Be Inspired by the Process

Creating is something that I can't live without. If I go too many days without creating something, I tend to feel anxious and disjointed. For the past week, I have been working on stock for the holidays and upcoming shows, so while I was re-creating items, I didn't have time to make anything new. After about the fifth day, I knew I had to take a break from the sweat shop and make something new. I spent the morning creating and felt renewed again. I was so excited to be creating that I decided to really take the time to enjoy the process and make notice of the small inspirations that sprung up along the way. Here's what inspired me:

Some lovely shapes and the shine of the light



































Suddenly a window appears













Brush strokes, shine & the wonderful texture of canvas


































A circle of light

















I have more pictures from my creative whirlwind, but I'll save them for my next post. Take some time this week to be inspired by your creative process. Sometimes I think we focus too much on the final product and not enough on how we got there. Pay attention to the different texture, shapes, colors and images you create in order to get to that final masterpiece.

Be Inspired to Create a Hybrid

While looking though our collection of nature treasures this weekend, I was inspired to combine some of them to create a hybrids that exist only in my mind. An acorn hat and Japanese Cypress cone made a "pinecorn"



An unknown pod shell found at the Naval Academy combined with 3 unknown seeds from our local park to become a delicious mix of texture, shape and color.





Here's a Fall princess I made a couple of weeks ago from a gourd, a pumpkin and a corn cob we got from a trip to a local farm.



I combined some moss, a snail shell and some other finds to create a whole other world that exists in my imagination:
















And Finally I combined Butterfly wings and rose petals with a pod to create a new kind of butterfly.

































Take some time this week to think about combining different items together to create your own hybrid. It's a good exercise to keep your mind open to all sorts of possibilities. Feel free to share your hybrids in the comments!

Just a Little Reminder

Don't eat too much Halloween candy!





What can I say, I've got boys!

Happy Halloween!!!

Here's a little Mother/son collaboration. Have a safe & fun Halloween!

Be Inspired to Create Fun Halloween Decorations from things Around the House

Here are a couple of quick tutorials for some Easy Halloween decorations created from things around house.

Paper Bag Jack O' Lantern
Materials:
Brown Paper lunch bags
Newspaper
Acrylic craft paint












1.Take a brown or white paper lunch bag and open it up
2. Stuff it with a bit of paper about 1/2 the way up the bag
3. Gather the bag just above the stuffing & twist
4. Keep twisting until you've created a stem
5. Paint with orange acrylic paint & let dry
6. Add a face to create a Jack O' Lantern
7. Let dry
8. Make another! They look great displayed together.














String of Ghosts:
Materials:
Coffee Filters
Tissue
Fishing Line or Clear thread
Black Pen (optional)











1. Flatten out the coffee filter
2. Ball up a piece of tissue and place in the center
3. Gather up the middle of the coffee filter and twist to create the ghosts head
4. Add eyes with the black pen
4. Tie the ghosts onto fishing line to create a string of ghosts that appear to be floating

The ghosts look great in a window or strung in a door way or from a chandelier.

Through My Eyes - Fall From a Distance

Yes, I'm going to milk this Fall thing for all it's worth. It's my favorite season, so I'm always a bit obsessed with it when it arrives. So bear with me through a couple more "Fall" posts. This one is a bit of a reminder to myself. I'm always looking for that close-up macro shot and sometimes I miss the bigger picture. So this was a study in noticing the big picture that is Fall. Enjoy!

Through My Eyes - The Darker Side of Autumn

Not every day in Autumn is bright, sunny and full of brightly colored leaves. Some days are cold and gray, but they are beautiful in their own way. Here's one of those days through my eyes: