Challenge #142 week of 20th October 2014

Ever behind as usual, this post is coming to you a few hours later than it should :-(

And being late reminds me that I haven't forgotten about the prize draw from last month - watch this space for the name being pulled out of the hat!

It might not have escaped your attention that life is somewhat "hectic" at the moment for me. I seem to be going round and round in circles of chaos! Yes, there is progress, but I feel a bit like that poor nocturnal hamster constantly running round and round in his little wheel!

So let that be your inspiration this week. No, not hamsters, but rather circles!

Just a few ideas that spring to mind are a photo of something circular, circular page design, circular embellishments or picking up on the theme of the "round and round in circles" - be that in the form of a little chaos in your life or the nursery rhyme "Round and Round the Garden"!

Which way will you take round the prompt today? (pun intended!)

We hope you'll share over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr group gallery (here) with the tag WM#142. We appreciate every single one of our readers and followers and are always thrilled to see new layouts in the gallery! 

Challenge #141 week of 13th October 2014

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Lisa's prompt last week (reunification) had me thinking on two halves of a whole.

I thought about Autumn & the fact that on the other side of the world it is Spring.

My mind saw the globe with fall trees on one side & spring trees on the other.

Which led me to this week's prompt:

Balance isn't always symmetrical as you see in the opening image...

I thought of a juggler...

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...a tightrope walker...

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...a checkbook...

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I always laugh when I read that, "Marriage should be 50/50."

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 So take a few minutes & ponder "balance".

Then go make something with paper :~)

LCSmithSAVED

Challenge #140 week of 6th October 2014

Happy Monday again everyone!

Today I'd like to offer you a dictionary definition:

reunification

noun [U]  /ˌri·ju·nə·fɪˈkeɪ·ʃən/ 

› the process of joining two parts of something, esp. a country, that were previously divided:The reunification of Germany meant that East Germany no longer existed as a legal entity.

On Friday 3rd October (last week), Germany celebrated The Day of German Unity. 

The Berlin Wall came down on 9th November 1989 - 25 years ago if you can believe it! - and the process of joining the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was completed on 3rd October 1990.

As I continue learning about my new home (even after 13 years here!), this piece of world history in my own lifetime has become particularly poignant having seen both sides of the "wall". I have stood with my feet on either side of the previous border while visiting Berlin and have touched some remaining wall elements to get a sense of its history. It only seems right to ask you to be inspired today by reunification.

So many ways to take this prompt from the literal meaning of the word as defined above, through to a coming back together of two parts of one whole - even in scrapbooking!

Don't forget to share your creations with us over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery (here) along with the tag WM#140. I can't wait to see what you make this week!

Challenge #139 - My Take on Native American Design

As promised, I am back to share my layout that I created.  I did indeed use the Carta Bella "Wildflower" collection pack, but I rounded up my embellishments from a variety of places to pull the Native American vibe together.

Take a look at my creation...

The addition of those Basic Grey feathers is a perfect nod to the inspiration.  I also felt the stitched twine mimicked the stitching on a pair of moccasins.  The brown wooden buttons (as given to me by fellow Whimsical Muser, Leslie) also added to the natural feel.

As some of us are into the Fall season, I hope you may be able to find this inspiration useful.  Be sure to share with us in our flickr gallery and tag your layout WM#139.

Thanks for stopping by.

Challenge #139 Week of 29th September 2014

Hello and welcome!  It's Lynnette here and I'm ready to share some inspiration with you this week.  

I'm hardly up on the latest and greatest trends as my head is usually filled with hockey and skating schedules, but lately I've actually noticed one that seems to be popping up a lot in my world (even beyond scrapbooking).  Perhaps you have noticed it, too.

Geometric designs, turquoise, triangles, feathers, leather...even arrowheads!  What comes to mind here is a Southwest, Navajo, Aztec, Native American vibe.  Now, for our Whimsical Musings friends who are outside of the US,  I tried to name this style in a variety of ways.  Hopefully, one of those terms makes sense.  If not, take a look at some of my examples to get the gist.

First, it started with the purchase of this paper collection pack at Scrapbook Expo earlier in the month.

