Those Who Inspire...

Hi there everybody!  I hope you are having an awesome day today....here in the U.S. it's Labor Day holiday so I am definitely enjoying an extra day of rest. A few weeks ago the incredibly talented Allison Cope featured me on her blog as an inspiring card maker.  To say I was honored would be an understatement.....more like humbled and stunned would be pretty accurate.

Allison's work is well known the card making world over and her creativity is off the charts!  I am constantly in awe of where her imagination takes her and her skills are equally amazing.  Where she gets all of her energy is a mystery to me, but she makes more amazing cards and such a huge variety of styles.....it is simply mind boggling!  I have had the pleasure of working with Allison for a while now and I can tell you she is one of the most giving people....giving of her time, talent, creativity, and most of all her heart.  So a huge thank you to Allison for the honor and now I am honored to share a little bit about myself and pay this lovely compliment forward with a few ladies that inspire me.  First a few questions Allison asked me to answer:

1.  What am I working on?  Well, truthfully.....my house right now!  LOL.  We are getting ready for some pretty extensive renovations so things are going to be pretty crazy around here for a little while!  As for crafty things, I am currently making some preparations for Power Poppy's October Release.  This is a special one because it will debut Power Poppy's very first holiday images and as you can imagine, they are incredible!  Christmas cards are some of my favorite ones to make so I am one extremely happy girl!  :)  I wish I could share more about that now, but you will just have to wait a bit longer.....


2.  How does my work differ from others of its genre?  Hmmm, well probably for starters I have a very close relationship with my gold leafing pen so most of the time you will see a bit of gold somewhere on one of my cards.  I was really excited when gold started making a come back....it truly is timeless, if you ask me.  I guess my card style is a lot like my personal style, traditional with a lean towards vintage or nostalgic.  I am a pretty sentimental person so often times personal memories or occasions influence my designs.  I guess the other thing is that I am a detail oriented crafter which I think probably explains why I am also a slow crafter.  I am not one that can put a card together in 10 minutes.  I am not only drawn to the work of designers that are similar to me but I also love seeing styles that are different/difficult for me.....CAS, Shabby Chic, Bold and Graphic.....I love them all!  :)


3.  Why do I create what I do?  It is a form of personal expression for me....an outlet.  I love being able to create something from my heart and hands and share it with the people that are special to me.  It was a huge stretch for me to start a blog because I was and am  putting something so personal out there for everyone to see  but I have grown in so many ways since I started and made so many dear friends through this process, I won't lie, though....it's still a little intimidating....lol.


4.  How does your creative process work?  Randomly.....lol.  I don't have one specific way I approach my cards.  Usually, an image or a specific shape or whatever it is that I am starting with  reminds me of some treasured memory and it unfolds from there.  Not all of my cards are that way, but I would say most are.  I love making shaped cards, so any opportunity to do that is always fun!  I did mention Christmas cards are one of my favorites to make or anything floral.  I love to garden so I am drawn to botanical or nature inspired images.  For a lot of my cards, I do start with a main image, decide on shape next, then how many layers I want (I like my cards like I like my cakes....lots of layers...lol), and then comes the fun part- adding the details....stitching, ribbons, edging, buttons, bling, etc.



Ok, so now is my favorite part.....where I get to highlight some beautiful ladies that inspire me.  This was one of the hardest things to do, narrow down to just two, when truthfully I am inspired by so many card makers and artists out there.  I mean, look at who I get to work with at Power Poppy alone.....seriously!  Marcella and the lovely ladies of the Bloom Brigade are a constant source of inspiration to me and I know I am one of the luckiest girls ever to be a part of this amazing group of talented ladies, so it's no surprise that one of my picks is from the Bloom Brigade and my other pick is one of the many lovely ladies that I have met on Splitcoast Stampers.....another treasure trove of talented crafters and inspiration galore.  Each of these ladies inspires me in a different way.  So, please allow me to introduce you to...

Leslie Miller:  Running With Scissors

I can remember exactly how I felt when I first discovered Leslie's beautiful cards.....awestruck.  She is a true artist in every sense of the word.  Her cards are each individual works of art and heart.  We have never met IRL but you just know that the style, poise, and grace that you see in her cards is a true reflection of this beautiful crafter.  I am often inspired by not only what she creates with paper and ink, but with her writing style.  She has a gift of being able to evoke feelings from her beautiful words.....truly good stuff in her blog posts.  The love she pours in to her cards, her photos, her gardening, her family....how can you not be inspired by all of that? If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting her blog yet, you really should soon.  The added bonus is she has two of the most beautiful Golden Retrievers ever and loves sharing their antics too....on their own blog of course!  :)




Tracy MacDonald:  I Wanna Build A Memory

Tracy is one of the lovely ladies that I have had the pleasure of "meeting" on Splitcoast Stampers.  We are both Southern gals so she understands my "drawl" even when I type it....lol.  We both speak a little southern French (hee hee) and we both love a good funny.  She may be a little camera shy, but don't let that fool you.....she has a quick and sharp wit that I just adore.  Tracy is the MacGyver of the card making world.  She makes most of her own embellishments and her awesome layouts are drool worthy.  I was initially drawn to her cards because of her amazing work with Mo's Digital Images but she is in pretty high demand and has done design work for just about everyone out there!  I have learned so much from her over the years.....her sense of style as well as her incredible sense of humor make for some darling cards. Each one she makes is a treasure.  Take that and add her mad Copic skills and you can certainly see why she and her cards are known the world over.  Tracy has been a constant source of encouragement as well as inspiration to me.


 Truly, each one of these ladies has her own unique "Super Power".  A huge thank you to Allison, Leslie, and Tracy for sharing your amazing talents with all of us. I am so blessed to call each of these ladies a friend. What an honor it has been to be able to share some of their talents with you...I hope that you go and visit each of each of their blogs and just see for yourself.....you won't be disappointed, I can assure you of that!  :)

I am so glad you were able to stop by today for a visit.  This was so much fun, I may have to do this again with some more of my favorites!  :)  Thank you again, Allison, for such a wonderful experience  and for the honor....what a blessing this has been!  I hope you all have a wonderful day and until next time, take care!

~Katie