303 - be inspired by stained glass windows

I was really looking forward to Scrap Happy's LOAD1018 - I love the community, the inspiration and the push to create every day. I had high goals and even though I knew I wouldn't manage a complete month (at least, it was unlikely), I did expect to make a bunch.

As I write this, it's the middle of the month and I've completed a grand total of ONE. Not exactly a "bunch"!

But as my understanding and motivational girls told me over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge team a day or two ago, one is better than none!

I know, I know! But a little disappointing all the same.

However, it does mean that I made this layout which matched WM#303 - be inspired by stained glass windows about an event that happened really recently. A gorgeous local country Schloss that we finally got to visit last month after two and a half years of wanting to.

I've been using a lot more patterned paper as backgrounds to my layouts recently so I've needed to come up with new ideas for embellishments and journalling. I kept the former to a minimum here because I wanted to use so many photos (so many from the day that I couldn't fit in!) and fell back on journalling on white card cut into strips - the original inspiration in fact for prompt WM#306 - be inspired by strip journalling which helps it to stand out against the full, floral background.

Some stitching adds texture and dimension without being too busy.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. Please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

#301 - be inspired by something you just had to have

A few prompts ago, I asked you to be inspired by products you just had to have (WM#301) and presented my "must have" collection - Dream Big by Simple Stories. I don't really know why I felt the need to pick it all up but it's really true that I just had to have it!

Now that it was in my possession, what was I going to do with it? I don't make cutesy layouts after all, so it doesn't really fit my type of scrapbooking. Mmmm - the WM prompt was really designed as a push for me to find a way.

There are many gorgeous patterns which are fairly standard - stripes, spots, hearts and florals so I felt sure I could work these elements more than the unicorns, rainbows, tiki dancer or mercats!

Next up came a prompt for a sample page for LOAD1018 where I was asked to be inspired by My Fair Lady - or influential figures in my life.

That was easy - it would have to be my grandad who I've written about many times before. So this time, I decided to write this story from a different perspective. That of the fundamental feeling he gave me overall. He never sat me down and imported grains of wisdom or had inspirational quotes that have been passed down the generations. He simply made me feel as if anything was possible. He was quietly supportive and there for me if I needed advice - practical advice. We were totally different but also, very similar and we all still miss him - even though he died almost 30 years ago.

I found a photo I hadn't used before of "his" bench - commissioned by my mum in his memory -  and used this bright, happy collection to keep the feel of the page positive and optimistic. I didn't want to feel sad looking at this page and the cutesy collection proved perfect! I picked out elements carefully and I'm not sure that you'd ever know that other papers were covered by unicorns and girly motifs!

Lots of layers, stitching and messy thread along with splats and sprinkles give the page dimension and texture.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. Please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

Challenge #308 - week of 22nd October 2018

I've been doing a lot of travelling around Germany the last few months and have taken a lot of gorgeous photographs which of course, inspire my scrapbooking.

This last weekend was no exception and we were out and about in the absolute best autumn weather with the most incredible light - you can see some examples over on my Instagram account. But one photo in particular made me stop and pay attention.

As far as the eye could see, the landscape was full of lines of vines because this is vineyard country and it's quite a spectacular view. In the fading afternoon sun shining low onto the colourful leaves, this photo inspired me to come up with this week's prompt.

Therefore, I'd like you to be inspired by lines.

You might have a set of photos similar to mine linked to specific landscape or countryside. Perhaps it's line relating to rocks, waves, mountains or clouds. It could be a child practicing their handwriting on pre-drawn lines. Lines of people, lines in drawings or art in general, what about architecture. There might be some lined supplies that you've been itching to use or a page design that you'd like to give a try this week. Stories about lines - school maybe or theatre? I think there are several different ways to take this prompt and as always, I'd love to see where your inspiration goes.

Straight, diagonal curly, wiggly or parallel lines - so many directions to take!

Stitched and grid lines not to mention lines of words

Lines of patterned paper in a row

Lines of washi tape in a border effect

I hope you'll share and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

#278 - be inspired by romance

This layout came together by rummaging through my Counterfeit Kit Challenge August kit, Heatwave (l/o #3) and using up everything that spoke to me and matched that gorgeous Pinkfresh Studio background paper.

I started off by identifying that I wanted to use the gorgeous 6x4 "choose joy" card, and then I just piled everything else up along that one third line.

I knew I wanted to make a page about romantic gestures but was not exactly sure of what that would look like until I had finished the base of the page. In the end, I had to tweak some of the items to make a suitable place for the photo and I made sure to leave a little space at the bottom for my words.

Then I went off to find a story and photo. Yes, that's how it works sometimes! Or rather, quite often. It might not work for most of you, but I scrap at a crop quite often and I'm not organised enough to get photos and stories ready before I go. So I just create with a rough idea of where I might want to take the story.

