Inspired by All the Little Things - Featuring Amy Kolling

Hello and welcome to Inspired By All The Little Things! This is a weekly inspiration challenge blog and each week we feature a wonderful designer who inspires us as an artist!

Happy Saturday! Lesley here! This week I have invited the lovely and talented Amy Kolling to be my guest! Amy and I have known each other for a while in this bloggy world and a couple of years ago, we met at the CHA in Anaheim. I was so excited when she agreed to Guest this week! Thank you for joining us, Amy!

Amy Kolling

I asked Amy to share a bit about herself...

What is the name of your blog?  When and why did you start it?

My blog is called Stamp-n-Paradise.  I started my blog back in May 2010.  I had no idea it's been that long!  I've definitely been stamping longer 

than that.  I started, like so many, with scrapbooking my wedding until I found stamping and realized how FUN it was!

What is your style of card making?  

I definitely go for CAS and sometimes with a few layers.  Totally depends on the project!!

Who inspires you as a designer?  

I can't say one person inspires me but rather it's the whole stamping community.  I love Instagram and following my stamping friends.  There's a wealth of people to inspire you there!

What sort of things inspire you as a card maker?  Photos?  Sketches?  Other designers?  

For me, inspiration is EVERYWHERE!  I have found inspiration from fashion, home decor, Pinterest, and of course Instagram.  If I am ever stuck on a card design, a sketch is always a starting place.  I bookmark some of my favorite card sketch challenges for inspiration.  

Share something about yourself that we may not know?

This May marks my 20th year of marriage and 20th year of being a nurse.  20 years ago, I was graduating one week from nursing school and the next week, I was getting married with the following week starting my new job.  Definitely not how I would "plan" things again!  

The challenge designers have also created a card for this week's inspiration! These ladies just inspire me SO much!!! I hope you will play along with us this week! We would love to have you join us!

Kimberly Lackenbach-http://kimcreate.blogspot.ca/

Keeway Tsao-http://kiwikoncepts.com/  

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

Marcie Sharp- http://cardmakinchaos.blogspot.ca/

Sheri Gilson-http://papercraftyscreations.blogspot.ca

And finally my card...

Lesley Croghan- http://alwaysplayingwithpaper.blogspot.ca/

We hope you will play along with us!

The linky will close on Thursday, May 5th at 11:55pm. (PST)

Some simple rules to keep things organized and enjoyable:

• Please use the graphic for your post and link back to this post.
• Any posts that are offensive will be removed.
• Please comment on the submissions of others...we all love the support!
• Yes you can combine with other challenges but NOT other inspiration challenges please.
• Have fun and challenge yourself!

Inspiring Standouts by Weekly Stand Outs for week #12 from Tracey

Thank you all so much for joining us this week for the Inspired by Challenge #8.  We loved seeing how you were inspired in all of your creative projects. These are the submissions that have earned a special Inspiring Stand Out this week. Please go ahead and display the badge on your blog.

A special thank you to Lynn Magnan for being our Creative Guest this week! 

Both Lynn and I have chosen our stand outs! 

These are the submissions that have earned a special Inspiring Stand Out badge this week. Please go ahead and display the badge on your blog!

Lynn's Stand Out for the week!

Alexandra

I love how her coloring captured the softness of the inspiration photos. So soft, delicate and absolutely beautiful.

Tracey's Stand Out for the week!

Mac Mable

I just love the way the Mac used the noline technique to watercolour her beautiful magnolia's with both ZIG clean color brush markers and Gansai watercolours. The way she placed the image creates fabulous movement across across the card and the sentiment is tucked it to just the right place. Congratulations Mac!

Congratulations ladies and thank you to everyone who played along with us this week! We will be back in one hour with a brand new challenge!  

The next challenge goes live at 5:00 am PST.

Inspired by All the Little Things - Featuring Lynn Mangan

Hello and welcome to Inspired By All The Little Things! This is a weekly inspiration challenge blog and each week we feature a wonderful designer who inspires us as an artist!

Hello and Happy Spring! Tracey here with this week's new inspiration. I chose this photo of a lovely magnolia bloom because for me seeing the magnolia's bloom is a sure sign that spring is here and warmer temperatures are on their way. This week I have invited the talented Lynn Magnan to be my guest. You likely know Lynn from her blog The Mango Boys & Me or for her design work at Fusion and Time Out Challenge. Her design principle is unmistakably CAS and her use of sentiments and flowers is brilliant. Lynn's designs are always so stylish and classy. Lynn and I have been blogging friends for a few years now and last fall I had the pleasure of meeting her. She is as lovely in real life as she is in blogland.

