We have winners!

Well, our centenary celebration is well and truly over!

I enticed you to join in on the fun and create a layout based on any of the previous 99 Whimsical Musings prompts for a chance to win this little collection:

And you had another chance to win this selection (if I don't nab the bows before they make it into the envelope!) if you created a project based on any of the 6 prompts for the 100 prompt celebrations:

I was thrilled to find that we had 16 layouts in the gallery based on one of the first 99 prompts we've posted here on the blog...

And the name pulled out of the basket is.....

Huge Congratulations to Tara who has been faithfully working through old prompts since she joined our group and we love to see these older challenges popping up. "Toothless" is a great layout and made me smile as soon as I saw it in the gallery. Tara wins the My Mind's Eye Collectable goodies.

And then I was even MORE thrilled to find 17 project in the gallery inspired by our six 100 prompts

I made sure I gave it a good shake

And the name pulled out of the basket is.....

Even HUGER congratulations to Lynette for her Polish tradition layout. This is the second prize Lynette has won for this super fun, happy, bright, fabulous layout as it was the first uploaded into the gallery after our celebration and for that she won a spot prize! Lynette, I hope your postman has a strong back! Ha ha. The Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper goodies will be on its way to you soon.

And just because it was so much fun pulling names out of the hat, I decided to throw all the entries into the basket one last time and pull a surprise name out of the pot...

And our last lucky, surprise winner is....

Waves and congrats to Ali! She contributed so many layouts to the gallery these last few weeks that it thrilled me to pull her name out and look, she won with a layout based on our FIRST prompt - destiny or what?!? Ali, I will pick something up from the shop for you when I'm there at the weekend :-)

To all three winners, please email or Flickr mail me with your snail mail address and as soon as I have a moment to breathe, I will be getting goodies in the post to you!

I want to thank ALL you loyal readers and contributors to our gallery for all your inspiring creations. You are the reason I continue with this creative endeavour and our little corner of the internet means more to me that you can know. Thank you for all 33 links - they were all perfect and made me happy with each and every upload.

Remember that just because the prizes have been distributed doesn't mean that it's the end of the fun. You can check out all the previous prompts up at the top of the blog on the "Previous Prompts" page and join our happy group over at Flickr (here) to browse our incredible gallery (here). We intend to keep on going to the next 100 celebration and I hope you will all be there to join in.

#100-6 Inspired by 100%

I am lucky enough to get a lot of presents from my husband who is travelling a lot right now for business and who likes to brings goodies back for me. It's fun to see what's caught his eye and maybe even to see what trends there are on the other side of the world.

Take the neon trend for example. He told me he'd seen a lot of it. I told him it was kind of trendy right now but I thought I might be too old to carry it off. But it did appeal.

So, I wasn't too surprised when last time he came back and he proudly presented me with not one but four neon coloured handbags! With matching make-up bags and coin purses. Ha ha. Very typical. And so very, very me. He knows me very, very well.

Now, not all four colourways are my absolute favouites but I have been carrying them every day since I got them so I guess that says it all. And I'm fully aware that many people think I'm crazy and wouldn't be seen carrying one. But who cares what others think. These beauties belong to me :-)

I Instagrammed this photo recently, captioning it "and everyone thinks I'm so black and white" which wasn't supposed to be dramatic. I really think it's kind of true. As soon as I printed it off, I knew I wanted to follow that sort of idea to turn it into a layout.

Using my August Solitude Counterfeit kit, I sorted out all those neutrals and greys to make up a seriously colour-free layout so that this photo really jumps out. It's a bit like the tone-on-tone prompt we had a few weeks ago (check it out here).

I knew this was the layout for the 100% Whimsical Musings WM#100 prompt (here), I just wasn't quite sure of how that would fit into the story. While I sorted out the product and started layering things up, the title and journalling started forming in my mind.

Yes, I might give the impression of being rather monochrome, a bit conservative and somewhat unfashionable, but there is a colourful side of me that many either don't know about, or don't notice.

Where did the 100% prompt take you?