Now, I won't lie.  This collection is from last fall (See how on top of the trends I AM?!), but it caught my eye last year and I never bought it.  When I saw it again this year at Expo and it was the only one left, I knew I couldn't let it pass by.  While not my usual "go-to" pattern and design, the warm tones and natural elements really appeal to me.  I spy feathers, arrows and a zig zag design that is reminiscent of a Navajo blanket.

Even though that paper collection was from last year, I'm still spying this look.  I received this beautiful bracelet with turquoise and silver from my sister for my birthday.

There's that trend again.

And still, while shopping the other day...

this sweater with geometric designs and earth tone colors.

Are you feeling the vibe?  If you're not or want to delve deeper, I've also created a pinterest board that you can visit here to get some other examples.  Isn't it funny how when you start to notice something, it seems to then just pop up all over the place?

Your challenge this week is to be inspired by Native American design. 

You still have a few more days to enter the "Welcome Back" giveaway for September.  Any and all entries from our September prompts are eligible.  Be sure to tag this week's layout WM#139 over on our flickr group.

I'll be back later this week to show you my layout.  You can be sure I'm going to dip into that
 new-to-me Carta Bella paper pack - FINALLY!

Happy Scrapping! 

Challenge #138 week of 22nd September 2014

Don't forget that my comeback giveaway is open throughout the whole of September so this prompt or in fact any of the previous 137, can be used for inspiration and the possibility to win! Just upload your creations over at our Flickr gallery (here) to be in with a chance. I'll be drawing a name in the first week of October and the more layouts you upload, the more chances you have. :-)

Earlier this year, I started recording my 100 days of happy over at Instagram (check me out here). It's taken me a while (currently at day 81) but honestly, if I'd started recording my happy on September 1st, I could have done a happy day every day because this is my favourite time of year. Without a doubt, autumn is just the best and makes me smile and smile and smile.

So, it only seems appropriate to let that drive our inspiration this week with this gorgeous moodboard I found over at Pinterest (here).

This wonderful moodboard was discovered on Pinterest (source here)

Neutral shades, texture, beautiful photos, rainy days, symbols of harvest as well as not to forget the cute animals gives you a lot of possible directions to take for this.

I hope you will as inspired by this stunning collection of images as I am.

Once again, please share your creations over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#138. This, and ANY of our prompts (check out the full list on the "Whimsical Musings Past Promtps" page), can be used as inspiration for a layout to be in the drawing. So, let's get creating!

Challenge #137 week of 15th September 2014

I recently bought a pack of an old childhood favorite candy. 

So much fun to eat! Each color is a different flavor. They are a great little treat as you can savor each wafer as they come out of the pack, giving your mouth a change-up with every serving. I had a little giggle as I sorted them out, saving my favorite flavors for last. There was also a discard pile for my husband of my least favorite flavors (wink-wink.) Occasionally I can find a roll of only chocolate - swoon...

I was inspired to scrap this story about my strawberry apron which I recently passed on to my granddaughter Chloe. I haven't decided yet what I want to say about it.

How will starting with a favorite flavor help you create this week? Will the spicy heat of Thai food inspire you to scrap with a hot color scheme? Will the creamy coolness of your favorite flavor of ice cream make you reach for snow-covered photos to scrap? What memory is stirred up by the taste of your favorite beverage?

Also, don't forget that there's a giveaway running all September...! Any and all entries for any prompts during September will go into the pot for a little prize! We'd love to see your creations over in the Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#137.

LCSmithSAVED

 

Challenge #136 week of 8th September 2014

One of the reasons I love scrapbooking is all the beautiful stash that comes with it. I am quite trend driven and love to buy and use the latest and greatest of the new items. One of those trends that's been around a long time now is woodgrain and this week, that's what I'd like you to be inspired by.

There's different directions you could take this such as using woodgrain printed paper, or perhaps letters or stickers. What about all the wood veneer products out there. Embossing, stamping or printing would work really well here and then there's the subject itself. I'm just about to throw out a wooden framed print that I particularly love because it's damaged. But there's a story behind it from the fact that my dad made the frame for me when I was about 12 from the most amazing wood through to the fact that this is a painting in the local Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to which I find myself drawn over and over again. When times are bad, I can go there and just sit and look at it for hours. And that frame matches a desk and wardrobe also made for me by my dad from the prettiest pink tinted wood. I still have the desk...

