Challenge #312 - week of 19th November 2018

We were invited to friends for dinner at the weekend. What a great evening it was! I don't think I've laughed so much for a long time. Who said that we get more serious as we get older? Not round our way.

It's taken us a long time to develop a good circle of friends here and that's what I'd like to think about today.

This week I'd like you to be inspired by friends.

I know that we've been inspired by relationships and connections over the years but it surprised me that friends has never been explicitly selected.

Here are just a couple of pages I've made about friends recently...

This prompt is wide open for any interpretation you'd like to make. New friends, old friends, school friends, school friends, how easy it is for you to make friends, what type of friend you are, what type of friend you look for, different categories of friends, funny stories, sad stories and everything in between! Literally, a thousand ways to talk about friends this week. You might even have a scrapbook supply from a friendship line or a word element to use. Take this prompt and run with it! I'm sure you could come up with a list of a dozen pages or more to create with just the single word "friends" to inspire you.


If you're inspired then I really hope you'll share and of course, here's a reminder that you can connect with us in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

#63 inspired by random photo collections

I love the way Pam's brain ticks and this week's prompt was no exception to the funky direction she takes us. This was the perfect prompt for me and I could probably repeat it every week with all those random photos I know that I have if only I tracked them down. I know that many of you have seen some layouts over the months with some of them - sky, clouds, trees, flowers, selfies... I have them all!

And so it was quite tough this week to limit myself to one set. And I only skimmed through a few months worth of photos too. In the end, I printed this set of autumn 2012 and another set which I'm hoping to use this week too. But you won't be surprised to see that autumn won. You just KNOW that it's my favourite time of year and these photos just make me HAPPY!

I used a design I'd seen on Pinterest but at the time I came to make it, I couldn't get to it so I just went with the look I could remember. The sunburst design is very popular right now and I'm glad I gave it a go although I'm not convinced with the result!

But it was fun to try it out and test a new technique to see how it fits. Not bad for a first attempt although the photo is pretty bad - these darker days are proving problematic already!

After such a long time out of the habit of regular paper stroking, it's great to be back. It may be a bit of a slow start, but I have high hopes that I can keep up the pace. Internet or no internet!

So, thanks Pam for giving me something great to work with this week! Can't wait to see what she thrills us with.

Don't forget to share your creations over at Flickr in the Whimsical Musings gallery (here) using the tag WM#63 (or whichever week it is that you are using for inspiration)

Have a great week everyone, the new prompt will be up in the morning.

#63 Inspired by Random Photo Collections

Sooooo happy to be here today - with power and heat restored. In case you didn't know, I live in Northern New Jersey. And although I wasn't directly affected by the ravaging Hurricane Sandy, I live on the periphery and suffered from the side effects (such as having not heat, electricity or internet for a few days).

Anyway, it has been a very long week, but I gladly bring you two new layouts for this week's prompt of random photo collections.

If you stopped by the discussion board this week you know that I had many options to choose from. In end I narrowed it down to two, which incidentally were related. I guess I can always go back and make some of the other pages.

My first layout focuses on my knack to photograph my feet. I find that it is a quick and easy way to document where I am. Or what is going on around me. Also, my feet never have bad hair days, or need makeup, or have blemishes. *wink* so they are always at the ready. This page now documents that. Even though I have used some of these photos before in the context they were taken in, I think they tell a whole different story when paired together like this.  

The second page covers a peripheral story to the last - part of the reason I walk so much is because I don't drive. And spending so much time in the car (or bus) I have developed a habit for photographing my lap. I usually have my camera at the ready or my ipod hooked up or a drink in my hands. I really enjoy this page as well. 

Although you can't see my face in either of these pages, they are so me and I love how much of my story they tell. There's a tip for you, self-portraits don't have to include your face... and you can make pages about yourself without it too. 

Hope you all had a good week and if you were in the path of this storm that you were able to stay warm and dry.

xo,
Pamage

Challenge # 63 - Week of October 29, 2012

Hello again.

Back in my grandma's time (and as recently as my childhood) photos and film were expensive and not as easily accessible  Therefore, in those days you only photographed big events, holidays and trips and your shots were farther and few between these events. 

Digital cameras [and I would add phone cameras] have changed this for us. 

Take for example this little collage.


A quick sweep of my hard-drive turned up this collection of images. Yes, I love Pepsi. I drink one daily... but why do I have so many pictures of pepsi cans and bottles?  Back in the days of film I would have never wasted it on capturing this silly aspect of my daily life. But I think the fact we have this technology and use it this way is a telling story in and of itself. These images mean something to us and that is why we take them.

an older page I made about my love of Pepsi for another WM challenge...

Like this example, there are tons more of photos I collect because it really doesn't cost me anything to take them. For you this may be flowers, clouds, self-portraits in front of a mirror, Starbucks drinks, your kids with their faces dirty, your husband reading the newspaper, the inside of your closet, your messy scrap desk, a certain tree by your house, your puppy napping by the fireplace... Did that list spark any ideas?

