Fall is here

Fall is here… well, almost here… it’s still pretty toasty in Alabama, and then there’s that hurricane bringing in some rain and humidity, but soooon we will have that glorious fall weather… can’t wait!!!!

This week’s Inspired By challenge is bringing those fall vibes though, check it out!

Inspired By … Cozy Fall #IB303

The plaid, the rich colors, a warm beverage and a good book, the moodiness… yes please!!! 

Can you tell I like autumn?! :)

I was inspired by the theme, colors, and the sketch when designing my card… here she is: 

Huge fan of these new pumpkin dies from The Stamp Market, I know I’m going to get lots of use out of them!  I die cut the pumpkins from some textured off white patterned paper and did a little inking around the edges for dimension. For the rest of the card, I really just dig through my stash of papers to find colors that would suit the mood I wanted for my card.

Be sure to check out the Inspired By blog to see rest of the design team’s take on this week’s challenge - hope you will play along with us!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List:

The Stamp Market - Pumpkin patch dies

Patterned paper - Echo Park; misc

Misc - jute twine, foam tape

happy fall

Although still pretty warm in Alabama, it’s starting to feel like fall… and I LOVE it!!!! 

This week’s Inspired By Challenge is…

Inspired By…. Fall #IB302

I was inspired by the sketch, the theme, and a loose interpretation of the colors.

This leaf die from The Stamp Market and the sketch were a perfect pairing. I’ve seen some pastel Halloween cards around the crafty circles, and it inspired me to go with the pastel-y colored cardstock for the leaves. I used green and kraft cardstock to add some fall flair to the non-traditional fall colored leaves. The ‘fall’ sentiment was die cut from diamond glitter cardstock, a little bling makes everything better!

Hope you will be inspired to play along this week too, be sure to check out the rest of the design team creations on the Inspired By blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List:

The Stamp Market: leaf die, fall sentiment die, happy stamp/die, ink, cardstock, sequins

Concord & 9th: cover plate

Other: kraft cardstock, Diamond glitter cardstock, twine, mini clothespin

Inspired by… bicycle

Hello crafty friends!!

It’s time for another Inspired By challenge - this week’s challenge:

Inspired By… bicycle #IB301

Unfortunately no bicycles exist in my crafting arsenal, so I got creative with my interpretation of the bicycle inspiration. Specifically, I drew inspiration from the colors, the basket of flowers, and shapes…I’ll explain ;)

I also followed the sketch.

I was inspired by the bicycle wheels when choosing the embossing folder for the card background. The flower filled pocket element was inspired by the bicycle basket, and the color of the pocket was obviously inspired by the color of the bicycle.

The diagonal strips were inspired by the color and placement of the fence in the inspiration photo. 

I really enjoyed this challenge, hope you will play along with us this week!! Check out the rest of the design team’s creations on the Inspired By blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Xoxo ~Rae

Supply List:

Stamps/Dies: The Stamp Market - Pocket full of sunshine 

Ink/Cardstock: The Stamp Market

Dies: Concord & 9th - Diagonal shortcuts dies

Embossing folder: Spellbinders - Origami folds

Misc: patterned paper; white embossing powder

a fall hello

And we’re back!!

Our Inspired By Challenge team took a break last month, but now we’re back and ready for some new challenges!!

Here is this week’s challenge:

Inspired By …. Apples #IB300

I was primarily inspired by the colors in the inspiration photo but I did manage to sneak a few apples into my card too 😉 

I think I used about 50 dies on this card…. and spent waaaayyyyy too much time putting it together, but it was fun!! Once I decided on a fallish theme, the card sort of built itself along the way. 

I chose fall themed patterned papers - can I just tell you how much I LOVE those itty bitty die cut pillows?!?

The white tiered tray in the inspiration photo inspired the stacked white pumpkin element, and the apple crate was fussy cut from patterned paper. 

We can’t wait to see how you will be inspired this week, hope you will join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List

My Favorite Things - miscellaneous dies, brick patterned paper

Echo Park - patterned paper

The Stamp Market - sentiment stamp/die

Misc - solid designer paper scraps, vellum

beautiful day

Time for a new Inspired By Challenge!

This week we are being inspired by… popsicles!

Inspired By … popsicles #IB299

I was inspired by the colors, the stripe pattern, and loosely followed the sketch.

This card was made using The Stamp Market’s Fluttering Flora July Deluxe Kit. I started by embossing a background panel with a Memory Box pinpoint burst plate. Then I cut down a sheet of striped patterned paper from the kit (keeping only the challenge colors) and adhered it to the panel. 

Next I die cut the butterfly from two different sheets of patterned paper and cardstock, all the kit. The butterfly body was die cut from Altenew dazzling diamond glitter cardstock. I curved the edges of the butterfly and adhered it to the card, adding some sequins for interest. 

The sentiment was embossed in white on pink paper and adhered to the card.

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team’s

creations on the Inspired By blog, we hope you will play along with us this week! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ Rae

miss you

This week’s Inspired By challenge provided the perfect opportunity to use some new-to-me Concord & 9th products and let my inner artist play!

Inspired By … Hamburg #IB298

 

I was inspired by the 'city' theme, and specifically the buildings and blue sky in the photo prompt.

I was blessed to grow up with the world's best skyline...*Chicago* ... in my backyard. Although I grew up in the suburbs, I fondly remember that childlike excitement every time the skyline popped up on the horizon on our trips toward the city to visit relatives. Working downtown for a beat in and among these beautiful buildings was a dream. Visiting my daughter in college at Loyola and exploring the city together are memories near and dear to my heart. Chicago grounds me, as my ancestors chose to leave their countries of origin and settle here. Chicago energizes me, the hustle & bustle, the melting pot of cultures, the food, the sports, the architecture... although way too infrequent, I love going 'home'.

I recently acquired Concord & 9th's city stacks stamps and dies and knew they would be a perfect fit for this challenge. I was in the mood for some water coloring, so I pulled out ALL of my distress oxide inks and went to town coloring/painting the buildings. Although hard to tell in the photo, I also played around with ink and water and paper towels to try to create texture for the sky background. 

The rest of the card design is just clean and simple with a Concord & 9th striped card front die panel and white embossed sentiment.

Bonus card...

So this next card was just me playing with Altenew watercolors.... 

I wasn't going to share because truthfully it's not that great, but I'm just calling it 'art' and sending it!

I have seen watercolor skyline prints like this online and used that as my inspiration. Again, not thrilled with the result, but it was fun to just experiment and play while I had the supplies out.

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team's creations on the Inspired By blog - we look forward to seeing how you will be inspired this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

xoxo ~ Rae

Supply List:

• Concord & 9th - City Stacks stamps & dies

• Concord & 9th - double stripe card front die

• Concord & 9th - Primrose Garden sentiment stamp & die

• Distress Oxide Inks - festive berries, fired brick, scattered straw, dried marigold, tumbled glass, uncharted mariner, weathered wood, hickory smoke, black soot

• Altenew metallic watercolors; watercolors (bonus card) 

hello summer

Time for a new Inspired By Challenge!!

Inspired By … strawberries #IB296

I was inspired by the sketch (flipped upside down), and even threw in a few tiny strawberries 😊

Here is my card…

I was in the mood for some paper piecing - this Echo Park paper collection pack in my stash was perfecting for creating a little porch scene complete with strawberry lemonade!

I created the awning in colors pulled from the inspiration photo. 

This was a fun one!!

Be sure to a check out the rest of the design team’s creations on the Inspired By blog, we hope you’ll play along with us this week!!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo ~ Rae