#259 - be inspired by fussy cutting

Another make that happened a while ago but I just haven't made the time to share here on the WM blog.

And another layout that combines three separate challenges on one page. First up, I used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit, (CKC August kit, Heatwave #4), then I used that for the Counterfeit Kit Challenge prompt to create a page with a mixed up title (find out more on the CKC blog here or my Recklinghausen Musings blog here). Finally, it includes lots of fussy cutting to complete the Whimsical Musings prompt WM#259 - fussy cutting.

I cut out the hexagon pattern from the My Mind's Eye paper, the clipboard elements from the Pink Paislee paper and also the "weekend" word from a Crate Paper sheet.

I love fussy cutting bits and pieces from my stash and finding new ways of using it so this combination makes me happy.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. 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... :-)

#137 - be inspired by favourite flavours & #259 - be inspired by fussy cutting

I made this layout some weeks ago but just haven't got around to sharing which is crazy but unfortunately true. I'm trying to catch up with a whole load of shares! I think I have ten or so so watch this space for more. And don't forget that there are more than 300 prompts for your inspiration so why not have a look through our "back catalogue" to see if something jumps out at you!

You can find the full list here on the blog on the "Whimsical Musings past prompts" page and I've just uploaded the list in three files over on our FB group. Go to the Whimsical Musings group here and then check out the pinned "announcements" - each prompt links through to the original post on the blog.

This layout was made during the Scrap Happy mini-LOAD818 and used my Counterfeit Kit Challenge kit from August, Heatwave (l/o #2) AND fulfils TWO WM prompts WM#137 - be inspired by favourite flavours and WM#259 - be inspired by fussy cutting. Phew. That's a whole lot of challenges right there in one page!

I couldn't believe that I hadn't actually made a fussy cutting layout specifically with Whimsical Musings in mind (even though I do fussy cutting all the time) and let's face it, strawberries are probably on the list of favourite flavours for the majority of people.

I kept it really simple by cutting out the large florals from a Crate Paper sheet and then just layered them up to frame the beautiful photos of my summer loving nieces! I included a small piece of red paper as a nod to the strawberries and kept the remaining embellies to a scatter of enamel dots and a few additional die cut leaves.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. 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 #307 - week of 15th October 2018

I looked up what happened in the world on this day just a few moments ago and it's driven my decision for our prompt today. Do you ever do that? Apparently, the first ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine" was staged in Paris in 1581, Napoleon was exiled to St Helena in 1815 and the first episode of "I Love Lucy" was aired in 1951. I can actually think of prompts for all three of these events - can you?

However, today I'd like you to be inspired by peace.

In 1993, Nelson Mandela and F W de Klerk, President of South Africa, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and I think that's definitely something to celebrate.

Were you watching when Mandela was released from prison? Maybe you remember him presenting the Rugby World Cup to the South African team captain in 1995? Or what about Mandela dancing with the Queen at a concert in his honour at the Royal Albert Hall?

Anyway, you don't need to use anything to do with Mandela on your layout but I think that "peace" is a very wide and thought invoking prompt for us this week.

What is peace for you? Time alone or time full of family noise? How do you find peace in the every day. For you ladies over there in the US, perhaps you have a Peace Corps story to tell this week - either your own or a family member. Or maybe you want to take a more philosophical approach and take the subject in its widest context. Of course, you could also interpret it as a peaceful design for your layout - lots of white space, simple products, a grid perhaps. And I happen to know that Paige Evans recently released one of her famous die cutting templates in the original peace sign design - I've seen it in the Silhouette store but I believe you can get it for other die cutting machines.

I love getting cosy in bed and this is where I find peace in my day to day!

I think there's a lot of scope for taking this prompt in different directions so why not give it a go? And who knows, one of those other "on this day" events might just appear this time next year!

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

#306 - be inspired by strip journalling

When is the last time that I managed to make a Whimsical Musings prompt right there in the week that I posted it? It feels like a long time. But this week, I managed the seemingly impossible :-)

I promise you that the prompt came first and then this Simple Scrapper Creative Team assignment followed and not the other way around. But does it really matter anyway? I've made a page that I love and that's all that matters at the end of the creative day.

This layout was created using a sketch and a Story Starter ® from the Simple Scrapper premium membership. I loved this sketch (from September 2017) when it first appeared and knew that I wanted to use it so I was particularly happy to realise that I could make it work this month. The fact that it had journalling strips was the icing on the cake to fulfil this Whimsical Musings prompt WM#306 - be inspired by strip journalling.

The Story Starter ® was all about gifts and I knew this was a chance for me to capture my love of matching, over the top, frilly packaging!

I went with my standard form of journalling in this way. I wrote up my story on a 6x4 template, printed it out at 1.15 spacing in American Type font and then cut it up into strips and trimmed the ends so that most of the strips are different lengths. And then I adhered them loosely so that there is some dimension. Perfect!