Well that is our inspiration point for this week - I want you to create a page using a collection of photos featuring the same topic all taken at different points in time. What does this collection of photos say about you and what is important to you?

I hope you are able to spend some time looking through your pictures. I think you will be surprised with what you find. 

Challenge # 55 week of September 3, 2012

Today in the States we celebrate Labor Day. Traditionally, this marks the end of summer. It being my favorite season of the year, this makes me a little blue.

And nothing makes me less blue than reliving good memories and putting them on a scrapbook page.

Take this layout for example...

To me this is the perfect summary layout.

I know many of you have been quite busy this season with kids, grandkids, visitors, travels, etc. I am sure you have collected a decent number of photos. I want to challenge you, or really just help you, to create a summary layout of Summer 2012. You can go back and create as many different pages as you want to document this summer. Or you can finish that mini-book you wanted to create over the next few months when things slow down. But instead of overwhelming yourself with all the many photos not yet scrapped, create ONE layout that sums it all up and throw away the guilt.

Some helpful tips on how to accomplish this layout:

* use many of your favorite photos in a grid pattern under the title "best of Summer 2012"

* create a pie-chart like layout with a photo representing each of the activities you spent time doing - example {here}

* select one photo you feel completely embodies the essence of your summer and sum up the rest with journaling

* create a layout with no photos and a list of all the things you did or that made it great. You can alternatively use a post-card or other collected memorabilia instead of a photo

Most importantly, don't stress. You can always go back and really catch all the details of your summer later. But having this page in your albums will make you feel "caught up" and will remind you of all the happy times you enjoyed this summer. So indulge in the process and forget the rest!

If you join us in this adventure, please remember to post your layouts to our flick'r gallery with the tag WM#55.

xo,

Pamage

ps: we will be back shortly with our giveaway winner.

Challenge # 45 - Wek of June 25th, 2012

Hello my lovely ladies. Another Monday is here. Can you believe it?

This week we are going to talk about something that invades all our homes and takes up a lot of our time and that we all have in common... Can you guess what it is?

It's Social Media.

 Although we are miles apart in different countries and speak different languages (well, we all speak English of course, but know other languages) we are all brought together by our love of scrapbooking, yes, but also through Social Media.

 Whether you blog, tweet, Instagram, text, Facebook, upload to our flick'r gallery, make YouTube videos, pin your favorite recipes, or all of the above you are partaking in a whole new technology that didn't exist in as recent as my lifetime. 

You can go in many directions with this and here are some suggestions:

- make a page about all the different sites you belong, follow or participate in

- make a list of bloggers you follow and feel like you know

- make a page celebrating people you only know online

- document your blog

- document "a day in the life" through social media, like: wake up and read blogs, photograph my outfit and load it to Instagram, check Facebook by lunch, tweet about the long day I've had, look up a Pinterest recipe to make dinner, make a scrapbook page and upload it to flick'r, then blog about it.  or something like that

- talk about your dislikes, fears and feelings about this rising trend

- compare and contrast how we communicate and keep in touch with how your parents did or grandparents

Most of all, have fun. Enjoy. Make a page you love that tells a little more of your story. Don't limit yourself to my suggestions. Take this prompt and tell the story you need to tell. And after you are done, upload it to our flick'r gallery [wink] and tag it WM#45.

With all the choices out there for social interaction, we are glad you have made Whimsical Musings a part of your week. Have a great week and see you all next Sunday.

xo,

Pamage

#32 Inspired by a relationship not yet scrapped

Hello friends!

Another lovely week of spring has gone by and here we are again.

I am super excited to share this page - because it is about a person we all "know".

As I pondered the challenge this week, I really searched deep for all the people in my past that I hadn't yet scrapped. The ones I found missing were stories I wasn't ready to tell. 

Then, I moved on to present relationships and was pleased to find almost every person has a page - or two. Almost every person. Almost.

I was so happy when the inspiration hit me - Lisa was the one person missing from my pages!

I "met" Lisa during LOAD of February 2011 and we became fast friends - albeit through the internet.

So here's my little homage to my special friend

 of course I added loads of pink - that is Lisa's color after all. But I mixed it in with the yellow - because that's my happy color and I think she has more sunshine than she realizes...

 I also added the pretty glittery ribbon because it seemed like the perfect glam accent for a Lisa page.

 The photo I "stole" from one of her photo albums and I hope she forgives me, but I wanted a clear shot of her pretty face and this picture seemed perfect even if it is a few years old. 

Thank you for the little nudge in getting this story done. Like Lisa I feel there is so much more to say so I will be adding a 6x12 page with all the little anecdotes about our projects together, including this endeavor to bring you weekly challenges.

I hope you were able to dig out a story of a relationship previously not scrapped and get it down on paper. I would love to see what you made over on our little gallery {tag WM#32}.

