#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 #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... :-)

Challenge #243 - week of 26th December 2016

Christmas is over and we are looking towards the new year.

This is usually a time to  make plans for the year to come - things to change, things to stop, things to start.

So today's challenge is very much a challenge to myself to try out something new on my pages.

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

Amy Tan is probably one of the most well-known scrapbookers who uses a lot of watercolour lettering on her pages and if you subscribe to her on IG, you will see lots and lots of gorgeous watercolour, hand-lettered motivational phrases.

Find this gorgeous photo and her review of her favourite watercolours here

Of course, Whimsical Musings founder Pam used to paint a lot of her own titles which were always pretty mind-glowingly gorgeous - see this page here.

And I know that many of you use a lot of mixed media on your own layouts.

But why not try to use watercolours (or an equivalent) in a new way on your page this week.

I'm not a big wet-stuff-user on my layouts to be honest, a bit of ink splatting is about as far as I go so I'm really going to push myself to try something a bit more adventurous. Will you join me?

If you don't want to get messy on your page, perhaps you have a story about painting or even a favourite watercolour hanging on your wall. This might be the time to tell the story of an artist in the family or in your past or just which artists you love. There are plenty of watercolor design papers in recent paper collections that you could use for this prompt as well.

We'd love you to use this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#243 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#243 in the write up text so that we can find it.

WM#231 - inspired by flamingos

It may seem a little random but there are a lot of flamingos out there if you haven't already noticed. Scrapbooking products and for around the home - flamingos are on trend!

So when I challenged you to use flamingos on your layout, I was also challenging myself.

And I did it. 

The layout isn't a serious one - really just for fun - but I used several flamingo items on the page and recorded a little story about my love for flamingos and the fact that I have lots more product so I'm going to need to find more reasons to use it up!

Sorry the photos aren't stellar - just wanted to get a shot and upload it as soon as I got home!

I added my journalling to the back of this little journaling card.
It's not private but I liked the card and thought it was an ideal place to write a few words

Just a light-hearted page to show you that your page doesn't really need to be fixated on the flamingos themselves - just incorporate a few items, use flamingo pink or even just use a single element (such as the cute paperclip) I used all three of these ideas on one page and it was fun to just cut into those papers and get them onto a page.

Again, that's what it's all about, right?

I've got a photo and an idea for last week's prompt that I haven't yet managed to pull together. Hopefully in the next few days...

When's the last time you made a page - just because???

We love it when you share too and you can do that at either of our Whimsical Musings groups which can be found at Flickr (here) or over at Facebook (here). Whichever is better for you is great for us. We will find you! Tag your layouts with WM#XXX so that we know which prompt you followed.

Challenge #231 - week of 26th September 2016

I've been saving this prompt for some time. But if I leave it too long, the trend will be gone and it will be too late!

But sometimes, I don't want to use up all my "good" prompts at once! Or rather, maybe I should say, my own favourite prompts...

I'd like to challenge you to use a very on-trend motif. It's pink and can be found in home decor as well as scrapbook products these days! Can you guess?

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

I've been collecting some flamingo items over the last few months from Scrapabilly but either I've been reluctant to use it up because it's all so adorable, or I don't really know how to incorporate flamingos into my everyday layouts! I've never been anywhere with flamingos for example, nor do I have any particular affinity with them - outside the scrapbook stash I'm hoarding keeping for that special layout. So I'll be stretching my creative muscles with this prompt alongside all of you!

It would appear that I have far more flamingo supplies than any single scrapper should have!

I did manage to use a few foam flamingos and she small elements last year on two Scrapabilly layouts but I had to stretch why I was using them in my mind!

So, how will you find a way to bring flamingos to your scrapping this week? I can't wait to be inspired by you!

We'd love you use this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#231 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#231 in the write up text so that we can find it.

Challenge #220 - week of 11th July 2016

Gosh, I'm late this week. But anyway, here I am!

Just a few days ago, Shimelle announced her new (rather fab) American Crafts collection, Go Now Go. And I did a lot of ooo'ing and ahh'ing, along with a lot of the scrapbooking world by the look of it.