Lynn Mangan

I asked Lynn to share a bit about herself...

1. What is the name of your blog? When and why did you start it?

The name of my blog is The Mango Boys and Me.  I have four boys and a hubby, so it only seemed fitting to have a blog named after our family. I started my blog in 2009 (wow!  That’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging for almost 7 years.) primarily as a place to share my cards but more importantly to capture little things that were happening with our family. It is easier for me to journal in a blog than writing it in a small notebook. Not sure why!

2. What is your style of card making?

I’m definitely a clean and simple card maker and my favorite cards are those that are primarly stamps and ink with a few elements here or there. Occasionally I’ll have several layers, but most of the time it’s pretty CAS with a small touch of patterned paper to finish it off.

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

I’m drawn to clean and simpler designers, but more often than not, I’m inspired by the designer’s personality. I love getting to know others in the blogging community.  My favorite thing about blogging is getting to know others and the friendships I’ve gained.

4. What sort of things inspire you as a card maker? Photos? Sketches? Other designers?

 Most of my cards start with the sentiment. I love sentiments and then I’ll design the rest of my card around the sentiment.  If you pop my blog, you’ll see I love flowers so I’ll quite often make cards with flowers. I’m often perusing Pinterest for color combinations, snapping a picture of a pillow or some other pattern when I’m out and about running errands. 

5. Share something about yourself that we may not know?

Well…my husband and I dated for 6 years before we got married and he always says the one thing that surprised him about me is that I’m absent minded.  I quite often put things away because I don’t like clutter; however, I can rarely remember the “logical” place where I put them away. So now after 24 years of marriage he asks me the three places I may have put something in hopes that he’ll actually find it in one of them!  Here’s hoping I didn’t throw it away…I’ve been known to do that too!

Here is Lynn's card using this week's inspiration!

The challenge designers have also created a card for this week's inspiration! These ladies just inspire me SO much!!! I hope you will play along with us this week! We would love to have you join us!

Kimberly Lackenbach-http://kimcreate.blogspot.ca/

Keeway Tsao-https://kiwikoncepts.com/

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

Marcie Sharp- http://cardmakinchaos.blogspot.ca/

Sheri Gilson-http://papercraftyscreations.blogspot.ca/

and one more project by me!

Tracey McNeely

We hope you will play along with us!

The linky will close on Thursday, April 28 at 11:55pm. (PST)

Some simple rules to keep things organized and enjoyable:

• Please use the graphic for your post and link back to this post.
• Any posts that are offensive will be removed.
• Please comment on the submissions of others...we all love the support!
• Yes you can combine with other challenges but NOT other inspiration challenges please.
• Have fun and challenge yourself!

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspiring Stand Outs for Challenge #11

Hello Inspired by fans!  It's Karen here to bring you our Inspiring Stand Outs for challenge #11!  We had such a fabulous collection of pink, girly, cupcake goodness in our gallery this week - thanks to all who joined us by playing along.

Our chosen artists for this week can grab the badge here, and post it on their blogs!  A huge thank you to Miriam Prantner for being our Inspiring Guest Designer - be sure to visit her blog to see how inspiring all her work is!

Miriam chose #15 Nancy Penir as her stand out: 

I love how Nancy used the tulle to create a wonderful texture to her background.  I also love how her dies frame her panel, and the use of the big number candle dies.  It adds a bit of whimsy to a very elegant card.

Karen chose #6 Mac Mable as her stand out: 

 I love the simplicity of this card, and Mac Mable managed to incorporate both the cupcake and tiara perfectly - along with a little bling.  The subtly stencilled background is the perfect foil for the cupcake that she created with embossing paste!  Beautiful!!

Our next challenge goes live at 5am Pacific - hope you can join us!

Inspired By All The Little Things - featuring Miriam Prantner

Hello and welcome to Inspired By All The Little Things! This is a weekly inspiration challenge blog and each week we feature a wonderful designer who inspires us as an artist!

Hello everyone!  It's Karen with you this week - I picked this sweet cupcake photo as this week's inspiration, as much for the caption that came with it, as for the photo.  It simply said "Cupcake Tutus".  And seriously, what little girl wouldn't want a cupcake tutu for her birthday?  I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!  

This week I have invited... Miriam Prantner as my guest designer!

