I inspire me

I Inspire Me - Wrapping Up

2008-11-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hello dear readers and creative scrappers! The Inspire Me blog will no longer post updates. We aren't removing the blog but there will be no more posts. I am thrilled that we went through the summer to see so many amazing layouts to inspire us but when it's time, it's time. As our previous post shared, we were planning on 2 more holiday posts and I am sorry to let down a commitment but I felt we needed to stop now. It is election day, a new day in many ways. And the same is true for me and I Inspire Me. Thank you for the good run!!! See you in the galleries!

Holiday Note!

2008-10-15T11:44:00.001-07:00

Check out these layouts from last week's post! From Mica (pictured below) and Leanne. Lovely stuff girls!! :)

IIM 9 - Metal & Wire Inspired

2008-09-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

We welcome in October with a delightful guest feature today! Rita Weiss! Yay Rita! Thank you for joining us this beautiful October! Rita is a Prima Flower Girl, Jenni Bowlin DTer, Details store owner and I'm certain you've seen her amazing pages in the online galleries, she's been scrapping for years and was also once on the fabulous Scrapologie DT. She has a unique 3D, textural quality to her styles that is well worth gawking at! Her page below was inspired by this colander! Foil, People, she used foil! And I love the impact it has on this water-themed page. Other supplies in the page provided by Prima and American Crafts.

Before we get rolling further into the post we still need to hand out our Awesome ScrapMuse Kit, don't we?! Yes? Yes. I'm excited because I LOVE the SCRAPMUSE kits!! And the kit goes to MICA!! CONGRATS girl!! Email iinspireme@hotmail.com with your addy. Mica shared this layout below, be sure to visit her blog and show some love! Some other great Linen Inspired layouts came from Aude, Leanne & Noel
Mica above, is the winner of the kit but I also need share this layout by Jennie. I adore the vintage lacey texture and colors in her layout! Jennie, it's amazing! Thank you (and everyone!) for playing along. :)

So if Rita's colander inspiration wasn't a clear hint to this post's theme, Ranie's layout should do the trick! These amazing layouts are all Metal or Wire Inspired!! We hope you enjoy the girls' designs this week because they'll also be featured in the October Issue of ScrapStreet.com Magazine!! Look on page 20 of their latest October issue! We thank ScrapStreet for noticing the fun we're having here at I Inspire Me and in turn have been noticing the great work YOU do!! Thank you ScrapStreet.com! :)

By Ranie: The gorgeous metal scrolls of this mirror inspired Ranie's frame, layers and deep colors in her layout. A very rich and modern heritage looking page!

By Amie: Amie always finds some of the most unique details to pull into her layouts and this simple wire vase design makes a very cool page design!

By Sasha: The beautiful colors, wood grain & chain texture inspired Sasha's digi page. The subtle greens & browns in her photo make a pleasing palette.

By Vicki: The grid of her antique metal cage makes an awesome journaling block design! The flowers included add alittle color & outdoor theme!

By Jill: Get ready to be amazed! Every post from Jill amazes me and this is no different that I need to let her share in her own words what it was that inspired her page. From Jill: "I found my inspiration in the wires of my husband's new Alienware computer. He opens that thing all the time just to show me how cool it is. Boys and their toys, you know. As I was looking through some of the photos that I have been taking lately of Rob and his computer, the wires within the computer caught my eye. The way the wires were threaded vertically across a set of black tiered "shelves" gave me the idea for the pp and photo "shelves" on this page. I used embroidery thread for my "wire." I also loved the way that multicolored wires were looped together horizontally within the computer, so I added horizontal "wires" to my page as well. The 7gypsies "1001" paper reminded me of binary code, so I added that as well under my photos; in fact, all of the papers that I chose reminded me of electronic gadgetry or wiring"

By Cat: Those swervy (is that a word?) curves in her wire basket inspired the border in Cat's self portrait layout. The border itself curves slightly to give it her signature 'handmade' look. Cat always reminds me that I can be more free-spirited with my pages!

By Christine: How creative is this!? Her bathroom caddy is a fruit stand that she put bowls into to contain her 'pretties'. She mimicked the scroll shape with Making Memories paper and even used vellum for the soft cotton elements.

By Lana: The elements of the piggy that inspired my minibook are the same of those why I loved him in the first place - his adorable piggy nose, his weird wire body and fun green color! This seafoam green mini is of my daughter's First Day of Kindergarten.

By Donna: Her leaf motif candle holder inspired Donna to create her own digital patterned paper. She drew and hand cut the design, used it as a mask with paint, then scanned it into Photoshop and edited the different colors to use in a block pattern. Very cool & creative Donna!

By Jaime: Each little leafy sprout on this votive holder gives big inspiration! Jaime tucked in leaves behind her photo to frame it with 3D texture and the pretty warm colors are picked up in her butterfly accent.

IIM 8 - Linen & Textiles

2008-09-16T05:58:00.001-07:00

Stephanie Howell is our beautiful Guest Gig this morning for our IIM 8 - Linen & Textile Themed Post and we totally appreciate it Stephanie, Thank you!! Her style is bright, peppy and super sweet with little Harper (hence her 2Pea-Name "harpersmama") gracing the pages of many of her layouts. The layouts below have all been inspired by some piece of linen, bedding or textile & we hope you're inspired to look closely at your own fabrics!