Don't forget that you have just two days left to load up your layouts in our Flickr Gallery to be in for a chance to win one of two great prizes. We have one prize for those of who who have created a layout based on one of the WM#100 prompts and another for anyone tackling any of the previous 99 layouts.

Check out my post here to see details of the prizes. Go on! You know you want to! Who doesn't like a giveaway?!?

#100-5 Inspired by heading to 100 years old

I am determined to have a go at each of the wonderful prompts offered by our marvellous Guest Designers during our Prompt 100 celebrations and the first one that "got" me was Sherrie's idea of heading to 100 years old. It may take me a while to get through them all, but I promise that I will share as and when I get to them. And I recommend you have a go too - they are all so very inspiring.

I hadn't planned to scrap anything but I had printed out this blurred, out of focus photo during the week with the intention of possibly sending it to my Granny because I just think it's a fun, happy photo. It was sitting on my desk and in a moment of sentimentality (and I'm missing him loads right now) , I suddenly knew what I wanted to do with it.

Yes, the photo is bad - but it's perfect in how it sums up the truth of us.

WM#100-5 using CKC June kit, Personality

I love how the layout turned out. It didn't need much journalling because the title says it all. Just a few layered papers and elements from my Counterfeit Kit Challenge June kit, Personality, and a few extra colourful sequins were all it needed.

Sometimes, you don't need to make things complicated to say what needs to be said. Maybe that should be my lesson today for LSNED! A double win perhaps.

So, how does heading to 100 years of age resonate with you? Make sure you share over at our Flickr gallery (here) with the prompt WM#100 and for this prompt in particular, WM#100-5.

Challenge #101 week of 2nd September 2013

**We've had a few layouts trickling into the Flickr Gallery for our 100th prompt celebration and it would be wonderful to see more. So, check out the 6 WM#100 prompts to see if something appeals or even one of the previous 99 prompts. You have a chance to win one of the two prizes featured in this post (here) for each layout you upload. It keeps the party going so it would be wonderful for you to join in**

But how about moving on with the prompts? Are you ready to kick off the next 100?

1st September marks the beginning of a Shimelle class I first signed up to in 2006, shortly after I first started scrapping. I've recently rediscovered my love for Shimelle's work and having joined her class once, you get lifetime access and can join in every year if you like.

I haven't done that since the first year but when the reminder email came in the other day, it got me thinking. The class is "Learn Something New Every Day" and the clue to the class is in the title. A month long reflective class creating a mini-book, journal or series of pages throughout.

I might just do it again this month - I think I've come a long way since that first mini book (which was pretty much a copy of Shimelle's book here below) ...

Which brings me to our new Whimsical Musings prompt.

Be inspired by something you have learnt today (or yesterday or this week or last year - you get the idea).

It can be something deep and meaningful, something silly and whimsical, something you've known all along and just got a reminder for, or something that's hit you like a bolt out of the blue. Scrap one lesson learnt or a whole list of them (tie them in with the 100 prompt and come up with 100 perhaps!)

It's September which for most of us reminds us of "back to school" so let's get learning.

Happy Monday everyone and here's to the next big WM celebration. And don't forget those prizes!

Let's Celebrate - WM#100

Oh, the best laid plans.

I had high hopes of creating this week, perhaps even a layout per prompt. I thought I might make a video to share. And one or two other little things. But I know you'll know exactly what I mean when I say that life took over once again and I've been busy with my sister and her family the last three days, giving me little time to prepare as I'd wanted to. I know you'll forgive me and let me put these things on the list for another time! :-)

But what a week we've had. I was thrilled with all our WM Friends Guest Designers. Their willingness to join in, to come up with a prompt and then to create a page for us following my 100 theme made me very, very happy and I'm sure you will agree that they were fabulous. So a round of applause for all of them.

So... to Cathy

 Michelle

Lynette

Sherrie

and last but no means last... Leslie

THANK YOU! 

Your layouts wowed us and inspired and you all showed me how great it is to have GDs on board spreading the fun around. Something for the future...