But I realised that the item that most people seemed to be delighted about - me included - were the puffy heart stickers.

Fellow Master Forger, Susan, has a "thing" for them and has admitted to us over on our board that she just can't get enough of the puffy doodads.

And with all this buzz, I feel left out because I seem to have very few in my collection! Clearly, I need more...

Phew! Ok, so I found a couple of different types of puffy stickers in my stash by Pinkfresh, so now I feel a bit better.

But, there's obviously a trend there...

So, this week, I'd like you to be inspired by puffy stickers.

I recently shared this layout for WM#204 which features aforementioned puffy sequins.

We'd love you to be inspired by this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this!

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#220 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#220 in the write up text so that we can find it.

Challenge #208 week of 11th April 2016

Are you inspired by the latest trends? Although it might not be my go-to, I do find that I enjoy seeing what new ideas are out there and of course, some not so new ideas that are rebounding or making a comeback.

String art appears to be one of those. I remember first seeing it several years ago and more recently, it is definitely showing up all over the place. Paige Evans even has a string art template as part of her recent Pink Paislee release.

So this week, I'd like you to be inspired by string art.

I've included a few examples of more simple or even rather complex ideas for how you could incorporate some twiney decoration on your pages. And yes, you just know that the third picture here is one to inspire me!

Source - Papierprojekt.de  

Source - Ashley Horton for A Flair for Buttons 

Source - FindingNana.com

Source - Pinterest here

Or maybe you want to tell a story about making some string art when you were a child, or that decoration that's been hanging on your wall since the 70s, or even your overflowing supply of scrapbooking twine stash!

We'd love you to be inspired by this prompt and hope you will share your creations - there are now two ways to do this! 

You can either upload your layout into the Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#208 or you can post it in our Whimsical Musings Facebook group. We've decided that we'll save albums for special occasions so just load up your photo to the group with the tag WM#208 in the write up text so that we can find it.

#164 inspired by feathers

I'd started this layout some time ago when I was coming to the end of a kit but then left it to sit around incomplete. Something I don't normally do.

I'd had a bunch of die-cut feathers and just wanted to bunch them all up to form a messy banner. These types of banners are proving a bit of an addiction right now and I love making them as full and interesting as possible and including lots of loopy twine and thread as well as anything else that takes my fancy.

So I tracked down the layout which already had the matted papers and the banner and just finished it off.

The title came to me while I was driving and listening to a podcast (no idea which one any more) and that's what drove the photo selection and the journalling.

To comply the layout, all I needed was a photo, a tag for my journalling which is hidden, some splatted mists and a scatter of sequins.

I pride myself on not having any PhDs (Projects Half Done) and knowing that this layout was hanging around was niggling me! So happy to have completed it.

Were you inspired by feathers or in fact, any of the previous Whimsical Musings prompts (full list can be found in the page tab at the top)? Don't forget to link up your creations over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery with the tag WM#164 or (whichever number challenge you have taken). We love to see your creations.

Challenge #167 week of 20th April 2015

This week, I'm getting all trendy on you. 

Inspired by a recent topic on the Paperclipping Roundtable - episode 243 - (catch the episode here if you haven't already) and then noticing the trend online in the last few weeks, I think we need to talk pineapples!

Yes, you read that correctly! This week, I want you to be inspired by pineapples.

Now, I'm not saying that this is something that I necessarily want to include on many of my layouts as a motif - although I can actually think of several Philippine layouts that could have a pineapple on them without looking out of place! - but I've seen many projects around that have a certain *something* about them. Fun, quirky, summery and über-trendy. And if they're talking fruit on PRT, then there must be something about it!

And then when I saw this layout on Pinterest this morning, I knew that Pineapples had to be the challenge for us this week!

Sherri Funk for Pink Paislee

This layout is so much fun on so many levels and that huge stitched pineapple right there in the middle is right up my street! Maybe this could be something I could try lifting and combining with one of those Philippine stories although I'm not sure I have a single fruity pic from my time there!

I've pinned a few pineapple themed items - stamps, dies, layouts, cards, prints - onto the Whimsical Musings Pinterest board if you need a little more inspiration and I'm now on a mission to track down another layout I saw last week before listening to PRT that had me scratching my head as to, "Why?" Now I know why!