From Stephanie:

What's this?! It's the fabulous & now sold out Scrapmuse Butterfly Dreams kit that will go to one lucky Linen-Inspired Participant! Comment on this post with your Linen-Inspired layout and we will randomly pick a winner in two weeks! Click here for the full kit contents (way cute!)

By Donna:

Inspired by the "I'm so there" commercials, Donna created an amazing design with heartfelt journaling about her "place".

By Cat:

Check out the texture! Popsheet painting never looks so cool!

By Amie:

Bold graphics make a simple but BIG impression!

By Christine:

Simple & elegant

By Vicki:

Her quilted pillow inspired Vicki's adorable vintage-inspired fabric floral mini album. For a full aray of photos of the album visit Vicki's blog!

By Jill:

Block patterns make a striking (and great uni-sex) border!

By Jaime:

Modern Retro pattern & colors inspired Jaime's textured background!

By Lana:
Soft colors & patchwork patterns inspired this digi page. All elements from CatScrap.com

Watermelon Mountain De-LIGHT!

2008-09-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Today's post brought to you by Watermelon Mountain Designs. There are just two days left to participate in the IIM 7 Windows & Doors post! When you play along comment to the IIM7 post with your layout link and you'll be in the mountain mix to win this blue beaded beauty from Donna. Stay Inspired!

Mid-Post Inspiration & Poll

2008-09-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

I hope every one's Wednesday finds them well! Don't let this birdcage deter you, keep working on your Window & Door inspired layouts, but we also have a little mid-post inspiration to jump the juices!

We also want to ask your opinion about the blog layout. Do you like it wide or would you prefer it more narrow for concise reading? I recently made my blog "skinny" after visiting & being inspired by Christine's. I know how I Inspire Me looks in my browser but I thought it was a good idea to poll the readers. Use the poll to the right to tell us what you think!

The scrolls on this birdcage inspired the small wall hanging for my daughter's room. These were some especially beloved photos I took of her and I wanted to display them in a cute way that I can still later put into an album. The thought bubble "stop it mom!" is not just a thought, she always says this in her "I'm grown up" way when she's tired of picture time! :)

IIM 7 - Windows, Doors & More!

2008-09-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

Did you Hear?! :)

Two of our very own I Inspire Me contributors are the newest Memory Makers Masters! Yay! We couldn't be more proud of Jaime Warren & Christine Drumheller! They are both amazing designers & photographers. I know I speak for everyone when I say I'm SO Excited to be a Memory Maker subscriber with them on the team! Congrats girls!!

Visit the Memory Makers Masters blog for projects & more blogging goodness by all the Masters. Jaime's recent post shows some adorable paper-made jewelry - you must to check it out.

We just can't let go of our previous jewelry theme! To again show our appreciation for all the I-Inspired participants & readers, we are having another give-away with this post! And this one is a personal treasure from our own Donna Whalen. She is not only a scrap-tastic paper & digi artist, but also jewelry designer. Visit her online shop Watermelon Mountain Designs. Thank you Donna for your generous Watermelon Gift!! It is SO pretty, there will be one lucky girl in two weeks!

So girls, go soak in all the scrappy goodness below, get inspired by the Windows & Doors Theme, make your own page and post here to win this beautiful piece! This theme runs until Sept 16th to enter to win. Just post a link to your layout in this post's comments.

The Good News just keeps coming! This week our Guest Girl is Rebekah Robinson. She is a regular participant here at IIM and we love her! She is also a published scrapper, a beautiful scrapper and most importantly a super friendly scrapper. Her pages have a way of being bold & girlie at the same time. Her bright photography always inspires me to focus on quality head shots and we are so happy she's sharing with us this week! She is regular at 2Peas and ScrapbookHeaven, search "RebekahR" to chat it up with her. Thanks Rebekah!!

By Rebekah:

She was inspired by her window & its decor. She mimicked the diamond shape & added flourish accents just as her vine decoration accents her window.

By Rebekah:

Her scrap room curtains & lamp shade are both designed in black & white with fun pom pom trim. Her page, a personal story of her own, was inspired by room. She added black & white atop a tan background just like her room.

By Vicki:

She used the rich texture & pattern of her curtains as inspiration for mixing strips of differing patterns. This page is of Vicki's niece Neely from the band Tilly & the Wall. They make really cool music! They were on the premier episode of 90210 last night! Comment if you saw them, share with us what you thought. Congrats Tilly & The WALL!

From Jill: (She is master of words, this description is straight from the source.)

"I started observing these "blah" items closely, and realized that little beauties can be found in the most surprising places. Take the curtains that I used for my inspiration this week (see pic). Boring cream-colored curtains, right? Not quite. The more I looked at them, the more I noticed the vintage-y feel and the charming scallops and the lovely lacy edging. It's crazy to think that these have been in my house for years, and I've never really given them a second look."

Beautiful photo & layout Jill! Perfect example of what I Inspire Me is all about!

