Sara's Stamping Spot 2.0: Creation Station April Blog Hop--Inspired by Favorites

Welcome to the Creation Station April Bog Hop!

So glad you have joined us today. Our theme this month is Inspired by Favorites. We are creating projects inspired by our favorite books, movies, poems, artwork, songs, shows and other favorites. This is going to be an interesting hop. You are going to see some great projects and maybe get to know us each a little better!

Can you guess my inspiration? I am a reader. My childhood memories include many trips to the local library to check out books. My favorites have always been series because I love to follow characters as they change and grow and to meet them again and again. So as a kid I read all the Oz books, the Little House on the Prairie series and the Anne of Green Gables series. Now I have new favorites that I still read again and again. My favorites now are historical fiction like the Master and Commander twenty (plus the unfinished 21st) book series by Patrick O'Brian, which has inspired many stamping projects in the past, and the Outlander series (nine so far and not including the Lord John Grey books) by Diana Gabaldon which has inspired my projects today. As any book reader will tell you, the books are always much better than any movies or television series inspired by them.

This first project was inspired by Claire.

As with all the projects in the post today, I started by creating a page from a vintage book for my background. My idea was for this background to be a subtle reference to the books that inspired my projects. Although the first Outlander book was published in 1991, the vintage look is a reference to Jamie Fraser. He is not only a warrior and laird (a "Bloody Man, as Claire calls him) but also very well-read and classically educated. I started with a piece of Linen Specialty Paper(#155681) and used a Blending Brush (#153611) to blend Crumb Cake ink onto the white paper. Next, I covered the inside top of the the Timeworn Type 3D embossing folder (#156813, from the 2021 July to December Mini Catalog) with Soft Suede ink before adding the paper and putting it through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine. Then I roughed up the edges of the paper before layering it over a piece of card stock.

Claire is a healer in the 18th Century and a surgeon from the 20th Century. She uses both her medical education and her knowledge of medicinal uses of plants as she cares for people. She spends a lot of time foraging for plants to create her medicines and to provide for the nutritional needs of her family. The bouquet and greeting on this card represent this part of her life. It was created using the Honeybee Home Bundle (#157952) and the Flowers of Home dies (#157938) from the Heart & Home Suite in the 2022 January to June Mini Catalog. The script backdrop for the bouquet (representing her medical journal) and the greeting are both from the Very Versailles stamp set (#149275). They were stamped in Early Espresso ink. A splatter of Early Espresso ink and a double bow of Linen Thread (#104199) complete the card.

This card was inspired by the Native American name given to Jamie by members of the Tuscarora Tribe. Jamie and Claire met a hunting party of Tuscarora right after Jamie killed a bear with only a knife (while Claire beat it over the head with a fish--you didn't see that on the TV series!). The Tuscarora named Jamie "Bear Killer" and they and the Frasers became friends, trading partners and hunting and foraging companions until the tribe was wiped out by a measles epidemic. The bear and the greeting images are from the Wildlife Wonder stamp set (#157923). The trees and plants were die cut using the Inspiring Canopy dies (#155963) and the Horizon dies (#157778).

My last project is for the bees! They play a big role on Fraser's Ridge for food, medicines, and trade. Plus, they have a role in some important events and are part of the title in the latest book of the series, Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone.

I used a retiring 3-1/8" x 3-1/8" Acetate Box (#150428) for the perfect chocolate treat gift. The linen page piece is layered over a piece of Cinnamon Cider card stock which was embossed with the Hive 3D embossing folder (3157955), with Early Espresso ink sponged on the inside of the folder. The stamped, colored and die cut images as well as the greeting were created with the Honeybee Home Bundle. Bumblebee 1/4" Gingham Ribbon (#153658) acts as the closure for the box.

Hopefully, you've been inspired by my projects and techniques and know me just a bit more. Are you a fan of Outlander? How are you inspired by the books?

Let's go see what Julie has been inspired by for her projects today! Hop on over to Just Julie B Stampin' here.