My recommendation (for what it's worth) is to be very careful when buying random embellishments. It's terrifyingly easy to over-buy. But when something speaks to your soul, don't hesitate.
When I saw these gold skeleton leaves at Michael's, my soul took control of my hand, which reached out and threw a package in the cart. I had no idea at the time what I would do with them, but I knew I could make something beautiful.
This card is really all about the product. The Strathmore watercolor card (which has a matching envelope...be still, my heart!) draws attention to itself with the gorgeous edging and texture without my doing a thing. The leaves and their attendant bling give the card shine, sparkle, and texture. All I did was stamp the sentiment (Hero Arts) in real red and glue everything else down.
A few carefully-chosen products can carry a clean-and-simple card beautifully.
Give-Away
Today's give-away consists of various embellishments I culled from my stash, all things that I've used in the past few months that inspired me to make art. I hope they will inspire some random lucky winner. To enter, just answer the following question in the comments of this post: what products most inspire your creativity?
Today's give-away is open to everyone, and just a reminder, the deadline for comments on all five Inspiration Week posts is 12:00 Eastern Time, Saturday, September 25th. The winners will be announced on Sunday.
Digital images and embellishments inspire me to create lovely cards !
ReplyDeleteYour card is beautiful--simple yet so elegant! I also have these skeleton leaves but I didn't know how it should be adhered to paper. How did you glue yours on and what kind of glue did you use? I'm usually inspired by a cute or pretty stamp, but I'm inspired to make a card like this!
ReplyDeleteI love these leaves and pick them up and put them down every time I see them!
ReplyDeleteAs far as products that inspire my creativity, right now I love embellishments and I really love buttons. I absolutely love Kristina Werner's button heart card: http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/2008/12/macm---button-heart-valentines-day-card.html and want to be able to create something like this.
Oooh don't think you'll like this one but I can't help myself when I see gorgeous designer paper pads ***Sorry***
ReplyDeleteI've got quite a stash in fact I picked one up today.... ergh. I walked away from it then went back.....I'm a hopeless case!
I have these leaves too, only mine are the natural ones.....wish I'd seen them in gold!
I love my bling but they don't inspire me. I find that shuffling through my embossing folders while pondering a theme or sentiment to be very inspiring. Helps me to use them in new ways or to mix and match them. I find them easier to use than decorated paper too.
ReplyDeleteI get most of my inspiration from admiring the work of some very clever and talented people from all over the world. Thank goodness for the internet to bring together this wonderful community.
ReplyDeletewow!.. the card is gorgeous!.. i have some of these leaves.. thanks for the inspiration! :)
ReplyDeleteOh and i have to pick one?!.. oopsies!.. hm.. okay.. i think papers!.. their styles and textures! :)
Perfection, it's so CAS. I often struggle with embellies mainly because I'm not sure what glues to use! but also I don't like too much bulk. Anyway, product wise I'm mostly inspired by papers but I've definitely seen a shift to me using punched shapes especially flowers :)
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for a week of inspiration, you've given me a lot to think about.
Like Kathy, I've picked up those leaves soooo many times, but couldn't get a mental picture of how I would use them. Then you turn them into this elegant card.........I just love this card so much! This rivals the one you did last year, of two punched pine branches joined with a bling, and that's all. Last year it charmed my socks off.
ReplyDeleteStamps and stencils consume my budget and inspire my creativity the most. Wood block stamps and brass stencils.
Digital stamps! They're my favourite new product. I'm addicted to them!
ReplyDeleteOh your card is fantastic !! Embellishments with blings, glittered papers or pencils, everything that shines and sparkles make me crazy ! That's not very good for my budget ! :)
ReplyDeleteI am mostly inspired by colors and pattern!!
ReplyDeleteYour card is so elegant and gorgeous!! Love all your CAS-astic ways :D
I, too, get inspired by decorating magazines!!! Paint chips give me color inspiration.
ReplyDeleteYour cards are one of the things that really inspire me. Just love the simplicity of them - so difficult to make a good simple card. love your blog
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful card!
ReplyDeleteI get inspired by blogs - like your one. Even I am not online very often - your Blog with these beautiful CAS cards is really the first place I visited when going online ;-)
Colours and patterns are another way to get inspired...
