Inspire Me Monday: Some Tips to Create in a Jiffy!

Hello everyone and happy Monday! It's time for another Inspire Me Monday and today, I have some fun, easy and relatively quick cards that I made to slip into the mail to send to my daughter at college. But, these little numbers are really all occasion cards that you could have on standby to send in a jiffy!

I started by going through some of my favorite digital stamps from Power Poppy and narrowing them down to images that would be "pick me ups" and happy illustrations. I decided on Wish You Luck, Asters Abuzz and Cuppa Buttercups! 

So how are these creations quick? I'll share some of the tips & tricks I used to keep it simple! 

First, I started by opening all of them up in my Photoshop Elements and putting them on a printable page just for ease and then, second, while they were all on the same page, I used different dies to cut out each image. 

Once I had my images die cut, I decided to make my card in reverse for ease. I call it backward but maybe this is how you create all the time? Let me know if you do because, honestly, it cut down on the time I normally take picking up and putting down so many different decorative card stocks until I settle on "just the right one!" For some reason, when the image isn't colored, it's easier to choose? Hhhhmmm.... maybe!

Oops! I almost forgot! With the Wish You Luck image, you'll notice the original has the stems included in the image and I wanted to create just a circle of clover -- so I opened up the image and then used the magic eraser to erase the tied stems! 

Here's a peek at the original illustration! 

Okay, back to my tips and tricks! I went about creating my card bases before I even put marker to paper....

I created these three layouts in less than a half hour (and honestly, probably less time than that). I simply picked papers that looked appealing to me instead of trying to perfectly match them to the vibe or the color of the Copic markers that I used. 

Now, the reason why I wanted to do it this way was because my daughter plays college softball and since we can't always make the away games, we sit in front of our TV and watch her for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. That's perfect coloring time in between innings! ;-) 

WISH YOU LUCK - Card #1

With midterms and finals always looming, I decided to use this image to pop in the mail when she needs a little encouragement. As a nursing major, it seems like every test is "do or die" and so a little love from mom can't hurt, can it?

While this card might seem a little "loud"-- I think it's happy and the patterns are fresh and fun! Color up the image with Copic markers, add a sentiment strip and some bling and.... done! 

Here's a closeup for you! 

ASTERS ABUZZ - Card #2

This creation is just a little reminder to stay positive and when life gets you down, re-write the script and make your own happy. It's an important lesson, right? 

And, here's a little closeup! You can see that I did add a little sparkle to the bee's wings! 

CUPPA BUTTERCUPS - Card #3

I love this last card because you can pop a card like this in the mail any time for any reason! 

And so, after some coloring while watching softball, here's all three together! It was funny, after coloring an image, I'd run to my craft room and assemble and take a photo then run back to the couch to do it again! I have to say it was a fun way to create -- no stress or fussing at all like I normally do! :-)

I hope you had fun sharing a little time with me today and maybe you'll give these little tricks a try -- picking a handful of digital images and putting them on a page, die-cutting them in one fell swoop and then creating each card's layout before you color! It sure helped me! 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous and creative week!