Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts

Monday, December 14, 2009

Inspiration, if you please.

There are so many things I am inspired by in my life, and I don’t just mean creatively. Life is busy; I know it is for you too – I frequently forget to give thanks to the “little things” that keep me going. Those things that I can fall back on when I’m exhausted and feel zapped of inspiration. The things that recharge me.

I worked at a construction company for a few months long ago (one of my many interesting jobs), and the woman who did the accounting was a friend of my family. Christie and I used to do this exercise first thing in the morning – we would write down five things we were thankful for. It was a great way to start the day, a great way to get re-inspired if you need it. Here are my five.

1. My dogs.



These two crazy weirdos, also known as pugs, run my apartment (which I call Mod Podge Command Central). If they could, they would put me in a maid outfit and make me serve them food constantly. I’ve never met two living creatures who were more food motivated – or more loving. Their snuggle snorts might be loud to some, but they are joy to me. Thanks Roxie and Nellie.

2. Bold colors and patterns.


I like loud clothes – there’s really no other way to say it. If it’s bright and especially if it’s blue, then I want it. If you aren’t really a loud person, I totally understand. But every once awhile, try a bold striped pair of socks under those jeans with your tennis shoes. It’s kind of fun and liberating.

3. Other creative people.


First, I have to thank the Mod Podge Rocks! readers for all of their support – for, over the last year, helping my baby blog grow into what it has today. I get inspired every day by you, so thank you. Secondly, I am thankful for creative people in general, specially those people who think of things that I don’t. To capture those things I see, those ideas that stretch my imagination, I keep an inspiration book. If I see something I like (for instance, the picture above), I cut it out and paste it into the book. I also past in patterns, color chips, words . . . anything else that motivates me. When I’m short of ideas, I flip through. If you don’t have a book like this, get one today! They are fun to put together and can get the creative juices flowing in a pinch.

4. Buttons.


It sounds weird, but they are honestly what started me on this crazy, crafty ride. I played for hours with my great-grandmother’s button collection when I was young. I don’t think it’s possible for a kid to have more fun – sorting by color, by size. I really believe it’s made me the creative person that I am today.

5. Winter birthdays.


I am a January baby, born at 6:18 p.m. in Bellevue, Washington just outside of Seattle (see little me above). My mom always had a funny tradition when my four brothers and I were young – it wasn’t officially our birthdays until the time that we were born hit on the clock. We would have so much fun checking the clock. . . “Is it time yet Mom?” Luckily none of us were born in the middle of the night, right? I’m so excited about my upcoming winter birthday that I’ve actually devoted all of the projects I’ve done for SEI to winter celebrations. Keep reading over the next few days to see what I’ve got cooked up.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Magazines, if you please...

There are days when I have this burst of energy and enthusiam to make a card or create a layout, so I head to my craft room, get ready with my scissors, cutter and papers, ready to do something, when my mind suddenly draws a complete blank! In the end, I'll just be staring at my supplies, not knowing what to do or where to start - it can be so frustrating sometimes.

And that is where I turn to my magazines, my main source of inspiration.


This one above - Country Living UK Edition - is my favourite, amongst all the favourites. :) I've been faithfully buying this magazine since 2005, and each month's issue has never disappointed me. It's a home decor magazine and it's always loaded with the most beautiful photos I have ever seen.




I recently made a Christmas card using the Winter Song collection,


and my inspiration for that card came from this (2-page) image above. I love the christmas colors of red, white and blue, splattered all over these 2 pages, giving them a wintry and homely feel - and the Winter Song collection was perfect as it had all these colors in it!

The colors, photos of the beautiful british scenery and other features of the magazine always leave me with some inspiration to scrap a layout, make a card or even sew a quilt. Totally love this magazine!!

And there you have it! Thank goodness for great magazines like these, isn't it? :)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Velvet Friends

I'm not sure how familiar you are with SEI's velvet paper, but today I'm wanting to put a little spotlight on it. When I first started working at SEI, I wasn't too familiar with how you could use velvet paper. I learned pretty quickly that you can use it just like card stock paper (duh) and other endless possibilities. The benefit of velvet paper is that it's really pliable, so it can be wrapped around odd shapes & cut into detailed shapes while maintaining it's simple elegance.

