Creativity sparks - ideas to inspire: ideas book

One of the key things that helps with my inspiration is my ideas book/folder/file. Just a bunch of sheet protectors in a file that I put little snippets in that I find as I go about my daily living. Then when I'm trying to come up with a new idea, I sit on the floor in my studio on my little birdie rug and flick through the pages.

The kinds of things I put in my file vary tremendously. It can be photograph showing an interesting way to use props in a photo......it can be a font I like.....it can be a saying or quotation.....it can be a picture....it can be a story...it can be song lyrics or a nursery rhyme.....it can be a sticker.....it can be anything.

Just something that catches my eye and makes me stop and look at it twice. If it is in a magazine, I'll rip it out, or online- I'll print it or else I'll write it down or photograph it.

Currently it looks like I need to organize the file a little. That's because it is seriously bulging and won't close and is tricky to flick through! I just need to put everything in either two files or one larger one...but that doesn't seem to happen. I think the disorganization of it all adds to the charm and inspiration.

Do you have a stash of goodies you look at for inspiration? Tell us about it.....

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!