Challenge #282 - week of 2nd April 2018

Spring appears to have sprung round here and we had a lovely Easter weekend full of balcony planting and pretty flowers. How about you? We are officially ready for spring and summer now and life on Balconia is calling.

Now on that note, this week I'd like you to be inspired by new life.

We've had one or two prompts over the years that are on a similar vein (WM#22 - new beginnings, WM#31 - spring, WM#64 babies, WM#165 - spring mood board), and I really think there are multiple angles to think about with regard to spring, Easter and the full restart that this time seems to bring.

These two layouts were made for the prompts listed above. These could both fit this week's prompt so think wider than the idea of the phrase itself.

If you're inspired to create this week, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here - we love it when you share so please don't be shy! Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Or simply tell us in the comments where to find you... :-)

Challenge #169 week of 4th May 2015

Well, (Inter)National Scrapbook Day has come and gone. What did you get up to? Was there much scrapping or creativity in your neck of the woods or were you caught up with regular weekend activities like me? To be fair, I managed to make two layouts yesterday which made up for it a bit but I never seem to really have the time to take the whole day just for scrappy fun. Maybe next year.

Anyway, today's challenge comes courtesy of Starbucks.

I was there a few weeks ago and spotted these pretty shelves full of lovely, spring inspired cups. I especially love the mix of colours but also, those diagonal lines and the hint of ombre. The stronger green is surprising but works so well against the pinks and yellows.

I even rearranged the cups for the second photo to highlight the pretty pink inside the diagonally designed ones.

So, it doesn't matter if you tell me a story about your love of Starbucks, your excessive collection of cups (oh, is that just me?) or your love of spring colours. Whether you use one or all of these colours of if you go for ombre, diagonal geometrics or colour blocks. Take the inspiration how you like and have fun creating this week.

Some of us are participating in LOAD515 which is a Scrap Happy member only one this time around, so I'm sure to be going over some previous prompts here at Whimsical Musings (find previous prompts up at the top of the page) to keep those creative juices flowing.

Don't forget to share your layouts and projects over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#169.

Challenge #165 week of 6th April 2015

Hope you all had a lovely Easter.

Can you believe it's already April? One quarter of the year is already over and no doubt the rest of the year will also fly by. But spring is definitely in the air round here so I wanted to give you some inspiration along those lines.

I came across this wonderful mood board on Pinterest created by Little a designs (blog / flickr board). and thought it would match that criteria nicely.

Little a Designs / Find this board on Flickr here

There is so much in this photo to inspire you and drive your creations - from the different textures of threads, ribbons, yarn and buttons through the different colours, the stitching, the shapes, the colouring pens! Take your pick.

But make sure that you share your spring inspired creations over at the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#165 so that we can come over and ooo and ahhh all over it! :-)

#31 Inspired by Spring

I was worried that this week I would experience the same creative block I seemed to be under last week. Even though I supply the prompts, sometimes I struggle finding the direction I want to go in and often I struggle to be inspired!

So it is extra-refreshing when it happens. And this week it happened. I started off easy on myself by finding a layout I loved and scrap-lifting it. I feel that picking up a starting off point like that allows me to focus on adding the little elements that make a page my own, while taking the guess work out of the design elements.

Since I knew all the elements I needed I just focused on finding papers and patterns that reminded me of spring. I also added some butterflies and buttons in those shades. Overall, this page helped me feel inspired to create more. So I did!

 For this page I used a color combination provided by Lain for the Scrap Happy inspiration for March. It was the perfect color combo for this Julie FFB crayon-watercolor resist technique {here}.

 I also wanted to show you the drawbacks of journaling right on top of your carefully painted background - you can mess it up! But luckily I am the type of girl that embraces imperfection. {see those almost invisible little strips of paper that allow me to re-write the words i fudged. yeah, I spelled girls as GILRS.)

And since my first two pages weren't really Spring related, I felt I had one more story left in me. This time I used a pretty simple sketch, provided by Lain for Scrap Happy. The simple sketch allowed me to use creative license on the items I use in filling up the designated spots.

 One of the new techniques I tried this week was this gesso+stencil+paint technique. I rather like how it turned out even with all it's imperfections.

I hope you had some time to be outdoors this week and enjoy the simple pleasures of spring. If you had some time to play, we would love to see what you came up with, just add the tag WM#31. Lisa will be back tomorrow with surely a fun challenge for the upcoming week. And just remember we will be at the discussion boards all week to help you along with finding inspiration. So we will see you there!

xo,
Pamage

#31 Inspired by Spring

Longer, warmer days with blue skies, chirping birds and an abundance of flowers are guaranteed to brighten up those winter blues so it was lovely for Pam to give us this prompt this week. 

I thought I was going to go deeper into the meaning of the prompt and had all sorts of ideas about rebirth or birth or new life (I have four siblings after all as well as two adorable nieces and a gorgeous nephew) but in the end I realised I just wanted to take some pretty pictures of my work on the balcony and go for something a bit more traditional.

Somehow, last year I missed spring altogether and our balcony never got the uplift it needed after one of the longest coldest winters ever, and it was very sad and drab all year long. I was determined to put in the effort this year and brighten up our outside living room.

Hard work and back ache was worth it and now we can be very German and spend the next months outside, relaxing and barbecuing!

Another great prompt Pam! I love my pretty layout and an excuse to use up half a dozen of my pretty photos :-)

As ever, I have several ideas from this prompt, stored for a rainy day. You never know, I might actually get around to making one or two of them :-)

Have a great Sunday everyone. The new prompt will be up tomorrow morning and I'll be back in a few days due to house guests!


Happy Spring!

Challenge #31 - Week of March 19th 2012

Well, in celebration of the upcoming Equinox {March 21st - read more about it here} and the wonderful little surprises that have been sprouting and blooming around here, I couldn't resist.

I have recently been inspired to take more pictures of nature and in doing so I have gained a new appreciation for it.

pictures I took around my neighborhood

Who could resist being inspired by this? Weather (get it?) Spring has arrived in your part of the world (and how I hope it has) or even if it is a few weeks away, I hope you will indulge me in celebrating this season.

Now, I have always been a Summer girl. And living in South Florida for a long time I never really noticed much of a change in the seasons. Living in a place with four seasons has given me a renewed appreciation for change, and re-birth and newness.

So choose to take Spring literally and pepper your layout with pretty blooms or choose to take it in a more metaphorical sense and talk about the abstract concept of Spring - your challenge this week is to be Inspired by Spring.


I so look forward to seeing how you interpret this and what Spring means in your life. I know Lisa will have a great take on this as her layouts often remind me of Spring. Happy Vernal Equinox to all.


If you are so inspired, I would love to see your creation in our ever-growing little gallery with the tag WM#31.

xo,
Pamage