I will be back soon with another challenge for the new week. Thank you again for playing along with us and sharing your memories with our little community.

xo,

Pamage

#21 inspired by completing a story

A crazy week at work left me with little time [and desire] to play. I kept postponing going through old layouts, though that is one of my favorite activities.

However, today while I was jazzing up my blog, [daily pamage], I found this entry [the story behind a layout]. I knew then and there that I wanted my actual journal entry in a layout. I loved re-reading my aha moment. Then I remembered this challenge and thought it was the perfect opportunity to make a companion page.

Because the supplies were all digital I was able to use the same patterns/papers to complete the companion page. However, I took a different design approach and I added my beloved buttons.

Here is a look at my challenge page (and also my third all-digi page!)

Try hard as I might, I am not as comfortable with the digital stuff, so the style departs a little bit from what I am used to. I guess I could have created a paper layout and just used some of the colors on the original page to tie it all in, but since I was already using the typed journaling straight from my blog entry I figured this would be easier. I am sending both pages to a photo developing lab right now. These are two stories I need to have in my albums.

I hope you were able to complete a story. If you did, we would love to see it so remember to tag it WM#21. We miss having you gals play along. I can't wait to see how Lisa took on this challenge. Remember to come back on Monday for a spanking-new challenge.

Oh and I would love feedback on the changes I made to my blog, so pay me a visit and let me know what you think - Daily Pamage.

xo,
Pamage

#20 Inspired by turning points

Happy New Year to all! I am so excited to be sharing another year of scrapping with all of you. Lisa kicked us off with a great topic - Turning points. The new year is a great time to reflect about those turning points we have had in our lives.

As Lisa, I came up with a few ideas for this week's prompt. But I settled on highlighting the fact that I love new beginnings. It came to me while sorting memorabilia in preparation for Stacy Julian's Twelve class. The photo reminds me of a more innocent and inexperienced me who was apprehensive about change. That is no longer true about me. I now welcome new beginnings.  I wanted to document that.

This was the resulting layout -

I kept the embellishing simple because my focus was on the story I was telling and the huge picture. I left some white space in the middle to allow the eye to rest, but now I am second guessing my choice and wonder if I should have butted up the photo and journaling. Anyway, it is done and I am happy with it.

Thanks for looking. I truly hope some of your creative resolutions for 2012 include playing along with us. We would love to have you. If you created a layout featuring one of your turning points please remember to add if to our flick'r group under the lable WM#20.

I will be back later with our new challenge.

xo,
Pamage

#3 Inspired by connections

Whimsical Musings challenge #3 was set by Pam and was all about making connections. Something we both love to do in our scrapbooking storytelling but sometimes something that takes a bit of time and thought to do. 

Pam challenged me to pick three or more seemingly unrelated photos and find a connection to scrap about. 

The most difficult thing for me was to just pick three photos without already thinking about which to pick and why. In the end, I lifted down three different year binders and flipped through grabbing a handful of interesting shots – 2007, 2008 and 2009. I had chosen some photos of the two of us together and decided to bring together these photos that are all very nice, but have no story. Nothing really special about them. When I looked at three of them (one from each year) I realised that what they represent is our family. Our little exclusive family of 2. That was the layout. And that was what I made.

I used my Counterfeit kit “Balmy” and created a little flat cluster in a different position than usual for me which made a nice change.

I didn't need much journalling but made sure I included the title of the Marvin Gaye/Kim Weston song, “It Takes Two” as it's the one we chose for our wedding and is totally perfect for us.

Whimsical Musings week #3 and Counterfeit Challenge layout #2

Thanks for looking!
Lisa
x

#3 Inspired by Connections

For my layout, I decided to start by building my page focusing on the fun-ness of creating a culti photo layout - without photos! After the entire layout was assembled minus the photos and title, I searched my box for pictures to scrap and found three unconnected photos that highlight some of my favorite things. And thus, a layout was born.

I am so grateful we are keeping up with this weekly ritual since it pushes me to sit at my creating table at least once a week. 

Until next time,

Pamage

Challenge #3 Week of 08/15/11

It is a new week and it is time for a new challenge. This week, the topic is "Connections"... I have realized that over time my favorite layouts are those in which I make connections of some sort. 

Sometimes the connections are completely straightforward, such as several pictures of the same place or person

some connections are less straightforward, like comparing photos from the past and finding similarities...

some connections are just an important part of documenting your life... sort of the lines that tie the dots between two pictures...

So, above I have provided you some samples of previous layouts I have done that emphasize connections to give you a head start. 

Your challenge, if you chose to accept it - Take 3 or more seemingly unrelated pictures and make a layout focusing with the journaling or the title on the connection between these pictures. I challenge you to choose pictures as unrelated as possible. The results will surprise you more. If you whimp out a little and chose pictures that are clearly related, try to dig a little deeper with the journaling. Either way, make a multi-photo page highlighting a connection between them that tells a story about your life.

I wish you luck on your journey and look forward to seeing your results.

xo,

Pamage