#312 - be inspired by friends

I had a bunch of layout share blog posts half written up which I seem to have forgotten so here I am again in an attempt to catch up. Story of my life!

This layout, very surprisingly, hasn't been made with a Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit! I think I had some new product and just decided to use it right away. However, it has been made for my Simple Scrapper Creative Team using a new Story Starter™ as well as a recent sketch.

It's another layout recording details of our Scrapabilly Advent Present Swap which has now been extended to include Easter and summer (as well as autumn which we are currently in the middle of). The main focus is really the pretty packaging with fun content and with a group of crafty types, you can guarantee that the presents looks as pretty as can be. Yes, we really get each other - I'm so lucky to have been taken into this fabulous group of women. They make me happy every week.

These scrummy letters are actually a fabulous shade of rose gold.

With the gorgeous background paper and the sprinkle of mist, I really didn't think it needed much embellishment.

And I picked up these letters too in the summer from the UK and I love that the foam is a shade of aqua.

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 #WMXXX (replacing the XXX with the prompt number) so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

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

** This post includes promotion for Simple Scrapper's premium subscription membership for which I am on the Creative Team.

WM#334 - be inspired by found nature treasures

I do scrap sometimes - honestly! Just not as often as I used to. But this last 10 days, I made a layout and feel quite the sense of achievement. But one layout in a whole month seems a little lame at the same time so I need to schedule some creative time just for me.

When I think back to my trip to Scotland, I have many happy memories. It was a really wonderful trip full of good food, lovely people, delicious whisky (I'm NOT a whisky drinker!), stunning landscape, comfy and cosy accommodation, and a great selection of photos which I want to use to record this special trip.

But the first one that caught my eye was the staged, flat-lay that I took of my found treasures for this exact prompt and I knew that this would be my first layout about my experience.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge - September kit - Wanderlust - lo#5

I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge September kit, Wanderlust, and just picked out the bits and pieces I liked to offer a subtle background to my simple photo. This is a pretty standard design that I tend to use - block at the bottom, layers along the top edge and then clusters of embellies. I worry that all my layouts look the same - ha ha.

I picked out a few red items from my kit to just give the layout a little pop of something and the circles are repeated around a visual triangle.

Unfortunately I don't have a clip in silver which would have been a little better but I live with that.

The design gave me space to write a few lines of introductory text to my Scotland story. I'm interested to see how I progress with this.

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 #WMXXX (changing out the XXX with the challenge number you've completed) so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

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

Challenge WM#336 - week of 28th October 2019

A short week for me here in Germany with Friday being a Bank Holiday for All Saints' Day and of course, who isn't happy with a four-day work week? That seems a good way to start the week. How are you today?

This week, I'm once again looking at the calendar with Thursday evening being Halloween. It's not such a big event here in Germany although the shops certainly seem pretty full of themed items this year. But I wanted to at least decorate a little and got my box out of the cellar to see what I had - a bit of a sort out of things that I really don't need any more and I'm left with a small selection of pretties, most of which were created using scrappy product. Good to get some Halloween products used up!

In the past, I've marked this point on the calendar in a variety of ways -

• WM#12 - be inspired by "scary"
• WM#190 - be inspired by pumpkins
• WM#309 - be inspired by a candy colour scheme 

So how to mark it in 2019? Well, how about quite traditionally but in a way that I know can be taken in a million different directions.

Let's be inspired by "Trick or Treat"

Now, I'm not going to actually give you a "million" different directions to take this prompt but you could try:

• a traditional Halloween page about costumes, decorations, a particular year, the traditions you have, the sweets your kids collect, what you did as a child, favourite memories from this time of year
• what about your favourite sweet treats that you hoped to collect from the neighbourhood when you went trick or treating
• or maybe you played a Halloween trick on someone - or worse, were the victim of a trick from the local kiddies!
• how about your favourite sweet treats at any time of the year
• or how you were tricked in a good, or maybe less good, way
• the story of a practical joker in your family
• cakes, desserts, confectionary or even drinks could be the subject this week
• you could make a "trick" on your page with something interactive or hidden or with a double meaning
• use up your sweet themed products
• record how you treat yourself when you're in need of a pick up

Not quite a million, but a few to get you thinking!

Whichever way you decide to go, I really hope you'll share. It would be great to see what you make.  You can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXXX (with the number of the prompt instead of the XXX) so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Have a great day everyone!

Challenge #335 - week of 21st October 2019

Trying to mix things up and keeping it short and sweet today seeing as though this is a day late (need to get back to the prescheduling!), I'm taking my inspiration from something I posted over at the Counterfeit Kit Challenge FB community last week. I asked everyone how much paper they had in their stash collection.