Have a nice day,
Sandra
Stunning!
ReplyDeleteI get tempted by lots of different product, but the one I use the most often and to best effect is the coloured rhinestone stickers for a bit of bling.
Pretty card - love the watercolor card base! I get inspired by patterned paper, whether I actually use it or not, and these days, ribbon/twine/felt and other textiles really float my boat!
ReplyDeleteI love this card. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI am most inspired by the many talented people in blog-land. They are so creative and encouraging. Susan you are at the top of my list.
I also love a good stamp set and digital images.
Beautiful card. I am most inspired by looking through magazines or all the creative cards I see on the different blogs.
ReplyDeleteEmbossing folders are a favorite product that inspire me .... I love the subtle character they give a project.
ReplyDeleteRita
Just a lovely, elegant card. I think the product that inspires me the most is the stamps....especially the nature ones...
ReplyDeleteI get major inspiration once a year at the Allentown Stamp Show where I see all the new products and samples at the various booths. Beate John's tutorials are also an ongoing inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThat card is so elegant! Love the rich paper and the simplicity of the design. Just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteRight now, embellishments are my inspiration... ribbons, buttons, brads, pearls and rhinestones. All that stuff! Scrumptious!
DeniseB
What a beautiful, elegant piece of art - you are soooooooo talented. I'm new to all this but I do love to use simple nature stamps. Your blog is a 'mighty' inspiration to me. Thank you X
ReplyDeleteMary Mac
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLove the gold leaves...must look for these....so elegant with that card.
ReplyDeleteThe product that most inspires me is pattern papers....and I do have quite a bit...just started buying the small pads this spring. I often just flip through them when I need an idea.
i say it over and over again, but you're a genius! i would have left those leaves right there in Michael's...this is stunning and simple and perfect, i love it...so easy to mass produce (ooh, inspired LOL)
ReplyDeletei'm most inspired by patterned paper, but stamps really get my juices flowing too
What a WOW! card! I've passed by those leaves many, many times with nary a thought.
ReplyDeleteMy stamps inspire me the most, followed by my pattern paper, which for some reason, I rarely use.
What inspires me the most are all the 3D sticker embellishments that are lined up in the stores. There are so many themes and styles to choose from. It's so hard not to pick up a big pile! Glittered items are also a big thrill!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful-love the leaves.
ReplyDeletePaper! I love textured cardstock and love Basic Grey pads!!
Beautiful card! I love this week of showing where
ReplyDeleteyou drew your inspiration along with the card.
I'm inspired by paper - the colors and textures. I especially love making paper and including bits of ribbon and yarn, or flowers and leaves.
ReplyDeleteI try to find ways {always} to use bling: rhinestones or pearls. They are my current addiction, and I can create a card right around 'em!
ReplyDeleteI find that I head to the embellishments and stamps when I am shopping. LOVE a pretty embellishment, and I actually have some of these leaves. I bought them right after I first started scrapbooking in 2000 and have used them on scrapbook pages and cards. I absolutely love them! LOVE the simplicity of the sentiment. It makes for a very "peacefull" card!
ReplyDeleteEmbellishments are a "tricky" subject for me. YOu see, I love all the fancy embellishments in the stores, you know, things like the cute felt shapes with buttons adherered on top, etc., etc., etc. but I always think to myself, why don't I just MAKE that instead of paying $6.50 for it!! But then I often never get around to actually making it.... :-( What a delimma!! Regardless, those yummy layered embellishments sitting in their packages at the store are the ones that inspire me the most, when I have the time to actaully replicate their beauty!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful card! I think paper inspires me most as far as product goes. I love textured paper.
ReplyDeleteScrapbook paper inspires me. I love that card! I think I may have some of those leaves somewhere, too!
ReplyDeleteoohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
ReplyDeletei am speechless.
this card is exquisite. wow.
i love martha stewart embellishments. and since i have been practicing my clean and simple designs, with YOUR help, i find that i can buy a small package and just make a card with them. or like you said, they make the card for you!!
thanks,
marty
I just absolutely love this card! I like to use embossing powder as a product for creativity.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the opportunity to win some goodies.
