Welcome! At Inspired By, we believe creativity can spark from the simplest things—a cozy photo, a fun sketch, or a seasonal theme. Each week we share a fresh inspiration image and a coordinating sketch to get your ideas flowing. Whether you’re into cardmaking, scrapbooking, mixed media, or any type of project, you’re invited to interpret the challenge your way. There’s no right or wrong—just inspiration and creativity. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Current Challenge

recent posts

  • Happy Bird-day

    This week’s Inspired By challenge had me scrounging through my stamp and die sets to find a bird I wanted to use. It’s always fun to rediscover an item from from my stash that hasn’t been used in a very long time. This set from Paper Smooches called Natural Beauties was not exactly what I had in mind when I started my search but, when I discovered it, I knew I wanted to use it.

    Inspiration for this card first came from the little birds on the mittens, then the colors and sketch.

    What is it about this week’s challenge that inspires you? Is it the mittens, birds, colors, textures, sketch? We hope you’re inspired to play along. ~MarDi

  • Winner… Inspired By Frozen Treats

    Oh my so many wonderful cards in the gallery last week it was hard to choose a winner!

    Renate

    These cookies just kept calling my name! Love how she used the sketch, all of the details and the texture! Congratulations Renate!

    Don’t forget to play along this week!

  • Warm Hugs, smitten mitten with Cathy

    Sharing my take on this week’s inspiration with a mitten shaped card. I was inspired by the colors and the theme. I love to create shaped cards, always been a favorite of mine. This card was created with https://www.silhouettedesignstore.com/mitten-gingerbread-cookies.html. I only used one, and did an outline shape, duplicated it and then welded it to make the card. I used the remaining pieces for the front. Lori Whitlock’s Echo Park Winter Fun collection was used to complete it.

  • Warm Winter Wishes – Laurel

    Happy Friday, today I am sharing my card for the Inspired By Challenge and I am combining it with my guest designing card for JUGS as this week is stencil week. I have used the Simon Says Stencils and Die Warm Mug and Everything Nice set. I was inspired by the mittens, colors and loosely the sketch in the Inspired By challenge. Once again too, I embossed the background with a snowflake embossing folder so I am playing along with the SSSIG challenge – Use an Embossing Folder.

    I am pretty new to stencilling and it is kind of fun! Do you use stencils a lot?

    Did you know that to play along with our challenge here at Inspired By it doesn’t have to be a card? It can be anything, as long as we can see what inspired you and it is a handmade project!

    Now we can’t wait to see how you were inspired.

  • Inspired By… Mittens

    This week’s Inspired By Challenge is stitched with sweetness and full of handmade charm! 🧵🧤 These soft felt mittens, complete with tiny birds, gingham ribbons, and rustic stitching, bring out all the nostalgic winter feels. Will it be the soft color palette, the layered details, or the homespun texture that inspires your next project? Let the inspiration photo and sketch warm up your creativity—and don’t forget to tag us when you share your mitten-made magic!

    For those of you who are new to our challenge, every week we post our inspiration photo challenge and sketch and hope that you will join us by creating a project for our challenge.

    How are you inspired? Create a project and in your post, let us know what inspired you from the photo, and don’t forget to display our inspiration photo and link back to our challenge 😊

    Now for our Design Team’s inspiration:

    Von Marie

    MarDi

    Laurel Seabrook

    Cathy Harper: Inspired By… Mittens

    Amy Tsuruta

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

    Click here to enter
    https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

  • Hey Galentine with Amy

    Hello and Happy Friday Eve! My project was inspired by the newest Inspired by Challenge: Frozen Treats

    I was inspired by the theme, colors and sketch! My card features the following products:

    • Simon Says Stamp – Galentine | die
    • MFT – Cross Stitch Circle | die*
    • Spellbinders – Small Pinking Circles | die*
    • Lawn Fawn – Stitched Snowflakes | lawn cuts
    • Pretty Pink Posh – Christmas Holder | dies
    • Pretty Pink Posh – Holiday Mug Additions | dies

    I combined the following cardstock:

    • Concord & 9th – Tidepool | cardstock
    • Spellbinders ColorWheel – Lavender | cardstock
    • PTI – Vellum | cardstock
    • Spellbinders – Gold Assortment | cardstock

    The Galentine sentiment by Simon Says Stamp is such a fantastic price point, it’s a must have!

    I was a bit late to the party but I had to play along!

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Affiliate links at no extra cost to you:

    https://linkdeli.com/widget.js?id=f5e8378456858c916708

  • Hey There Cupcake!

    Hello everyone Happy Tuesday. Von Marie here with you. It’s my day Today on the Inspired by…Blog and I am loving this weeks challenge-Frozen Treats and Card Sketch. 

    Let’s Get Started:

    I was so inspired by the colors in the photo like blue, lavender, and white. I saw cupcakes so I went with that and they can be frozen and yummy right? I also loved the sketch it’s so much fun. I stamped some cupcakes with Memento Tuxedo ink on white cardstock 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. The cupcakes are from a older stamp set Close To My Heart Cutie Pie. I stamped 9 like the card sketch then colored them in with my OLO alcohol markers.

    I then stamped a sentiment from the same stamp set with black ink onto my panel using my stamping platform. My panel was then added to a A2 card base. I added a few snowflakes that I used from a Spellbinders die set DOM July 25 with white cardstock and glued them to my cupcakes. It reminded me of the snowflakes from both the theme and sketch photos. Lastly, I added some glitter glue to some of the snowflakes and to the cupcakes that had a topper. That finishes my card. I had fun making it!

    You still have time to join us, challenge will end tomorrow Wednesday. You can add your link to the Inspired By…Challenge Blog by Social Media, Blog, Pinterest..ETC.

    Crafty Hugs,

    Von Marie

  • Celebrate with Ice Cream!

    Who doesn’t enjoy a frozen treat from time to time? This cute mouse is certainly delighted with his blackberry buckle, double fudge, mint chip ice cream cone.

    I used a wonky circles stencil to create a background similar to the inspiration photo and colored this cute mouse image from Art Impressions with copic markers. I was inspired by the beautiful colors of aqua and lavender and the frozen treats theme. How does the photo or sketch inspire you to use your stash? We would love for you to join us this week! ~MarDi

  • Winner… Inspired By Winter Knits

    Once again, the gallery was full of so many wonderful cards! Thank you everyone for joining us!

    Emily Hatfield

    This is such a wonderful card. Love the texture, the neutrals and of course the cute sweaters. Congratulations Emily!

    Now don’t forget to play along this week!

  • Sweet Treats with Cathy

    Loving these challenges and playing along. I have been enjoying the winter colors and creating cute winter themed cards. I was inspired by the colors mostly for this challenge and of course that it was a treat. I used a svg file from Lori Whitlock and her new Echo Park Winter Fun collection.

    http://alteredplayground.blogspot.com/: Sweet Treats with Cathy