Gathering Inspiration: From Yourself!

Need Inspiration?! Dig a little into your past and find some wonderful nuggets of awesome!

In November I decided that I'd pull together a calendar for 2012. And I started sketching out ideas for every month.... school bus, rain, flowers, Santa Claus and so on... until I had an idea for every month. Then I spend a good couple of hours starting my project before my project became too much for me to handle. Who starts a project for January at the end of November?! Especially as a craftswoman. I just didn't have time to really find that extra inspiration and time to complete the task at hand.

So I got this idea...dig through my favorites from the previous year!
I mean... hellooooo...duh.
I already had all of the months gathered up and scanned, I just had to curate the project and add in the months.

Plus! The project was almost all digital so I was able to offer it for FREE to my followers. I got so many happy comments about my calendar because people also loved my favorites as much as I did. Gathering the inspiration AND the materials from my year before helped me also to keep the project really cost affective, time affective AND also matchy-matchy.

FREE CALENDAR DOWNLOAD: GO GET IT HERE

Here is Feb... just in case you want to download it to your desktop.



I want to encourage all of us to really think about the work we already do... how can we mold what we do into another project... take a piece of something, reuse it... push it into something new and exciting for yourself and see your inspiration come from within.

Since I posted my calendar online...I have had more than 130 views of the calendar, many people printed it AND I even sold 10 of them that I had professionally printed. I see a 2013 calendar in my future.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Inspired by Handmade - Pattern People

"The other day I was at work...and someone complimented my outfit and said... "WOW! I just LOVE the combination you've done"... great mix of pattern and texture. As an artist...I see a necessary balance between texture, pattern and color.

So this week... let's get inspired by Pattern & Texture!

PATTERN:
As a background or the center of your design...pattern can turn an ordinary pillow into a work of art! Notice how all of these Etsy items have LOTS of character, just in the pattern the artist chose to use!



1.) Striped: notice how the simplicity of this Thank You Card by HelloCupcakeLLC makes a huge statement...the addition of the simple button also gives this set of cards something very unique!

2.) PLAID!: Plaid can be "boring" but mixed with other patterns and texture...you can really make this standard pattern really have some new personality. This clock by 1byliz is a great example of the balance between texture and pattern with TWO patterns!

3.) SWIRLS! How do you add instant whimsy to a project? Use swirls - You'll see your project go from serious to playful right before your eyes. This wonderful piece of art by devikasart is a great example of how lots of freedom in your line work can create a pattern that is beautiful and playful.

TEXTURE:
Smooth, rough or soft...texture is the core of any piece you do...it gives your product personality!



1.) Stitching!: Embroidery on a smaller object always amazes me...this brooch by creativebeadz is a great example of how a small item stitched with lots of texture can really POP!

2.) Natural Texture: What I love about the Salt Bars made by asliceofdelight...is that the salt adds a visual texture to the soaps that is just stunning. My favorite is the beautiful Spiced Cranberry Salt Bar Soap. The blend of Salt and Cranberry colors makes this functional soap a stunning bathroom addition!

3.) FACETS!: These beautiful earrings by BellaBeadsOriginals have a great balance of textures. The facets on the ruby Red Garnets are the perfect texture to balance the pink pearls. Surely, these earrings will really catch the eye of many people when you wear them thanks to the textures they feature.

Explorations in texture and pattern will for SURE bump up your sales and inspire your work in a whole new way. If your work tends to be very clean in it's texture and design...try adding an element to your work that is the direct opposite! It will make your work POP and the interest in your work will increase... I promise!

I'd love to hear any stories where you also explored texture and pattern within your own designs. Did you find that it was hard to find a balance?

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Inspired by Handmade - Belly Laughs

When I'm working on my various projects...whether it's a painting, drawing or new greeting card idea... it's hard for me to work on something when I'm feelin' blue... but if you bring on the laughs...if you make me giggle...the ideas start to flow.

So this week, I looked for silliness within our team!
Bring on the laughs! Our team members are silly and funny - creative thinkers with a funny bone!

Hope these items inspire you to get creative - to laugh - to smile and to remember that sometimes...just finding a little inspiration in something funny can really spark some creativity!

What's an item that you sell that's always bringing you giggles? Or tell us about something funny that recently happened to you so we can all giggle together!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

You're Turn! Get inspired by Games!

Sooooo...I'm in the middle of trying keep myself from going out into this beautiful weather we are having because I have a series of paintings to do for "next season"...
and here I am... stuck.

I have this Candy Land idea and it inspired me to start looking at boardgames for some inspiration. WOW! The things people have done with boardgames is just great! Beautiful re-purposed jewelry, notebooks and more!

I found some great items that just blew me away! They were inventive, inspiring and got me excited about my new illustration series I'm working on. Although these people aren't SFEtsy team members (you know how I love featuring our team members)...sometimes looking outside of the team for inspiration can get your creative juices flowing also!

1.) Baby Bump Tee (inspired by Scrabble)
2.) Green Game Piece Earrings (inspired by the game Sorry)
3.) Chance Necklace ( inspired by Monopoly)
4.) Home Slice Necklace ( inspired by Scrabble)
5.) Game Notebook (inspired by Risk)
6.) Boardgame Bracelet (inspired by Monopoly, Dominoes and Bingo!)

What's your favorite board/card game?

If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!