We have one customer in particular that we've fallen in love with over their velvet paper creations. They are Lehr & Black. They make announcements and invitations for A-list clients. Below are some of their invitations that have been created using our velvet paper, (pretty exciting). So if you thought velvet paper was outdated, we might be able to change your mind.

click image to enlarge

• First is a Sweet 16 invitation for Francis Cobain. I love the wrapping of the coffin in the midnight black velvet
• Brendan Frasiers' family Holiday Card. The chocolate velvet paper with that beautiful red hair is great.
• Shaquille O'Neal's Holiday party was also done using the chocolate velvet paper
• Gwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale's wedding invitation used hints of the wine velvet paper

Sorry to brag, but we just had to share. There are so many amazing invitations, so be sure to look up Lehr & Black for some tantalizing eye candy. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Beautiful bathroom and a little more!



Sometimes it's nice to look around for inspiration that fits your mood. I am currently not wanting summer to end. It's my favorite season of the year. I never think that it gets too hot. I love the vibrant greens at the beginning of summer but I also find so much beauty in all the yellow hues you see as everything slowly dries up. I think it's the combination of those green and yellow shades, accented with white, that draws me to these bathroom accessories. Maybe if you have a summery bathroom to start off your morning in the long cold winters, you can still venture outside with a smile frozen to your face.

When I was collecting the "in my dreams" bathroom pieces, I thought of this Mimosa layout. It caries those shades of yellows and greens that are so lush. As summer closes in on me, I think it makes me cling more and more to the vibrant colors that Mimosa carries. I hope you enjoy this layout as much as I do!


Thursday, August 13, 2009

My Favorite Summertime Photos

If you could only describe summer through photographs, what would they be? Watermelon? A pool party? The beach? Here's a few of my favorite photos from this summer, as seen through the view finder of my cute little 1950's camera!










These are all true ttv photos. Through the Viewfinder photography (TtV) is defined as taking a picture of any subject "through the viewfinder" of any camera with another camera. I love the results I get, a digital image with the look of a vintage photo. I use an Anscoflex and sometimes a Duraflex camera. It's definitely become one of my favorite hobbies!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Ideas & Tips for the Perfect Picnic

I adore picnics. Always have, since I was just a little girl playing make believe picnic on the living room floor. So, I thought it might be fun to take a peek into my picnic basket, and talk about a few extra details for creating the perfect picnic. To make my job of CPO (chief picnic officer) a little less stressful, I head to the grocery store the day before to pick up all of the food. Yes, I like to keep it simple!


My favorite picnic food? I follow a guide line of:
• 1 main dish (cold fried chicken or sandwiches)
• 1 salad or side (pasta salad with veggies)
• 2 fruits (watermelon and berries)
• 1 dessert (glazed doughnut holes or fortune cookies)
•2 drinks (iced tea and lemonade are my favorite!!)

* I also add in a Tupperware container full of snack foods like; sliced deli meats, crackers and spreadable cheese for the kids.


Whenever I visit a thrift shop, I always take a trip down the kitchen isle, to look for things that could be useful for dining outside. Vintage tins make lovely dessert containers. Metal trays are not only useful for serving on, but also to keep glasses from tipping over. Don't forget to look for vintage cloth napkins and blankets or quilts!



A picnic just wouldn't be a picnic without a few fun outdoor activities! I'll pick out a plastic bucket and shovel for each child at our picnic, (the dollar store is your best friend for toys like this!) and then I add just a couple more small items to each bucket such as bottles of bubbles, a jump-rope, a small kite and a book or two for story time!

It takes a little planning, but picnics are oh so worth it!!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Weekend Projects



Summer is always a great time for me to catch up on projects that have been burdening me for a while. I think it has to do with the longer days making me feel like I have all the time in the world. I love summer! I found this website today called Oliver + S. They have the cutest patterns for children's clothing. They are all under $20 and they offer both girl and boy patterns. I think I might make these one of my weekend projects. I can work on a few outfits for my nephew. Whatever you busy yourself with this weekend, have an enjoyable one. Take it slow and appreciate the small things.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wonderful Stationary


This past week, I received a postcard from my friend Rachel addressed from Barcelona, Spain. Mandi is still in Switzerland... and I'm getting the travel bug. Since I won't be able to travel abroad anytime soon, I figured I needed to do something in my life that would make me feel better. This stationary from Paperwink hit the spot. Although I can't travel abroad and find exotic postcards, I can have personalized ones. They make me happy!
Does anyone out there have any summer escapades planned?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fun Toys

To relax a bit I wanted to share a blog post I'd found on Black Eiffel. Right now we're in project mode here at work. With making projects I've come to appreciate simple ideas. The more simple a concept, the more ingenious it seems. These wooden cities from Muji are wonderful. They offer cities such as London, New York, Paris, Tokyo & Barcelona. Below the image I used is the World in a Bag. This combines many different cities. The blank wooden shapes allow for a child to use their imagination.