I promised to recap on the prompts we had this week so we had :

• Be inspired by a centenary celebration - celebrations around a centenary anniversary whether that's a person, a place, a historical event, the birth or death of someone famous of historical (or someone not so famous), the turn of a century, or even a millennium, maybe even celebrating doing something 100 times 
• Be inspired by your top 100 - top lists of anything you love (or even don't love) - books, music, films, places, people, events, art, things to do, things you've done or places you've visited, scrapbook items, way to spend your time. The list of lists is literally endless. Or perhaps you'd like to focus on just your top 10 or top one as Cathy did, whether you use it in your design or creation, or have it as the focus of your journalling or subject of your page.
• Be inspired by 100 items - 100 items on your page, 100 items in the journalling of your page, 100 items featured in some way in the design of your page. Think large numbers on your page or in the design of your paper or products like Michelle did, or as the main feature of your photo or journalling. Use 100 different scrap items on your page, 100 words in your journalling. I read a report sometime ago about a family who had decided to downsize - to 100 items per family member. What would your 100 things be?
• Be inspired by the song "100 years" - create a timeline of your life, your year, your week or even your day. Think about the concept of time flying so fast - what are the things you want to capture right now? You could create a timeline for so many different topics whether it's your own life, your family's, perhaps an ancestor or a historical figure. You could think about history and create a timeline about an event, a place or even a holiday. What about your likes or dislikes over the years, your development in certain areas of your life? Or just using a timeline concept into the design of your page in some way. I know that this is one that is going on my list for sure
• Be inspired by heading to 100 years of age - think about hopes and dreams for the future, where you are, where you've been and where you'd like to be. Think about you in relation to the other women in your family and how your life has developed in relation to them. Sherrie started thinking about this page when she thought about the longevity she can expect when looking at the ripe ages other women in her family are reaching. Think about a baby and how their life will change over the next 100 years. You could write a letter about your hopes for them. Technology changes could also be another direction to take this. When I think about my own grandmother who is now 91 and could well reach 100 as she's in relatively good health and then think back to the changes she has seen across her life, it's amazing. I could imagine talking to her about what her ideas were about heading to 100 when she was younger.  
• Be inspired by 100% - this is such a fun prompt to take literally or in a more abstract way. What are you 100% inspired by. What is 100% in your life? You could be inspired by test scores or surveys or breaking things down into proportions. I like the idea of thinking about my daily activities and making a super trendy pie chart showing where I waste, I mean spend my time! Again, incorporating numbers is a great way to take this inspiration, if that's as a design feature or in the page subject. Think about engaging in activities 100% or creating a list of things you (100%) know. I created a page like this some years ago and have been promising myself to update it so this could be the time. Or things you want to achieve. Wish lists that are being worked through or have been finished. 

I don't know about you, but I could work on these 6 prompts for the next 100 pages in one way or another? I love the fact that we all came up with something different for the prompts and took them in different directions, even if they sound similar to begin with. 

And of course, you are interested in prizes! Who doesn't love the chance to win?

Like I said, it's busy season for us all, so you have until 16th September to create and post your layouts/projects to our Flickr Gallery (here).

For those of you using one of the 100 prompts from this week, don't forget to use the tag WM#100 (or the individual WM#100 tags listed in each post) for the chance to win this

Or go back over the previous 99 prompts found in the "Whimsical Musings Past Prompts" page tab at the top of the blog (link here) using the appropriate tag WM#XX to be in the draw for this 

Congratulations to Lynette for being the first to post a WM#100 layout in the gallery. She'll be getting something in the post as soon as I can catch my breath after our busy week. Watch your mailbox Lynette! :-)

And of course, to be inspired by other WM friends, be sure to come on over to Flickr and join in the discussion. We'd love to see you there and are always thrilled to see new followers.

