#104 inspired by random flashbacks

Challenge #104... be inspired by random flashbacks

To be honest, many of my pages could probably fall into this category as I rarely plan what I'm going to create. I very often put together the basic design, then grab some photos, flip through and decide what story to tell from there. 

My Philippine photos mostly take me right back to when I lived there - with such details that it's hard to believe so much time has gone by. And each page I make about my time there are just snippets of memories. Love that.

So LOAD prompt #19 was the myth that all products used in scrapbooking should be archival and acid-free. I can honestly say that this never crosses my mind. I scrap with whichever products come to hand and never think about the archival quality of anything that will feature. So on this day, I just my usual scrapping. But in order to get all those boxes ticked, I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge January kit (lo#7) and also the Whimsical Musings prompt as mentioned above.

An unassuming photo that I came across and suddenly I was right there. I could almost smell the place. I jotted down some memories relating to whatever you can see in this photo - the tricycle, the guards, the sunshine. I need to make more layouts like this.

Even though it's certainly different shades, I used the blue and gold mists, red brad and veneer stars as a reference to the Philippine flag (red, blue, yellow and white with stars)

Think I'm going to need more of these Thickers

At some point this year, I'm going to start getting layouts into albums and all my Philippine layouts will come together.  I'll be able to see the tiny memories that I have captured so far all in one place, and identify all the thousands of other details that still need to be recorded. After 17 years I think it's time!

If you go back to older prompts and make a layout, we'd love to see it over in the Flickr gallery (here) with the relevant WM#XX tag.  

#108 inspired by more...

Picking through the list of Whimsical Musings prompts (see the full list in the page tab at the top) I saw "#108 be inspired by more..." and knew that I had to make a page around the idea of more cuddles or needing more cuddles from one of my nieces or nephew. And it just happened to tie in with the LOAD214 prompt "Myth: Inspiration only comes from other scrapbook pages".  Combining it once again with my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kits, this time my November kit, Comfort (lo#5), the layout almost made itself!

Another set of photos that I've "stolen" from Instagram of sweet Phoebe but I especially loved that all three feature her cuddling the soft Steiff bear/bunny we bought her for Christmas. You never know with children if they will bond with the soft toys you buy for them although there is always the hope. Lucky for me, she loves Hoppy and drags him along behind her very often by the look of it. So the photos had a common theme and I tied that in with my rather kitsch title for this page.

I messed up the journalling but that's quite a frequent occurrence during LOAD when I try to be clever and just write something down and then it comes out all wrong! However, I keep all my pages for LOAD separate and at the end of the month, go through them to make sure that they are finished off - tape over brads, staples and thread on the back; journalling written or rewritten; information on the back of the page about creation date, challenge etc; additional extras added or even page tossed (yes, one of my October LOAD pages ended up in the round file after the photos were salvaged for another go). This time around, I had a little time at the weekend to go back over a few pages I was a little unhappy with and redid the journalling block on this one straight away - done and another older WM prompt ticked off the list.

We'd love to see your creations for any of our prompts over at our Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#XX (for the prompt number).

Challenge #124 week of 24th February 2014

I love to star gaze and wish I had more time (and patience) to spend outside on dark clear nights tracking the beauty that the night sky has to offer.

Pinterest source here

So, this week I'd like you to be inspired by stars or constellations or the night sky. The universe has no limit!

But stars are also a bit of a product trend at the moment and I've been using them more and more often - especially teamed up with gold. My Counterfeit Kit Challenge October kit (see here), named appropriately enough Stargazer, was full of star elements and hardly a page made from that kit didn't feature stars in one form or another - including the subjects. They can be so symbolic on so many levels.

We'd love it if you joined in this week and can't wait to see your creations to the Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#124.

#116 inspired by goals

Another two layouts made for LOAD214, using my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kits but not specifically for the Whimsical Musings prompt until I took a second look and realised how they fit perfectly for "WM#116 ... be inspired by goals".

This layout was made for the LOAD prompt "Myth: You have to use the same process every time". I change up my process all the time so just looked back over the previous days to note that story first was the least used method. Then I went looking for photos, then product. I used my CKC November kit, Comfort (LO #4) for this and it was fun to use a patterned paper for the background rather than my usual white, cream or kraft. Of course, it's totally linked to goals! I don't know how I didn't notice it before.

My second share is a page to document a little for both of us. We are in this together and are motivating each other to keep going and keep positive. The file folder opens out to give us a lot of space to write down what we are thinking and maybe even to track those all important numbers. For this one, I used my CKC February kit, Tender (lo#7) and the LOAD prompt "Myth: There is only one right design". I took all the basic elements I had also used for the previous day's page and simply mixed them up into a new design. The kit is looking rather depleted now so in the last week of the month, it might be that I have to dip into my regular stash. I might need to prepare and make up a few page kits in advance, looking per page takes too long! Another layout focussing on joint goals which certainly fits the prompt.

