Creativity sparks - ideas to inspire : Go shopping

One of my favorite ways to find inspiration for my creations is to go shopping. Actually, just window shopping - but I find it really does help.

Depending on what sort of art/craft you do - you may have your own type of shop or store that will do it for you. For me, it's toy stores! Especially those that have old style toys.

My husband is not quite used to this new source of inspiration and often wonders what I'm doing heading into a toy store - then it clicks and he leaves me to it for a while, to check out the different toys, from the wooden toys to little cars to animals to just the packaging design. Toy stores just are happy places with lots of bright colors and playful things that often inspire my creations.

For example, I'm half way through making a type of jack in the box necklace. I'm still figuring out how to work the clasp right now - but when I do that, I think it'll be sweet.

My Bubo the flying owl necklace was inspired by a toy, anyone can fly a kite, also my fish mobile earrings,.....I also keep looking at old toy musical instruments......and spinning tops and ....

The other type of store that I enjoy browsing around for inspiration are hardware stores. Sounds a little odd, I know - and I have never really been a hardware store person......but since I now use "power tools" - I'm quite into them.....I wander around and see all these different textures and shapes and little screws and tiny components and it sparks off ideas such as hinges and kinetic movements in items and more mechanical aspects to my jewelry.

So next time you are out and about - try doing some window shopping for inspiration and see what comes to mind. What kind of store inspires you the most ? Antiques, garden store, sweets, kitchen gadgets?????? Give them all and try and I'm sure something will catch your eye - whatever our style!