#276 - be inspired by the new releases at Creativation 2018

It's May which means it's LOAD time - insert happy dance here.

So far, I'm rather behind my target of 15 layouts for the month - I've made a total of 6 so far! But inadvertently, I did make a layout that fulfils one of the previous prompts here on Whimsical Musings WM#276 - be inspired by the new releases at Creativation 2018.

Look! There's a llama! In my book, that's totally Creativation 2018 and I am thrilled to have found a way to use it on a layout. I mean, I've never even met a llama in my life so I really struggled with thinking how I was going to put it on a layout. But this fun, sun-filled layout seemed the perfect spot for the happy feeling it purveys.

I also used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge May kit, Funky for this layout which is proving to be super fun to cut up and create with.

Don't forget that if you're inspired to create this week, that you can add your 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 #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 #276 - week of 22nd January 2018

Almost on time! Ha ha.

Creativation 2018 has come and gone (that'll be CHA for those of us who've been scrapping for a bit longer and I'm sure it had another name even before that!), and there's been a lot of chatter online about the new collections and offers. Considering there's been a bit of a negative feeling that the industry is contracting - and let's face it, it is - there was a LOT of new on offer.

If you're still in need of some visuals from the show, Alice Boll (from Scrap Happy and Scrapbook Wonderland) has a whole LOAD of video from Creativation 2018 - you can find it all on her YouTube challenge here.

This week I'd like you to be inspired by the new releases at Creativation 2018.

Simple Stories Mama Llama mini collection - paper "Oh Llama"

Maybe you actually have something new to use on a page. Or you might feel that some of the motifs or colours are the same as product you already have - now's the time to use it up! It seems to me that there were an awful lot of llamas around so maybe you have a llama themed page that's just waiting to be scrapped - well, it's possible! Perhaps you were at Creativation yourself or were lucky enough to attend a CHA back in the day when it was such a mega-show and you'd like to record your memories on a page. I think there's a few directions to go - whether it's product or story-based.

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... :-)

#56 inspired by new stash

I went to my LSS on Friday evening and bought waaay too much new stuff. But the challenge to myself to use up my new stuff meant that this Everyday Eclectic by Echo Park was a prime target for today's page.

It felt a bit strange to open up the pack and cut up a few of those sheets already but I know I need to do more of this if the bags and bags of stash I've given away over the last couple of weeks is anything to go by.

All that stuff that I'd loved when I first bought it that just didn't do it for me anymore is just too sad.

I think part of my problem is that I want to use up older stuff before I cut into my precious new stuff so I need to work more on the balance of this!

I'm not scrapping much at the moment and feel a little bit lost as far as design and stuff goes, so I'm not enthralled with my creation but it was a fun event to capture and the bright colour of the papers make me happy.

I'm totally not sure about those balloons and am not sure I'll be using the rest of that sheet. Bit too trendy for me but we will see how I get on - maybe I can find a way to incorporate them more meaningfully. Mmmmm. Will have to think.

So, all my stash is packed away now - well apart from some basics I've kept out to keep me going, so we will have to see how I get on! Bear with me. I'll be back to normal as soon as I can I hope!

Have a good week everyone and don't forget to share over at Flickr (here) with the tag WM#56.

Challenge #56 week of 10th September 2012

Well, this week I'm busy packing for our move and actually the packing is where this prompt has come from.

A few weeks ago, during our birthday celebration prompt week I went back and redid Pam's prompt to use older, less loved product on my page. It felt good even though there wasn't a lot of older product on there. And to be honest, I actually try to use up older product more often through my Counterfeit kits. Every month, I try to include some older product in the kit and so often, it's a use it or lose it feeling.

But at the other end of the spectrum, how good are you at using your new stuff?!? If you are anything like me, {and I'm really hoping you are}, you go out, buy new stuff and then leave it on the side to gaze at lovingly for a long time before it ever gets used up. Sometimes, that new stuff if most definitely old before you get to use it.

I can tell you that I'm really guilty of this. When I subscribed to kits, I'd leave them for months before thinking about attacking it. At one point I think I had more than 10 untouched kits piled up before I felt the need to start using them. But I remember not loving the product as much as when I'd first received the kits through the door! I go shopping and just don't dig right in when I get home because it's too new. I love to see it there but the longer it sits there, the less I feel like using it.

