Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday!
We’re inspired by many things when we create. For some, it’s trends. For others, it’s seeing another designer’s work. For others, it’s items found in our day-to-day lives – in advertising, or in shops, or when we take a walk.
Perhaps one of the greatest sources of inspiration is Mother Nature. From the beauty of flowers to the delicacy of a feather, inspiration is all around.
Personally, I’m inspired by all these things. Each has their place. I’m mostly a trends person, but anything that sparks my creative juices – natural or man-made – can have an impact.
The reason I’m waxing lyrical about inspiration, and especially that found in nature, is because the latest Stamp of Approval Collection from Catherine Pooler is about to hit the shelves, and a whole deluge of inspiration with it!
If you’ve not heard of Catherine Pooler’s Stamp of Approval then you are in for a treat. It is a completely curated box of exclusive supplies delivered right to your doorstep! Amidst the gorgeous box and hidden in that pretty wrapping is an *awesome* collection of not-yet-on-the-market stamps, dies, and maybe even a couple of other surprise goodies too – all expertly designed and selected for each box to match, coordinate and amaze. The products in each box are only available as an entire collection and won’t be offered for individual sale until several months from the Collection’s release date, so they’ve got that whole exclusivity thing going on. AND just like that Christmas Morning/surprise gift, the first time you see the entire contents of the box is when you unwrap it for yourself! How fun is that?!
Oh, and one more thing. These babies sell like hot cakes. Fresh from the oven. That’s right. If you want to be the first to the cake aisle then I recommend subscribing to the Waiting List at Catherine Pooler’s Stamp of Approval site so that you’re notified when the collections go on sale, and so you won’t be left staring at empty cake shelves. No-one wants that.
And now I want cake.
The latest Stamp of Approval Collection is being released in just a couple of days and it’s called the Naturally Inspired Collection. And inspiring it most certainly is! Catherine has been sneaking peeks of the contents of The Naturally Inspired Collection on her blog over the last few days, and the past couple of days have seen the amazing Design Team (and some special guests!) show off just what some of the items in the collection can do! I’m helping to bring up the rear for Day 3 of 3 Blog Hops to show off this *truly* amazing box of goodies with a couple of cards, and of course there’s a fantastic giveaway as well where you can win a box of your own too!
Let’s get to the cards.
For this beauty I played around with the stamps from the Wild Garden, Medallion Mix-Up, and Birds of a Feather stamp sets, to create this totally awesome dreamcatcher!
I love the whimsical nature of this card. It really feels peaceful and serene to me!
Can we talk about those feathers? The stamp is generously sized to take the focus of a card, so I created a tall, large card to work with my design. The centre feather was stamped with a mix of Bellini and It’s A Girl inks, and the two flanking feathers just with Versamark ink. But that sparkle. Oh, that sparkle. That comes from heat embossing all the feathers with the exclusive Wanderlust embossing powder that comes with the collection!
The centre of my dreamcatcher is pretty clever too, I think – it’s the dandelion image from the Wild Garden set! As you can see, I pulled out some other embossing powders for that, and for the smaller flower and the sentiment too! I blended Pumice Stone Distress Ink over my base and added splatters and mists to finish it off! I love this card so much!
For my second card, I went with a completely different look:
Gorgeous, right?! Here I brought the Wild Garden stamp set out to play in style! Just look at that gorgeous watercolour-style flowery meadow!
To create the watercolour look, I inked the stamps with various colours of Catherine Pooler inks, spritzed the stamps with water and then stamped them.If you don’t have these inks yet, seriously, do yourself a favour and go grab them. Now.
I splattered a little watered down inks too when done, to really add to the feel of the scene, then stamped the mail cancellation image/sentiment from the Birds of a Feather set to finish.
Giveaway!
So I bet you’d like to win one of these amazing collections for yourself, right? Read on!
All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is leave me a comment – and then make sure you visit the other hop destinations too to check out the amazing inspiration and increase your chances of winning by commenting there too!
Here’s your Hop line-up for today!
Catherine Pooler
Taheerah Atchia
Laurel Beard
Lydia Evans
Ingrid Blackburn
Heather North
Cynde Whitlow
As I mentioned, this is the third of three Blog Hops – and each day’s Hop has a box to give away! That’s three boxes up for grabs for three very lucky winners – and the more you comment the better your chances, so be sure to comment on every single stop of every single hop! And if you’ve already bought a box, you’ll win a $100 gift certificate instead! You can head back to Catherine’s blog to get the list for the other two days!