By Aime:

Unassuming 5 panel wooden door? Maybe. But it inspired this page of Aime's that is so beautiful I first thought it was created digitally. With paint and some great imagination she made a page full of motion & interest to capture her daughter's super-hero energy.

By Lana:

"I do love my door. It lets in tons of light & the curving pewter coordinates with our modern decor. But the tiny red flowers reflected through the glass are always catching my eye when I walk by. I used the colors & reflection theme as inspiration for this page about how I've grown up myself and now have a daughter who looks so much like me when I little.

By Cat:

Also inspired by her door, she used the square glass blocks as a pattern for her design. She layered papers for a shabby chic look but kept everything in a small area, always framing her photo making it the main focal point of this cool page.

By Christine:

She was inspired by both her front door (pictured in the actual layout) and her dining room drapes. She mimicked the curtain folds by using Amy Butler Fabric and pleating it behind the photo. Great idea Christine!

By Sasha:

This window isn't from her own home but Sasha loved it all the same. It was taken from her hotel stay during a San Fransisco, CA trip. It is beautiful piece of architecture that lent itself so well pulling textural details into her page; the stitched border, the mellow yellow color, the retangular grid of photos & the top flourish.

From Lana:

I made these curtains myself for my daughters' room. I adore the bright colors and "patchwork" pattern trimmed in white feathery cuteness.

By Donna:

She pulled from the fun colors, vertical stripes and blue gem accents to create this digi page. The curtain tie back was inspiration for the floral flourish positioned 2/3 down the page. Great sketch Donna!

Stationary Inspired Winner!

2008-08-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

Anastasia!!

Even though her blog posts are in Russian I can still read Inspired scrappiness when I see it! She used her notebook's design as her page inspiration and I think it is adorable!! Congrats Anastasia! Email iinspireme@hotmail.com with your addy and your Scrap Magie kit will be arriving soon! We love that you played along and we loved your page even more!

Angie, Jennie & Rebekah are some other fab scrappers who were Self Inspired and we love them for it!! Click their names to visit their blogs & view their pages!

We hope you enjoyed the Stationary-Inspired weeks and come back to share your Jewelry-Inspired layouts by Sept 3rd! Who knows! There might be some new 'school shoes' in it for ya' ;)

IIM 6

2008-08-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Here Here!! Welcome in our Jewelry themed Wednesday with Kimmi Achord as our Featured Guest this post!! Kimmi's pages have been catching my eye in the galleries because her full color layouts are loaded great with details and fun goodies but always in an orderly, thoughtful way that is so pleasing to the eye. One example: this "Photo Booth". This page might be the coolest use of the lovely Hambly chandelier I've ever seen!

Kimmi, thank you for joining us this week!! We totally love seeing your work here at I Inspire Me!!!

Reminder! Last week's GIVE-AWAY window will remain open until Thursday morning, the 21st of August. So post your STATIONARY themed pages to the previous post and you can get in on that Scrap Magie kit!!

So before we get to all our layouts let me talk a bit about them. Our page ideas all came from a piece of jewelry that we loved, and almost (not all) but almost all of us used bracelets! Go figure! :) But the diverse details we saw in them came through in the different array of pages made. Wild colors, soft colors, shimmer details, line details; different but all good stuff.

I hope you are inspired to look into your jewelry box for a new layout!

By Kimmi:

Hello To You Back in Nebraska, Vicki & Cat!!! Say hi everyone!! They scrapped their IIM pages TOGETHER this week while visiting. What a cool treat to see you both framed on the blog to personally share your layouts with us! By Cat

By Vicki:

By Lana:

By Delaney:

By Donna:

By Christine:

By Amie:

By Jill:

IIM 5

2008-08-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

It's our every other Wednesday here at I Inspire Me and we have a big BIG post to share!

Where should you take your brain for inspiration: Stationary

When should you comment here with your layout link: Within the next 2 Weeks (Aug 20)

* Admin note * If you upload at TWOPEAS be sure to check the "I Inspire Me 5 - Stationary" Member Challenge gallery option in your upload.

What could you win just for playing along: A SCRAP MAGIE Kit!

This kit below in fact! Scrap Magie has a very unique concept: each month they have 2 or more different Guests Designers from around the world. Their kit club offers Inspiration, Step by Step Techniques, weekly Challenges, Columns and more. Plus add-ons, private classes and extra projects each month.

This week we have TWO Guest Features, Sarah Klemish and Aude Touzot!! I *heart* both of these girls because they scrap from their heart and they both take amazing photographs.

Sarah has been on many manufactures design teams in the past but now enjoys a more relaxing pace with just 2 primary gigs; Two Peas in a Bucket and BHG Scrapbooks Etc. Thank you Sarah for joining us this week!! By Sarah:

This striking design of pattern, quadrants & a center banner lent itself to Sarah's style so well. The flourish, butterfly and text all draw your eye in to her cheery photo.

Aude Touzot or "Audephil" as most of you know her by, is another scrapper who's family-focused pages always inspire me. I was lucky enough to get to know Aude 3 years ago on the ScrapMuse message boards. Her candid, full-of-life photos and "embellished/linear" design always speaks to how great a wife & proud mother she is. She's a modest one though! So please send big praises her way and lets turn those French cheeks red, she deserves it! Thank you so much Aude for joining us this week! Your work is lovely!

