Challenge #163 week of 23rd March 2015

Happy Monday and welcome back to another challenge here at Whimsical Musings.

Trying to mix things up a little round here, I decided it was time for us to have a go at a sketch. It appears to be over a year since the last time we posted such a prompt so I went to my go to inspiration - my Pinterest sketch board - and picked out one of my favourites of recent months. I love Citrus Twist sketches so I hope you'll love this one as much as I do!

Citrus Twist Sunday Sketch here

I particularly love the row of three square photos and the super trendy circular element behind. I just need to decide which Instagram photos need that special treatment.

We really love it when you share and hope you will find time to give this sketch a go this week, and then post your creation to our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#163.

Have a wonderful week everyone and see you over at Flickr!

Challenge #162 week of 16th of March 2015

Inspired by being Pampered

This past week my daughter turned 8!  After discussing options for a party, we decided on a Spa Birthday at Spa Babies.  After all, being 8 is awfully stressful!  She invited 5 close friends to join her for manicures, foot bath pedicures and facials.  These kids today have the life!

I don't indulge in regular manicures, but will splurge on a few pedicures over the course of the summer since my little piggies are out on display in sandals and flip flops.  Although, even over the last few summers, I have polished my toes myself in an effort to reserve funds for my scrap stash! While the job gets done pretty well, it is not quite the same experience when I do them myself.

Just before I met up with Pam and Lisa, I decided to get a manicure.  Winter had taken a beating on my hands and my cuticles were horrific.  Plus, I tend to use my nails as scrapping tools so they do take a fair amount of abuse.  How on Earth could I meet people for the first time with such pathetic nails!  I chose a buff color as I wasn't even interested in a color that would only chip off in a matter of days.  It was the best $15 I could have spent.  My nails were trimmed and shaped so nicely.  She massaged my hands and forearms and polished each nail perfectly.  The job was finished with a glossy top coat and a shoulder massage.  Wow!  I felt like a million bucks!  I may not be able to do it every week, but every once in a while...I'm worth it!

So, for this week, I'd like for you to be inspired by being pampered.  It doesn't have to be a spa experience.  It could be anything that brings you to a calm and happy place...a book, a cuppa or even a mud mask with cucumbers on your eyelids!

Be sure to share your layout on the Whimsical Musings flickr group and tag it WM#162.  I'd love to get some other ideas on how I can be good to myself.

Happy Scrapping!

Lynnette

#161 - inspired by Beatles lyrics

Thanks to Leslie for a prompt that got me thinking all week.

I went from one Beatles song to another to another and back to the first. I'm not even a big Beatles fan but I do have some memories of playing my parents' original LPs way back in the day and liking a few.

I really wanted to find a way to use something from "Hey, you've got to hide your love away" but somehow it felt a bit sad and I didn't really want to do a play on words - even though I thought about it. Please, Please Me, Twist and Shout, Help and Love, Love Me Do were all hot contenders.

But Ticket To Ride won out in the end and I came up with this layout.

I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge March kit, Drift and really wanted to try out a large title using the sequin ribbon. But it's really hard! The R is a bit of a fail and I'm not sure I can live with the title as it is but for now, it's glued down and done! I can't promise that I won't remove it and do something different, though!

The words from the Beatles song really did fit perfectly with the theme of the layout which I've actually been wanting to make for some time and the journalling just talks about how I've been a solo traveller for many years. That's not to say that I don't also love travelling with others. But travelling along is something different. I've travelled both east and west to different corners of the world as well as just "around the corner" here in Europe and each journey is special.

I used some of the gorgeous Martha Stewart kraft doily rosettes that Pam sent me for Christmas and just generally layered and prettied until I was satisfied.

Did the Beatles inspire you this week? We hope so and we'd love it if you shared your creations over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#161. Don't forget that we love it when you use ANY of our prompts both new and old - a full list can always be found in the tab at the top of the page. Hope to see you in the gallery!

Challenge #161 week of 9th March 2015

The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist 

is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. ~Mark Twain

 Here in the United States I spent last weekend getting my income taxes done.

NOT an inspiring way to spend time, but a necessary evil.

Photo credit

The only "happy" part is that I'm done early.

Running through my head the entire time was this Beatles refrain:

 If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

Taxman!
  'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxma-an...

 SO! In a slight nod to Lisa's British roots, I am challenging you to be inspired 

by Beatles' lyrics. With so much iconic  music spanning decades this should be an easy one!