I bought all this stuff that I just "couldn't" resist about 8 weeks ago - and still it sits there! 

Packing up my room, there's a lot of old new stuff!

So my challenge to you this week is to grab something that is new for you - however new that is - and *gasp* cut it up and use it on a layout. :-)

I'm sitting here writing this up several weeks in advance as by this time, most of my stash will be packed away so I'm aiming to cut into my precious BasicGrey "What's Up" collection which I bought way back at the beginning of summer and have been stroking it ever since. You'll know if I manage this when you check out the blog entry next Sunday! 

We'd love to see your creations over in our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery {here} with the tag #WM56.

Have a great week everyone!

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

#22 Inspired by "new"

Sometimes I read a prompt and my mind decides instantly on a project/page. This happens to me 90% of the time. And sometimes I am even lucky enough to get that idea down on paper. Other times I am not so lucky. This prompt from Lisa instantly had me thinking about the makeover my room is getting this new year... I had a sketch, a color pallete and certain elements I wanted to highlight in the journaling.

Of course, as the week went on, I realized my makeover project was more of an undertaking than I originally anticipated so I had to change gears.

I settled on my new camera, which is also part of my 2012 and a story I wanted to tell. With no printed photos of said camera, no color ink and no time to run to the photo lab, I had to improvise. I snapped a few [bad] shots of my shiny new camera with my [also new] instax 7s. Although the pictures turned out crappy, I decided to embrace imperfection and go with the flow.

The layout was a close lift from [this] Amy Tangerine layout I loved. For the purpose of this blog I try to stick to original designs whenever I can, but this week I was just out of my mojo and needed a jump start.

I hope you were inspired by all things "new". From new languages to new things, new beginnings are all around us. I do wish we take more time to ponder about these and visit this lovely prompt over and over again.

The prompt will be up soon. Will you play along?

xo,
Pamage

#22 Inspired by the new

This week I asked you to scrap something new and it's funny but I often have no idea what I will do for the challenge as I write it.

This week was such a case in point and all week I kept my eyes and mind open for new. There were plenty of things that I could have done but this morning, I was dozing in bed with a horrible headache listening to my husband pottering around, chatting to me occasionally. And suddenly I realised how I live my life with a new language since I met him  - well some of the time anyway ;-) It's become so normal for me that I sometimes forget how new it all was when I first met him and then when I moved over here.

I actually learnt German in school for two years and at the end of that time, couldn't actually say anything so it's strange now that I'm (grammatically incorrect but) fluent these days and it's become part of my life. "Ich liebe dich" is a phrase I never imagined I would need. I love how fate takes you to places you could never have planned.

So I tried to find a photo that hasn't yet been used and this one came up - it's old, from our Nova Scotia holiday back in 2006. But that's ok, the message is timeless. And for a double win, I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge November Glory kit which has been sorely underused.  I like the combination of colours and I think the splash of blue really lifts the whole thing.

What's new in your life? I can't wait to see.

Pam will be here soon with her share and then come back again tomorrow for the new challenge. I'm always excited to check the blog first thing on the Monday mornings when Pam sets the challenge - we don't communicate what the next prompt will be so it's such a great surprise and gets my brain working right away.

Don't forget to share your creations with us over at Flickr (tag: WM#22).

Challenge #22 week of 16th January 2012

Another Monday, another week, another challenge. And I'm still feeling the January feeling.

Now, January is not my favourite time of the year. But it's still a very specific time in the cycle of the year and this year, I'm finding it more prevalent than other years and this has driven my thinking for this week's challenge.

I change out my blog header each month and under the title I try to come up with a little one-liner that sums up the new month. Over the last couple of weeks, I've found myself saying, writing and thinking this month's. So I'm passing this onto you to see how this will take you creatively.

New year, new beginnings

There are so many ways to interpret this in full or part from resolutions and goals through to new friendships, learning something new, the beginning of a new season, trying out something new or a welcome new addition to the family. You could even try something new on your page - a new paper range you've not tried before, a new technique or the style of a new designer you've seen online.

I looked back over my pages to see if I could find a few examples and came up with these:

The story of a new life

The story of a new tradition

The story of learning something new

Have fun with new beginnings this week and tune back in next weekend to see what Pam and I have created to document the new in our lives.