By Aude:

She was inspired by the graphic outline, cherry detail, font type of this stationary set and interpreted it beautifully to her multi-photo, 12x12 page.

By Donna:

Donna turned a sheet of cork board into a canvas-like piece of wall art by treating it with gesso and green tint. This is a genius idea for these inspiring images and design picked up from a few magazines. Notice how the "weight" of the colors she used in each row lighten as they lengthen. This creates harmony between the all different images.

By Delaney:

Need I explain? Sometimes the best ideas can also be the simplest. Delaney's twist of soft colors must be mentioned though. By choosing papers of the same subtle tones she was able to mix & match many patterns & colors.

By Sasha:
This colorful, multi-tip highlighter would never have guessed it could inspire such a great design! Sasha pulled from it color, shape and even the child-like essence of it's daisy shape to make this dandy-lion digi page for her daughter's photos.

By Cat:

Cat brought the motifs in this notepad to life by hand cutting, then beautifully stitching a border around them. She added texture to the background with stamping and more machine stitched outlines of the same leaf design. Notice how by stamping a pattern on the title letters how much interest it adds. It is an inspiring work that decorates the two men in her life.

By Aimie:

This entire set of stationary notes not only inspired her to use the design, it inspired her to USE them as a minibook for all her beachy, summer photos. Just a few tags and a little paint as "extras" and those note cards are fit for the coffee table to share!

By Vicki:

This "thank you" card provided cool stripes and a slightly retro color combo for Vicki to use as her main background. She spiced it up a little with scallops & flowers as accents. Notice how the main color, blue, "pops" out and moves your eye around the page & to the photo.
By Christine:

These two pieces together inspired Christine's layout. The file folder for the layout's journaling & extra photos, and the notebook for the cover's colors. Seeing the function of the folder and reading all the snippets about her boy being 3 totally inspired me want to get back to the fundamentals and beef up my pages with plenty of pictures & details!

Christine also used the bright colors, book paper and random flowers as ideas to add to this 3 card set.

By Jamie:

Jamie found this stationary by Designer Photo Imaging on Etsy and was inspired by its flourishy style and wanted to mimic the swirls, flowers and gorgeous font.

By Lana:

The three tiers (picture, shelf & desk) of our home office area inspired me to use 3 rectangles for my layout's 3 element (title, journaling & photos). I even broke up the photos into thirds as the desk drawers do to its whole. The off centered lamp is interpreted in the layout as the blue flower. The chipboard letters were originally pink. I knocked off the color with a few swipes of my sanding block then used Marvy Matchables ink to recolor them.

This file folder's cover design inspired the simple, rounded corners of the mat around the picture. I mimicked the pop of yellow with extra lettering and added dimension to the page by putting the photo on pop dots.

By Jill:

Being a teacher Jill receives a lot of thank you notes & cards of appreciation. This one she kept, for it's meaning... and lets face it, its cool design! She arranged her photos and pattern paper in a slender line like the card, but needed a place for her journaling as well. So after handwriting three paragraphs she ancored the text with pop dotted gold stars.

Welcome Sasha & Ranie!

2008-07-31T19:34:00.000-07:00

In your best I Inspired way, please welcome our 2 newest regulars!! [[yips, yays & applause!!]]

Sasha Farina, bright, fun & eclectic. Her style is unique and versatile; she does layouts, cards, minis, one-photo, multi-photo... girl's got some great ideas in that creative mind! Check out her gallery here and her blog here!

Ranie O'dell, whimsical, delightful & digi. Her style is light-hearted and full of surprise touches that make me marvel in all the pages' details. You can find her gallery here or visit Catscrap.com, where you can also check out the digi store she runs. I know Catscrap is one my faves, check the IIM banner. ;)

We are going to miss Tessa & Suzanne who both have become so busy this summer with booming businesses. Visit Tessa's Etsy shop to see her adorable works. And be sure to catch up with Suzanne's cooking on her blog.

Thank you to the two regulars leaving us, for your time and GORGEOUS layouts. And THANK YOU to the two regulars joining us!! We are so excited to see what inspires you!

Summer Time!

2008-07-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

It is here indeed and we have another hot layout to inspire us. It's about midway through our Clothing-Inspired set and we hope you have been seeing your outfits in new ways and will share with us what you've come up with! Participation could mean goodies, you never know!

By Cindy
The title idea from this butterfly design is so unique but add to it the way she incorporated the photos - it's fabulous! Cindy shows how we can combine a large elaborate title if we pair with it a simple line of matted photos. The two elements meet 2/3 down the page for a pleasing, flowing design.

IIM 4

2008-07-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

Gooo00OOO0oooood Post-CHA-Wednesday Morning to you!!

This has been a busy few weeks for much of the scrapping world with the Summer CHA show happnin' in Chicago last week. If you went to the show, drop us a comment and share how it was! Many of the I Inspire Me girls were there doing their 'booth time' for various manufacturers and it certainly shows because the scrappy mojo is flowing as per usual this round! So without further yackity-yack we'll get this Clothing Themed Inspired post started!