 This is just eye candy :-)

Link: Previously unreleased photos from Bob Bonis archive

It's always a thrill for us to see what you've been inspired to create.

Make sure you post on the WM Flickr gallery & tag WM#161

Thanks for visiting!

#160 Inspired by a Fifth Avenue window display

This week, I asked you to be inspired by this beautiful window display that Pam brought to my attention while we were strolling along Fifth Avene!

I loved the rows of circular embroidery frames with all that beautiful bright colour blocked fabrics.

For my take, I decided to get my Cameo working and use one of the full 12x12 backgrounds I love so much but have yet to use! I have dozens and dozens of these files in my Silhouette library and love seeing them used online, but haven't got around to putting one to use myself. Seemed the ideal time to give it a go.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge March kit, Drift, layout #1

I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge March kit, Drift, and selected some bright, contrasting colours which reminded me of the original, even if they don't really match the original. But I wanted to leave quite a few of the circles empty to create a white-on-white effect. Filling the spaces with my bright papers, I wanted to get a random effect across the page - random is really hard to do when you are thinking about it, but I'm still pleased with the result.

Once I'd filled the background die-cut with my filler papers, I then looked around for a suitable photo and topic, realising that the bottle of champagne would be ideal for all these floating bubbles!

I kept the rest of the layout very simple, backing the photo with a few layered papers and using a cork Polaroid frame I'd cut out with my Big Shot.

A few sequins and a sprinkle of cork dots continue the bubble theme and tie the photo mat into the background design.

The empty circles provided ideal spots for a little journalling and then my layout was done.

It's not my usual style but I'm happy to have tried out something new and to have found a way to interpret the original inspiration photo in a way that means something to me.

What will you do with all those circles this week? Or have you taken the prompt in another direction?

Don't forget to share over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#160 or any of the previous week's prompts (see the full list under the Whimsical Musings Past Prompts page tag at the top of the blog)

Challenge #160 week of 2nd March 2015

Welcome back this week and welcome to March. Time is flying along and I'm trying to get back on track after a somewhat chaotic month full of travels, new work and plenty of scrapping through LOAD.

But anyway, you're not here to read about all my chaos, I'm hoping you are really here for a little dollop of inspiration.

Of course, I'm still flying high after my time in the big city with our friend Pam and today's prompt comes direct to you from Fifth Avenue!

It was a very cold day but we'd been strolling up and down the avenue a few times when we both mentioned how eye-catching and inspirational this shop window was...

... and how perfect it would be for a Whimsical Musings prompt. On the second passing, I decided it was time to snap a quick piccie to share with you sometime down the line. This is that time :-)

You can also consider this a Pam prompt as I probably wouldn't have actually captured the wonderful design if I hadn't been inspired by her vision all day! I'd seen it but she was the one who mentioned it and made us stop to take a look! She's fabulous like that. So attentive, so inspirational.

So, be inspired by the colours, the circles, the patterns within the rings, the fur-pieced jacket, the light and dark, or just being on Fifth Avenue!

I think there's plenty of scope for us all, and who knows, maybe I can lure Pam out to play sometime soon!

So, take a stroll with me along that famous street and let's get creative.

We love it when you share your creations with us over at theWhimsical Musings Flickr gallery along with the tag WM#160.

(PS. did anyone notice that we missed out prompt #156? I just realised that we jumped from #155 to #157 - my brain must have been asleep that day!)

#159 Inspired by what's making me happy

Thanks to Leslie for last week's challenge and for prompting me to make the following layout right away while I was thinking of it. I'm generally what I call a delayed scrapper! I have a lot of ideas but it takes me a long time to get those photos printed out and then the layout made. I think it's a bit like when I have new product and don't want to cut into it right away. Strange but true...

I made this layout last night as part of LOAD and using up the last pieces of the Scrapabilly February kit. I adore the colours of this collection and they are so sweet and pretty that they just felt right to use for a layout about my gorgeous gift that our WM friend and inspiration, Lynnette gave me when I met her.

I actually decided to make a few changes since I made it last night which entailed reprinting the photo and replacing it. But I realised that I'd been trying to fit in another challenge for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge on the layout but that the kit wasn't my Counterfeit one so it couldn't really count for that too! I get confused sometimes with all the prompts I'm trying to match at the same time. Anyway, I'm much happier with this page now that I've made changed out the title as well as adding a few extra die cuts from the Dear Lizzy Serendipity line.

