one little word: nourish

Happy New Year!

I think I've said it before on this little blog, but I love a New Year!

There's just something about the energy of a new year and

an empty calendar.

A new year holds so much hope and possibility.  It's energizing and inspiring.  

It tells us that we can do more, be more.  It's a new beginning, a chance to be better than we were the year before.

This year, my One Little Word {#olw2014} is

A quick look in the dictionary confirmed that this is the perfect word for me in 2014

2014 is my year to nourish: my mind, my body, my soul, my relationships, my creativity

It's my year to nourish my whole being.

Pinterest: my new crush

I think I first found out about it on Twitter.  So I jumped on the bandwagon of inspiration-seekers and beauty-lovers and happiness-finders and requested to join Pinterest.  I now cannot pull myself away (so much so, my 9-year-old had to cook us dinner tonight--thank goodness for Hamburger Helper).

What is Pinterest?  It's a virtual inspiration board that doesn't need any wall space.  As you browse the web, you can add pins {an item you post} to your pinboards {a visual collection of things you love} for images you come across.  You can also see what others are pinning and add their pins to your own boards.  Here's a sampling from what I have pinned:

from Share Some Candy via Pinterest

from Curly Girl's Crochet via Pinterest

from Sarah Ahearn via Pinterest

  

You can see the rest of my pinboards here. 

And what's more, each image links you to the website where it was originally posted which = tons of new inspiring blogs to visit. {sigh} I am gonna have to stop pinning at some point before tomorrow night so I can make dinner for the fam, though.

Inspire Co.

I just stumbled upon an absolutely amazing blog, and I want to share it with you.  It's been a little while since I spent some time just hopping along from place to place on the web, and I am so glad that I chose tonight to do it!  You must, must, must go check out this beautiful home of Amy Powers.  She's been blogging since 2005, so I am very well running the risk that I am the last crafty person on the planet to find her site.  It's a risk I'll take, because her online magazine is just too fantastic not to know about.

And this little project is moving to the top of my to do list:

Creative Refueling

Sometimes you need a little blog surfing to refuel the creative juices.  That's just how I felt tonight.  Too tired to create, too drained to think.  There's a fine line to walk when refueling because it can easily cross over into feelings of creative inadequacy.  It's a chance I take.

Here's what I came across during tonight's journey:   

Please note: none of these creations is my own; credit is given in each photo's caption.

Want to try this with some fabric:

Tempor'elles

Love the cardboard and beautiful mess on this one:

Mirjam @ Sweet and Colorful

Just a few elements come together to make a great LO

thinking cutting letters from book print, thinking tone on tone texture, thinking negative space from punch, thinking stretching an element by cutting it in two parts

The super sweet and sassy Sasha Farina

Want to use a whole alpha like this:

another Sasha

Need to play with some tape

Liz Tamanaha @ Paislee Press

Paislee Press is a sure hit for a dozen pieces of inspo on any given day.  Here's another:

Love the monochromatic patchwork circle

Paislee Press

And another:

Want to play with a sketched timeline and punched circle relief

Paislee Press

I'm feeling better already.  I follow some pretty fab blogs if I do say so myself.   I have them all linked up on my other blog, and am in the very slooooowww process of  adding them to a page here as well.

Inspired tonight

when I should just really go to bed! Blog hopping around and really loving the colorful, playful, happy art that I am finding (and thinking I need to play around with my Wacom tablet some more):

http://www.n8w.com/gallery/color/c/


http://designerjots.blogspot.com/


http://www.etsy.com/shop/JennSki

What's inspiring you?

Inspiration Saturday

I opened the new Target catalog this morning to find this little bit of inspiration:

A scrapbook layout just waiting to be created, right down to all those happy little colors: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Orchid Opulence. This is going straight into my Inspiration Notebook so I'll have it handy for my next layout--I'm thinking a birthday or carnival one.

The inspiration didn't stop there. I thumbed through the rest of the catalog to find these yummies:

1) Another great color scheme, and love those birdies!

2) Cutting this right out for a page title or accent for Easter 2007 layout (lucky for me I haven't done it yet!). A squirt of deacidification spray and it's good to go.

3) Another great color mix and how cute are those little monster guys?! Can you say paper piecing!

4) And lastly, another great layout plan.

I will be sure to post the projects that come out of this deliciousness.