Tag Archives: Inspiration

Day 7: G is for Gracious

Oh, G.  Goodness Gracious.  I’m a day late on this one.  My husband was home sick on Monday, and I gave in to the sympathy nap (where you decide to help the sick person feel better by also not doing anything but mope and sleep and watch bad TV with them).

I know it’s not much of an excuse.  I even had his ever helpful suggestions on what to post.  From the couch, I could hear him calling out “what about goats?”  “Or maybe giraffes?”  “Gnomes?”

I’m pretty sure I heard “gout” and “gallbladder” too.  Don’t worry – I skipped those.  Instead, we have –

GG is for Gardens

Moonbridge

I’ve talked about this a bit before, but gardens are my quintessential inspiration spot.  We are really lucky to live in Southern California where there are lots of beautiful gardens you can explore in any season.  However, I also make a point to seek out new gardens when we travel.  I had a hard time narrowing down pictures for this post because the landscapes we’ve traversed and photographed are so varied – from expertly manicured formal gardens, bamboo forests, towering greenhouses with catwalks where you can spy on all of the foliage from above, fields of wildflowers where peacocks and other fantastical birds wander in and out from behind trees.

Flower

I don’t know if I’ll ever be much of a gardener.  I certainly have not had much luck with houseplants.  However, I feel a connection with anyone who spends such time and care to create a serene and beautiful place and then invites others over to visit, to meditate, to take part even for the span of a short walk or maybe just long enough to take a nap under a tree.

Rosearbor

Although there are certainly some gardens that are larger than others or some that may have a more exotic collection of plants, I think that the inspiration and peace you can find in a garden seems to be universal.

G is for Gloomy, Gold and Gray

Goldenthread

Today, it’s raining outside (in stark contrast to the sunny photos above).  I find that this is the perfect sort of day for staring outside and thinking.  I spent a few minutes today just playing with materials and making plans for what comes next.  The gold thread and fabric looked so pretty and inviting on the gray window ledge.

Grayledge

Rain-smudged windows are not common here, so I decided to soak up the gloom while it lasted.  I even snapped a photo of a giraffe and some gnomes.  Honey, this one’s for you.

Gnomesandgiraffe

Hope you are inside somewhere cozy and warm.

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Day 5: E is for Elegance

EHere we are, E at last.  Today is Day 5 of  More to Love: A to Z, 26 Days of Alphabetic Inspiration.

I have really enjoyed starting each morning on this treasure hunt of sorts.  The one side effect is that I often think of words I missed while I’m driving or washing dishes.  Ah well… I guess that’s the beauty of this type of project.  There are so many words to choose from, but ultimately, I have to pick one or two or three and move on.

So here we are at E, one of my favorites.

E is for Embroidery Floss

EmbroideryFloss

A well organized box of embroidery floss is like your own personal rainbow.  I will be honest.  Up until a few years ago, it had never occurred to me to organize it.  Embroidery floss goes on sale for 10 cents, so I always reasoned that if it ended up in a knot, I could just buy more.  I would pick up a few skeins here and there and they would fall into a tangled mess, slowly choking out every other item in the drawer.  If you own any, you’ll know what I mean.

EmbroideryFloss2

Finally, one day I saw the little cards and the little stickers to label the colors and a light went on.  This is one of those activities that can make you feel exceedingly old and grannyish, but is so worthwhile.  It makes embroidery a relaxing activity rather than a test of your ability to untie knots.

E is for Eyelets

Eyelets

One of my favorite tools is my eyelet setter.

I used to feel guilty about getting rid of greeting cards, but now I recycle most of them into gift tags.  (There are a few that are extra special which I save.)  I cut out a section of the card with my 1 1/2″ circle punch and add an eyelet.  I like to think that this doubles the good wishes attached to the tag — all the happy birthdays and good lucks and congratulations layering on top of each other.

E is for Echino

Echino1

Elephant

Etsuko Furuya’s fabric line, Echino, is like a little jolt of happy.  Her imagination is so rich – it always inspires me to push a little further out of my safe zone.  (P.S. – The Elephant is not related, but he did start with E and he was just begging to have his picture taken.)

Lastly, E is for Egg

Egg

This video has been around forever, but I still love it.

A few other E words to Esteem: elm, eternal, effervescent, Emma, erstwhile, England, earnest, Everest, elegance, elves, elongate, emphatically.

Until Friday!

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A Syllabary for the New Year

Yesterday, I promised the unveiling of a new mini-project.  I think a little structure will be good for me this time of year.

For the next 26 days, I’ll be working my way through a whole alphabet of things that inspire, entertain, and cheer all the way from A to Z.  That’s it.  That’s the whole plan.  It’s a little bit Sesame Street and a little bit 4th grade creative writing assignment, but I shall start with A and sift through all of the Aardvarks, Adversaries, and Apples to find something Adorable and Apropos. I promise it will heavier on the eye candy and lighter on the puns.  At least, I’ll try.

AtoZBy all means, please feel free to play along.  It’s January.  We might as well start with something easy and just a touch optimistic.

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Eraser Marks

PinkEraser

January always makes me think of spongy pink erasers.  As the last few days of December slip by, I can almost hear that squeaky-squeal of erasers in a sketchbook.  I blow away the pink eraser dust, and think ok, let’s try this again now, shall we?

2010, you’re sort of different.  Aren’t you?  I think a lot of people are hoping for that.

Usually, I’m a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions.  I don’t like to make them too hard.  That’s probably why I like them.  They are mostly priorities – I realize more and more that I have to pick and choose where to put my focus.  First come, first serve and all that.  If I don’t pay very close attention, it seems that a lot of goals I think are very important would drift right down to the bottom where I’ll never quite get to them.  January is a great time to shake the barrel and see if there is anything really special down there that might get lost underneath all the daily dust.

This year I’ve been working towards a different deadline: March.  It was last March that I left my job in the corporate world and decided to try my footing on my own.  I find that my list of goals and resolutions is already pretty full.  I’ve gotten started on some big things, but there is still a lot of work to be done.  So this year, I’m gathering up all of my papers, reshuffling a few, and straightening the stack.  Back to work!

Is it a coincidence that while cleaning my desk, I found this quote on some scratch paper?

From Socrates to Edison, every forward step taken by mankind through revolving centuries, every advance by humanity towards the ultimate goal, has been led by some valiant dreamer whose eyes were fixed upon the dawn.”  – G.E. Dinger

Carry on, friends.

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