Monday

Inspire Me Monday: Inspiration is Everywhere!

Happy Monday everyone!  I’m Allison Cope, your hostess for Inspire Me Monday this week!

This week I’m going to share some pieces of inspiration with you and how I turned them into creative and fun card ideas.

If you are like most crafters, you browse the web, other crafters blogs and especially investigate Pinterest for things to give us a creative awakening.  Not only do I look at other crafters cards on Pinterest but I look at design, fashion, food and all kinds of different areas looking for images to spark that creative endeavour.

So I went through my Pinterest board entitled “Inspiration” and I came up with 3 very different pins to get inspiration from, to begin the card making process.

Teal Floral Cake


https://www.pinterest.com/pin/25332816628358934/

One of the first images I came across was this stunning teal coloured cake with bright yellow, white and soft grey blooms.  I just couldn’t resist drawing inspiration from not only the teal colour but also from the motion of the blooms laid out across the layers of cake.

So I began my card by stamping the larger cluster of Hens & Chicks from the “Sassy Succulents” stamp set.  I added in a few single succulents too. I tried to mimic the movement created by the blooms on the cake.


I created a bold teal back ground of Copic Marker for my succulents but decided to only highlight a single, large hen & chick.  I pulled some yellow from the inspirational cake florals but decided to add some hues of purples, pink and even some lime greens into the plant using Prismacolor Pencils.

I just love the flow and movement created by the succulents on this card!

Floral & Striped Lap Top Bag


https://www.pinterest.com/pin/25332816629275781/

Next I found an image of this vivid handmade lap top bag.  The orange striped fabric just drew me in and I love the little simple yet colourful blooms on the white back ground of the top fabric.

To begin this card, I knew I wanted to use the basic design of the bag; stripes on the bottom and little blooms on the top.  So I found a fun striped paper and then pulled the teal from the strip into the colour of the blooms.

Instead of using a vertical strip like the bag, I chose to add some more whimsy to the card and put my stripes on an angle and then also make my blooms from the “Folk Heart” stamp set work the same angle.


To finish it off, I added a bold embossed sentiment from the “Big Scripts” stamp set at the bottom.

I just love how those lines of amusing little blooms just sprout from the stripes at the bottom!

Floral Skirt


https://www.pinterest.com/pin/25332816629001196/

Fashion is another way to be inspired to create!  I found this fun skirt pinned in my board and knew that the front panels would make a cool design for the front of a card.

I began by cutting two identical rectangular panels of water colour paper and stamping the single rose from the “My English Rose” stamp set randomly all over both panels. I chose to pull 4 different colours of ink from the skirt; a lighter dusty blue, a darker sky blue, a fuchsia purple and rich, dark purple.  I used all 4 colours randomly when stamping and filled them in with the same watered down inks.

I trimmed my panels to create 2 overlapping pieces with peek-a-boo points sort of like the skirt, added them to a purple card base and added a simple bow to finish it off.


Fashion inspiration has a great way of sneaking itself into our crafting lives too!

So I hope I’ve inspired you to think outside the box today and view not only the net but the sources around you.  The oddest things may spark your creative mind; a bill board, a magazine ad, a logo or even a painting hanging on a shop's wall!  Inspiration is everywhere!  Keep those eyes open!

Happy stamping & creating everyone!

~ Allison Cope ~


Supplies:

You’re Special Succulents 
Stamps: Power Poppy (Sassy Succulents)
Cardstock: Recollections (110lb White), MFT (Ripe Raspberry)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Copic Blending Solution, Prismacolor Pencils, Versamark
Embossing Powder: Stampendous! (White Detail)
Patterned Paper: MFT (Tranquil Textures 6x6)
Copics: BG32, BG13 
Prismacolors: Canary Yellow, Chartreuse, Grass Green, Carmine Red, Parma Violet, Mulberry

Sunflower Hello
Stamps: Power Poppy (Folk Heart, Big Scripts)
Cardstock: Recollections (110lb White)
Patterned Paper: MFT (Painted Prints Smitten 6x6)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black), Copic Markers, Versamark
Embossing Powder: Stampendous! (White Detail)
Dies: Pretty Pink Posh (Scallop Frames)
Twine: Darice
Copics: BG10, BG09, Y15, Y17, YG01, YG17

Lavender Roses
Stamps: Power Poppy (My English Rose)
Cardstock: Arches (140lb Cold Pressed Water Color Paper), Bazzill (Sour Grape)
Inks: Simon Says Stamp (Surf Blue, Steel Blue, Wisteria, Hot Mama)
Tool: Tim Holtz (Piercing Tool)
Ribbon: Offray

16 comments:

Jeanne said...

Thanks for this terrific post. I really like that you explained your thought processes as you drew inspiration from the cake, the purse, and the sarong. Your cards are beautiful representations of what inspired you. :)

Heidi MyLittleStampingBlog said...

I just love what you did with the inspiration photos! Really fun post!

Barbara said...

This is a very motivating and fun post for me. Love how you explained your inspiration for each one. Thanks for sharing.

Maria Rodriguez said...

Fabulous inspiration Allison, love each card and how you took the photo and turned it into a gorgeous card, specially the one you created with that skirt as your inspiration, totally awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
Hugs,
Maria Rodriguez.

Ann said...

Beautiful cards and great inspiration. I agree with you, I draw inspiration from so many places and things I see.

Camille Short said...

Such lovely cards!

jeanchaneyaz said...

Inspiring post. Thank you for the ideas.

Berina RGA said...

Beautiful cards!! It's amazing where we get our inspiration from!

Linda Pekrul said...

You are amazing! I loved hearing your thought process on how you use the "inspiration". Every single card is wonderful!

Bernadette said...

This was amazing for me too, Allison! Thank you so much for inspiring us through the inspiration you received! Each card is beautiful!

Rosy Newlun said...

You have an incredible way to take a picture and incorporate the theme into your own card design!!! I love all three.

CherylQuilts said...

Well, Ally, once again you really DO inspire me! WOW! I love how you get inspiration, and what fabulous cards! I can see how you've translated these beautiful photos into gorgeous cards! Amazing! Thank you for sharing this, because I really get stuck a LOT with the "okay, so where do I start?" thing! Big warm hugs, sweet friend! xoxo

ChristineCreations said...

Ally, such a great tutorial of inspiration! I love the pieces you grabbed from your inspirations to put into card designs. Full of fun and inspiration!

Lovestocraft said...

Thank you so much for opening my eyes to inspiration from other sources than cards, and for being so clear about how that inspiration can translate to a card. The cards are beautiful!

Michelle W said...

Absolutely gorgeous Ally!

Erna Taylor-Stark said...

Although I get inspiration from other sources, mostly I was using print media to find it. I never thought of using actual pieces around me. Can you imagine? You just opened my eyes to tons of other sources. Thank you so very much.