These wooden shapes reminded me of the wooden blocks that we had made for Maria's baby a few weeks ago. The wooden blocks that we made here at work have been so entertaining for Maria's two year old son. He loves stacking them and building with them. Isn't it funny how the most simple ideas can entertain a child for hours?

Thursday, June 11, 2009

You're Invited

Invitations, treats, friends... you've got to love parties! I sure do! I put together a few inspiration boards of some parties I would like to throw or attend. Enjoy!

COLORFUL BIRTHDAY PARTY

Dessert table by Amy Atlas via Design Mom |
Crewcuts by J Crew | party hats via Martha Stewart |
party favors via Rebecca Thuss



BRIDAL SHOWER GARDEN PARTY



Garden Party by Chelsea Fuss | Lovely Ladies by Abby Powell |
sandwiches via Design Mom | flowers via Jupiter Images |
calligraphy by Paperfinger | tree favors via Martha Stewart


My favorite spots for party inspiration:
Oh Happy Day!
Project Wedding
Party Perfect
Martha Stewart
Once Wed
{Frolic}

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Inspired by Photographers

I'm not a professional photographer, but I do like to take pictures! Every once and a while, I can think of a creative way to take a picture on my own, but most of the time I'm inspired by photographers on the internet, books and magazines. Whenever I see a photo that I like, I keep it. I like the everyday photos, but I really like photos that are interesting to look at even when you don't know the person.


These photographs are part of a book I'm working on about my baby's first year. The idea is to capture moments and details of her life in a more artistic sort of way. I've been taking photos of her clothes, her favorite toys, the nursery, special events and her of course! I've been posting my ideas for her book on my blog. See them here.

* inspired by Flora and Henri
When my photos need a little boost, I edit them. I know... I'm a cheater! Like I said, I'm not a pro. If you don't have Photoshop, there are some really great online photo editing sites. My favorite is Picnik. It's very simple to use and it can make any photo look great!

Here is a before...

and after...

Thursday, June 4, 2009

A new friend!


A company that we look forward to hearing from whether it's through email, their catalog or visiting their beautiful stores is Paper Source. They are a paper/stationary company that is very intuitive. They have so many wonderful arrangements of stationary, wrapping paper and DIY projects. Now they have a blog! We are looking forward to seeing more of their projects. A fun post that they had was their Colorscope. You pick your two favorite colors and then read the description that goes along with each color. My current favorites are: Leaf and Chartreuse. The descriptions gave me a little upper for the day. Thanks Paper Source! Are your color picks pretty accurate to who you are?

Monday, May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day

garden anywhere / wicker pot / apple tree / gloves / wind chimes / journal

Did you know that Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day? I think I like the sound of that better. It's literal and explains it's purpose. I have always really enjoyed Memorial Day. Not only because you get to show respect to those who have passed away but the activities you get to do throughout the day. After you visit memorials or cemeteries, don't you feel reinvigorated to live the life you have? Well my sister and I felt very grateful for life and planted a garden. We're hoping that we're not marching our little plants to a horrible fate, since it's our first year gardening. I found some wonderful gardening items on Anthropologie.com that are all under $25! Maybe if we have the right tools we'll be more successful with our garden... even if that's not true at least we'll have some cute memorabilia. How do you spend your Memorial Day?

Don't forget to check back tomorrow. We have a wonderful gift idea!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Happy Weekend!


Wishing you a lovely weekend filled with fun and whimsical ideas!
Image via fffound, by illustrator Chris Silas Neal.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Happy Monday


Hope that you had a wonderful weekend. We wanted to thank you again for your comments when Maria visited us. From the feedback it looked like a lot of viewers enjoyed her inspiration sites. Sometimes it's nice just having eye candy and not having to buy anything. Just browsing through a few blogs can give you ideas on do-it-yourself projects, entertaining guests, picking up a new hobby... or just soak up a beautiful design. Whatever it is you like here are some of my favorite blogs to visit:

• If you like photography The Blog is Found is a wonderful blog about a husband and wife photography team that have the most amazing images.
Jordan Ferney is a letterpress artist that has a lovely blog about entertaining, color palette ideas, letter pressed beauties and more.
Inchmark is a blog created by a former senior art director for Martha Stewart, enough said. Look here for fun craft ideas, quirky books and baking recipes.
• A blog that I love to read through is Katie Did. If you have daughters or children in general you'll love it even more for crafts, patterns, blankets and other ideas to simply beautify your home and life.
Bookhou is a couple's blog that have a home decor company. John and Arounna have such beautiful aesthetics. Their ideas are minimalist and timeless and their blog transforms their design process into everyday life tips and creations.
• The last one is my new favorite, Mer Mag. She is an amazing illustrator and artist and translates her ideas onto her blog in such a yummy manner.

