Challenge #293 - week of 25th June 2018

Midsummer - it comes and goes so fast. Just as we are beginning to enjoy summer days here in Germany, the longest day of the year has come and gone. I can't help thinking about the fact that just as we traditionally get warmer weather and people are spending more time outdoors, the days are shortening towards winter and cooler days! Ha ha! If you know me, you know that I love the winter so maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part.

Anyway, we had Midsummer's Day/Night as a prompt back for WM#174 so I didn't want to repeat it exactly. But it is a seasonal marker in the year that I like to reflect on so I decided to include it again but with a twist.

This week, I'd like you to be inspired by White Nights

Far more north than we are here in Germany, the phenomenon of "white nights" is something that I find fascinating. Nights that don't turn dark - or just for a few hours only. Life on earth is truly amazing.

In fact, I just read a report about the FIFA World Cup which said that the England team are experiencing problems where they are staying near St Petersburg because they are only getting about 4 hours of dark per night which is disrupting their sleep habits. Now, I could get a gold medal for sleeping so I wonder if I'd get the same problems!

You might have a story about long days and short nights, maybe you've even travelled so far north that you've experienced these nights for yourself. There was a particularly well-known film back in the 80s featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov that was a favourite of mine, where I first learnt about this side of nature, that could trigger an idea or two for a layout. You could talk about what you do in the long evenings or how it affects your own sleep or daily routines. You could choose to make a page which is predominantly white or light shades. I think there are different places to take this prompt even if it looks a little limited at first glance!

It would be great to see your creations in our Facebook group here - we love it when you share so 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 #292 - week of 18th June 2018

The week before last, I was lucky enough to spend a few days aways visiting my baby brother (he's actually 24!) in the beautiful city of Vienna! It was gorgeous and a lot of fun to hang out with him and hear all about what he's up to there. It's not the first time I've visited and we did quite some serious sightseeing back then so we didn't need to do quite so much this time around, and we had limited time anyway. I made a mental list of a few things to do and the famous Prata was one of them, in particular the Riesen Rad.

So, this week I'd like you to be inspired by ferris wheels.

Fairground stories seem to be the first thing to spring to mind and that's most likely where I'll go with my page. But you could talk about the big wheel of life, how you feel like you're going round and round, the highs and lows, the view from up there or simply use fairground paper - there are so many fun collections featuring carousels, big wheels and even candy floss that I'm sure you have some in your own stash! Perhaps your love of the fair or how you hate the rides but like the food and atmosphere. You might have had the luck to experience one of the many big wheels to be found around the globe these days such as the London Eye, the Singapore Flyer or any of those to be found in the big cities such as Paris or Las Vegas.

As always, I hope you can find some way to bring ferris wheels into your scrappy life this week and that you'll share your creations!

It would be great to see your creations in 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... :-

#291 - be inspired by Sketch Savvy #179

Hey, I made a layout to a current prompt! Go me! I'm feeling a bit inspired right now and decided to take the chance to make a layout using really new photos, my most recent Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, Sunkissed and the lovely Sketch Savvy sketch #179 from WM#291. A great combination.

Here's the sketch as a reminder.

And this is what I did with it. It's quite true to the original design although totally different at the same time. I wasn't really sure where to put the journalling as the sketch didn't have a specific place so just tucking it into the top of the middle section seemed the sensible place. However I have to say that it made my layout look far more blocked than the original. Anyway, no Disney ears for my layout so I just layered up my papers and embellies in those corners. Same, but different!

Counterfeit Kit Challenge June kit, Sunkissed lo #3

As always, I love it when you share too and if you're inspired to create this week, 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... :-)
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Challenge #291 - week of 11th June 2018

I was perusing FB the other day and saw a beautiful layout featured on Pebbles Inc which I then tracked down to their blog here. Such a gorgeous, soft, pretty layout based on a  sketch by Sketch Savvy - find their blog here

I didn't realise that they had a monthly sketch challenge and realised that it's quite some time since we did a sketch here. I love a good sketch and Sketch Savvy seems like a great sketch site even if they seem to have stopped a year ago.

Therefore, this week I'd like you to be inspired by this Sketch Savvy sketch #179.

Sketch Savvy blog - sketch #179

Stay true to the sketch, turn it, flip it, mirror it or swap out photos for other elements. The sketch was originally used for a Disney layout (spot those Mickey ears there behind the photo) but you can do whatever you want to make it your own. I love the way sketches give me a starting point that I can use as it is or really stamp my own design on.

It would be great to see your creations in our Facebook group here - we love it when you share so 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 #290 - week of 4th June 2018

I seem to remember a recent prompt to be inspired by being organised or something similar (WM#280 - be inspired by priorities) and it would appear that this is seriously lacking in my life! But my days are full and we have been busy hanging out with family and friends so I think that's important and a good reason to be late and feeling a bit behind schedule. And the busy times are not over so we will have to see how things go over the next weeks.

In the meantime, I spent time with my niece over the weekend, creating a summer frame full of beach memories and shells, drinking lots of sugary drinks, eating oodles of illicit sweets and snacks and watching films together. A treat for her and an excuse for us to watch kiddie movies :-)

We try to find films she hasn't seen before and settled on the Oz the Great and Powerful - the more modern retelling of the older Wizard of Oz story. Personally, I prefer the technicolour original with Dorothy and Toto but I liked this one more on this second viewing than I had originally. The special effects are gloriously colourful and whimsical, and the overall feel of the film is quite dreamy.

What was rather missing for me in this version, apart from the ruby slippers, was the infamous yellow brick road. There is it in the film but there's no real mention of it in the story line - which made me a bit sad.

So this week in honour of the original, I'd like you to be inspired by the yellow brick road.

You could have a story about seeing a version of the film, or maybe the stage version of Wicked - the prequel story of sorts. Judy Garland might be your role model or do you have a story about performing in a school or amateur dramatics stage performance of the story? Have you followed your own YBR in real life, or you could talk about the friends you've met along your own road of life. Of course, there's an Elton John song, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" which could be more your thing. What about having a road on your layout as a design feature or using some themed product - I'm sure I have a Graphic 45 paper featuring Dorothy and this has given me an idea for a layout I might make!

I hope you can see that there are different ways to take this prompt and I'd love to see where it takes you.

I hope you'll show us by adding your creations to our Facebook group here - we love it when you share so 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... :-)