As promised, I AM going to try and keep more stuff on my blog. Here we are, more stuff.

I want to encourage all crafty peeps out there, that it’s okay to copy a card. Most of the time what happens is you begin it helps break those mental blocks. I really loved this card from Vika Silmina. It’s a bit aged as these products came out a while ago. I looked at it and really wanted to use the Build-A-Tree die set that had been sitting on my desk for a bit. I loved the idea of a bear and trees so this was my launching point.

You can see where the inspiration took on its own life. I really liked the idea of the smaller scale “scene” from this card too.

While I loved the “thank you ring” die and I do own it, I decided to abandon the use of it when this card began to build itself into a more of a scene. I did get to use the Build-A-Tree set and love how it worked in this card. In case you don’t have this little lovely, You may want to check it out here.

It is my hope that you can see that finding inspiration in the beautiful designs of others is a great way to break the block. It also often pushes you to try new things. You may start off with a copy (in my opinion, the highest form of flattery) and end up with something completely different. Of course, it’s also okay to just copy a card you just like. (Be sure, of course, to give credit for the design if you post it online somewhere.)