Flashback Friday and my inspiration secrets

I'll admit it... This week has just about done me in. I started off strong, and by last night I couldnt even stay awake past 8pm. The kids & our activities this week just took it out of me. So today, I'm sharing some Flashback Friday links, and some of my origins of inspiration. Have a great weekend!!

I can only be me. And that is Enough. 

I love to look at cards - all cards - as a sketch that I can make my own. I modify the colors, the stamps, the papers, the layout a little maybe, but take that card as an inspiration point to jump off of. I think this can be done with almost every card. You don't HAVE to have those supplies or that stamp set, modify it for what you DO have. If you don't like an element here or there, change it up. Sketches are a great way to get the idea of layouts you like and take it from there. I love, and use, Stampin' Up! products exclusively - this doesn't mean I only look at Stampin' Up! cards or ideas. Inspiration can come from greeting cards, cards I see on Pinterest, paintings and art I see when I'm out, natures colors, commercials or print ads, really anywhere. You just have to look for it. The more you look, the more you see, as it becomes part of your habits to look for great composition or beautiful color combos. Live creatively. Maybe you don't get to make everything you see, but being creative is not just about making stuff. Seeing and imagining the possibilities is important to. Then when you get about to making something, you've got tons of stuff to draw from. The mojo flows, as they say! ;-)

Here are some of my Festive Friday Cards that I made as part of a year long series on Christmas Cards: http://www.midnightcrafting.com/search?q=festive+friday

Here are some Blog Hops (you go from blog to blog looking at cards of a similar theme or for a particular group, TONS of inspiration) I've participated in:  http://www.midnightcrafting.com/search/label/blog%20hop

And here is the real Flashback part of this post LOL
Here are some Challenges I've participated in. If you scroll from the bottom upwards, you can see my cardmaking evolution, as some of these posts are quite old. Some have flashes of wow! But some are just wowwww... Don't laugh too hard. :-) I'm sharing these posts though because they will have links to challenge blogs or sketch blogs that you can use. Just because a sketch is pretty dang old, doesn't mean its completely useless. Take today's products and trends, and freshen that old sketch up!!
http://www.midnightcrafting.com/search/label/challenge

Happy Crafting!
-Angie

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