I began my creative journey writing and illustrating my own storybooks as a little girl, and continued on to overly dramatic poetry as a teenager. I loved making my own dollhouse furniture and accessories, and as I got older my bedroom was my biggest canvas, collaged from wall to wall with my favorite images torn from teenage magazines.
I also dabbled in handcrafting as a child, an embroidery kit here or there, and knew the basics of using a sewing machine. But it wasn’t until I became a stay-at-home mom that I really upped my crafting game (and started this blog!). I taught myself how to crochet, knit, and even got reacquainted with the sewing machine, and I hoarded scraps and recyclables like nobody’s business. Since then I’ve become a bit of a Jill-of-all-trades when it comes to crafting, but I especially love creative reuse.
My crafting skills have evolved over the years, but my sources of inspiration have remained pretty constant. Here are 7 ways I find creative inspiration–hopefully they can help you too!
2. The radio I listen to my local NPR station everyday. I love expanding my viewpoint and hearing stories from around the world that I wouldn’t hear otherwise. And I don’t mean just news stories, I mean the human, heartfelt stories; they’re totally inspiring without being sappy. My favorite weekly shows include Radio Lab, To the Best of Our Knowledge, A Way with Words, TED Radio Hour, This American Life, and The Splendid Table (I love listening to their live Thanksgiving episode every year!). And although you can listen to all of these as podcasts in iTunes, I have to give a big thank you to Texas Public Radio for bringing these amazing shows straight to my ears every week.
3. Podcasts As much as I love listening to radio, there are a number of shows I listen to that are only available as podcasts. I love turning them on as I’m cooking dinner or crafting away. CraftSanity and CraftyPod were the first two podcasts I ever started listening to, and I adored hearing about the lives of other creatives–it made my own creative aspirations seem more attainable. These days I’m also loving After the Jump (from Design Sponge’s Grace Bonney), 99% Invisible, Smart Passive Income (for the business side of things), The Art of Simple, and I just recently discovered Creating Your Own Path (I’ve only listened to part of one episode but it sounds promising). And of course I binge-listened to Serial, although that one was more intriguing than inspiring.
4. Silence Okay, after all that listening–and a loud family of 6–silence is pretty golden. Finding time for quiet not only helps me wind down and recoup, but it also helps me hear my own thoughts and explore my own ideas. It may sound pretty simple, but how often to you sit without noise? I went on my first silent retreat (four days long!) this time last year, and I was completely uncomfortable at first. I don’t think I’d ever been alone in silence for that amount of time ever. It was such a soul-nourishing experience that I went back again over the summer–and need to return again soon!
5. Thrift stores My oldest son asked me what my favorite store was the other day and I immediately said the thrift store. I started garage-saling and thrifting in middle school and haven’t stopped since. Of course I buy new things when I need them, but I love the serendipity of finding hidden gems.
7. The Internet As the last one alluded, the Internet is a pretty big source of inspiration to me, too. I definitely love my share of Pinterest and Instagram. But I also love staying to my bloggy roots and finding inspiration directly from my favorite bloggers. I miss the days of Google Reader, but continue to read all of my faves through Bloglovin’. Nothing beats a pretty picture–especially an endless supply of them! But just like anything, moderation is key. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel inadequate next to all of those pretty pictures–or forget to make time for your own creating!
Since you’re here looking for inspiration, you clearly love the feeling of creating something of your own – and you know that the sense of accomplishment and fulfillment is pretty hard to match.
The great thing about crafting and DIY is that there’s so much to get involved in! You may have started with decorating, or creating gifts, or photography, but there’s a huge world of crafting opportunities out there, and you’ve probably only scratched the surface!
The only problem is… how do you decide which project to try out next? Not to mention, it can get expensive so quickly, buying more resources, more books, more patterns. What if you had a wide variety of inspiring resources right at your fingertips, but for a fraction of what you would usually spend?
Another excellent resource for inspiration is The Ultimate DIY Bundle. It’s an instant go-to library for a whole range of carefully curated DIY and crafting eBooks and eCourses. There are projects that the whole family can get involved in – from photography and home decor to chalk pastels and sewing.
For the incredibly low price of $34.95, you get access to a carefully curated library of over 76 eBooks and eCourses from the world’s leading DIY and crafting bloggers – enabling you to pick a project and jump straight into it with confidence. It’s the perfect tool to skip the information overload and throw yourself straight into a new activity.
Hurry though! The Ultimate DIY Bundle will only be on sale for 6 days – from 8am EST on Wednesday, January 21 until 11.59pm EST on Monday, January 26.
You can buy with complete confidence because you’re covered by the Ultimate Bundles 30-day money-back guarantee. That means you have a full 30 days to enjoy all the eBooks and eCourses in the bundle, and if you don’t think they provided enough value, you’ll get a full refund.
Not only that, but The Ultimate DIY Bundle comes with 4 awesome bonuses, worth over $118.
That’s 3x the price of the bundle alone! These include…
A free $15 Store Credit PLUS 8×10 Art Print from Hope Ink ($43 Value), a free online class from Craftsy (up to $60 Value), free $15 store credit to Fawnsberg.com, and a free sewing pattern PLUS a Premium Video Class from UpCraft Club ($19.99 Value).
So, don’t miss your chance to grab The Ultimate DIY Bundle, and get 76 incredible eBooks and eCourses for just $34.95. All you need to do is take action by midnight on Monday, January 26!
This amazing deal ends in just…
Pick up your copy right now, before it’s too late. Or, learn more here.
And to make the deal even sweeter, I’m giving away a free copy of my crochet coin purse pattern to everyone who purchases the bundle through Maker Mama! After you’ve purchased your bundle, forward your confirmation receipt to me at makermama[at]gmail[dot]com and I’ll send you the pdf! (Please allow me a day or two to keep up with all of the orders.)
Are you itching to make yet?
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. I greatly appreciate the support of my readers, and if you purchase something you love through Maker Mama, you’ll help me continue to share great content at no extra cost to you.
You can read the fine print about the bundle here and read the answers to frequently asked questions about the bundle here.
Thank you again for your support, and happy making!
