Inspired by All the Little Things featuring Katie Brooks

Hello Lesley here 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!

This week I have invited my dear friend Katie Brooks. Katie used to design for me over at FUSION and I adore her inspiring card making style!

Katie Brooks

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

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

KBStamps is my blog.  I started it in 2008.  I can't believe I have had it for that long!  I started because I wanted to create and share those creations, simple as that.  Still do. :)

2. What is your style of card making?

My style of card making is pretty varied.  I tend to pick up lots of styles of different things I like, layered, shabby chic, cute, etc. I enjoy building scenes and probably more often than not I go for cute.  I am not great at CAS designs, I can't help but want to fill up the card!  But I do try my hand at it every now and then and once in a while I am successful!

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

There are so many people that inspire me as designers.  My inspiration comes from varied people depending on my mood.  A few of my fave designers are Yainea (My paper Journey), Brandi (Yankee Belle Stamper) and Joni (Papell with Love).

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

Everything inspires me as a card maker, other designers, pins, photos, nature... you name it and I am inspired.  I love the quote, "Art imitates life imitates art," so very true!

  

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

Hmm.. something about me.  I'll share a few things. First I have Multiple Sclerosis, it can be a hard illness to deal with given that I work full time and have a child.  On a happier note, I am a big nerd who likes to laugh a lot.  My husband and I are always laughing. Finally, I believe in the possibility of Bigfoot and Yeti's (you'll notice I have a lot of stamps with those silly folks), I mean it is such a big world out  there and new species are being discovered every day, so why not those.  I agree that it might not be very probable, but it is totally possible

Here is Katie'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/

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

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

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

Wanda Cullen-http://cullen-arycreations.blogspot.ca/

We hope you will play along with us!

The linky will close on Friday, November 4th at 12:00 pm. (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 #29

Thank you all so much for joining us this week for the Inspired by Challenge #29.  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 Kim  Heggins for being our Creative Guest this week! 

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!

Kim 's Choice...

Kim has chosen: #30 Carol

I loved the colorful leaves and the movement Carol created, like they are falling off a tree on a breezy day.
 

Tracey's Choice...

Tracey has chosen: #14 Michele

I love how Michele's leaf looks like only the tip of was dipped in colour and was so impressed with how real the dew from the leaf looks on the card!

 Congratulations ladies and make sure you grab your badge.

Thank you so much Kim for joining me as my guest this challenge. Join Lesley here in an hour for Challenge #30.

Inspired by All the Little Things featuring Kim Heggins

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!

This week I have invited...

Kim Heggins

 

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

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

The name is Cupcakes, Cards and Kim and I started my blog in August of 2011…Joyce from Cards by the Sea and I had been chatting for some time about starting blogs and participating in card challenges, then with her help and encouragement I got it done.

2. What is your style of card making?

Not really sure what the answer is to this one. I want to say CAS but then I usually go a bit beyond that.

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

Melissa Bickford…love her colorful and clean look.

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

  Photos, sketches and fabrics, sewing is my first love and the smell of new fabric is very inspiring!

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

I don’t like chocolate, other than m&m’s. I have a m&m dispenser on my craft desk and always have it filled with whatever m&m’s are in season. Halloween is my favorite holiday…love all the orange and black!

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

The challenge designers have also created a card for this week's inspiration! These ladies 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/

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

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

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

Wanda Cullen-http://cullen-arycreations.blogspot.ca/

and one from me...

Tracey McNeely - http://inmycreativeopinion.blogspot.ca/

We hope to see you play along with us this week

The linky will close on Thursday, October 27th 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 #28

Another wonderful week here on the Inspired By blog - thank you for sharing all of your lovely creations with us.  And a huge thanks to Marisa Ritzen for being our fabulous guest designer this week!  Marisa & I have each chosen our Stand Outs for Challenge #28, please go ahead and post the badge on your blog:

Marisa has chosen: #7 Karen Davis!

" Karen colored and showcased that beautiful flower image fabulously in her wonderful layout and I love the scalloped frame around the edges!"

Karen has chosen: #2 Kelly Szafron

Kelly's pretty watercolour card captured the rich tones of the velvet pumpkins beautifully!

Congratulations ladies!  So glad that you played along this week.  A brand new challenge will start at 5am Pacific.

Inspired By All The Little Things featuring Marisa Ritzen!

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!

This week I have invited... the very talented Marisa Ritzen as my guest!  I have been following Marisa's work since her pre-Verve days!  She uses lots of colour, likes clean lines and has a real eye for putting together gorgeous cards.

