Inspired by... Vera

Vera Bradley

I can't get enough of the bags and stationary and wallets and.... I know, it can be crazy expensive. But the patterns are beautiful. And I have a weakness for bags (purses, tote bags, wallets, little zippered doodads I can use for whatever I can think of) and stationary (folders, planners, pencils, notebooks, binders)

I gravitate to three patterns - Simply Violet, Purple Punch and Java Blue - although there are others that I like, too (Night and Day is a great black and white pattern, which is very trendy right now, and I also like Mediterranean Blue which is a mixture of blue shades with a little green, gray, and white). They call to me - to sew a bag, to organize things, to write things, to put colors together that I love. They inspire me.

Inspired by... possibilities

More possibilities. My son and I had a painting day over the summer - something we used to do a few times a year when he wasn't in school. My goal was to transform some clipboards for my writing club students. My son wanted to paint space ships and tanks. A blank canvas is full of possibilities. 

I was inspired by this green paper with its blue and pink flowers and a hint of a bright yellow. I would cover all sorts of things with this paper if I could (I think it is by the company BoBunny). Instead of doing a bunch of things, though, I put it on a clipboard (painted pink) and sealed it under several coats of Modge Podge. Hopefully that means I can get a lot of use out of it, and continue to be inspired by those colors together.

The Star Wars clipboard was for my son. I was going to make another one for my Club kids, but the paper I chose had too many weapons on it for school, so they got a more generic Star Wars one. 

Blank tan clipboards transformed into this: 

Possibilities.

Inspired by ... possibilities

I love that my son gets this idea of "possibilities." He loves boxes for the potential they hold. This box could be so many things to a person with his imagination. I love that about him - it is something we share. I have more little boxes and trinkets that I have picked up or saved because of what the might be with a little time and paint or paper and adhesive.

Inspired by... possibilities

These next few posts are going to be all about "possibilities." In Myers-Briggs language, this is all about the "N." I love possibilities, potential.

This is the new catalog for the company Stampin' Up. I love catalogs like this. Not only do you get to see all of the products (which get me thinking of the things I can make with them), but you also get to see what the company designers have chosen to make with the products. To the disappointment of my consultants, I cannot buy all of the items that I see and am inspired by. My eyes are bigger than my budget, so to speak. But I am inspired by the possibilities in catalogs like these.

Inspired by... vacation!

I'm on vacation this week and next week is the start of school. I'll be back in a couple weeks!

Inspired by... sunflowers

Our crop of sunflowers is much smaller this year than last year, but they are still just beautiful.

Inspired by... home grown

C

Can't you just smell the basil?

Inspired by ... school supplies

I

I have an odd addiction to school supplies. Even though we already have everything my son needs for school - at least as far as paper-type products - I keep wandering the school supply aisles, looking at the sales (composition books for 25 cents!) and wondering what else I might need use.

My son and I found these cool little gems at our local Walmart - folders, binder, and notebooks with these great rock images. They are a bit pricier than my composition books for a quarter, but they were too cool to pass up for my rockin' family.

Inspired by ... students

School will be starting in a few short weeks and I have been having fun picking out school supplies for my son... and for my Writing Club students. Here are my gathering supplies for the new year. I can't wait to see my students again after the long summer. I am hoping to tweak some things from last year and make the experience even better for all of us.