Our Guest this week is Michelle Filo!

She hails from Canberra Australia and has a blazing hot blog filled with hybrid projects & how-to's that make my jaw drop. Her latest angel album is whimsical genius at its best! Thank you so SO much Michelle for sharing your work with I Inspire Me!!

By Michelle:

* Tattoo-Chic Pattern * Rich Colors * Overlay Details *

By Aime

* Funky Printed Font (recreated in PS, genius ;) * Hip Pink & White Colors *

By Suzanne

* Energetic Pink Colors * Confection-esque Font * Bold Left Alignment *

By Jaime

* Soft Purple Color Scheme *Floral Accents * Dotted Circle Details *

By Vicki

* Black & White Mixed Patterns * Single Pops of Pink * White Stitching Detail *

By Delaney

* Linen Fabric Texture * Layered Shabby-Chic Floral * Polka-Dot Accent *

By Donna

* Blue & Green Colors * Horizon Line Balance * Pink Accents *

By Christine

* Clean Linear Lines * Bold Simple Title * Muted Soft Background *

This Train!

2008-07-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Needs a final caboose! Our IIM3 post isn't over quite yet. Not without Jaime's layout, check it out! She pulled the colors in the fruit, the reds & greens, and paired them against the deep brown background. Adorably juicy!

IIM 3

2008-07-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

What a post we have today! Layouts, a RAK and TWO, yes TWO

featured guests: Doris Sander & Danielle Layton !!

We all send you girls a big cyber >hug< for your added eye candy. With all these layouts, the recent long weekend, and CHA releases I'm feeling veeerrry inspired! And so are all you scrappers! Check out the the fun everyone's been having with their I Inspired ideas.
http://stampymcstamperson.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-inspire-challenge-iim2.html
http://addictedscrappers.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=3154
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1361098
http://raquites.blogspot.com/2008/07/happy-independence-day.html#links

And who's the winner of the Crafty Secrets Stamps & Journaling Notes you ask?

Yay Raquites!!

Email iinspireme@hotmail.com with your addy and let the mail-stalking begin. :)

Enjoy the layouts this week and I hope you're inspired to play along again!

The theme for next week: your Cloths/Shoes/Outfit.

We have two wonderful girls guesting this week. I've been seeing their faces and admiring their work for a number of years at a small website you might know called 2Peas In a Bucket? Not familiar? Kidding, of course we know 2Peas! :) These girls are both super talented, super sweet and super published I might add! They both have wonderful blogs so be sure to click on their banners below and catch up with them!

By Doris:

In her words (I couldn't describe it any better ;) "My inspiration was a pair of white plates I have. One is vintage milkglass my mother gave me and the other is one I picked up at Pier One a few years ago. I've always wanted to do a white-on-white layout and this challenge was the perfect opportunity. I used the raised stripe and floral patterns as a jumping off place to add lots of texture to my tone on tone creation." Texture indeed, and its gorgeous Doris!

Speaking of 2Peas, Danielle can we have a quick Q&A before checking out your pages?

Question: I see you are a big 2Peas girl - why do you feel so at home there? Did the website help you begin scrapping? Danielle: It's complicated! I started scrapbooking 5 years ago, and I was lucky enough to be on a design team for a store called My Daughters Wish. I was befriended, mentored, and inspired by the other members of that team (Erica Hernandaz, Shannon Montez, Joanna Bolick, Melodee Langworthy, Joy Bohon) As those girls went on to bigger things, I followed them to 2 peas. But I didn't really start posting my work until the last 6 months though. In Oct 2005 my husband was badly injured and nearly killed in Iraq. Add to that a pregnancy, new baby, and 3 moves later, I finally found 2 peas again.
My favorite thing about 2 peas is that even though it is a huge site, it really is just a small community passionate about scrapbooking. And it doesn't matter whether you create and post everyday or only on Tuesdays ending in 7, you will find someone who does the same thing and they get it. I love that it's an international community and I meet people from all over the world. Wonderful, talented, inspiring people. Yep, I love 2peas.

Question: Describe one life scenario where you instantly thought to yourself "this will make a great page!"
Danielle: I was a new mom, and my son (then 2 months old) was sound asleep. I laid him gently on the couch to get some water, and my pug dog Sami immediately curled up next to him. I reached for the camera instead of the water. It was the moment I knew that everything was going to be ok, that our little family would work just fine. I still haven't scrapped that page, I've got big expectations for it that I can't meet yet.

By Danielle:

What a rich & whimsical layout this turned out to be! Danielle choose a full texture patterned paper to make this 'smile' page that was inspired by her bedroom throw pillows. The texture, the way the pattern is overlayed and full of depth... it's as beautiful as her little one!

The pool layout was inspired by her bathroom towel. Dirty laundry you're thinking? Nope! Not for Danielle, she saw the bright summery colors against the bright white that laid out the sketch of the page. Adorable take Danielle!

By Donna:

Isn't her kitchen citrus heaven?! It is a beautiful, cheery vision, even if her layout's subject matter isn't. I can 100% appreciate a dig-deep, journal-driven page and Donna framed these important words beautifully with the colors in her kitchen.