I'd like to extend an extra special thank you to Lynette and Leslie who jumped on board right away when I emailed them about my ideas for this week of celebration. They both offered to help in any way they could and Lynette took on the role of WM Promoter through her blog, the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog, Scrap Happy as well as right here within our WM community, while Leslie offered plenty of motivation and also to update our previous prompt list for me and keep it up to date this week. They both offered encouragement and support and for that I am so very grateful. There has been a lot of commenting this week on the posts about the friendships that have been built through this hobby of ours and I'm so happy to have "met" these lovely ladies and become their friend. 

Each of my GDs have a place in my heart and all our WM followers are special so a big thank you to you too. You made my celebratory dream come true.

But of course, there is someone out there who deserves an extra special mention. Someone who is my BFF in the scrapbooking community. Someone without whom none of this would have happened. Pam! When Pam and I decided to do our own little daily layout challenge more than two years ago now, we loved it so much, we went on to challenge each other every week. Taking it to a sharing level seemed the next step and the Whimsical Musings blog came to life. We've had such fun inspiring you all over all those prompts and were so thrilled to find that our other "besties" in the virtual scrapbooking world wanted to join in on the fun. But without Pam's amazing talent and her ability to motivate me and make me happy, we wouldn't be here today. She is a wonderful, inspiring and loving person to have in my life and I want to take this opportunity to thank here for all she's done for me and for us.

She may be taking a creative break right now, but we all hope she'll be back with us when she can. Pam, we all miss you and and will be here for you when you return :-)

So, that's it everyone. Our 100th celebration is coming to an end. But there's still lots going on over at Flickr and that chance to win will continue for another three weeks so get creating.

Have a wonderful Sunday and see you over at Flickr!

Let's Celebrate - WM#100 Guest Designer Leslie

Welcome to our last day :-( of Whimsical Musings Guest Designers and please say hello to the very talented Leslie.

Another LOAD connection here but she very quickly joined in with the Whimsical Musings family and she has proved to be a true friend to us all. A listening sounding board, a creative inspiration and a calming influence to us all, I am so very happy that she agreed to help out this week with her own prompt to help us celebrate our special milestone.


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I think everyone can point to things in life – milestones - that mark a distinctive encounter with something or someone that changed things. Whimsical Musings was one for me.

WM - two remarkable women, separated by a great sea, who connected because of their love of all things scrappy & their admiration for each other’s artistic gifts. Generous paper artists who share their own weekly challenge, who inspire, whose signature moves infuse our pages with creativity.

WM#14 “Incorporate, or be inspired by, maps” was my first. I was inspired by Lisa’s clustering skills.

Hi, I’m Leslie from just outside of Flint, Michigan, USA. My childhood sweetheart & I share our little acre with our grand-dog Lila & our cantankerous cat, Captain Hook. Retirement is looming and with 3 grandbabies to spoil & enjoy it should be sweet :~)

It is with great delight that I join in this week’s celebration of 100 Whimsical Musings prompts!

100%   

is my take on the 100^th prompt.

The butterflies were fussy-cut from a scrap along with the b/w doodles framing the photos. Over at CKC our second August challenge was to use scraps so I trolled for any & all black or yellow tones as well as accents from my Girl Power kit. The yellow legal pad conversation bubbles were in my kit but I didn’t feel like I needed any journaling so I used them to anchor the butterflies instead. They make a nice layer underneath & add some movement to the page. 

I am loving the chalkboard trend & the medallion shape - a recent gift from a friend - seemed perfect to use with these latest studio shots of my granddaughter Chloe. I felt the left side of the layout seemed out of balance. I decided to just doodle over the floral pattern in the paper, there & other random places. Subtle but added just what it needed!

The banner came from my kit as well & I backed it with black to help the medallion not feel so heavy at the bottom. As usual I regretted not matting my photos so this time I just added a simple drawn line around them, tying them to the salvaged scrap doodly accents that frame them up so well.

 I made sure to overlap the arrow onto the medallion to keep it from being a floating element. Can this little cutie sell lemonade or what? These photos definitely DO make me smile!

 Lisa & Pam, one million thanks (or should that be 100, lol) for being such an inspiration! I am hard at work to complete my first 100 prompts & can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next 100.  

