Happy 4th to all Americans! I’ll be celebrating by BBQing in the back yard, and working on a new bracelet design. Back on Monday!

It’s the last day of June already – my month of thinking about inspiration went by really quickly! I wanted to share 10 tips to help get inspired when you are in a creative funk.

1. Take a walk (or go to the gym, or do yoga, or anything active). Nothing too strenuous – the point here isn’t to get exhausted, it’s to get moving a little bit, which helps your brain release feel-good hormones. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get inspired again! Also, this helps a lot of people (me included) clear their heads, which is always helpful if you are in a rut.

2. Listen to some good music. I love Pandora radio for this – I type in a band or singer I like and it plays songs it thinks I’ll like based on that selection – I’ve discovered lots of great music this way! Youtube is another good place to find music, but I find watching videos more distracting, where just having music on in the background allows me to be creative while listening.

3. You know that horrible task you’ve been putting off doing? Finish it. I get into a rut every March, and I don’t recover until my taxes are done. As unpleasant as these things are, finishing a project that you’ve been stressing out over will feel SO good. So quit procrastinating and do it – your creativity will probably be back in no time

4. Go to the bookstore (or the library). Browsing art and craft books and magazines always gives me the urge to go make something. And if I’m really in a rut, finding a good mystery novel or other fun fiction book is a great distraction, and I usually find that I’m ready to work on new projects again when I finish reading a good book.

5. Freewrite for 15 minutes or so. Grab a piece of paper or notebook, and whatever you like to write with, and just go. If you can’t think of anything to say, make lists of things. This is one of the most effective ways I know to refresh. I recommend doing it every day, or at least a few times a week. It doesn’t matter what you write, it’s the act of doing it that will help you get inspired. When I’m in the habit of doing this every day, I usually find I have so many ideas that it’s hard to narrow things down!

6. Start something small. Do a little project that doesn’t require inspiration. For me, this would be something along the lines of making earwires, that I can almost do in my sleep. But the act of creating, even something that doesn’t feel creative, often gets my brain working and new ideas coming.

7. Take a break. If you are obsessing about being stuck, give yourself a few days to do something else. Have fun – go to the movies, the beach, whatever you do to relax – and get lots of sleep. It’s hard to be creative when you’re stressed out, so making time regularly just to de-stress can work wonders.

8. Cheesy creativity exercises work – so grab a book about creativity, and do one of the exercises. Or try this one: open a book to a random page and with your eyes shut, point to a spot on that page. Read what it says where you are pointing, a word or phrase, and use that as a journal prompt or a theme for your next piece of art.

9. Make lists of things that inspire you, and keep them somewhere handy, so that when you aren’t feeling inspired, it’s easy to find your favorite quotes, blogs, books, photos, and whatever else you turn to for inspiration.

10. Decorate your workspace with inspiring images. These could be photos, magazine pictures, even just blocks of colors you like. If your space is beautiful, it will be so much easier to spend time there working.

…thanks to everyone who has entered my giveaway! There is still two weeks left – the last day to enter is July 14th – and you can guess as many times as you want to between now and then

I was away at a wedding the last four days, and unexpectedly didn’t have internet access while I was away – as anyone who runs an online business knows, that can be a scary prospect – but I have to admit, the break from checking email, networking sites, and blog comments was kind of refreshing!

Gave me some time to think about what I want to accomplish with my blog, my business, and some other stuff, which can be hard to do when I’m caught up with keeping up on day-to-day stuff. I highly recommend taking an internet break for a few days if you think you can stand it.

I’m typing this post from my iPod – how cool is that? There is a wordpress app that allows you to edit so blogs rightfrom an iPod or iPhone.

Of course, it takes forever for me to type anything… Tiny screen and all.

Quick reminder about my giveaway – Enter as often as you like by adding more comments to the giveaway post. At least two people will win, one for the best guess and one for tweeting.

If you’re reading my blog, you probably are into crafts, and very likely jewelry making in particular.

Good news for you – I hoard craft supplies, [especially beads, but I also have a fairly impressive yarn stash]. And I need to destash some of these perfectly lovely items because, well, there’s no more room in my house and I would really like to reclaim some of my space.

so…..let’s have a giveaway! All you have to do for a chance to win some of my crafty supplies is tell me in the comments what supplies you want me to give you. The answer that most closely describes my mystery package wins it!

