Endless Inspiration

For a while now, I've been wanting to write a post featuring some of the great people who've inspired me this past year. The list could go on forever, so here's a short list (and check out my ever-growing list of crafting inspiration). And I especially want to thank you, the reader!

First of all, much of my creative inspiration certainly comes from my folks. Mom has been sending me crafting stuff for years, inspiring me to learn many new techniques and keep up with my crafting passion, and in the past year we've really bonded over cardmaking. I even sold some of her beautiful 3D Christmas cards to my in-laws! They were so taken with the cards that each person (Grammie, Grampy, parents, sisters & brothers) took the time to mention to me that Mom should really have a Copyright stamp. Thanks for the Christmas present idea! Happily, my folks had the foresight to send me to college, where I learned a bit of design which came in handy to design these pocket stamps through Vistaprint.

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One of the first color challenges I discovered was over at Scrapmaster's Paradise, and winning their Challenge #70 was certainly an ego boost for me. Not only did I gain validation, for which I am a bottomless well, I won some actual stamps!

I used these stamps for several projects and found it perfect for last-minute cards.

2011 has brought some awesome changes for the Scrapmaster, and her color combo challenges now has its own site. And it's still one of my favorites.

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My absolute inspiration for everything is my husband, who's loved me through a sea of paper ever since I started handcutting snowflakes in our first apartment. We don't really do gift-giving on special occasions, but we do enjoy spoiling eachother in surprising ways. So when I found a cheap copy of The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave (sort of the bard of our relationship), I figured that, plus some kind of weird hand-craft, would make a great present for him to open on Christmas.

Now, if there's anything my Baby appreciates more than creative passion is good research, so I searched the Interwebs for a image to work with. Oh my stars, was I lucky to find this illustration by Dominic Bugatto (center image; picture on the left of it is by my favorite husband).
In my younger days, I would have just copied this off his site and mentally sent good wishes to him every time I looked at it, but I figured it would be a better gift I took the time to ask permission. He generously allowed me to use it for free, and it came out beautifully. In fact, the quality of the color turned out way better than I had planned. I printed it onto printable fabric on my creaky HP; the color stood up to 3 full rinses! Then I glued it to an old frame I had lying around. The frame was very vanished, so I sanded it down to give it a softer look. It really fits into the "decor" of our home, and I'm really enjoying following Dominic's blog!

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My life was changed in 2010 when I was invited to join the PaperFacesDesigns Design Team. I've learned so much from these images and fellow designers:

Therese at PaperFacesDesigns
Jeannie at The Polka Cabana
Natacha at Scrapbooking, Card Making and ME!!

Therese's designs certainly played a large role in my Christmas decorating & cardmaking this year!

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Before I had even heard of digi stamps, I spent much of the winter & spring learning SCAL and researching orgamic architecture. I'm a total klutz with an X-ACTO, but my Cricut (with SCAL) gave me the opportunity to try some pop-ups.

I first discovered Extreme Cards & Papercrafting through a link to her pencil holder. I imported the image into SCAL and traced it. Then, I changed some of the elements to make my own version, which became a card for a friend's daughter who was coming home...and leaving for Law School. That simple card/pencil holder led to some nice bonding, so it has a particular place in my heart.

Since the cut file is just digital, I can cut it as many times as I like, which I do! I used it for some of my family Christmas cards.

My life was further changed by Extreme Cards' post about her
Naked Mole Rat magic picture card. I may have gone a little crazy with the idea! The magic cards are the right are a business card-sized version I made for a bookwarming party.

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Last, but not least, I have to mention Passager, the literary journal & press I've been working with since 2003. Every single person I've worked with there has inspired me in many different ways. Our designer is Iranian-American and taught me about Yalda, the Persian celebration on the Winter Solstice. My family really enjoyed sharing a pomegranate on December 21st! So I made this pomegranate card for her...notice it opens the "opposite" way.

And if you're interested in bards, books & Baltimore, be sure to register for Passager's 21st Birthday Celebration, coming up in June. We'll be having readings and sharing books, and would love to meet you.