I hope you like these blogs as much as I do. It's a wonderful way to get inspiration and create a lot out of a little. What are some of your everyday blog destinations?

-Dorthea

Friday, April 10, 2009

Two Ways

Wasn't having Maria such a treat? We hope you enjoyed her ideas as much as we did!

Sometimes we hit walls when we're doing a layout. One way we've been able to power through is to do one layout in two ways. I mean literally picking some adorable layout you love, and making another version with different products. I'm sure this idea isn't new to you (scrap-lifting, yeah?) but it's amazing that by doing a second one you can find new techniques and ideas.

Our first one is made from Windsor:



shopping list: dover shimmer paper, maille textured cardstock, rochester foil paper, cardstock stickers, ribbons, dimensional elements, coaster tags, clear stamps, tobacco ink block, and rub on words.

And the re-make is a whole spring mix!



shopping list: morning meadow bouquet paper, lovebirds lovey dovey shimmer paper, mimosa cosmos pearl paper, morning meadow lace shimmer paper, mimosa chiplets, mimosa petals, mimosa cardstock stickers, mimosa designer brads,
chick-a-dee ribbon, bridgeport rub on words, bridgeport clear stamps, and bordeaux ink block.

So find one of your old layouts you still love and see what you can do! These are the same basic layout, but each one has it's own unique flair. Good luck and let us see your results!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Inspire me...

When I'm feeling uninspired I like to wander through our local thrift store with 5 bucks in my pocket and see what treasures I can find. There's really nothing better than a funky little chotchkie to get me excited and perk my creativity.

I just found these mushroom salt & pepper shakers this morning. Something about them just makes me want to play around with 70's color combination's.



Doesn't this just make you want to play around with cute little forest animal stamps and embellishments?!



Mirrors that I've found at thrift and discount stores and painted.



I found every single one of these pictures at a thrift store and every single one evokes emotion and creativity for me. I painted each and every one of them and my poor husband hung them all on the wall - some of them more than once as I wanted to play around a bit with placement. Have I mentioned I have the most amazing patient and supportive husband in the world? Because I do.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Mixy Matchy

One of my favorite things about SEI is that they have the total package - cardstock, paper, ribbon, chipboard, alpha stickers, embellishments, albums, even stamps and ink. It's so easy to finish projects quickly this way - just grab a bunch of stuff from one line (my current favorite is Bridgeport) and go! You can truly get a mini album done in one evening this way.

OR if you're not into the 'matchy-matchy' look, the different SEI lines all work so well together when mixed and matched.
My personal favorite are the letter stickers - different colors all in the same font, begging to be played with.


I mixed and matched:
• Letter stickers from Dill Blossom and Glitzmas give this frame a funky and casual feel- perfect for my daughters room.
• Paper is from Alpine Frost and Lovebirds
Button from Chick-a-doo
Chipboard leaf from Bridgeport

In this layout I've used products from 4 different lines.


• Paper is from Bridgeport, Lovebirds and Alpine Frost
Letter stickers are from Lovebirds
• Buttons are from Alpine Frost & Chick-a-doo
Die cut bird from Lovebirds
Chipboard journal tab is from Bridgeport

Not to give it away, but keep checking back this week if you like these layouts!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Go to's...

I thought I'd share with you some of favorite 'go to' sites when I need a little jump start to get my creative juices flowing (from left to right, top to bottom).


Design*Sponge
The Crafty Crow, millions of great crafty ideas for your kids - there's seriously nothing like watching your kids go crazy with paint, scissors & glue - how can you not pick up your own crafty supplies and start playing?
Small Space Style, total eye candy!
Anthropologie I know we all love the store, but even just playing around on the website makes me excited to take chances with different color combinations, create little collages, cover up some old frames with funky patterned paper ...
Absolutely Beautiful Things, the name says it all

It just doesn't feel right to not post a photo, so ...



These are from a mini photoshoot I did with my youngest daughter hanging out in our front room (throw in a few jelly beans for bribery and we're good to go!)

My biggest source of inspiration ...



My girls :-)