I also added some texture to this simple sketch by stitching round the edge of the page and also along the bottom edge of each cloud, leaving the threads messy.

Last of all, I picked out some enamel dots, veneer elements and some glittery elements to sprinkle across the page in colours that sum up all that is fun about my packaging and Easter itself!

*sigh* I love my Silhouette when I take the trouble to get it out and use it! And I think I love my sewing machine even more :-)

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. 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 #306 - week of 8th October 2018

I've been busy creating today and will have some shares during the week so watch this space. But I used a technique that I like a lot but I'm often too lazy to actually remember to do. And this gave me the idea for today's prompt.

I'd like you to be inspired by strip journalling.

You know, where you write or print your journalling on strips of paper and then glue them directly onto your journalling area. If I'm going to write, I usually just write directly onto the layout but sometimes, I want the story on a paper or cardstock to stand out a little more and that's when I go to the effort of printing my words and then cutting it all up in order to stick it back down again!

You can use patterned paper such as the second layout here or plain cardstock which tends to be my go to. You can make it even or staggered, whole lines of text, just one sentence at a time or even a single word. You can write, print or use a typewriter. You can put the strips close together or far apart such as in the last picture. You can make it tone on tone - first photo - or a strong contrast. However you use it, give it a try this week.

I think you know how important I think story is on my layouts and I love finding different ways to incorporate it into the design so I hope you'll find a way to take this inspiration for yourself this week.

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Challenge #305 - week of 1st October 2018

Wow, it's October and the year is flying by. Of course, you know that I'm smiling every day because it's autumn and simply the best time of the year. I seem to be more organised, more energetic and get more done - (well, within reason ha ha!) - with the longer evenings and the full feeling of autumn in the air that seems to feed me.

But it's at this time of year that our social calendar fills up even more than in the summer as dinner arrangements are made and squeezed in before crazy season starts with birthdays and Christmas in November and December.

Which got me thinking about this week's prompt. I'd like you to be inspired by dinner parties.

Now, we call them dinner parties round here but you might have a more relaxed name for them - I'm talking about simply getting together with friends around the dinner table. You might cook together with friends and then sit around the kitchen island nibbling and chatting together. Or it might be a more formal occasion where the cooking is done behind closed doors and presented on your best wedding dinner service with fancy napkins and crystal glasses. The latter is more me because a) I'm chaotic and untidy in the kitchen which means I don't want anyone to see it! b) we are foodies and c) I'm more old-fashioned and still get a huge kick from getting out our porcelain and crystal and using it. :-)

You might want to talk about dinner with friends or with family. For special times on the calendar such as Easter, birthdays or Christmas. Or relaxed events where it just sort of happened unexpectedly. You might have silverware, dinner service or glasses with a story to capture this week. Or you might want to recall a particular dinner with a special meaning or story behind it.

For example, once we invited friends for an English Bonfire Night dinner for them complete with a menu and theme! We even had flower arrangements on the table created in English Wellington boots which were quite the eye catcher! It was a lot of fun, and explaining the whole story to them, with the history of Bonfire Night and what English elements we had included, was all part of the evening. I wonder if I've made a layout about this? Perhaps this week is the week!

I really feel that food, drink, eating together and spending time with friends and family are at the core of a happy life and recording these times in my albums is very important. I hope you agree and find a way to take this inspiration for yourself this week.

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. Tag your entry with #WMXX so we know exactly which inspiration you've taken. 

Challenge #304 - week of 24th September 2018

Welcome back to another week of inspiration and I have to say that I've done a couple of pages recently that I need to share so watch this space for proof that I actually DO make layouts from time to time - even using my own challenges!

This week I'm going old school. Back to a product that I loved - and actually still love - to use on almost every single layout. It's an everyday product from almost all of our gardens or kitchens and that found a lovely way of embellishing our pages and I soon had a huge variety of different colours, thicknesses and textures.

Be inspired by twine.

There was a time when I got through yards and yards and yards of cream or white or natural twine every month as I wrapped it around every page and scrunched it up and made big floppy bows! These days, not so much but I really like the look of it. I just forget to use it.

I use it for my banners,

and for threading through buttons for more detail and texture,

and of course, wrapping around the whole width of a page or an element. 

It's also perfect on small formats too

You might have some coloured examples, thick, thin or metallic to use on your pages. You might want to thread it though buttons, wrap it round an element, tie a knot at the top of a tag or make a messy bunch as a feature. Maybe you want to use it to lace something up or join things together. Perhaps you have some product that features twine in printed form. You could have a story about something getting tied up with twine or string or what about something that's being strung along! I think you can find ways of talking about twine even if you don't want to use it as a product itself.