I would love to invite your visitors over to my blog at Out of the Mire for a little goodie bag giveaway in honor of Whimsical Musing’s Challenge Blog’s success!

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The next, and final prompt for this week is therefore,

Be inspired by... 100%

Take it and make it yours but don't forget to share your creations over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr Gallery (here) with the tag WM#100-6. 

Leslie can be found creating scrappy lovliness at her blog (here), over at the WM Flickr Gallery (here) and as part of the Counterfeit Kit Challenge design team (here). And she will wow you with her counterfeiting, so do make sure you check out those posts on her blog - where does she get her ideas?

But that's not the end of the party! We hope you will drop by again tomorrow for a round up post and a reminder about the prize draw giveaway. 

Let's Celebrate - WM#100 Guest Designer Sherrie

It's Friday which means it's time to present Sherrie.

Sherrie is a prolific scrapper when she is on a roll and can easily create dozens and dozens of pages in a very short period. Always impressive. And she is so much fun, making me smile with her pages and her comments. She also provides me with tangs of envy as she's lucky enough to live in Canada - my dream destination in case you didn't know! I am secretly planning to descend on her one day for a weekend of scrapping and chatting in her scrap space which is big enough for the two of us as well as a few more of our WM friends!

She dragged herself out of the garden where she spends most of those long, long days to create a page just for us so let me hand you over to her.

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Slouching Towards 100! part 1

Hello friends, and welcome to day 5 commemorating Whimsical Musings' 100 weeks of prompts.

My name is Sherrie Breese and I have been seriously scrapping since 2006. I love the paper, the ribbons, buttons, bits and bobs. The pleasure of playing with tactile products is what pulls me in and can hold my attention to the exclusion of all else. Sometimes I get so immersed in the design process, it surprises me when I look up from the desk to see that the afternoon has turned to evening or even night. I wonder how that can happen, yet it only feels like I have been working for an hour or two.

Lisa and Pam became a part of my life when I joined  up for LOAD1011. Their design sensibilities had a major influence on me and I can say with certainty that they have had a huge impact on my scrapping style.  From Pam, I learned to use white cardstock and to (sometimes) allow some negative space. From Lisa, I learned to turn my random collages into clusters with focus. Through them I have also learned many fun tricks, like doodled borders, wrapping pages with string and twine, using paper doilies, tiny slivers of curled paper, photo collages with picasa, and I am sure a few more.

In celebration of their 100 weeks of prompts, I created a layout that is a retrospective of my first 50 years on my way to 100. I used my June Counterfeit Kit, Country Cousins Mel & Sam. The photos are representative of each decade. The idea came from the lineage of longevity afforded to me by the women in my family.  Hopefully I will be able to complement this layout  with part 2 in another 50 years or so.



 

Don't you just love the idea of using a whole "lifetime" of photos on one layout. And the idea that this is just part 1 is such a great take on the idea of a full and happy life as well as paying homage to the older women in her family.

Typical Sherrie to combine so many different elements, colours and patterns - it all works so well

Love the green dymo labels - that's the second layout this week to remind me to get my dymo out !

In the meantime, the WM party continues at my blog (here), where we will peruse the BBC's "must read" list of 100 Books. How many have you read?

Scrap "sis-stars" Lisa and Pam, thank you for all the work you do bringing us inspiration and challenges for the past, (almost) two years.

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So, Sherrie is expecting to reach 100 which is certainly something I suspect many of us can hope for too. So think of a life full of living and... 

Be inspired by... heading to 100 years of age. 

Whether you are half way there or even just 25% of the way to 100, think about heading to that wonderful number and make a page about some aspect of it. Please share your ideas and creations over at the Flickr Gallery (here) with the tag WM#100-5 - we'd love to see where you go with this today.

When Sherrie isn't out enjoying her garden and grandchildren, she can be found on her blog (here), as well as over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr group (here) or the Counterfeit Kit Challenge blog (here).

ETA: Congratulations to Lynette who was the first to share her WM#100 layout over at Flickr. A little extra surprise will be winging its way across the ocean to you for being the first to join in :-)