Here’s a hint: the prize involves BOTH yarn AND beads. So double yay if you like to knit and bead!

Tweet a link to my giveaway & post a copy of your tweet in the comments to be entered in a random drawing for a *second* package of crafty goodness.

I’m gonna be VERY busy for the next week or two, so keep guessing, and I’ll announce the winners (and post pictures of what they won) on July 15th. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you in case you win – I’ll need an address to ship the packages to.

I have a serious case of spring fever…except now it’s summer, so I really have no excuse! It’s not that I’m uninspired, but what I’m inspired to do is go outside, play with my son at the park, maybe even go swimming if it’s hot enough.

succulent from my garden

I’m a hopeless gardener, but I love gardens, so I maintain a few succulent plants (like the one pictured above). Right now the weather is so nice, I’m tempted to go out and plant a garden, but…any plant that needs more care than a succulent is a major challenge for me! Luckily my mom is a master gardener, and lives close enough that I get to benefit from her green thumb – right now, she has more rip boysenberries than she can keep up with, despite making jam and cobblers, and her fruit trees and vegetable garden will be producing all kinds of fresh, organic treats in the next couple of months. And my house came with a few mature fruit trees, so we have lemons almost year-round, and in the next few days, we’ll have about 500 ripe plums – hopefully I will manage to pick them before they fall!

Hope you are all enjoying the same kind of tempting weather wherever you are! I love this time of year. Remember to check out Monday’s Muse for more posts about inspiration!

Today’s featured etsy seller is Wearable By Design. She makes amazing jewelry from metal clay, and recently took 2nd place in the metal clay category of the Saul Bell jewelry design awards – and I’m sure you can see why the judges were impressed:

How did you pick your shop name?

I wanted something that reflected the idea that my work was art, yet very wearable.

This may be obvious, but what is your medium? What kinds of materials and tools do you use?

I work mostly in a new material called Metal Clay (PMC and Art Clay Silver). I create pure silver jewelry fantasies.

Tell me a little bit about your process, from a new idea for a piece to the finished product.

Sometimes I sketch an idea out, but usually I form it in my head and just let it come out my fingers — in other words, I mostly work directly in the clay. Often I’ll create a paper template if what I’m making has many parts that need to fit together in a specific way. Then I roll out a slab of clay and cut the pieces out, dry and refine them, put them together and fire them in my kiln (that’s kind of a quick run down — in reality it’s a lot more work).

At other times, I’ll form the pieces like miniature sculptures, or I’ll use a mold from a found object to stamp out pieces. It’s such a versatile product. That’s why I love it so much — I can create anything I can imagine!

Any advice for aspiring artists/crafters in your medium?

Be true to yourself. That’s the way real art is created — when it’s your true, unique expression.

Any business advice for artists/crafters just starting to sell their work?

It takes time to develop your own niche and eventually to be seen/know by your own particular style. In order for that to happen, the promotional aspect of the job cannot be skipped. Most artist are probably introverts by nature and that’s the hardest part of the job, but you have to do it.

What is the last song/album you listened to? (I’m just curious, I love music.)

It was last night at dinner [note: this interview actually took place a while ago] and I couldn’t tell you because I’m not good with that kind of thing. At our house, my husband is in charge of the music. The style we both prefer is kind of alternative.

Are there other websites where we can find you/your work?

I have a very website where you can see some of my work. The address is www.wearablebydesign.com

Thanks so much for doing this interview! And congrats on the award!

[Anyone know how to get wordpress to recognize spacing between table elements? Or do I need to add borders to my images to get them to space out a little bit?]

Edited to add: it worked! Thanks Marisa, even though it didn’t print what you were trying to say in the comments, I got an idea while trying to figure out what you were trying to tell me. [maybe I should have kept this post completely wordless - that last sentence is barely legible...]

I got a major garage sale score Sunday morning – a (broken) antique typewriter, will all the keys intact.