I'd love to see where this takes you this week and of course, if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. 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 #303 - week of 17th September 2018

I'm a sight-seeing type of girl and I've been doing a whole lot of it right here in Germany in the last few months. And of course being a scrapbooker, I take a lot of photos and try to capture some of the details that catch my eye.

This last weekend I was visiting a local Schloss (stately home) and the sun streaming through a stained-glass window gave me one of the best photos of the weekend.

So, this weekend I'd like you to be inspired by stained-glass.

Here are just a selection of just the most beautiful examples of coloured glass...

The library at Schloss Herrnsheim

The stately home of Schloss Drachenburg

The domed ceiling at Galleries Lafayette in Paris

Les Invalides in Paris

The Cologne Cathedral 

Windows can be difficult to capture well on a photo so I try to find different ways of showing their beauty and they are to be found everywhere - not just in churches and cathedrals.

You might have a set of sightseeing photos you'd like to use this week or maybe you'd like to use them in a metaphorical way to talk about something different. You could use a die-cut background backed with coloured paper which looks like stained glass or do you have products which feature these effects? I think there are different ways to take this prompt in a stash direction or photo driven layout or even for your journalling - plenty of scope for interpretation.

I'd love to see where this takes you this week and of course, if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. 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 #302 - week of 10th September 2018

Yep, life gets in the way. But that's ok, right? Let's just pretend I didn't miss a week and move on!

Whimsical Musings friend Leslie has been scrapping up a storm recently and has worked her way through many prompts which makes me bow my head in shame AND feel motivated to get going - both at the same time! If you haven't caught her wonderful layouts you can see them over at our Facebook group - Whimsical Musings here - or over on her own blog - Out of the Mire here. You'll be inspired to pick up paper and scissors and get going for sure!

But onwards and upwards.

This week I'd like you to be inspired by the hashtag #watchmesmile

At this time of year, I find myself smiling - it's MY time! My favourite time of the year and everything just makes me smile. The cooler temperatures, the misty mornings, the dull, rainy days, the scattering of conkers on the ground, that autumn smell, the leaves turning colour and falling, the arrival of pumpkin decorations, the shorter days and darker nights, the low lying sun, the anticipation of winter in the air. Yes, you know that autumn is my favourite time of year but honestly, I smile every day! I started using the hashtag #watchmesmile and just using it made me happy. I've looked online and it would appear that I'm absolutely not unique and now it's rather full of posts from a West End show which definitely do NOT make me smile but I don't mind - I feel that it's my hashtag to use for what makes me happy at this time of year - I just ignore all the others!

Both of these layouts were made about "my" hashtag. The first a bit more obviously! I am going to have to come up with a new way to interpret the prompt this time around. Well, let's see.

Both layouts were made using Story Starter prompts and sketches from the Simple Scrapper premium membership community. Fabulous prompts and great sketches :-)

You might take the hashtag as it is and base your layout around it. You might have a hashtag that you use for specific situations. You might have come up with a unique hashtag that no-one else has yet caught on to (I just discovered that two of those I sometimes use are unique to me... so far!) You might hate hashtags and scrap a project about that. You might have a list of them that you use and want to record this modern part of life. You could follow my lead and just find stuff that makes you smile and make a happy page. Perhaps autumn is also your time and you could use that as your jumping off point. Or maybe you have social media themed products that need dusting off and using this week!

A few different directions that I hope inspire you this week!

And if you are inspired, I hope that you'll share. You can do that in our Facebook group here. 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... :-)

#295 - be inspired by skylines

Of course when I created this prompt, I knew exactly which city skyline which was likely to feature on my page. And I'm sure it won't surprise you either.

It had to be New York from my most recently trip and it was wonderful to pick out two of my favourite views from this time around and bring them together on a page for the Simple Scrapper Creative Team. I used a sketch from the Simple Scrapper premium membership (find out more here) as well as a Story Starter from Simple Scrapper - Favourites.

I have a selection of supplies that I use for all my NYC layouts and I find myself adding bits and pieces to that kit as time goes on but the layouts all have a similar look to them which makes me happy - when I finally get around to filing away the hundreds of layouts I have sitting on my Kallax, that New York album will really have quite a few layouts in there. I've realised though that I need to get more organised with recording the stories I want to really capture rather than just doing random moments!

Anyway, here's my layout.

I got happy with the floral paper and spent half an hour or so fussy cutting a bunch of pretty florals and leaves to layer up. I love how all the elements look good together even though they are different collections.

Do you have a skyline to feature? It doesn't even have to be a city view - I have several ideas from my trips around Germany so I may revisit this prompt again when I have time and inspiration.

As always, I love it when you share too and if you've been inspired to create, don't forget that you can add your own creations to our Facebook group here. 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... :-)