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

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

My blog is called Rosemary Reflections (after the street we live on), though in hindsight I should have gone with Cards and Curls (my hair is very curly) as I always liked that name better  but it didn’t seem “professional” enough, especially since I was selling cards in stores.    I started blogging on August 19, 2009 as Verve Stamps had blog hops and I loved their stamps but couldn’t participate as I did not have a blog.   In addition, it was a way to be able to connect with “cyber friends” while I was a SAHM and craving adult interaction.  

2. What is your style of card making?

 I am a Clean and Layered kind of gal who loves using flowers, butterflies, hearts, leaves, and snowflakes on cards.

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

When I first started stamping I was addicted to Splitcoast Stampers and favorited many cards  by “notimetostamp” (Sharon Johnson), “Toy” (Holly Reinders McMillan), mytime (Lauren), Shadowstamper (Julee Tilman – Verve Stamps creator), va.sunshine (Terersa Klein), Kharmagirl (Jodi Collins), and Silke Ledlow to name a few, as I greatly admired and learned from their work.  Seven years later, I continue to gain inspiration from a wide variety of wonderfully talented designers.

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

Sketches all the way!!  I am “layout challenged” when it comes to creating my own sketch, so my Pinterest Sketch Board is worth gold to me LOL!  I start with a certain type of card in mind (eg. birthday card for my daughter who is a girly girl) or  inspiration photo, then look through my Sketch Board to find a few that could work with the concept I have.  I then play around with papers and stamp sets until I get a good match and create my card from there. 
     

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

 I am a very competitive person and love to learn new things.  When I first started making cards, it was a huge challenge as I do not have a lot of “natural” creative genes (I have athletic genes by the boat load but got a bit short changed in the creative gene department).   Creating a card in those early years was often a lot of blood,  sweat and tears, not to mention the sheer determination of not wanting to lose to an inanimate object - aka paper!   Yes, I even complete against paper, and designer paper did quite a number on me as I learned how to master using it LOL!!   My goal was to be able to create cards I would be proud to give  to others, with the added bonus of being able to personalize them to fit the recipient.   Thankfully my persistence paid off J  

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

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

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

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

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

Wanda Cullen-http://cullen-arycreations.blogspot.ca/

And here's something from me:

We hope you will play along with us!

The linky will close on Thursday, October 20th 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 Stand Outs for Challenge #27

Thank you all so much for joining us this week for the Inspired by Challenge #27.  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 Barb Ghigliotty for being our Creative Guest this week! 

Both Barb and I have chosen our stand outs!

Barb's Choice

Cornelia Wenokor

I love how Cornelia used the repeat pattern and color palette from the inspiration photo, and that she chose an element other than umbrellas! I think it was also clever that she used an old watercolored background for her gorgeous leaves, too!

Karren's Choice

Michele Ferguson

I kept going back to Michele's gorgeous card with its soft watercolored background and those wonderful raindrop dies camouflaged in the card.  Superb card, Michele!

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!

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 Barb Ghigliotty

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!

This week I have invited...

Barb Ghigliotty

I first "met" Barb when she started leaving wonderful comments on my blog posts and after I made a comment on one of her posts about wanting a particular die that she had used, she very generously sent me some die-cuts of the dies - all the way across the world!  I asked Barb to share a bit about herself...

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

My blog is Barb’s Studio Creations (https://barbsstudiocreations.blogspot.com/), which I started in October 2013. Prior to that, my friends in the Hero Arts Flickr Group strongly encouraged me to start a blog, and I’m so glad I did.

2. What is your style of card making?

My style is primarily clean & simple but sometimes a card will become ‘clean & layered’...in general, the more white space I have on a card, the more I like it! I enjoy stamping flowers and creating scenes with critters, and I also love using watercolors and Copic markers to color images. 

3. Who inspires you as a designer?

I’m inspired by so many card artists, that it would be too difficult to list all of them here. I love perusing blogs, and often meet (then follow) some really talented artists!

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

I am an avid ‘Challenge Junkie’! I love using sketches, inspiration photos, code words, and cards designed by other artists to get my juices flowing.

  

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

I am currently retired, and during my career I was a Nurse Practitioner. I worked in a very busy high risk prenatal clinic, and my specialty was caring for pregnant women with HIV...believe it or not, I miss it a lot!

Here is Barb'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/

LauraJane- http://ahiaf.blogspot.com/

Leigh Penner - www.leighpenner.blogspot.com  

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

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

Wanda Cullen-http://cullen-arycreations.blogspot.ca/

And, finally, a card from me

We hope you will play along with us!

The linky will close on Thursday, 13 October 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!