Free printable available on the Oh So Lovely blog

As always, we love to see your creations based on our prompts. So link up over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery and don't forget to tag it WM#167. Hope to see your sweet creations over there this week!

Challenge #136 week of 8th September 2014

One of the reasons I love scrapbooking is all the beautiful stash that comes with it. I am quite trend driven and love to buy and use the latest and greatest of the new items. One of those trends that's been around a long time now is woodgrain and this week, that's what I'd like you to be inspired by.

There's different directions you could take this such as using woodgrain printed paper, or perhaps letters or stickers. What about all the wood veneer products out there. Embossing, stamping or printing would work really well here and then there's the subject itself. I'm just about to throw out a wooden framed print that I particularly love because it's damaged. But there's a story behind it from the fact that my dad made the frame for me when I was about 12 from the most amazing wood through to the fact that this is a painting in the local Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to which I find myself drawn over and over again. When times are bad, I can go there and just sit and look at it for hours. And that frame matches a desk and wardrobe also made for me by my dad from the prettiest pink tinted wood. I still have the desk...

This ready embossed woodgrain cardstock is simply beautiful to use and adds great texture and interest to the simplest design. 

For this layout I used my Big Shot to die-cut different sized stars from real wood veneer paper. I love the fact that the woodgrain is real!

We'd love to see your creations over in the Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#136.

Also, don't forget that there's a giveaway running all September...! Any and all entries for any prompts during September will go into the pot for a little prize! Load up your creations to our Flickr gallery (here) and join in on the fun!

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.

Challenge #117 week of 6th January 2014

Welcome back and I hope you all had a wonderful New Year celebration and are ready to tackle another year of whimsical, inspirational prompts. We love seeing you here and hope to engage with you more in 2014.

I have been creating and intend to try to get back on track with creating layouts using my own prompt here at Whimsical Musings - let's see how that goes! :-)

There's a lot of internet chatter about the Pantone colour for 2014, Radiant Orchid and I just did a search on Pinterest and there are pages and pages of gorgeous images (see here) with this fabulously rich, vibrant shade.

Pinterest source here

Now, I'm not a big fan of purple but even I find myself drawn to Radiant Orchid so I'd like to challenge you to be inspired by it in some way.

Use the colour itself - a lot or just a little; look at the images on Pinterest; make a page about colour; make a page about trends. Whichever direction you take, this is an on-trend tone and I'm sure you can find some inspiration in there somewhere.

I hope you will share your layout or project with us over at our Whimsical Musings Flickr gallery (here) with the tag WM#117.

Challenge #84 week of 1st April 2013

Happy April Fool's Day everyone! Do you carry out any practical jokes on anyone today? I always forget and I'm sitting here alone anyway so it would be a bit superfluous really!

But here we are in a new week, a new month and a new season. Not that you would know that where I am - we had a snowy Easter and spring is definitely finding it hard to break though. But spring will come when it's ready and everyone will be happy to see it when it does. You can't rush Mother Nature :-)

This week I'd like to challenge you all to try out one of the newer trends that I have been loving. Ombré.  This trend is literally everywhere and just a quick look at Pinterest brought up these three different takes:

Pinterest credit

Pinterest credit

Pinterest credit

And if you go to any scrapbooking gallery you will find many, many interpretations. These three caught my eye over at TwoPeas:

Liz Kartchner at TwoPeas

Jen Gallagher at TwoPeas

Shimelle at TwoPeas

So select your favourite colour (that mint green is calling me at the moment!) and give this trend a go.

Don't forget to share over at out Flickr Gallery (here) with the tag WM#84 if you complete this prompt.

And of course, we love to see your interpretations of all our prompts so please feel free to go back and hunt around for one that takes your fancy. The list of past prompts can also be found on the page in the top bar.

ps. with Easter breaks and a busy life, Pam and I are late uploading our contributions for prompt WM#83 but we will try to catch up as soon as we can. Can you beat us to the prompt?

