Tuesday, July 14, 2020

What "Inkspires" You Blog and Video Hop

Greetings friends and fellow crafters. LeeAnn here with a creative post for Create and Inkspire. The question behind this post is "What Inkspires You" as in   "What made you fall in love with cardmaking? A technique? A stamp company? A crafter?" ... well... I think back to when I first started crafting. 

I want to fly away to see my grandbabies, my daughters are the reason I started crafting in 1998 and the grandbabies are the reason I got back into it in 2014. 

Today... my card is made using Alcohol inks and Dollar Tree stickers. The black layer of cardstock and the poster board I did my ink blending on also came from Dollar Tree (their poster board works great with Alcohol Inks), and so much cheaper than YUPO!!! I used alcohol blender solution, along with Aqua, Sailboat Blue and Silver Mixatives to create my background. This is such a fun way to play around. My inked layer is 3.75" x 5", with the black layer being 4" x 5.25" and my cardbase is 4.25" x 5.5" top folding, American Sized A2.

Up next in the hop is Laura and her fun video

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MY TOTAL BACK STORY, 


You really don't have to read it all if you don't want to, but if you want to know about me and how I got started... well here it is. 

It was 1998 and my girls were 10, 8 and 7. We lived in Georgia and all the rest of our family and friends  that they grew up with lived in Florida. I knew we were going to be moving back to Florida soon, but wanted memories of our life up in Georgia and the friends they had made. Facebook wasn't a think, we had AOL and messenger and otherwise they talked on the phone, imagine that. 

Anyway, I went to a Scrapbook get together, and bought all the stuff. Came home, started pages, and album and had fun. Then we moved back to Florida. Didn't take long for me to be invited to a Scrapbook get together and I knew I was all for it, I went, bought more stuff and signed up to sell it myself. I had get togethers at our home monthly and we had a great time. Stamping was started out and I said HECK NO, I will not be doing that, I don't want to have 500+ stamps so I have everything I want to say in 5 different fonts, I will just use the computer. 

Low and behold life happened, and all my product was gone.I was so upset over it, as i had a couple thousand dollars in product and albums and memories gone.

THEN, I remarried, and there was a scrapbook superstore in Pigeon Forge, TN where we honeymooned... OMG, that place was big and I spent $80 without thinking. Still no stamps, got home and never touched it. 

Fast forward 2 years and my daughter said she was pregnant... well that was the end of it. I had to have all the things started looking at Cricut or Cameo... decided on Cameo. Started with the vinyl kit, sentiments, designs and all cut with vinyl or paper only. We lived in a small town, only place to shop was Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart, unless we drove over an hour either way. 

I started making cards because not all family had computers and facebook. 

These are the first cards I ever made...

The first card below was for my Aunt, she helped raise me and I owe everything I am to her. She loved the cards I would make for her, and would call me when she received one. Aunt Eloise was 81 when I started making my cards, and sadly we lost her 3 years later.
This second card was for my Mother in Law, she is just the best. She has done so much for my husband and I in the years we have been together and she still has this card now, sitting on the shelf in the living room. She is the first one that ever asked me to make cards for her, I made 100 the next Christmas for her to send out to family and friends. This is the reason I do not make 2 of the same card if at all possible now. LOL.


This last card is one i made for my daughter when she was pregnant with my grandson, my first biological grandchild. I was so proud of this card, she has it in the box with all my grandsons baby keepsakes. Makes me a proud mama and Mimi. 

Eventually I did turn to the wild side, it only took about 3 months... August 2014 we went to Virginia for my grandsons birth, yeah I bought some Craigslist packs while up there, a bunch of wood mount stamps, inks, paper, tools and fun. Now, I have a room full of love, I'm happy with my clear stamps, never did get with the wood mount and have given them away. But something I also do from time to time is stroll the craft section and Dollar Tree to see what fun I could have.

Then I found Design Teams, I have been on at least one team since September 2015, and have so loved almost every minute of it. Sometimes getting projects completed at the last second, while other times getting projects done days, weeks and sometimes months before they are due. I love it when I am able to do that, but sometimes that isn't always possible. 




19 comments:

  1. Beautiful card, LeeAnn! I love that background. It was fun reading your story on how you got into cardmaking. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Love your story beautiful card tyfs what inspired you.

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  3. I love that your daughters inspired you but your grandbabies were the push you needed. I started scrapbooking when I was pregnant with my oldest, now almost 23 and haven't stopped playing with paper since. It is so neat to hear how everyone started. I love your card too. Alcohol inks are super fun and I've played with some dollar tree stickers too, lots of fun quick cards have been made with those. Great job LeeAnn.

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  4. I have had fun too seeing what goodies I can use in our Dollar store too!

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  5. That is a great reason for cardmaking. Family seems to be alot of the inspiration! Thank you for the Dollar Tree tips. I have a very small budget and look for any method of saving so I can continue to craft. TFS

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  6. Wonderful story and card!

    Hugs,
    Mary Ellen
    https://www.creativetimewithme.com/

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  7. LeeAnn, I love your card but I especially loved your story. Isn't it funny how life turns and changes and makes our crafting evolve over the years? I'm amazed you have been on a DT for years. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Great card, LeeAnn...I especially love the alcohol ink background...so pretty! Loved reading your story! Nice hopping with you!

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  9. love your story and your cards..sooo cute..

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  10. I love your card and I very much enjoyed reading your story about how you got started ❤️ thanks.

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  11. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BUTTERFLIES!! Your story about Aunt Eloise, your Mother Inlaw & Daughter’s cards & the stories why you made them is so sweet! So sorry for the lose of Aunt Eloise. I’m so glad that you found crafting & scrapbooking to make cards for the ones that mean so much to you!! I look forward to more stories & cards!! God Bless & the Love of Christ to you & yours!!

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  12. Love the alcohol background! Your card for your aunt is so sweet. I love that your family has kept the cards you made. Shows how much you mean to them and they appreciate the work that goes in to making them! ❤️

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  13. I love your alcohol inked card and I too buy the dollar store packs of poster board for alcohol inks. I also like using the For Sale or Beware of Dogs signs!!! While it sucks to have lost so much in product and pages, I'm betting you are in a better place now and everyone is still as appreciative for your cards as they would have been of the pages. And of course the grands will get both and be spoiled, as it should be! Loved learning how you go into it and am contemplating a trip to Pigeon Forge just to go shopping in a real scrapbook store again! LOL So glad to be hopping with you today!

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  14. Beautiful alcohol inking! It's always fun to look back at our earlier projects. I know my style has changed a lot since I started. Thanks for sharing your story!

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  15. Beautiful card and story! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. LeeAnn, I love your story! Believe me, I completely understand as I’m sure the rest of us do as well! It’s so wonderful that we are able to express love & joy through crafting regardless of what it is, as long as it’s from the heart and handmade. Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us & I wish you all the best! Blessings & joy!!!

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  17. How nice to get to know you, LeeAnn!!! I too use the posterboard from dollar tree for my alcohol inking. Nice to know there are other thrifty crafters out there

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  18. So beautiful card, LeeAnn! It was so nice reading your story and learning more about you :)

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  19. Love your story LeeAnn!! and the card is just beautiful Thanks so much for sharing

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