You have until 9am EST on Thursday 8th June to enter. Good luck!
And don’t forget that The Naturally Inspired Stamp of Approval Collection goes on general sale on Thursday! In fact, I’ll be back with another post then to remind you!
Thanks for stopping by!
Supplies
Dreamcatcher Inspiration Card
Love Wildflower Card
I especially like the water color drip card.
Beautiful cards! Love the dreamcatcher and gorgeous colors.
Your cards are absolutely breathtaking!!!
Love the watercolored look!
Elegant dream catcher and love the watercolor meadow.
You sold me! I just went and bought both sets of ink pads.
the cards are fantastic. Love the Inspiration card. The feather is so whimsical. Thanks for the design ideas and sharing your talents.
Beautiful cards. I love the softness of them.
I absolutely LOVE both of your cards!! The delicacy & the softness of both of them is so very appealing.
What great ideas you had. The feathers & the spirographs & dies are my favourites, although I am also
loving that dandelion stamp. Nature is so inspiring as are incredibly talented people like you who delight
in sharing. Thank you!
These cards are beautiful Taheerah! I love the way you used the stamps to make a dream catcher! So pretty!
Love your cards and especially the water color technique! Thank you for sharing!
So delicate and very pretty 🙂
Absolutely beautiful cards Taheerah. Such great stamps (I really love the dandelion) but the gorgeous pale colours make such an amazing impact! Well done!
Teheerah,
I LOVE your first card in how you used 3 different stamp sets from the collection. Your no line watercolor card is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing your talents and techniques. You are an inspiration to all that see your cards
Wonderful cards. Very creative.
Your cards are so beautiful and serene!
Gorgeous cards! Your first card is so ethereal looking, I was blown away at how easy it came together! Love the watercolor look of the second card too. Wonderful job!
Your cards are Amazing! They are so beautiful. I think I will have to take a walk tomorrow to find something to inspire me.
Your first card you made reminds me of a wedding card. Just beautiful cards.
Awesome cards. Very artistic.
Love how different your cards are. Shows the versatility of these products.
the dream catcher is out-of-this-world.
The background gives it a dreamy look that
is fantastic.
the wispy flowers on the second card
are wonderful.
Great cards.
thanks for sharing.
The cards are both beautiful but the card with the love postage cancelation brought a tear to my eye. My Dad was Postmaster in our town and his nickname was Lovey. I had to text a copy to my sister because Dad earned his wings two years ago this month.
Both of your cards are so surreal looking….just love thr looks of both…great job!
Oh my goodness! How completely unique and amazing that you did a dream catcher!! I am loving this! Can’t wait to get my hands on it 🙂
Absolutely elegant cards.
Wow, gorgeous cards! Love the soft and peaceful look of the dream catcher (so clever to use the dandelion for your center!) and the watercolor-y wildflowers is so serene and pretty too!
Love the look of both cards! Creativity abounds!!
I love the soft colors and loose feel of your second card! I have a hard time just letting go and see what happens. I like to control everything! But I love your card.
Lovely cards, Taheerah! The dream catcher is so inspiring. I can’t wait to order and play with this SOA collection.
Love the dreamcatcher. What a great idea.
So subtle and beautiful
Beautiful softness you created with these inks.
Taheerah you made me laugh with your “and now I want cake” comment! Your cards were CLEVER CLEVER CLEVER!!! I love the dream catcher!!! And the watercolored look is beautiful. Grear job!
Loving the soft, dreamy look to your cards! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! So pretty! Great inspiration!
Beautiful cards, love the dream catcher one.
Love the delicate look of both of the cards. How special to give one of these cards to a close friend.
Everything looks better with some gold on it…
I am 85 yrs. old and you younger girls sure inspire me to keep making cards and learning along the way. Your cards are gorgeous. TFS…
So soft and beautiful. I love your cards.
Beautiful soft crds !!
Like the creative idea of the dreamcatcher!
So lovely and delicate! Thanks!
Very pretty, great job!
The dream catcher card is sweet. Love how you did this.
absolutely gorgeous!
Amazing cards and collection. Love how you’ve put a totally different spin on the stamps of this collection. Love love love your dreamcatcher.
Taheerah…oh my goodness!! These cards are just divine!!! I love the pastel colors you used! So clean and simple….and just beautiful!! Thanks for sharing! ☺
Wow! What a different look for that dreamcatcher! Love your creativity!