Anyway, this is a page about romance of course, and how it's sometimes not reflected in moonlight and roses but might be found in a message scrawled on the bathroom mirror. So, WM#278- be inspired by romance it turned out to be.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. Please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

#259 - be inspired by fussy cutting

Another make that happened a while ago but I just haven't made the time to share here on the WM blog.

And another layout that combines three separate challenges on one page. First up, I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, (CKC August kit, Heatwave #4), then I used that for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge prompt to create a page with a mixed up title (find out more on the CKC blog here or my Recklinghausen Musings blog here). Finally, it includes lots of fussy cutting to complete the Whimsical Musings prompt WM#259 - fussy cutting.

I cut out the hexagon pattern from the My Mind's Eye paper, the clipboard elements from the Pink Paislee paper and also the "weekend" word from a Crate Paper sheet.

I love fussy cutting bits and pieces from my stash and finding new ways of using it so this combination makes me happy.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. Please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

#137 - be inspired by favourite flavours & #259 - be inspired by fussy cutting

I made this layout some weeks ago but just haven't got around to sharing which is crazy but unfortunately true. I'm trying to catch up with a whole load of shares! I think I have ten or so so watch this space for more. And don't forget that there are more than 300 prompts for your inspiration so why not have a look through our "back catalogue" to see if something jumps out at you!

You can find the full list here on the blog on the "Whimsical Musings past prompts" page and I've just uploaded the list in three files over on our FB group. Go to the Whimsical Musings group here and then check out the pinned "announcements" - each prompt links through to the original post on the blog.

This layout was made during the Scrap Happy mini-LOAD818 and used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit from August, Heatwave (l/o #2) AND fulfils TWO WM prompts WM#137 - be inspired by favourite flavours and WM#259 - be inspired by fussy cutting. Phew. That's a whole lot of challenges right there in one page!

I couldn't believe that I hadn't actually made a fussy cutting layout specifically with Whimsical Musings in mind (even though I do fussy cutting all the time) and let's face it, strawberries are probably on the list of favourite flavours for the majority of people.

I kept it really simple by cutting out the large florals from a Crate Paper sheet and then just layered them up to frame the beautiful photos of my summer loving nieces! I included a small piece of red paper as a nod to the strawberries and kept the remaining embellies to a scatter of enamel dots and a few additional die cut leaves.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. Please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

Challenge #307 - week of 15th October 2018

I looked up what happened in the world on this day just a few moments ago and it's driven my decision for our prompt today. Do you ever do that? Apparently, the first ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine" was staged in Paris in 1581, Napoleon was exiled to St Helena in 1815 and the first episode of "I Love Lucy" was aired in 1951. I can actually think of prompts for all three of these events - can you?

However, today I'd like you to be inspired by peace.

In 1993, Nelson Mandela and F W de Klerk, President of South Africa, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and I think that's definitely something to celebrate.

Were you watching when Mandela was released from prison? Maybe you remember him presenting the Rugby World Cup to the South African team captain in 1995? Or what about Mandela dancing with the Queen at a concert in his honour at the Royal Albert Hall?

Anyway, you don't need to use anything to do with Mandela on your layout but I think that "peace" is a very wide and thought invoking prompt for us this week.

What is peace for you? Time alone or time full of family noise? How do you find peace in the every day. For you ladies over there in the US, perhaps you have a Peace Corps story to tell this week - either your own or a family member. Or maybe you want to take a more philosophical approach and take the subject in its widest context. Of course, you could also interpret it as a peaceful design for your layout - lots of white space, simple products, a grid perhaps. And I happen to know that Paige Evans recently released one of her famous die cutting templates in the original peace sign design - I've seen it in the Silhouette store but I believe you can get it for other die cutting machines.

I love getting cosy in bed and this is where I find peace in my day to day!

I think there's a lot of scope for taking this prompt in different directions so why not give it a go? And who knows, one of those other "on this day" events might just appear this time next year!

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

#306 - be inspired by strip journalling

When is the last time that I managed to make a Whimsical Musings prompt right there in the week that I posted it? It feels like a long time. But this week, I managed the seemingly impossible :-)

I promise you that the prompt came first and then this Simple Scrapper Creative Team assignment followed and not the other way around. But does it really matter anyway? I've made a page that I love and that's all that matters at the end of the creative day.

This layout was created using a sketch and a Story Starter ® from the Simple Scrapper premium membership. I loved this sketch (from September 2017) when it first appeared and knew that I wanted to use it so I was particularly happy to realise that I could make it work this month. The fact that it had journalling strips was the icing on the cake to fulfil this Whimsical Musings prompt WM#306 - be inspired by strip journalling.

The Story Starter ® was all about gifts and I knew this was a chance for me to capture my love of matching, over the top, frilly packaging!