By Vicki

Notice how Vicki pulled in even the red accent color of the bottom plate into her layout in the far corners, design can be found anywhere and these colors meld like butta'. She even incorporated the straight lines of the stripes with the curves of the shapes!

By Delaney:

Delaney's mug is a perfect example that we buy & already own what we love. The pink & black swirl is so much her style and lends itself wonderfully to this clean lined page about her mom... a graphic designer in training for sure!

By Christine:

White dishes are hot this week! Christine adores this unique plate and happened upon a stamp with the same motif! She used it as inspiration for party invites. The white oval shape is represented in the scallop die cut even!

By Amie:

Unique shape= unique design. The angles in the lines of her faucet laid the sketch work for Amie's page. Even the beveled edges were inspiration for her photo rounded corners!

By Cat:

The cool colors of this package against Cat's counter top inspired her Spring layout. Very modern, very cool and very "Cat"!

By Cindy:

The color, texture and pattern for Cindy's layout were all inspired from a single storage basket. Genius!

By Jill:
A combination of these two items and their elements inspired Jill's puppy page. Totally interesting details and materials that would appeal to me too, great page Jill!

By Lana:
This goofy but oh so adorable creation by my daughter Lucy ,inspired me to get in the stick figure spirit. A fun experiment to represent children! I have a few places around the house that are ever-changing. They are spaces on bookshelves, or photo clips or frame arrangements that are always open for interchanging things like my daughter's artwork; this is one of those spots. You can see the frame is only resting against the paper.

Crafty Secrets RAK

2008-06-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Yup, another yummy give-away! I Inspired participants who link to the IIM2 post below between now & July 9th will get in on the chance to win these 2 sets of unique-vintage-cute Crafty Secrets stamps & journals. Check out their Heartwarming Vintage blog for all kinds of ideas, these are so fun for scrappers, stampers & crafters alike!

IIM 1 Rak Winner

2008-06-25T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am loving the designer eyes you girls have!! Where you are finding your inspiration is amazing!

The winner of the Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Give Away Goes to:

Amanda L!
Amanda you are the 8th link below and our winner because "sqinchie", a made-up word I used in this layout, has 8 letters in it! Email your addy to iinspireme@hotmail.com and Tattered Angles will send you the goooods. And they are gooooods! I love Glimmer Mist!

Isn't it good to get involved!? That brings me to another thought: this week's topic was very wide open as you can see by the girl's layouts below. But if you want to think ahead, think kitchen. Our next July 9th post will be inspired from the kitchen.

Here are some of the awesome You Inspired pages!! Enjoy the layouts and your weekend!

http://luv2scrappp.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-inspire-me.html http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1361098

http://3littlescraps.blogspot.com/2008/06/empty-nest.html http://www.scrapinstyletv.com/portfolio/view_layout.php?layout_id=109329&user_id=12917
http://newfienes.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-inspire-me-challenge.html

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1355113

www.schultzpartyoffive.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-inspire-me.html

http://amandalaboy.blogspot.com/2008/06/inspire-me-inspire-you.html http://tanisharenee.blogspot.com/2008/06/ive-been-inspired.html

IIM 2

2008-06-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

Good Wednesday Morning!! :) Some business first: We'll post our wonderful Glimmer Mist rak winner tomorrow (Thursday the 26th). So if any last minute scrappers out there want to play along today I'll give you till tonight to get in on this 6 bottle give-away!

Now. Away we go with an I Inspired day, these girls rocked it out........

Thank you Amy! [applause & whoohoos all around!]

Before we get to all the lovely layouts - how about a quick Q&A?

Assuming you were just as artsy as a child, what's the cutest/goofiest/silliest thing you ever made? The first thing that comes to my mind was a poster I created in elementary school. There was a poster contest for the school carnival and I entered a drawing of a horse (I was a horse-crazy child) in a field of flowers, complete with 3-dimensional, tissue flowers. I remember spending a long time at my drawing board in my room, gluing down each little square of tissue paper. I should’ve known then, I’d was destined to be a scrapbooker! Oh, and I won the contest. :-)

After winning MMM, what was the coolest thing you learned from working with Memory Makers? Shortly after winning MMM, I totally revamped my scrapbook room. I posted photos of it on the MMM blog and the editors liked them so much, they approached me about writing an article about scrapbook supply organization and creating 5 layouts to go with it. I kinda freaked out a little at first, but once I got started on it, I had a blast. I thought writing the text would be the hardest part, but the real challenge was creating 5 layouts about different aspects of my scrapbook room. In the end, I love the way those layouts turned out and now I look at things a little differently when I decide on a subject to scrap about.

Are you going to CHA this July? If so, what are you most excited to do there? Yes, I’m going to CHA! I’m so happy be helping in the Fancy Pants Designs booth again. I totally love working with those guys! Super nice people and the product rocks! But, I think what I’m most excited about is getting a weekend away from the kids. Although this will be my first time away from my little one, Josie, so I’m sure by the end of the weekend, I’ll be dying to get home. If you are going to CHA too, drop by the booth and say hi, I’d LOVE to meet ya!

