Finding Inspiration

Finding inspiration can be hard at times.  You get busy with your family and it seems like everything else stops.  I recently decided that I wanted to go back to finding the things I love and doing them when time allows.

I used to love going to antique stores and flea markets.  Find that one really cool find and making it over into something amazing.  Last weekend I really wanted to decorate my front porch area to make it more inviting.  So I took off to Hobby Lobby {my favorite store} and found lots of fun and cute things.  I left Hobby Lobby empty handed because it wasn't what I was looking for.  I wanted something quaint and different.

  Something inspiring. 

I decided to stop in at a flea market in town and browse quickly through it to see if there were any goodies there.  I found something that set my mind spinning!  I found a baby doll cradle that was so cute.  Even if the color wasn't what I was wanting I still had high hopes!  I checked it out to make sure it was sturdy enough and it was.  Now, I wonder what it's price would be??  I was almost too scared to look!

$9.99.

Can you believe it!?!  I couldn't.  I snatched that bad boy up and left happy!! 

The idea I had for this cradle is simple.  I wanted to use it as a flower planter for my front porch.

So instead of having a screaming red baby cradle, I stopped by Menards and grabbed 2 cans of Chestnut paint.  Perfect!

Added to my list were 3 gallon sized yellow mums with a little hint of red in them.

After spray painting my cradle a beautiful chestnut color, it sat a day or two to dry.

Next....

Accessorize it.

I really didn't have a big plan in mind.

I picked up some leaf branches at JoAnns and attached them to the side posts with floral wire.

Added a little raffia.

It didn't seem complete so I added a little rake "Welcome" sign to the left side and attached it with floral wire in 3 different place.

While I would like to add more props around my cute little planter, I am stopping for now until I find the next great steal. 

It's easy to get stuck in a rut of creating new things.  My encouragement is this.  Find what you LOVE.  Look around at Flea markets and ask yourself how you could re-do something into something really amazing.  Pick up a few accessories that go well with it and pull it together with things you might all ready have.  You'll be amazed at the end product!

It is the planter I didn't know I was looking for!

Happy creating!

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Storing Patterns

Over a year ago, I started organizing my recipes that I print off or tear out of a magazine.  I was tired of shifting through all of them I had collected and wanted a way to protect them.  What I ended up doing was taking my stack of papers and inserting them into plastic paper protectors and popping them into a 3 ring binder.  They are now stored away in one location and when I get my binder out to cook I don't have to worry about spilling something on the paper and ruining a good recipe.

What started out in my kitchen then spilled on over into my crafts.  I had found some reliable patterns to crochet on web-sites that I had printed off but they too had started stacking up.  After awhile, I was afraid of them wrinkling, getting torn, or just getting lost.  What then struck me was, why not use the same idea I used for my recipe book and apply it to my craft patterns?

I have to tell you how nice it has been to keep all my paper patterns in a binder.  Now they are protected and waiting for future use.  I have also been able to just grab my binder when leaving for a trip and know that all my patterns are there if I have time to crochet while away.  I now know where they all are and don't have to waste time while rushing out the door.

I do want to offer a tip for the paper protectors.  Some patterns are more detailed then others.  Keeping track of where you are on the pattern requires you to use a paper and pencil to track your stitches.  Have you ever thought about using a dry erase marker on your paper protector?  All you have to do is write on the plastic.  When you are done, just use a tissue to clean it off.  This saves paper but also ensures you won't loose the paper while working on your project.  Just a thought...