It's good to be working through the list. I really need to look carefully and see what else is missing - I know there's a lot. It's nice to be given a general or even more specific direction to follow. Daily scrapping can be hard to come up with something new and innovative each day: kits, prompts and sketches can be a life saver!

We'd love to see your creations for any of our newer or older prompts. Check them all out on the page bar at the top and then share over in our Flickr gallery (here) with the relevant WM#XX tag so that we can identify and find it more easily!

Looking forward to seeing your shares.

#113 Inspired by JOY!

I've made a few layouts this LOAD that were not specifically for Whimsical Musings prompts but now I look at them and the list of challenges I haven't made for myself, I can see that there is a match.

Challenge #113 - be inspired by joy! is just such a layout. I knew it would come and here it is.

This used my February Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, Tender lo#6

Simply the best Valentine's present I think I've ever received - a trip to NYC to see my beloved Pam! This will be the first time we've met in real life and I'm excited and of course, a little nervous too. We are going to have such fun and I'm the luckiest girl alive to have the best NYC tour guide right there to show me everything I need to see and more!

Yes, what I'm feeling is certainly JOY! (hope the feeling's mutual!)

The layout was off-prompt (Myth: you can't use a photo more than once) for LOAD because a. this story was more important to tell and b. I use photos again and again on my pages! Once I find a photo of me or us that I like, that's it... I'm off on telling a dozen different stories with the same picture! So I didn't really feel like I needed to stretch myself in such a way.

Again, the combination of LOAD and my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kits sitting on my shelf is perfect and all but two of the layouts so far this month have come from those pizza boxes.

If you'd like to join in using some of our older prompts, you can find the full list on the page tab at the top of the page (Thanks to Leslie who keeps that up to date for me!)

And if you do find yourself inspired to create, we hope you'll share over at our Flickr gallery (here) using the tag WM#XX (exchanging XX for the prompt number).

#97 inspired by Sport

In an attempt at catching up on some of my missed prompts....

Now I don't come from the most sporty of backgrounds. I grew up as one of two non-sport-loving girls and my dad was only interested in skiing and Formula 1 - a little. He wasn't a hands on fan, more of a part-time TV watcher. I was not a fan of anything sport related. Well, ok, Torvill and Dean the figure skaters who went on to make ice-skating history in the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics with their perfect score! And once a year, I've been known to zap into Wimbledon.

So, imagine my shock when two young boys were born into the family and brought the world of football into our lives.

After years of fighting against it, I've given into this a little and have since been known to sit through a whole match without asking any (overly) stupid questions and then, back in 2012, I went along to my first ever live match.

LOAD prompted me to make the page of this monumental occasion. I wanted to make the layout all Königsblau and white but peeking into my leftover kits made it clear I was going to have to be a little adaptable on that one.

In the end, my Counterfeit Kit Challenge January kit, Begin, won the day with a selection of blues and soft tones which actually worked better with the stronger blues from the photos.

When I made the layout, I didn't have much to say but since then have thought of more that could describe the events and I might just make up another 6x12 page with a few of the matching colours and type up the fuller story. I don't really feel the need to have more than one football page in my albums ha ha! Well maybe one or two but certainly not more than one just for one event. In fact, I know that I have the ticket for this match somewhere which would be a nice addition. Will need to track that down first.

So yes, I picked out the team colours to a degree but apart from that, I didn't allow the sport theme to influence my own style and I have to say that I rather like this - even with the very strongly coloured photos.

Why not make your own sport inspired layout and upload it to the Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#97. We LOVE it when we see older prompts popping up, unexpectedly in the gallery!

Challenge #123 week of 17th February 2013

I think I need to confess... I have a new love in my life. He's smart, slim, hardworking, ingenious and very inspirational.

Can I introduce you to my new baby?

Isn't he cute?

And doesn't he make the most amazing things?

And how about this pretty baby too?

Yes, ok, you got the idea! Today, I'd like you to be inspired by die-cutting. I have to admit that most of the time, I purchase packs of die-cuts. I especially love the Crate Paper sets - so full of scrummy items - such as this one below but there are so many choices out there today for us to create or use. I am determined to use my new baby for this prompt as I already have 200+ shapes in my Cameo library that are just too cute to ignore.