My New Old Typewriter

Okay, so maybe it’s just vintage, not an antique (I’m not sure how old something has to be to be an antique…) but this is a very old, very broken typewriter. I’m estimating the date of manufacture as 1922, since the patent information on the back has dates from 1915 to 1921, and states that other patents are pending (and patents in foreign countries too!)

Tyepwriter Patent Info

Why would anyone want a broken typewriter, you ask?

Besides the fact that old stuff is cool, and typewriters look cool, you can make really cool stuff with the parts.

Jewelry makers are likely familiar with the typewriter key jewelry trend – which is admittedly a few seasons old now – and ever since it got started, I’ve been craving some genuine typewriter keys from an old typewriter – not the new-but-vintage looking beads you can buy from craft supply companies, but *real* old typewriter keys.

Typewriter Keys

I never thought I’d get a complete set – and the best part is, it was free!

It had been rusting away in my neighbor’s garage, collecting dust, and apparently taking up too much space.

I noticed that the keys aren’t the only part that could be put to good crafty use. The part that actually types the letters on the paper (what *is* that called?) are like tiny little stamps:

Tiny Stamps?

Part of me wants to start taking this thing apart right away, but another part of me just thinks it’s such a cool thing all by itself that maybe I need to take 500 more pictures of it and display it somewhere for a while first…

So, today’s inspiration tip: go to garage sales and flea markets, you never know what cool art/craft supplies you might find for very cheap or even free! Perfect strategy for people whose inspiration is on hiatus due to worry about the economy. I saw some other crafty stuff that I didn’t buy: for $3, a big box of “beading supplies” (would have snapped it up, but most of it was stuff I don’t use), and for $1 per bundle, 3/4 yard worth of fabric scraps appropriate for quilting (I was tempted, and I don’t even quilt…she had some great fabric!)

Check out Monday’s Muse for more blog posts about inspiration!

I wasn’t planning on making any new jewelry designs in June, but…then I got a request for a custom order, and started making some options of earrings with gold colored freshwater pearls. I really love how these turned out:

Gold Pearl Earrings

Buy a pair for $20 + shipping:






My customer likes them, but the look she’s going for has more of a straight line (I must confess, I knew that when she asked me, but I love curves so much my first version had to be at least a little curvy! I’m working up a straighter version though, and I have to say, I love that version too.) So, an unexpected bonus of taking on a custom order: I got inspired to make some new earrings, much sooner than I expected, considering that 11 days ago I was planning a 30-day respite from designing jewelry. This is a fairly simple design, combining elements from two other designs I’ve done in the past, but it’s still something new because I’ve never combined this pearl with that earwire before. I love when clean, simple look really works, and I think this is a great example of that.

What can I say, I guess I’m an addict. If designing jewelry turned out to be an unhealthy addiction, I’d probably need a 12-step program.

Also: inspiration sometimes comes from unexpected sources. If you want to be a more creative person, sometimes all you have to do to get inspired is be open to inspiration that comes your way. Yes, it does take practice, and most of us need little breaks – for me, working on my photography & photo editing skills, along with learning all I can about other forms of art and craft, is a perfect break from jewelry design when I’m experiencing burn-out. It helps me still feel inspired, even if my inspiration isn’t for making new jewelry designs.

So here’s my tip, if you are trying to get inspired again, after a period of creative burn-out. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me: go try something new. If you’re a crafter, try a new craft. If your work is more fine art, maybe try a new medium, or try mixing two or more media. Or take your camera and shoot a bunch of pictures. If you are so burned out that all of this seems like too much, read about a new art/craft online or in a book, or begin doing morning pages, as described in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron – basically, 15 minutes or so of freewriting. Any of these creative acts can help spark an idea, so I think it’s a good idea to do something every single day if you can, until your muse comes back.

It has worked well for me so far in June, and I plan to continue actively seeking inspiration this way (doing non-jewelry creative tasks every day) the rest of the month, and possibly longer. I’m enjoying learning the basics of photo editing with GIMP, as well as taking photos of artsy looking things, and the ideas for new jewelry are starting to come in as a result. One thing I’d love to work on soon is combining my photography and my jewelry making – so if I figure out a good way to do that, I’ll have an exciting new line of work. I want mine to be a little different from the other photo jewelry I see everywhere, so I have to think about how to accomplish that.