by Linda | Sep 15, 2009 | my creative journal
Inspiration can come from just about anything and yet, artists spend a great deal of time searching and even waiting for that special spark. I am inspired all the time, seeing new patterns and designs in everything that surrounds me. The swirls in my morning cup of coffee or even the splotches on the ceiling of my bedroom inspire. Images suddenly come to mind when I hear certain phrases in conversation, especially since I am learning Italian and practically every word is a new discovery.
Being online for a large part of the day, I must also mention the many blogs out there that inspire with words and photos. You can see my blogroll on the sidebar, but there are many more in my trusty RSS reader. I’m always excited to see what others are up to and I think we fuel each other with our creativity. I also follow theme websites such as Illustration Friday and Inspire Me Thursday. They offer a weekly word or phrase to be interpreted in any way you see fit. There’s also Creative Every Day and Monday Art Day…what blogs and theme websites do you find inspiring?
All this inspiration can sometimes feel like information overload. Thankfully, we all have that trusty tool called a sketchbook. I have always found myself jotting down lists of ideas. Very stream of consciousness and seemingly random as my mind leaps around a lot. Unfortunately, inspiration isn’t executed upon all the time, maybe just a few here and there are followed through to the end. In reflecting on this, I realize that I’m an idea person. I just love brainstorming most of all. No limits, no boundaries, just spout out anything and everything.
I thought it was such a shame that my lists of ideas usually get left behind and forgotten. I’m already on to the next idea after all. But wouldn’t it be better if I shared my lists? No worries on how silly some might seem…I would rather give it a chance – for the possibility of promoting some creativity somewhere. I offer it all with no strings attached because it seems better that an idea can be nurtured rather than lost forever – effectively unused potential. Think of all the amazing things that could be created if the right idea was matched with the right person to execute it? It makes me happy just thinking about sharing ideas, so moving forward I will do just that along with posting the one idea I personally do follow through with. So here goes…
In Good Company is the theme this week at Inspire Me Thursday and honestly the first thing that came to mind was the movie, In Good Company. (Duh!) But from there my stream of consciousness went on…
- your hands gripped together, like in the movie during the speech by the big boss, good graphic poster
- something about people, family and friends together
- I like hugging, snuggling – even with your pets, kawaii!
- drinking wine and hanging out – the wine glass and bottle make me think of merry jolly times
- anything together especially in cold weather, seems like a good time to snuggle
- thinking of warm colors – tans, browns – earth colors – in the midst of the cold white snow
- roasting chestnuts over the fire, even smores over campfire
- camping, always good company around you, cozy
- animals in their burrows, very cozy together – babies with mommy in burrow smushed up together
- baby sleeping with teddy bear or hugging blankie or sibling babies cuddling
- babies in yin yang formation
- idea of fitting together perfectly
- ultimately the feeling of comfort, security and love with something else = in good company
- the holidays come to mind, xmas especially
I could go on, but I stopped on something I wanted to illustrate, fluffy birds snuggling together on a cold winter day! I decided to make it a repeating tile because patterns are just so darn cool.
You can find this design on fabric in my Spoonflower shop –>
It’s a cute little pair of birdies looking cozy for you. What do you think? I hope you feel in good company on my blog, because I do appreciate your support! Thanks for sticking around. Ciao ciao!
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by Linda | Aug 25, 2009 | DIY printables
Created this cute food wallpaper about my love of rice balls, because I so miss asian cuisine! Download this free kawaii design for your computer here!
Living in Italy means authentic and delicious Italian cuisine. However, it can be difficult to find variety when living in a small town. I was so used to being able to find any type of cuisine at a moment’s notice in Los Angeles. Where we live now it’s like the search for the holy grail if you want something different. There are places, but not all are authentic or quality.
Thankfully, my husband is very eager to hunt around and try out ethnic food restaurants with me. During our August vacation, we visited an hour or two North of our region and found a wonderful Indian restaurant in Carrara. It was heaven…real Indian cuisine! I realized how much I missed rice in general. Thoughts of Japanese rice balls wrapped with seaweed or stuffed in tofu pockets came to mind. I started to imagine giant pots of Indian or Thai curry mixed with beautiful white rice. Yum*drool* oh, I miss you rice!