Maggie Holmes Styleboard

Here are a few ideas for what you could do this week:

• Use your electronic or manual machine to cut something pretty. 
• Perhaps you have a pack of ready-made die cuts that you've been meaning to break open? 
• A sticker sheet or chipboard? 
• If all else fails, how about cutting out your own shapes with scissors!
• Make die-cuts the main design feature of your page
• Write about your love/want/need of a die-cutting machine
• Go to Pinterest (check out our board here Whimsical Musings ) and be inspired by a die-cut heavy design (such as this, this or this)
• Or join the Counterfeiting league and create your own set to match a collection pack.

I do hope you'll join in this week and upload your creations to the Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#123.

Challenge #122 week of 10th February 2014

Trying to stay topical once again but not wanting to go the standard "day on the calendar" route as I did last week, I'd like you to be inspired by the colours of love in honour of Valentine's Day.

Of course, red or pink are usually associated with all those romantic gestures we may or may not be expecting or receiving at the end of the week, but I was looking for something softer.

Design Seeds is my favourite colour inspiration place on the web and so off I went and came up with the image below which I instantly fell in love with. Look! There's a softer version of Radiant Orchid (Pantone's colour of the year) and mixing in the pastel blue, green and peach makes this a very versatile colour combination.

Source: Design Seeds (here)

I hope that if you like to celebrate St Valentine's, that you get the moonlight and roses you're hoping for and if you don't celebrate, then you can find something in this pretty colour scheme that works for you without all the moonlight and roses!

If you create a project with my inspiration palette, we'd love it if you shared over at our Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#122.

#120 inspired by Creative Scrappers sketch #258

I'm LOADing.

Which means there's a chance to catch up with some of the prompts I offer you each week but seem unable to keep up with in my own scrapbooking!

I was determined to give prompt #120 a go as I really, really liked the grid design of the sketch

Creative Scrappers source here

I like the possibility to pile up the little elements in the middle and decided that one way to deal with some of the papers that I liked but didn't love any more, was to cut and layer them up which matched the sketch exactly.

It also matched the LOAD prompt for day 5 to bust the Scrapbooking Myth: you need to use new product.

I created the layout with my second February Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, Nostalgic which is full of older product and which I really wanted to see how much I could use. Everything on this layout except the Prima swirl (purchased last year) and the alpha (Thickers from the Scrapabilly Feb kit) come from the kit and are between 5 and 7 years old. New stuff? Myth. Old stuff can work well if you work it in to your current style.

Please excuse the appalling quality of these photos. Last night was horrible orange electric light and this morning was nasty not-quite-daylight-light. I tried to fix the ones from today but they are even worse than these. Mmmm. Will have to try harder!
Scrapbook Myth: You need to use new stash on your pages

Oh, just noticed something else newer. Those gems in the middle of the flowers were purchased earlier this year.

This was a very large unmanageable rub on that I cut in two to use here - I like how it works. The Prima swirl was again cut in half and I felt it broke up the stark black quite well. It feels good to see these items on a page. They were not cheap!

So, another myth busted, more old product used and inspiration from a great sketch. Win-win all round.

Have you given this sketch a try? Don't forget to link up over at our WM Flickr gallery (here) and give credit to Creative Scrappers #258.

Challenge #121 week of 3rd February 2013

Welcome back to a week of creating and inspiration.

Participating in LOAD, I'm feeling full of inspiration and want to scrap all day long. Yesterday I finished two layouts and made three more! Ok, so I was against the clock with a deadline, but they came so easily and now I have five new layouts I love.

You all know that I love to look at the calendar and see what is coming up or has just passed to help us with our weekly prompts and this week is no exception. R is away in right now for a demobilisation trip but he was lucky enough to have it coincide with this event...

These photos are totally hot off the press having been taken down in Marina Bay, Singapore on Friday (31st Jan) which just happened to be New Year's Day for the Chinese calendar! Credit to him for getting sorting them out for me in the middle of the night yesterday so that I could post them here for you this morning!

Yes, it's Chinese New Year! We are now in the Year of the Horse and I was delighted to see these incredible photos of the wonderful colours and decorations over there in Singapore - just a bit sad not to have been able to be there in person!

Be inspired by

• the event itself
• that breath-taking horse statue
• the amazingly bright colours of all the decorations
• the ceiling of lanterns
• the fireworks which heralded in 12 midnight (sorry, no photos of that but you can see what this bay looked like here)
• Chinese or Asian culture
• a trip to Asia you've taken or always wanted to take
• or maybe you've even attended Chinese New Year in a Chinatown near you

I have to admit to being thrilled beyond belief with these photos. He was under strict instructions to get some for me to see what it all looked like and the photo of the horse at the gates literally took my breath away. I will be using these photos for sure although with colours as vivid as these, what on earth will I use for supplies?

If you are inspired to create this week, we hope you'll share over in our Flickr gallery (here) with the prompt WM#121.