Copy cat...

In my last post I talked about getting inspiration from the creations of others and using them as a jumping off point for my own work.  Or just plain copying them.  Pinterest has made it easy to save images I find compelling:  they use a stamp I own and love, it's a design that catches my eye that I think I could replicate, they embody an idea or a concept I want to try, etc. Once I started gathering the cards I had made and the source of the idea, I found there were an awful lot of them...  Below are a bunch of comparisons, almost all from this year.  My inspiration photo is on the left, and my version is on the right in all cases.

Inspired by this card from Jeanne Jachna, I made a card for my mom's birthday.  This was so easy, yet so impressive.  Hurrah for sticker paper, dye inks and glossy paper.  Huge bang for the buck.  The die cut is from Poppystamps.

Based on a card by Teresa Pham (which I think was posted somewhere here), I love the idea of using peg stamps, embossing folders and my embossing diffuser.  I like the inspiration card more than mine, so I need to revisit this design and try some new versions.  In fact, now that I look at the tow cards, I don't think the original used peg stamps at all, and that the bigger stamps help with the scale.

Cards with illegible word backgrounds!  My favorite.  I think my inspiration card uses an old book page or a pre-printed sheet for it's background.  I know I did mine in a hurry, but if I try this one again, I want to incorporate more of the lights and darks used in the inspiration image.

I made this card just the other night based on a card by Emma Kirton.  I already had the stamp out, which was a bonus, and again got a chance to play with incorporating dry embossed papers into my cards.  Looking at the image now, I should have made my border at least the same width as my ribbon.  My card's proportions are out of whack.  I'm not really a ribbons/bows on my cards type of person, so I need to either adjust the balance of the elements with no ribbon, or embrace the idea of embellishments.

This is a card from last spring based on a design from NanaDiana.  I followed the inspiration image fairly exactly although I used different stamps and a different embossing folder.  One key difference which you can only see if you look up close is whether the main panel was embossed first and then stamped (sample), or stamped and then embossed (mine).  If I use this design again, I'll try it the other way around to see if it looks different/better.  I do like the way I accidentally framed the embossed flower.

I've featured these two cards on the blog before - inspiration image from Torrey Moseley, and still count this as one of my most successful experiments in duplication.  For those of you interested in the progress of the fading dye ink, see the updates below from May and today, the end of October.

The formerly sunset sky is now full-on cloudy day, while the border of the sentiment still shows the remnants of the original color.

This image from Lin was immediately appealing because it looked simple to replicate and appeared to use peg stamps.  I have lots of peg stamps which are under-utilized in my craft room.  Looking at the two cards side-by-side, I prefer the amount of white space, the pops of color, and the scale of the image to the sentiment in the original.  I definitely want to try this one again.

I work with die cuts only rarely.  I'm a late adopter to them and only have a few (with many more on my shopping list).  This card by Lisa is simple, which is appealing.  When I try it again, I'll follow the sample more closely with the die cuts filling the frame. 

 And finally (you made it!!), my thank you cards from the last post inspired by an original from Shelly Starkis. 

I have no doubt that I will continue to look to the work of others for inspiration.  I appreciate the sentiment that I've read about in card-making blogs - it's not copying, it's flattery.  And it truly is.