Challenge #164 - week of Monday 30th March 2015

It's the week coming up to Easter and we are lucky enough here across Europe to have a wonderfully relaxing 4 day weekend awaiting us! Yes, I know we are lucky :-)

So, I was thinking about how to incorporate Easter into the prompt this week without it being all about Easter itself and went to look at my list of possible inspiration ideas. I saw that I'd noted down feathers which is certainly an embellishment trend right now - and has been for some time - and also ties in there with Easter chicks quite nicely I think.

I've pinned a whole lot of gorgeous feather inspiration on our Whimsical Musings Pinterest board if you need some more ideas and here are a few internet finds to kick us off.

I love how the hand-made feathers have been used to frame the central photo. I'd like to try this idea and aren't the colours just gorgeous?

Cari Locken at Scrapbook.com

Who doesn't love gold dipped feathers? Or is it just me?

Pinterest source here

And here's a way to make your own out of washi tape which I thought looked quite interesting. On our Pinterest board, there are a few freebie printable and cut files too. And I know that the Silhouette store has loads of different feathers as I've bought most of them!

Pinterest source here

I also know that I've made several layouts featuring either hand or Silhouette cut feathers but this was the only one I found! And I know that I have a layout in a less than complete stage somewhere with a feather banner which might be perfect to sort out and finish for this prompt.

So whether you take this challenge literally and incorporate feathers directly on your layout, or maybe give your layout a bird theme of some sort or even go the Easter route, I hope you'll have fun with these wonderfully inspirational, pretty, natural items.

Again, don't forget to check out our Whimsical Musings Pinterest board and share your creation over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#164.

#162 - inspired by being pampered

For challenge WM#162, Lynnette asked us to be inspired by being pampered which was in turn prompted by hosting a spa party for her gorgeous 8 year old daughter and for pampering herself with a manicure. Sounds great, doesn't it? I think I need one of those parties for myself.

I thought about it for a few days and then realised that just being in my own room, pottering about at my scrap table, surrounded by all my gorgeous scrap stash and happy memories, while listening to music or podcasts relaxes me so much that it could be considered spa time! I used the Scrapabilly April kit featuring the Happy Day collection by Pebbles for a simple, feel-good layout.

I messed up the journalling a little and think the title might need a tiny bit more of a sub-title so those details might be tidied up but I wanted to post it while I had the photos at hand. If/when I change the layout, I'll just change out the photos here.

I've scrapped about my room and space before but this little aspect of my time standing there, creating has maybe not been so explicitly stated. That's what I love about the challenges here at Whimsical Musings. They get you thinking in all sorts of different directions and help fill in those little snippets of my life. Thanks Lynnette for a great challenge :-)

We love to see how you interpret these prompts and there are already a couple of pampering layouts in our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery so why not join us and share what you make with the tag WM#162.

#163 - inspired by a Citrus Twist scrapbook sketch

It was great to have this sketch to work with on Thursday when I needed to produce three layouts in one evening. The sketch gave me a structure as well as a starting point, and actually stretched me to get a little messier than usual.

Here's the Citrus Twist sketch I gave you on Monday

And here's what I did with it.

I followed the sketch pretty closely with the circular element and the paper behind the photo strip. I misted through a stencil instead of the mesh and splatted some mist across the page too before adding some stars and a few enamel dots.

My circle is very messy using first a pen to make the base and then using the mist sprayer a bit like a paint brush to wipe the gold and green Heidi Swapp mist over the top. It's certainly not perfect and could be a little bigger in relation to the photos but I like the effect. You never know, I might actually have a second try with the sketch.

I used the Scrapabilly April kit featuring Pebbles Happy Day collection and embellishments, adding in a little mist and some small Mini Market letters.

I see a few layouts in the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery already for this prompt which makes me very happy so why not join in the fun over there and share your creation using this sketch? Don't forget to tag your layout WM#163 so that we can find it!

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!)