It would appear that we all have "more than enough" - whatever that means!

Therefore, this week I'd like you to be inspired by paper.

By this I'm thinking more along the lines of just paper in general. In the past we've had other paper based prompts - WM#74 - bold paper; WM#157 - photo realistic papers; WM#215 - tissue paper; WM#283 - oriental paper - but let's just try to pick some paper that we love and use it!

• layer, distress, sew, weave, die-cut, ink, tear, block, fussy cut, 
• use your favourite and showcase it as much as you can
• try to find a way to use and love a paper that's not such a favourite
• use more - or less - than you usually would
• go to a beloved sheet of hoarded treasured paper that's sitting, collecting dust
• cut into a sheet that you just bought a short time ago
• challenge yourself to using more layers than you normally would
• challenge yourself to using a single sheet with a large design
• 
  

Layered

Fussy cut

Distressed

Inked and stitched

Cut to form a background

Backed

Punched

I am a paper lover and even though I know that I have more that I need and could really do with more embellishments and alphas, a beautiful sheet of paper can win my heart every time 💗.

But I do use a lot. I like to cut up a whole bunch of pieces and then layer them up to get the full range of texture and pattern. This is good for using up my supplies and makes me happy. So I might need to go a different direction this week - let's see!

Whichever way you decide to go, I really hope you'll share. It would be great to see what you make.  You can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Have a great day everyone!

Challenge #334 - week of 14th October 2019

I'm back from a wonderful few days in the beautiful Speyside area of Scotland and full of happy memories of a fantastic trip.

More of that another time maybe as I think I might have one or two more inspiration prompts for us all from that short break.

However, while I was there I made sure to pick up a few mementos along the way. Yes, of course the typical scrapbooking classics such as receipts, business cards, leaflets and maps but also some small items from nature.

I have a few jars here in my room filled with collected treasures from my time in Nova Scotia and the Philippines (I'm pretty bad at remembering to pick up these items from other trips!) and planned to do the same for Scotland.

I managed to remember a few times and have the following small section of nature bits and pieces for a similar jar found in a few different places - Sandend Beach, the shore of Loch Ness at Urquhart Castle, a walk to the waterfall at the Aberlour distillery, the path to Slains Castle (thought to have provided inspiration for Bram Stoker when he was writing Dracular). It doesn't really matter to me which items I collected from each location - they represent the whole trip and when they are all dried out, I'll pick up a new jar from Ikea and pop them in. Maybe I should label them too.

Anyway, all of this brings me to today's prompt. I'd like you to be inspired by found nature treasures.

 

• maybe it's time to break out your favourite autumn scrapbook supplies to record a seasonal nature walk, your autumn decorations or some "treasure" that's been found for you by a little one!
• record a seasonal walk or trip
• highlight your favourite signs in nature that the seasons are changing
• talk about your favourite decorations at the turn of the season
• perhaps you set up a nature display for your children or have memories of doing this yourself that you'd like to capture
• you could make a flat lay photo like I have of your nature treasures and then sue that shot for your page
• be inspired by the textures, colours or shapes of nature items

Whichever way you decide to go, I really hope you'll share. It would be great to see what you make.  You can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXXX (with the number of the prompt instead of the XXX) so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Have a great day everyone!

Challenge #333 - week of 7th October 2019

I'm dreaming about the Highlands of Scotland today although to be honest, I had to look up online to see where the boundary is between the Lowlands and the Highlands. :-)

Regardless, a visit to this beautiful part of the British Isles including a little whiskey tasting along the way is a perfect short break for this time of year. I'm hoping for misty mornings, plenty of autumnal sunshine and refreshing showers so let's see what I get. Fingers crossed.

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

Unfortunately, this photo isn't labeled but I think it's Loch Ness - July 1996

• A trip to Scotland would of course be the perfect capture this week 
• But you could also think about your Scottish ancestry, perhaps 
• Or a wished-for trip for sometime in the future
• The landscape is very distinctive but definitely has a lot in common with areas in other countries which could inspire you this week
• Scotland is famous for its lochs, its whiskey and its national dress which provides several directions to take
• Or how about Scottish dancing, a ceilidh or bagpipes? 
• In fact the kilt tartan is folded many times to form the garment so why not fold a pattern on your page?
• And one last idea could be to use a tartan patterned paper on your layout.

As always, one prompt, many ideas!

I've included a few photos and you never know, they might feature in my own take on this prompt!

Camping on the shore of a loch during a stormy night was quite the adventure! - July 1996

Beautiful landscape as far as you can see- July 1996

Whichever way you decide to go, I really hope you'll share. It would be great to see what you make.  You can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXXX (with the number of the prompt instead of the XXX) so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken.

Have a great day everyone!