This ready embossed woodgrain cardstock is simply beautiful to use and adds great texture and interest to the simplest design. 

For this layout I used my Big Shot to die-cut different sized stars from real wood veneer paper. I love the fact that the woodgrain is real!

We'd love to see your creations over in the Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#136.

Also, don't forget that there's a giveaway running all September...! Any and all entries for any prompts during September will go into the pot for a little prize! Load up your creations to our Flickr gallery (here) and join in on the fun!

Challenge #135 week of 1st September 2014

Well, that was a long break wasn't it?

I'm so sorry for leaving you all hanging! But I thought that this week was perfect to come back to the fold with Monday being the first of a brand new month. And the beginning of my favourite time of year to boot! So we're back and I'm hoping we can get organised enough to be here regularly week by week for you to find a little inspiration and some close-knit community.

It's been a chaotic few months and it's not yet over but I spoke to Leslie and Lynnette and we'd all like this little corner of the internet to keep going and get back to our friendly exchanges and shares over at our Flickr gallery (here). In fact, Leslie and Lynnette will be helping me out so I know that we all look forward to seeing what prompts they create for us! It's SO good to have friends and these two are most definitely that. I think I'd have given up on WM if it hadn't been for their friendship and support. I cherish each of them and also those of you out there reading this.

Of course, we still all miss my beloved Pam but life in the Big Apple is taking up all her time and unfortunately we will just have to wait for her to come back to us! We miss you Pam. :-) But I know that you are out there thinking of us!

I know that the blog is looking a little uninspired right now which certainly isn't how I'd like it to stay. So please bear with me while I find the time to tweak and adjust things round here until things look as pretty as they should!

I've just popped over to our Flickr gallery and am thrilled to see some recent activity! Hi there to Leslie and Ali! Tickled pink to see your uploads. :-) Thanks for keeping the spirit alive.

Now, with the promise of being here more often I'd like to offer you a fresh new prompt...

Coming back after all this time, it's only appropriate that this week I ask you to be inspired by reunions! Whether it be a school, college, university or work reunion, a reunion with a long-lost love or perhaps a friend, or even a reunion with something long neglected (à la Whimsical Musings), I'm sure we can all come up with at least one memorable event to put down on paper!

This layout I shared for our 100 celebration last year was in fact a reunion of sorts. Although it was an open day to celebrate 100 years of the school building, I met up with a couple of girls I hadn't seen for more years than I care to mention!

And how about this layout which was created for a different prompt (a relationship not yet captured) but featuring what can only be called a reunion with my wonderful Filipino friend after almost 15 years!

Let's make this little comeback a great reunion of creative minds and in case you need a little incentive, I'll put up a small giveaway! Any and all entries for any prompts during September will go into the pot for a little prize!

So come on and join in! Let's celebrate a new month and a return to whimsical inspiration!

Challenge #134 week of 26th May 2014

Here I am sitting in my room, enjoying the luxury of being home on a Monday. Next week I begin a whole jam-packed day of classes so I suppose that means I'll have to be more organised over the weekend to get posts up and ready.

But while I was sitting here, listening to the gentle tick-tock of the clock on the wall, I realised that this is what we need to have as our prompt this week.

I'd like you to be inspired by flags.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering how I got from clocks to flags?

You see, I have a bit of a "thing" for items with the Union Jack on it and looking around me, there are several flags to be seen...

And in preparation for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in a few weeks, there are few flags hanging around outside too...

Now, you could feature a flag on your layout, you could take the colours, you could even lift the design, use a photo of a flag or what about featuring flags as embellishments? So many ways to take this.

Here are two layouts that feature Germany  and I've used tones of the colours from the German flag to reinforce the culture I'm talking about in the journalling:

Of course, there was my Diamond Jubilee layout featuring the flag in the form of paper, but also colour combination and in the photos. And my Royal Wedding layout - subtle red, white and blue alongside the strong central photo of my flags proudly flying out on my balcony:

And this is a WM layout from way back when that has touches of the colours of the Philippine flag as well as some star embroidery to match those found on the flag.

How will you incorporate inspiration from flags onto your layout this week?

We really hope you'll share your creations over at our Flickr gallery (here) using the tag WM#134.