So, after all that waffle, here's the layout for WM#159 - Inspired by what's making me happy.

You can find a couple more detail shots over in the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery

And just to continue, I love the fact that Leslie sneaked in that happy photo of Pam and me on my first night over in NYC - I've already scrapped that as part of LOAD as well, and let's face it, that makes me VERY happy so I'm going to add that here too. My whole trip made me happy but this first evening was very special as we found our groove again after our time apart.

You can find a couple more detail shots over in the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery

And one last one for now, this is the first page I made while I was staying with Pam. She had bought us both the same Studio Calico kits to work with and then we just sat down and got crafty. I couldn't resist this happy photo of her surrounded by her bits and pieces as she prepared to get immensely creative! It was such a thrill to have this chance to share scrapping time together.

You can find a couple more detail shots over in the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery

Yes, there's a lot to make me happy right now.

How about you? We'd love to see your creations for this prompt over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#159.

Challenge #159 week of 16th February 2015

Standing in for Lisa this week as she is winding down 

her visit to The Big Apple to see our Pam in the States! 

Isn't this just the picture of happiness?

I have just returned from visiting my 

sweet granddaughter & her mama, my baby.

THAT made me VERY happy!

It's LOAD month & I've been trying out some digital pages to keep up.

I fully intend to make the paper versions next month but was

 happy to be able to stay inspired & on track with the prompts. 

We got to sample a lot of Southern barbecue, which made my husband happy!

I got these coffee sleeves downstairs at our last hotel & they made me happy!

(Maybe you are having a cup of your favorite beverage 

while you are reading this, and it makes YOU happy!)

Show us what gets your happy on & upload to 

the  Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery using the tag WM#159.

Challenge #158 week of 9th February 2015

This week I get to spend some valuable, fun, exciting and happy time with our beloved Pam as I travel over the ocean again to visit. And on top of that, I also have the chance to meet someone very special for the first time! How exciting is that? 

Yes, this week I get to go and meet our very own Whimsical Musings friend and inspiration, Lynnette! And I'm so very thrilled to have been given this opportunity. I'm such a lucky girl. 

So this week, I'd like you to be inspired by meeting someone for the first time. 

Maybe, like me, it's someone you feel you already know as, in this age of modern technology and connectivity, you've already developed a strong relationship via the internet and this will be the first face-to-face meeting. Or maybe it's someone you met in an ordinary social setting but that first meeting was special somehow.  Maybe it's when you first met your child, grandchild or other relative. Or the story of a friendship, business relationship or other important contact. There are many ways to take this prompt and I'm sure you can guess who I'll be scrapping when I get back! 

I've been busy LOADing these last days and finally created this layout about the beginnings of my friendship with Pam. 

That first moment at the airport when we saw each other has not yet been captured but I'm totally inspired right now to get all those layouts done! 

Or how about this layout about meeting my niece for the first time? 

As always, we love to see your creations and would be delighted if you could share them over in our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#158. 

Challenge 157 week of 2nd February 2015

It's been a growing trend. I think the first time I saw them in their latest style was in the Echo Park Everyday Eclectic collection with the beach/fairground background paper although they might have been around longer. The design was all washed out and different compared to the bright green grass paper I bought back in 2006 when I started (and never used)! I fell in love with them right there.

Echo Park Everyday Eclectic

But since then, they've been growing and growing in numbers and I'm guessing popularity with all sorts of gorgeous bokeh style papers and sheets full of flowers, beaches, clouds, the open road and of course, woodgrain.

Have you got some of these in your stash? I know I can't seem to get enough of them right now...

Webster's Pages Ocean Melody

Crate Paper Open Road

Webster's Pages All That Glitters

Webster's Pages Beautiful Chic

Simple Stories Cosy Christmas

So, this week I'd like you to be inspired by photo realistic papers. 

If you don't have any of the new style designs, then maybe you have one or two older sheets hiding in the back of your paper storage?  I've just used a large piece of that blossom paper on a layout that I can't share with you just yet but here's just a peek!

Use it to support the subject of your layout or just because you think it's pretty. Use it whole or just a tiny piece. But let's get these gorgeous patterns out of the stash and into our albums!

As always, we LOVE to see your creations over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery here and don't forget to tag them WM#156!