I'm particularly attached to embossing folders right now. I think they add a lot of elegance to a plain and simple card. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI find inspirations everywhere. Anything could be a source of inspirations. But, I do notice lately that some soap package has some fabulous design that I love.
ReplyDeleteI'm usually inspired by a stamp, especially florals. This card is stunning, simple and clean! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteanother super elegant card! i have had those leaves and never able to do a thing with them! what embellishment inspires me: ribbon!! i love ribbon, but try not to use it on everything!
ReplyDeleteEmbossing has always said "classy" to me. I emboss everything almost. I was in Heaven when the cuttlebug appeared. So I love the folders. Textured paper is next on the list when I don't emboss. That card is exquisite!
ReplyDeleteYour card is exquisite! A classic!
ReplyDeleteFor me, sketches are my inspiration much of the time! They work like a starting point for me.
Simplicity exemplified in this cardyet stunning!! Other than the stamp itself, I guess for me it is designer paper and punches (sizzix and cuttlebug dies included though I know you shudder!!)
ReplyDeleteblessings
patti moffett
I think paper is the most inspiring product for me. Although I may not use much of it, I'm often inspired by the color combinations and patterns in designer papers.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely breathtaking card!
ReplyDeleteWhat inspired me other than the stamps are patterned paper and ribbon. I rely on those 2 a lot..I know I know you're cringing at the PP reliance =)
I am inspired by fellow stampers - the amount of talent and this site inspired more than I can say. You have re-introduced to me CAS and I thank you for it!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful card! I have to admit that I don't add a lot of different products to my cards. The odd ribbon/bow or a brad or 3. I must start to stretch myself in this regard.
ReplyDeleteThis card is your best yet.
ReplyDeleteI know DP isn't your style but I find it inspiring. I use it to inspire color combinations and style. I try not to buy it because it goes in and out of style before I can use it but it doesn't mean I can't steal design ideas from the newest releases.
This is simply gorgeous!! Mostly I'm inspired by the cards on SCS and blogs but lately, I've been inspired by my stash of designer paper. I really do have to use some of it:) tfs
ReplyDeletenothing inspires my creativity like a new stamp!
ReplyDeleteOver the years I've been seduced by the lovely patterns of the decorative and designer papers and have built up quite a stash but it rarely inspires me and I'm not very good at using it, so I am back to the basics of being inspired by my stamps and my selection of great 8.5x11 cardstock.
ReplyDeleteThis may be my favourite card of Inspiration Week... and that's saying something with all the beauty this week! The elegant simplicity of this card is remarkable.
ReplyDeleteAs to products that inspire me... it's often all about the main stamp image I'm using. And then there's ribbon... :)
Thank you for offering all these lovely goodies this week! Inspiring AND generous!
I'm so glad you said simple is hard, I can't hardly do it. LOL Punches and Die cutting shapes inspire me or dictate the card many times. Paulette S, in MO.
ReplyDeleteI have an enormous collection of different embossing powders (different colors, some glittery, some variegated) and I always want to make something beautiful with them. I hardly use them, but I sit and gaze at them regularly.
ReplyDeleteI love the card and I already have these leaves. Now I know what to do with them. One product that gets me really inspired is ribbon. I love using it in all ways.
ReplyDeleteYour leaf card left me drooling....and running to my stamp room to see if I still have the skeleton leaves I bought 15 years ago!!! ACK!
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question of the day, the products that inspire things that add texture to and dimension. Right now, the specific products that I'm inspired by are SU Linen Thread and pearls. For soft and feminine cards I HAVE to have pearls and for the more organic, fall-oriented cards the skinny twine just wraps itself around the paper on it's own! Of course I'm now going to have to add skeleton leaves to the mix, thanks to you! ha...
Susy (aka Boss on SCS)
Your card is sheer genius! Love it.
ReplyDeleteI am a ribbon junkie and can always depend on a piece of ribbon to inspire my creations.
I'm back again, just to say I'm sure this, of all the cards you've ever posted here, gets The Gold in the Creative Olympics. I would frame it, if I were you, and hang it some place special in my home. (I would frame it if it were mine, but would likely wreck it by choosing the wrong mat and frame.)