By Amy:

Her colorful mixing bowls, these are called Texas Ware confetti bowls for you antique flea finders, were the inspiration for her 'baby's first bath' layout. The splatter affect is great inspiration for a water theme. She used a toothbrush and watered down acrylic paints in warms hues. It is the water & acrylic mixture that helped achieve such a beautiful & vivid texture.

By Christine:
This new purchase of Christine's sparked the memory of a particular beloved photo she was saving. Christine mimicked the title work & color scheme exactly and positioned the photo right under the largest word: love. This is beautiful and striking interpretation from a T-shirt!

By Amie:

These are Amie's favorite shoes. Funky in plaid and stylishly tattered, she recreated the same in her patterned paper by ripping, rolling and crumpling. It's the perfect added texture for these rambunctious photos of her daughter. Even the shoe's laces give inspiration for incorporating journaling strips! Details details details!

By Suzanne:
The weaving vines over the window pane inspired Suzanne use of ribbon through her daughters 6 sweet photos. The small berries are represented in the random buttons. She used the neutral tones of the wood but backed the photos onto bright yellow paper for a 'pop'.

These dishes were a birthday treat for herself. She bought them because she loved the pattern so much and by doodling the same florals on paper it makes a cool detail that I love too!

By Jill:

Talk about and eye for design! Jill didn't just see a side dish in this bowl, she saw a layout! The bright colors and chopped bits inspired her to do a 2-page multi photo layout that incorporated lots of great photos and lots of great pattern papers. Since they are in small bits, mixing mini pictures in as well, the patterns work out to a cool, clean design.

By Cat:

She found these two tiny blue notes in her son's pocket. He had written them in school, they read: D+K=B, D=Devotion, K=Kindness B=A Better Community. A better community; what a reason to scrap a page! Cat is rightfully a proud mom who's son has a big heart and he is my inspiration!

By Jaime:
The colors, patchwork pattern and textile nature of this quilt inspired Jaime's 'goofy' layout. She used the patchwork pattern in a small dose which is often all you need to achieve the design you're after. And Jaime did it beatifully here.

By Delaney:

The looped metal trim inspired Delaney to add it as a detail on this card. It really makes the card, adds texture and a unique touch. She has an eye for detail that always awes me.

By Donna:

Donna is in a southwestern state and an earthy girl at heart. I've always noticed those details in her home and here is a prime example. She used the ribbed textures, bold colors and western patterns to make this introspective layout about herself as the middle child.

By Vicki:

When I saw this cool picture of her vintage fan I couldn't image the amazing translation Vicki could spin out of it. The colors, patterns and placement of elements make this circle Page Frame layout as interesting and demour as her vintage-looking collection in the photo.

By Lana:

These iron hangings hang high on our bedroom wall and are the beginnings of a collection. They are what I look twice a day, morning and night and I love the asymmetry of where they hang. The Hambly transparencies were an easy translation for the iron but the colors needed to be lighten and I used a blue background instead.

This vase and stars sit at our front door and everytime I see them they seem to be flying out like butterflies. The glitter and natural colors inspired me to do this page of my busybee daughter doing a puzzle on the couch.

First Inspired Give Away!

2008-06-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

We are 1/2 way through our first inspiration set, remember we're here every other Wednesday! Need a little incentive-kick-in-the-scissors to get you going? Well you girls are some lucky chicks because guess which generous company will send out 6 bottles of the fabulous Glimmer Mist fall pack to one I Inspired participant next week? That's right - Tattered Angels!

So get those I Inspired layouts linked up to the "IIM June 1" post below by next Wednesday so we can know who to pick from!

The 6 colors in the fall pack (not represented below) are; Auburn, Cinnamon, Huckleberry, Sage, Simply Khaki and Twilight.

IIM June 1 !!

2008-06-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Are you near a mirror? Yes? Good. Now look in the mirror, focus positive thoughts and repeat after me; "I live to create and I inspire me." One more time. "I live to create and I inspire me." Sounds silly but I bet you feel better huh? Just a lil' reminder there for you in case you're in a 'crut'. :P Well ok, let's set the sillies aside and start this post!

Welcome scrappers! This begins the I Inspire Me challenge! Every other Wednesday we'll be here in full force (and a few extras in between =) for some new perspective and tons of eye candy to take with us into the scraproom!! The goal: to Inspire Yourself using the things you've already fallen in love with ie; your shoes, home decor, your furniture your outfits.. I could go on & on!

When I thought about the idea; starting a blog filled with lifts of ourselves essentially, I had no idea the kind of direction I'd find. You know that show, Find Your Style on HGTV? I've watched it many times and thought "Pshaw! So what! Pick out what you like, big deal. Who can't do that?" @@ Uh... Me! That's who. Sometimes. And sometimes it is MOSTtimes. But when I do what I love, inspired directly from other things I love, the scrap pages just flow out and guess what? I'm lovin' the results!

We want you all to do the same; Inspire Yourselves and share what ya' got! The girls all rocked it out in their own way, with their own details and style. We hope you find your own style, inspire yourselves and look within, or around you. Take pride in your creativity and translate it to your pages! :) Don't forget to include a photo of your original inspiration when you post your work & link up to us with a comment!

