The nonstop rain the past two weeks is starting to get to me…instead of going outside (which is where I go to use my torch for metalwork, can’t beat fresh air for ventilation), I’ve been cooped up indoors with a sick toddler. I did make some new earrings, (torch-free, all wire work) that I think [...]

This is a little photo collage I made from pictures of a bike tire & some succulents in my back yard. I’ve been taking photos in my back yard as well as my parents’ back yard over the past year as a reminder that inspiration for creative projects is everywhere. It’s easy to forget sometimes [...]

Although I’m not a clothing designer, I’m inspired watching the designers on the show Project Runway, and I’ve missed watching this season since we don’t get the cable channel that it’s on. Then one of my friends from JET (the Jewelry on Etsy Team) told me you can watch episodes online – and it’s totally [...]

Was just reading a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Marisa of Elegant Snobbery, about how much her muse hates her. Boy, can I relate. Mine has simply gone missing – if you’ve seen her, please send her my way. Unlike Marisa, my muse isn’t torturing me with projects that don’t quite work. She’s [...]

I was listening to podcasts the other day, and yet again, was intrigued by the topic on Craftypod. Sister Diane was interviewing Paul Overton on the subject of “crafting for money vs. passion”, which happens to be the topic of one of his recent blog posts. Lots to think about. I’m pretty sure most of [...]

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 [...]

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

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: Buy a pair for $20 + shipping: My customer likes them, but the look she’s going [...]

While searching for GIMP info online, I found a great site called Texture Well, which is basically a bunch of high-resolution jpg images of various textures, that are free to download and use. There doesn’t seem to be any catch – they are licensed under a creative commons attribution license, so all you have to [...]

I got inspired by iHanna to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a while: publish some lists I’ve been making in my journal on my blog for the world to see. So here’s the first one, 100 Things to Make. Some of these are things I’ve made, some aren’t, most are quick and [...]