I have followed Miriam's work for years, seeing her creations all over the blogosphere - and through her journey in the Papercrafts Gallery Idol competition.  She is a talented stamp set and die designer - with a style that I'm going to call "modern & graphic".  So thrilled to have you join us this week, Miriam!  She has also offered all of this week's challenge participants 50% off on her Craftsy class called "Fresh Eyes on your Cardmaking Supplies" - just click on this link: http://www.craftsy.com/ext/MiriamPrantner_10298_h

Miriam Prantner

I asked Miriam to share a bit about herself...

1. What is the name of your blog? When and why did you start it?

The name of my blog is Sooner Rather than Later, and the truth is that I named it in a hurry, in November of 2011.  I hadn't planned on starting a blog at the time, I was just getting into stamping and card making and was thinking that I would wait a bit before I started a blog, but then went ahead and did it so I could start entering some challenges.  I was also starting out as a Close To My Heart consultant around that time, and it was a way to get more plugged in with that community too.

2. What is your style of card making?

I think I tend towards clean and simple, but honestly it's very experimental.  I started out as a scrapbooker, and what I love about cards is that the smaller surface (and the fact that you don't need to worry about being photo safe) allows you to try lots of new things and use lots of different supplies.  I really enjoy mixed media and getting messy, but I tend to do so in a more controlled manner.

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

So many people!  I love visiting blogs where I know I'll see something different, so some of my favorites are Jocelyn Olson, Jennifer Rzasa, Kelly Griglione, and Aga Malysek, and on the scrapbooking side Missy Whidden, and Sandy Ang.

4. What sort of things inspire you as a card maker? Photos? Sketches? Other designers?

I am most often inspired by a product.  I like to take my cues from a stencil, stamp, paper, embellishment or die, and then build my card around it.  Sketches are often the hardest for me because I kind of work the other way around and like to let my products do the deciding for me.  

  

5. Share something about yourself that we may not know?
Despite my CAS style, I'm a huge mess!  I tend to work in piles, on the folding table that I have to work on/store supplies in the sunroom, all over the floor in the sunroom, in the basement where I take things to work on when I'm catching up on DVR shows.  The craft stuff tends to only be cleaned up once a month (when the cleaning ladies are coming) and then it's mostly an organized set of piles that gets moved back to the floor as soon as I start working again.  I'm waiting for my daughters to pick up on this bit of hypocrisy, but they haven't quite called me on it yet....

Here is Miriam's card using this week's inspiration!

The challenge designers have also created a card for this week's inspiration! These ladies just inspire me SO much!!! I hope you will play along with us this week! We would love to have you join us!

Kimberly Lackenbach-http://kimcreate.blogspot.ca/

Keeway Tsao-https://kiwikoncepts.com/  

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

Marcie Sharp- http://cardmakinchaos.blogspot.ca/

Sheri Gilson-http://papercraftyscreations.blogspot.ca/

And finally, here's a little something from me - I decided to make a set of 4"x 4" cards with a touch of bling:

We hope you will play along with us!

The linky will close on Thursday, April 21st at 11:55pm. (PST)

Some simple rules to keep things organized and enjoyable:

• Please use the graphic for your post and link back to this post.
• Any posts that are offensive will be removed.
• Please comment on the submissions of others...we all love the support!
• Yes you can combine with other challenges but NOT other inspiration challenges please.
• Have fun and challenge yourself!

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspired by "Inspiring Stand Outs" {Our Weekly Winners}

Thank you all so much for joining us this week for the Inspired by Challenge #10. Jeanne here! We loved seeing how you were inspired in all of your creative projects. I was berry happy to see all the amazing cards created! You rock!

Big hugs to Jinny Newlin for being our guest this week! 

Both Jinny and I have chosen our stand outs!

These are the submissions that have earned a special Inspiring Stand Out badge this week. Please go ahead and display the badge on your blog!

Jinny's Choice -  Bonnie Sharp

All of the designs were amazing this week and I am so glad you played along!  Bonnie's  mix of elements - stripes of pattern paper, twine button bow, and lacy border just blew me away! 

Jeanne's Choice - Tenia Nelson

So clever how Tenia took the inspiration photo and spun it in a different direction.  She picked up on the colors and spun it into a feast for the eyes!   I'm always looking for her trademark bit of washi - it's easy to find this time!   The perfect finishing touch! 

Congratulations ladies and thank you to everyone who played along with us this week! We will be back in one hour with a brand new challenge!  

The next challenge goes live at 5:00 am PST.