These thoughts inspired me to make a new desktop wallpaper (download digital PNG file for digital and printable PERSONAL USE ONLY)
It’s all about my love for rice balls. I went kawaii style, because I love Japanese anime and manga… plus it was top of mind after reading the first issue of Parasol Craft Magazine.
What can be better than rice love? Now I can drool about it every time I look at my desktop… two loving riceballs, ready to be eaten – haha! I hope you enjoy this free wallpaper download!
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by Linda | Aug 14, 2009 | DIY printables
Looking for a motivational computer wallpaper design? How about this make a wish wallpaper I created for inspiration and a get back to work reminder!
I remember my brother telling me about the Perseid meteor showers some years back. During the peak of the meteor shower in the summer months, we should be able to see them just by looking up for 30 minutes or so.
However, having lived in Los Angeles all my life, opportunities to be out in the middle of nowhere to see the stars just didn’t happen often. I never really stared up at the stars or see any kind of meteor shower, ever!
Now that my husband and I sort of live in the “middle of nowhere” – it’s a tiny Italian town in the countryside. There’s less illumination, so we could totally see the meteor shower from our terrace!
My husband was actually quite shocked I had never experienced the sight of a falling star! The peak of the meteor shower coincides with the Catholic holiday on August 10 for St. Lorenzo, the date of the saint’s martyrdom… so it was a curious coincidence in this timeframe. It led many to call the Perseid meteor shower the tears of St. Lorenzo!
I love the whole story, it is so romantic and cute! Sort of melancholy in terms of tears falling, but still endearing and lovely. Imagine little meteor bits smashing into our atmosphere…
Download this as a desktop wallpaper
So from all these thoughts and wondering how often people make wishes on stars, I came up with this make a wish wallpaper design.
It’s very woo woo, but it’s so romantic to put a little bit of hope and trust in something supernatural. Maybe it helps us to realize that not all things are under our control!
I think we need inspiration and hope from elsewhere at all times – the mysterious and powerful in life! But of course, we still have to do the work and make it happen. So that’s why I thought of the saying, make a wish, but then make it happen!
Yup, created this design, inspired by seeing my first meteor shower with my husband this past week. Wishes and dreams, waiting to happen… let us all be reminded that it’s wonderful to dream and hope, but we need to follow it with hard work as well! Make it happen!
I hope you enjoy this make a wish wallpaper download – thanks for stopping by!
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by Linda | Jul 23, 2009 | DIY printables
Looking for a cute pigeon drawing outline, for digital stamping, papercrafting and coloring? Here’s my interpretation for free download!
I’ve been experimenting with drawing birds lately and sketching out different variations. Chubby ones, regular ones, tiny ones – front view, side view or just the backside. It’s fun to experiment and learn about the slight shifts in line that can change the whole image so much.
I thought my pigeon drawing was so cute, I had to share with all of you. Just click on the image above to download the full size image to your computer.
Will you use it as a digital stampe or for stenciling? I have realized over time that color images might be nicer, but drawing outlines are helpful for other craft projects too… so it depends on what you are looking for!
I’ve also been thinking about how we see trends in the decor world and I think birds are a major motif. Maybe that is always the case, it’s just so common and relatable, I suppose?
I hope you enjoy my pigeon drawing and download it for your crafty projects. I love sharing and will be back soon with more. Enjoy!
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by Linda | May 25, 2009 | DIY printables
Looking for a cute chicken drawing that you can download and print for free? Check out my little hen illustration, so you can start your DIY project!
Here’s another little digital doodle I created, a little cute chicken drawing. I was thinking of hens, so that is how this digital stamp came about. It’s funny how much I love to sleep and if the room is always dark, I might just brood all day long – haha, the hen in me!
After drawing this little chicken up, I played around with coloring and pattern making as well. Just some variations and wondering how patterns work and how to make them more interesting and less… repeating, I guess?
Obviously, patterns repeat… but to make it look more random I suppose. Still much to learn, but I do love digital drawing and how the simplest things can be the cutest as well.
I hope you will enjoy this cute little chicken drawing and might use it in your crafting projects. From making digital cards to color pages to other paper crafts. Thanks for stopping by! And of course, I hope to share more soon.
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