The Morning After Post....Where do you find inspiration?

My my my...... last night I was feeling overwhelmed with all the new steps to set up a blog...and today I think I am off to a more relaxed start..  A friend reminded me that the point of blogging is not to get overwhelmed in the technical and lose site of what you want to accomplish here.  Thank you Amber Swift and Patsy Waggoner for the step by step advice....Your advice has helped me step back and take this bit by bit.

Here goes...

Good Morning Ya'll---

It is a blustery winter morning at my home and I am sure that now it is starting to feel more like winter with a little white fluff on the ground for those native to Minnesota......
This Mississippi girl likes it warm, with LOTS of sunshine.  

Today I want to start simple..

Where do you get your inspiration to create?  

I think that it is amazing where stampers find inspiration.  It can be a card they have gotten in the mail, a magazine article, casing other wonderful stampers, a quote, even a spur of the moment thought can lead to creating something amazing.  Now don't let that scare you because sometimes I go through several examples before I get to what I would call workable progress for me....That doesn't mean that you are not creative or that you have bad ideas it just means that we all find our perfection in our own way.

My inspiration today came from the SWAP cards from a stamping event that I attended last Saturday.  I love to participate in card swaps with other wonderful stampers.  It is a great way to get new ideas and to gain a number of different cards that you can mail to your friends and family.  (This is my New Years Resolution for 2015)  

Just in case you are not sure what a card swap is here is my definition as to what it means to me. Now with different stamp groups this could vary as to what supplies we need to use.

Card Swap- Making a set number of the identical cards to SWAP with other stampers, each bringing a different card to swap.  If you are a stamper then you know that identical is just a word.  Stamping is not perfection unless that is the way the stamper sees them.  Perfection is in the eye of the beholder after all.

Saturday's Stamp Swap featured some of the brightest Stampin Up Demonstrators that I have had the pleasure of meeting.  We spent the morning making wonderful projects with the new Stampin Up Occasions Catalog Supplies.  With the new Occasions and Sale-a-bration  Promotion this was a great way to see the products that our customers can earn for free with a $50 order.  Be sure to check out my demonstrator site to see first hand what all the excitement is about.
 Just visit http://southernbellestamp.stampinup.net and be sure to select me as your demonstrator so that you will get a surprise in the mail, and in turn help me keep my New Years Resolution.

Here are some of the Card Samples: Thanks ladies for sharing....

Amanda Marks

Amber Lembcke Swift

Christine Schmidt

Deb Klaphake

Denise Hanson

Eileen Niemeier

Mary Shepstone Beers

Michelle Lembcke

Patsy Mullen Waggoner

Traci Finseth

Each swap features the artist that created them.  I have to give credit to these talented ladies....They so deserve it don't you think..

And here is my card....The first card was my swap, and the second card is a stepped up card that I did.  I added a cut flower to the front under the bow, and I embossed the 3rd step, in this three step stamping process,  to give it highlights. The inside of both cards were the same.  The Lotus blossom set is one of my new favorites of the Sale-a-bration series...You will want to see what other exciting FREE stuff you can earn, with a $50 order.  I love the word FREE don't you?

Here is the front of the Swap Card I made.

Here is a stepped up version.

Here is the inside of both cards.

Stepped up: just means that I took the same idea and just expanded it a bit with more details such as punches, bling, rhinestones,pearls, brads, glitter, etc....

We are all creative in our own way....I just love sharing some of my creativity with others...

If you like sharing your creativity or are looking for ways to have a creative night out, then I'm your gal...I offer stamping classes for my friends and customers, so be sure to check my Stampin Up site for the next class, and join me so we can share our creativity at the same time :0)

What a fun time to share ideas!!!  I hope ya'll feel inspired today to create your own cards to share....

Don't ya'll be strangers, stop by and visit again soon.