Cause a House needs Style too!

I've been feeling a creative bug lately. Now, I do make jewelry and sell on Etsy... but sometimes I just feel like trying something new and different. I've never been a crafty person, and have very few skills of the crafty variety. But, I've found some cool ideas and think that maybe...just MAYBE... I could pull some of these off. Here's some that I may be trying soon:

{photo from flickr.com/photos/becksjb}

This is made with crayons. CRAYONS. And a hair dryer. I'm on it!!!

{photo from firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com}

Fabric flowers. Cute buttons. Maybe some hot glue, 'cause my sewing skills are non-existent.

{photo from http://indigenousdialogues.tumblr.com}

I love wine. Wine deserves it's own special space in a house. We have this antique piece of furniture that I think, maybe, could be turned into something *much smaller* like this. The question is - to paint it, or to leave it as unpainted wood.

You know those days when you just stare into your closet??

Some days I wake up, open the closet door, and stare blankly at my wardrobe. For like, 7 minutes. On really bad days I might sit down while staring.

Those are the days when I need some help. My brain is still asleep and creating an outfit seems as hard as advanced calculus.  So, I've come up with a bit of an {inspiration board}. Because if I'm going to stare at the wall, at least I can stare at something that might speak back to me!

This cork board leans up against one wall of my closet, tucked behind the hangers of shirts. When I see an outfit that is put together well, or utilizes an accessory in a way that I want to remember, or a color combo that I love, I tear it out and save it. Most of my pictures come from In Style magazine or favorite catalouges. {Anthropologie, anyone???}

This can sometimes be enough to break me out of my rut when getting dressed for work each day. As long as it gets me off the floor, I'm satisfied.

Inspiration for the Tired Brain

You know how there are times when your brain is full of ideas and there aren't enough minutes in the day to create the projects that are bouncing around in your head? Then there are the other times. The days when you have time, sit at your desk, and stare blankly at the wall. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who knows what I mean. At that point, where do you turn for inspiration?

I have the usual places that I tend to look: beading magazines, jewelry catalogues, websites... But sometimes, my favorite catalogue pops up in the mail, and flipping through the pages brings me a different kind of inspiration. Anthropologie doesn't {just} sell jewelry. Mostly they sell women's clothing and house wares. They are my favorite store in this universe, and flipping through their catalogue give me visions of color combinations, themes, texture, and mood that I just don't get by looking at necklaces in a beading magazine. Want to see what I mean? Take a look:

Anthropologie is not a store I get to visit that often. There's one in Chicago, which is about a 2 hour drive for me, and another in Indianapolis, which is about 3 hours on the road. Walking through the store is another level of happiness for me that I won't even try to express with words. I'll just let those pictures speak for themselves. For now, I'll just sit back and hope that someone out there {Santa} drops a gift card into my stocking this year! Even if that doesn't happen, it's just a matter of time before I make my semi-annual trip there to treat myself to something special.

Luckily, I get a monthly dose of eye candy in the mail, which tides me over between visits. So the next time I'm feeling like I'm out of ideas, I might find a quirky color combination in a bedspread, or a funky doorknob, or even a wrapper from a piece of soap that will spring me back into creative action! What inspires you?