Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Did you know that Holiday Cards and More, Vol. 7 went on sale last week? Have you seen it? It's so inspiring, loaded with the most beautiful holiday cards and projects! I'm so excited because my first publications for Paper Crafts is included!

The thing that I love the most about this issue is the variety of styles and levels from quick and easy to the more technical. There's something for everyone!

Here's one of my three projects that appears in this issue.

I used October Afternoon's Holiday Style. It's one of my all-time favorite Christmas lines.

I love the vintage vibe to this collection!

I also have an interesting story to tell you with regards to this card and who ultimately inspired its creation.

 This 'version' with the green buttons was created by Amy Heller and pinned by yours truly. I absolutely adore Amy's work and pin just about everything she makes!

Apparently, this design was memorable enough to influence the creation of my card and it wasn't until after I finished it, submitted it to Paper Crafts and got it picked up that I was perusing my pin boards and came across Amy's card for a second time. I nearly fell off my chair! I couldn't believe the similarity and was alarmed that Amy would see it in the magazine! What would she think?

I was in a panic. Not only does it look like I copied her card, but I submitted it for publishing! I didn't know what to do. I believe that we should always give credit to those artists that inspire our work or give us a great design to 'lift.'

I decided I'd send Amy an e-mail and tell her the whole story and include a photo of my card. I had no idea how she would respond. I wondered how I would if the tables were turned? Well, I can tell you this, not only is Amy Heller an amazing paper craft artist, but she's also a class act when it comes to handling situations like this! While she acknowledged that the cards were indeed similar, she said she thinks my work is good enough to be published on its own merits. How cool is that?

Anyway, I wanted to tell this story when the magazine came out because I want to give Amy some credit for this fabulous card. Thank you, Amy! And thank you for your grace in handling this situation! I also know that in this industry, we all experience times when a project or unique technique is borrowed by another crafter. Personally, if someone is inspired by a project of mine and lifts it, I don't mind so long is this is mentioned when their project is blogged. This often gets a little fuzzy because most ideas out there are not new, just reinvented and given a fresh new perspective. I suppose we must all be mindful of where our inspiration comes from and be willing to credit an artist in our posts as we do with our listing of supplies.

Do you have any thoughts on this topic that you would like to share? Please leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you think.

T.G.I.F! Hope it's a good one!