ReplyDeleteIf the bling isn't red half-pearl stickers, please say what it is. Last Christmas I used red liquid pearls to simulate holly berries, but your bling looks like it's a deeper more attractive red.
Thanks for always being such perfect inspiration.
Bahb
I'm not really one for embellishments, but have been lusting over twine for awhile... I think paper is what really gets me going. I would love to have an ink collection the size of yours.. or all those fabulous drawers of stamps.
ReplyDeleteI *love* the way this card looks. So deceptively simple looking, but stunning. Memorable, if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteThat card is so simple, yet so AMAZING! Wow...
ReplyDeleteStamps are my biggest inspiration... I LOVE when I buy a stamp for a specific reason (thinking it's silly since I will only use it once) and then end up using it over and over on completely different products! Some images make my mind twirl with possibilities :)
I would say the product that most inspires me is an image that looks like it has something to say.
ReplyDeleteYour card is beautiful. I now will have to get out those same leaves an DO something with them...
I'm an "out of sight, out of mind" type, so I'm inspired by whatever is in plain sight. Usually this means colorful piles of scraps on my craft table: punched bits of card stock or DP, partially constructed embellishments, rejected ideas, etc. Sometimes just the random proximity of 2 colors is all I need to start. Love the card!
ReplyDeleteWell... I believe...shapes and colours!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really tough one for me... I tend to shy away from using a lot of embellishments. I'd say the embellishment I use most often though is the good ol' rhinestone :) I have them in every colour! Anita's does a fantastic wheel of both 2mm and 3mm stones in all the colours of the rainbow including clear. Very handy and cheap too! :)
ReplyDeleteYour card is so simple and so stunning. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI think my inspiration comes from flowers. They can invoke so many feelings and responses depending on what kind they are. Prima, of course, makes some awesome flowers..what's not to love?
Simple yet exquisite!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is simply stunning. No other way to describe it. Those leaves are truly divine! What inspires me the most are designs within my favorite patterned papers and dies or punches. If there is a die or a punch I want to use, I design the entire card around it.
ReplyDeleteI have those leaves and have yet to use them--nothing worked--you have inspired me. Usually decorative papers inspire me.
ReplyDeleteIts the stamps that drive my creativity. I get so excited about all of the great looking stamps out there!
ReplyDeleteI have those leaves too! I just love them. Your card is beautiful and the golden edge is the perfect compliment. You go! Thanks for all the changes you are giving us to win!
ReplyDeleteStamps are my inspirition....see one, love it, stamp it, then figure out what to do with it. Works....most of the time. ;-) There are some still sitting in the basket, waiting for a second inspiration...hmmm - I could have a wrinkle in this process.
ReplyDeleteLu C
This card is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say I am inspired by stamps and images. That is usually my starting point when I make a card. With as many stamps as I have, I should never run out of inspiration!
Thanks for all the great posts this week. It has been fun, and I've learned a lot about my creative eye.
Colors and textures really speak to me. I love your card today. Nice texture in the leaves and a little bright spot of red. Very nice.
ReplyDeletecolour this is my biggest inspirition, from a cup to a new ink pad. What every ood I am in decides what colour I will use.
ReplyDeletebeautiful patterns or special markers always inspire me!!
ReplyDeletePlease don't enter me in the give-away drawing. I just wanted to say . . . "SHUT UP!!! Sweet Mother of Pearl is this ever a beaute!" And while occasionally a product such as patterned paper will inspire me (much like fabrics do), more often than not, I find myself inspired by displays of things together--like a shop window, or something in the yard, or a memory of something. And, then I go shopping among all my trinkets and treasures to find products that are in keeping with the whole visual that inspired me. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteFor me, the inspiration for a card comes from the person I am making the card for ..... that person's likes and dislikes, hobbies, and activities. I take off on an idea that is related to the person that the card is meant for. Then I select paper, colors and stamps to go to this particular person.
ReplyDeleteI'm too late for the prize drawing, but wanted to say that I love the matching of stamp set and designer paper in the SU catalog. It has inspired me this week!
ReplyDelete