#80 inspired by vellum

I am easily inspired by vellum. I love the stuff. I was one of those folks who was using it when it was "tacky" and out of trend. I was ecstatic once products started popping up using vellum though I haven't bought that many beyond the ones that came with the Studio Calico kits when I still had a subscription. 

I like to use it just plain.

But Lisa's challenge had me thinking outside the box a little and I wanted to find new ways to use it. So I had the perfect excuse to try this technique {here} and make my own vellum embellishments with a little ink and clear embossing powder.

And these are the results -

 although the raised stamped impression is subtle, I love how pretty these images turned out. I had never clear embossed over colored ink. What a genius concept!

 I also created double layers by adding my embossed vellum image over a punched plain vellum circle which I stamped with the phrase 'oh snap'. and a sticker and butterfly finished off my mini-clusters.

another fun fact about this layout is that my "patterned paper" is actually the shopping bag from west elm. I couldn't resist the x's and o's pattern on craft. too darn cute. 

I hope you dug into your stash for some vellum and put it to good use on a page. 

xo,

Pamage

Challenge #76 - week of February 4th, 2013

It is ironic that this prompt comes you a little late this week since the theme this week is all about instant. Yes, you guessed it - instant photos.

It probably isn't a secret to you by now that I absolutely love my {{instax mini}}. There is just something magical about getting photos developed immediately. Instant gratification. But I also love how the frame around the photo adds to the design. Below is a {small} sample of layouts I have completed with my mini photos (trust me there are more; I'm obsessed).

 

But my challenge this week isn't intended to make you run out and buy one of these for yourself or go green with camera envy. I want to bring this challenge to our world to show you other ways you can be inspired by this fun design element.

below are some examples of how I have used this idea of instant photos...

In this page I let the instant frame paper from dear lizzy guide my design and made my own polaroid frames with some craft cardstock.

Almost every one of us has one or two real life polaroids still kicking around in a dusty pile somewhere. 

And if you don't have an instant camera or older prints? Almost every photo editing software lets you add frames to the photos before printing them.

Not to mention that this trend is blowing up in the scrapbooking product market.

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: studiocalico.com via Sexysaddie on Pinterest

So, your challenge this week is to be inspired by instant photos. And with the many choices (stamps, die cuts, patterned papers, old polaroids, instax, printed photos with frame or handmade frames) you are certain to find some way to incorporate this fun trend.

I will challenge myself not to use my instant camera but rather find a new way to explore this inspiration.

Good luck and join us on the message board to discuss your ideas. We love chatting with you.

xo,
Pamage

Challenge #59 week of October 1st, 2012

My wonderful Whimsical Muses - hello there!

This week starts another month. Can you all believe it is already October? It also starts LOAD for those of you who participate in that realm of creativity (I know many of you do). 

For that reason (and simply because I love this) the challenge for this week is a rather simple one. Well, maybe.

The challenge this week is to alter something before adding it to your page- personalize it, add to it, subtract from it, cut it up, re-arrange it... 

I will share with you some examples from past layouts where I have done this.

I misted this background to add leaves for my fall layout. 

i sanded the letters to make them feel more vintaged.

I painted the plain canvas flowers to match the colors of my layout.

with ink and markers I personalized the hexagons and alphas to create matching embellishments

I couldn't find enough chipboard letters in one style for my title so I painted several letter types in white for a more cohesive look.

I colored in some of the designs of the b&w paper to add other punches of pink.

I used different colored alphas as a mask for this title, not to mention - created my own background paper to match using stencils and mists

Altering your stash can definitely stretch it and give new life to forgotten stash. The ideas I shared above are just a few of the things you can try. There are plenty of techniques out there that can help you change something you no longer like into something you can use. There are even products that are meant for altering, such as plain chipboard, mistables, the resist products from Heidi Swapp and more. You can fix coloring issues, missing letters, layered stickers, die-cuts with (the wrong) words and much more by simply applying a little creativity.

So, as you find yourself busy creating this week, won't you find a way to give some embellishment (or paper) a new life and share it with us?

We hope so.

Hopefully the gallery will fill with pretty ideas of how to fall in love with our stash again and look at it with new eyes. The tag for this is WM#59. See you on the message boards!

xo,

Pamage