I went with my standard form of journalling in this way. I wrote up my story on a 6x4 template, printed it out at 1.15 spacing in American Type font and then cut it up into strips and trimmed the ends so that most of the strips are different lengths. And then I adhered them loosely so that there is some dimension. Perfect!

I also added some texture to this simple sketch by stitching round the edge of the page and also along the bottom edge of each cloud, leaving the threads messy.

Last of all, I picked out some enamel dots, veneer elements and some glittery elements to sprinkle across the page in colours that sum up all that is fun about my packaging and Easter itself!

*sigh* I love my Silhouette when I take the trouble to get it out and use it! And I think I love my sewing machine even more :-)

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. Please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

Challenge #306 - week of 8th October 2018

I've been busy creating today and will have some shares during the week so watch this space. But I used a technique that I like a lot but I'm often too lazy to actually remember to do. And this gave me the idea for today's prompt.

I'd like you to be inspired by strip journalling.

You know, where you write or print your journalling on strips of paper and then glue them directly onto your journalling area. If I'm going to write, I usually just write directly onto the layout but sometimes, I want the story on a paper or cardstock to stand out a little more and that's when I go to the effort of printing my words and then cutting it all up in order to stick it back down again!

You can use patterned paper such as the second layout here or plain cardstock which tends to be my go to. You can make it even or staggered, whole lines of text, just one sentence at a time or even a single word. You can write, print or use a typewriter. You can put the strips close together or far apart such as in the last picture. You can make it tone on tone - first photo - or a strong contrast. However you use it, give it a try this week.

I think you know how important I think story is on my layouts and I love finding different ways to incorporate it into the design so I hope you'll find a way to take this inspiration for yourself this week.

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Challenge #305 - week of 1st October 2018

Wow, it's October and the year is flying by. Of course, you know that I'm smiling every day because it's autumn and simply the best time of the year. I seem to be more organised, more energetic and get more done - (well, within reason ha ha!) - with the longer evenings and the full feeling of autumn in the air that seems to feed me.

But it's at this time of year that our social calendar fills up even more than in the summer as dinner arrangements are made and squeezed in before crazy season starts with birthdays and Christmas in November and December.

Which got me thinking about this week's prompt. I'd like you to be inspired by dinner parties.

Now, we call them dinner parties round here but you might have a more relaxed name for them - I'm talking about simply getting together with friends around the dinner table. You might cook together with friends and then sit around the kitchen island nibbling and chatting together. Or it might be a more formal occasion where the cooking is done behind closed doors and presented on your best wedding dinner service with fancy napkins and crystal glasses. The latter is more me because a) I'm chaotic and untidy in the kitchen which means I don't want anyone to see it! b) we are foodies and c) I'm more old-fashioned and still get a huge kick from getting out our porcelain and crystal and using it. :-)

You might want to talk about dinner with friends or with family. For special times on the calendar such as Easter, birthdays or Christmas. Or relaxed events where it just sort of happened unexpectedly. You might have silverware, dinner service or glasses with a story to capture this week. Or you might want to recall a particular dinner with a special meaning or story behind it.

For example, once we invited friends for an English Bonfire Night dinner for them complete with a menu and theme! We even had flower arrangements on the table created in English Wellington boots which were quite the eye catcher! It was a lot of fun, and explaining the whole story to them, with the history of Bonfire Night and what English elements we had included, was all part of the evening. I wonder if I've made a layout about this? Perhaps this week is the week!

I really feel that food, drink, eating together and spending time with friends and family are at the core of a happy life and recording these times in my albums is very important. I hope you agree and find a way to take this inspiration for yourself this week.

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Challenge #304 - week of 24th September 2018

Welcome back to another week of inspiration and I have to say that I've done a couple of pages recently that I need to share so watch this space for proof that I actually DO make layouts from time to time - even using my own challenges!

This week I'm going old school. Back to a product that I loved - and actually still love - to use on almost every single layout. It's an everyday product from almost all of our gardens or kitchens and that found a lovely way of embellishing our pages and I soon had a huge variety of different colours, thicknesses and textures.

Be inspired by twine.

There was a time when I got through yards and yards and yards of cream or white or natural twine every month as I wrapped it around every page and scrunched it up and made big floppy bows! These days, not so much but I really like the look of it. I just forget to use it.

I use it for my banners,

and for threading through buttons for more detail and texture,

and of course, wrapping around the whole width of a page or an element. 

It's also perfect on small formats too

You might have some coloured examples, thick, thin or metallic to use on your pages. You might want to thread it though buttons, wrap it round an element, tie a knot at the top of a tag or make a messy bunch as a feature. Maybe you want to use it to lace something up or join things together. Perhaps you have some product that features twine in printed form. You could have a story about something getting tied up with twine or string or what about something that's being strung along! I think you can find ways of talking about twine even if you don't want to use it as a product itself.

I'd love to see where this takes you this week and of course, if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)