Tuesday, August 31, 2010

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.



Saturday, August 28, 2010

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.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

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.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

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.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

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!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Inspired by... sunflowers

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

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Inspired by ... school supplies

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.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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.