#29 Inspired by Dr Seuss

Those of you who have been reading the Flickr thread Pam started off over in our group know that I found this one hard! In fact, the prompt isn't hard at all. I just made it hard for myself and took myself round in circles concentrating on all the wrong things.

This isn't what scrapbooking is supposed to be like ladies! It's a hobby. It's fun. It's an escape. If you experience what I did, then you need to step away from the scissors and go and have some chocolate (or a gin and tonic - whatever does it for you!) and calm down.

I realised I was getting all whiny on the message board because I was caught up with the idea of scrapping my own personal experience of Dr Seuss but couldn't really come up with an example of something specific. I never owned any of the books though I read them with a passion while I was at the library and just loved them to bits. But even my mum couldn't come up with a specific memory of me and the books. I drove myself crazy trying to pin down a memory - ANY memory.

And then I stopped, had some said chocolate and relaxed. I imagined Pam sitting next to me, laughing at me getting all het up over nothing and smiled at myself. I could do this. What was I getting worried about!

First off, I decided to spend some time on the site that Pam had directed us to for inspiration and went through some of the titles, the book covers, the characters etc and decided to pick up the colour scheme for The Cat In The Hat - red, white and blue/aqua. And also to pick up on the quirkiness of the characters and his books. And I was off.

Except, scrapping at night under electric light can distort colours and my "blue" was way too green! I only saw this when I scanned it.

So I took off the green and searched around for something a bit more blue. And added that.

Next day, I took some photos and realised that it was still off, but better. The quirkiness was still there though with my splats, the slant to everything, the silly title, the odd selection of items and the original 1970's (scanned) photobooth photos.

In the end, I LOVE this layout! I think it's such fun. I rarely use red and I love the wow factor it brings to this white base.

The blue paint splats were actually the perfect colour - who knew!

And this is the original I made with all that gorgeous green! Still lovely but WRONG!

While I had been browsing the site, I came across the most perfect quote that got me thinking about the photos of us at the Northwest Territories border. The photos have been used before (what a surprise!) but this as another angle to the story.

The quote is, "I'm a North-Going Zax and I always go north. Get out of my way, now, and let me go forth." If that isn't perfect for the fact that we have been working our way further and further north through the holidays we've taken over the last years, I don't know what is!

I've made this using my CKC March kit, Soothe and while not a total favourite, I still like it. The photos are fun and I can remember standing there as if it were yesterday, when in fact it was August 2007!

So the moral of this story is - never forget to have fun, don't worry if you make a mistake - it's only paper! - and beware of taking it all too seriously!

I still have several other ideas from my brainstorming Dr Seuss session and only one directly relates to the books themselves :-)

Thanks Pam for really stretching me this week and for sitting here beside me when I got a little out of control!

#29 Inspired by Dr. Seuss

Well, I have to say that I have been blown away this week by the response from you, our readers. I have browsed our gallery and loved the projects you have come up with this week. They have exceeded my expectations of where I thought this inspiration could lead us... And as such I have been inspired to create as well.

I have to say I had to narrow down my choices of story. I really felt there was a lot of material I could explore with this. Ultimately the three stories I told feel real to me and go right along with my style and have a home in a albums.

I Do Not Like
This layout was inspired by "Green Eggs and Ham" - something I posted in the Discussion board on flick'r sparked this idea, since my name - Pam, rhymes with "Sam, I am" and "Ham". We often do pages about our faves, but I thought how fun it would be to also make one about our dislikes.

 I chose to use quirky whimsical shapes to replicate the Seussical feeling. And I added other little lines from the book to reinforce it.

 The stamped flowers were from a technique I picked up this week from Studio Calico Blog {here} of embossing an image and then coloring it in with markers.

 Oh The Places*
This layout was born of a strong memory I have attached to this book and the boy in this picture. I had never told this story and I really wanted to remember it. I recently received a care package from him {don't you love snail mail...?} So I thought it was perfect to document him/us/this memory while the feelings were fresh on my mind.

 I tried to use color, shapes and patterns that resonated with the theme of going places. The book is filled with graphics of flowing mountains and these travel papers were perfect for it. I started with the bottom paper and then worked myself up from there choosing coordinating papers.

 I have been focusing less on embellishments these days, so it was hard for me to come up with something to add to this corner, but I found a little flair button with a seuss-like creature and the ever present butterfly and buttons to round things off.

 A&P
Not a lot of journaling on this one. it doesn't need it. This one is all about fun. In looking for quotes to use, I found the one below and immediately I knew which pictures to use. This friend brings out the child in me. The layout I featured on the Challenge post was also about her. She is like a big child and when I am with her, I am too. This quote was perfect for us.

 Again I used colors that reminded me of the books and with the quirky stamped letters mixed in with my handwriting, I think I achieve the playful and whimsical look of a children's book. Simple page under 20 minutes straight out of my scrap bin. Just the way I like things.

Thank you so so much for playing along this week. If you haven't already, please upload your Seussical creation to our gallery with the tag WM#29. {which is coincidentally my favorite number}.

Have another great week and see you soon on the message boards.

xo,
Pamage

Challenge # 29 Week of March 5th, 2012

Hello there and Happy Monday. 

We are delighted that you are joining us again for another week of fun. Believe it or not, this is Whimsical Musing's challenge number 29 {and curiously my favorite number}.

As I roam the internet and read blogs and browse sites I am constantly awed by all the opportunities to find inspiration. Such inspiration came to me this week on March 2nd. As you may have become aware, it was the anniversary of Theodore Seuss Geisel's birth. It was also opening day for the new movie {Lorax} here in the States. 

It seemed the internet was a-buzz with the commemoration of his 108th birthday. And as I read more quotes and saw more images and remembered more stories I couldn't help but associate it with scrapping.

Consider these points of layout inspiration:

- use a quote from one of his books for title or journaling 

- Be inspired by a color scheme from seussville.com. His books were filled with happy, bright color combinations. Get in touch with your childlike side and play with these colors.

- Or browse the {characters section} for inspirational characters and compare these characters to characters in your life. Characters such as "The Grinch" or "Thing 1 & Thing 2" can lead to some great stories.

- Mimic the whimsical patterns and objects with your elements and design (my layouts often look seussical) . Don't be afraid to doodle free-hand. 

- Lastly, you could tell a story about your favorite (or your child's favorite) Dr. Seuss story or movie.

I want to see where inspiration takes you this week. There is plenty here to choose from. 

Lisa and I will be back with our layouts next week. I am looking forward to keeping my mind open to where this inspiration will lead me. If you are inspired and create something, please share it with us on our Flick'r site with the tag (WM#29). We love to see your work. 

xo,

Pamage