By Jaime:

This couldn't get any cuter! The ribbon tied frames on the wall are lovely and when Jaime added the same idea to her page it's a totally new use of ribbon than we normally see. The things we may not think of while sitting a our scrap tables can turn out be genius ideas!

By Vicki:

She used the triadic color scheme found in her summery counter top vignette. Vicki created the same 'vintage' feel of her kitchen in her layout by the use of lace details, gingham ribbon and machine sewing. Since these colors together are pleasing to the eye in real life, there's no reason to think they wouldn't also 'pop' from a layout - and Vicki proves that with this delightful page.

By Jill:
Ideas are born in unusual places. Jill was busy in her house when this laundry basket caught her eye. Behind the white grid openings peeks another bag revealing a black pattern. Her grid design is enhanced in the same way; by adding small surprising photos, unexpected rubons, interesting patterns and her personal journaling of 11 lessons learned after 11 years of marriage.

Congrats on your anniversary Jill!! 11 years, now that is very inspiring!!

By Tessa:

Color, color and fun patterns! Isn't that so Tessa? I love how her assembly of scraproom chatskies inspired the contrasting colors and black details in her feline layout. She replicated the blue background in the paper layering and added a 'dash' of black in her handmade frame.

By Delaney:

The classic tone-on-tone stripe pattern in Delaney's beautiful piece of furniture inspired her 'Class of '01' layout. She layered strips of similar papers in muted sage colors to reflect the same elegance she loves in her chair. It is a perfect use of design for this meaningful layout about wearing her Honors sash.

By Donna:

Her hubby's woodwork is found everywhere around their house. Donna broke from her recent "norm" and went wild with acrylic paint creating the main circular design. She used the same warm colors she lives in which is perfect for her outdoorsy, candid photo of her 20 year old self. And don't miss her journaling; it'll make you chuckle! :)

By Lana:
Lana's beaded bracelet is a new fave of hers. And since the warmer weather has arrived she's been living in these shorts and white tank. She machine sewed stripes on the tan paper to reflect the same ribbed texture. The round beads were translated into the pop of teal color found in the die cut clouds under the title.

By Amie:

Amie mimicked her table's ornately painted detail by creating a handmade border. Her daughter's beautiful layout is as sophisticated and eye catching as the piece of furniture is in her home. This set shows how easy it is to recreate what your decor style is on a page.

By Cindy:

Her kitchen proudly displays these framed spices and how perfect a page topic is it that her sweet daughter is snacking on yummies? The grid pattern was Cindy's jump start for this page design, such a cute way to include 6 small photos. Wouldn't this make a great sketch!?

By Cat:

She used eclectic elements against a stark but warm background just as she has in her office bookcase. Cat's interesting self portrait contrasts in black. More warm browns & yellows are picked up in the details. And the topic of interest is even more relevent, she says she "IS NOT wrinkle free". Now her antique inspirations have an even deeper meaning.

By Christine:

And last but ceeerrrtainly not least are Christine's two layouts. Both are inspired from - you guessed it - a bottle of shampoo! The theme, logo, title and subtitle all were elements she beautifully translated into pages about her children and the raising of them. The second one, "wash rinse & repeat" is a clever title that inspires me to look twice at any product labels for cute sayings and witty titles.

PSA - upcoming eyecandy!..........................................

2008-06-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Just and FYI for any peekers out there. Our first official post will be this week!
And for those who plan to play along, know two things:
1)The Focus is on Details
2)A RAK will go out to a detailed & lucky participant!!!

Intro & Our First Inspirations..........................................

2008-05-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hey hey scrappers!

I got this crazy fun idea and thought it might make a cool inspiration blog that we can all participate in! The idea is simple; I inspire me & you inspire you! Thus the title "I INSPIRE ME". Not enough description? What if I said it like this: we get our page ideas from ourselves by looking around at what we already love and have chosen to have in our lives. You see I've recently been in a creative rut (aka "crut") and today realized I could really benefit from lifting my own ideas that I'd already thought of!! These creative ideas are in how I decorate my home, how I dress, how I organize my cupboards... literal translations from a 3D home to a 12x12 page.

So this "I Inspire Me" blog is as much a photo challenge as it is a scrapping challenge. Look around your home in new ways.
If you like how your pictures sit on the mantel - use it as a page design!
If you like how your shiny jewelry sparkles off the dresser - make some metallic embellishments!
If you love cords in the fall - make a corduroy fabric background!
Large scale, big walls or detailed finishes - whatever you love - translate it to scraps.

And be sure when you post your pages to also post the real source - that's where the fun is!
Is the idea alone not enough to you join in? Well I can't promise anything by the way of RAKs or sponsored goodies but given some time & interest I'll see what I can do!!

So that begins our first 2 weeks!! I'm excited to see what you see!

By Lana
The source for my first page is this mirror vignette in my bathroom. I hung them together for my daily full/body/get/dressed purpose. What I love about this view are the colors; white, aqua, green & teal.

This next photo, the side view of a window blind, gave me three ideas in one:
- the sheer wavy layers (which I was originally thinking of using tissue)
- the wavy right edge (which the chipboard was tailor made for) and
- the wave texture stencil used with white paste