Being inspired

Good evening everyone - I hope you haven't had, or kept,  much snow today, but golly it's cold, isn't it!

I have got quite a few birthdays & events to make cards for in the next few months & haven't really had much mojo - in fact - no mojo.  So I have been looking on other peoples blogs, on Pinterest, in magazines, for something to kick start my ideas again.

I spend quite a lot of time on Pinterest & have collected a lot of pins to use for inspiration, but the other thing, at the moment, was, I really wanted to find some straight forward ideas.

This morning I met Sue for a coffee & a natter which was great catching up as I haven't seen since well before Christmas. She said she had found herself in the same situation.  When I got back home I decided to search my saved ideas & settle down to make a card.  In the end I found my inspiration closer to home.

I know I have just said I wanted some straight forward ideas & this wasn't difficult, but you did have to concentrate & take care.

Some time around Christmas I had an email from Betty who used to be a member of Mold II club & she apologised to me as she had just found the card she had made for me & not sent.  Anyway she decided to send it still & it has been on my desk ever since. I really did like her design.  So the long & short of it is I took that as my starting point today.

Here is the Christmas card from Betty;

& here is my inspired card;

The flower stamp is, I think, one from the Craft Stamper magazine when I used to buy it years ago. Becaue it was just on a little square of acetate llike they used to do them. I followed the border idea from Betty, but used a square card.  I then coloured them with Distress Inks - using glycerine to help blend the colour & a water brush to lay the colour. I die-cut a little butterfly & coloured that to match. The greeting I stamped on to a piece of white card which I had die-cut with this postage edge rectangle die, remembering to colour the edge to match.  The plaque was placed on the card on sticky pads to raise it.  Then to give it a little bling I added 2 flat backed gems & finally I used my Wink of Stella glitter pen on the coloured flowers. The glitter doesn't show in the photo - perhaps I should have taken a close up.

I am really pleased with the finish, thank you Betty.  I shall now have to look through all the handmade cards I have received to look for further inspiration.

Now - what will I make tomorrow?  Mind you I have this months visit to the oncologist tomorrow - so don't know what time I will have.

That's me - 'bye for now.