Cath Edvalson
Ask anyone here, and they’ll tell you how much they love their job. Sometimes I wake up thinking I am one of the luckiest gals in the world because of the tasks that lay ahead of me, the people with whom I get to work, and the inspiration that I’m going to find on any given day. I mean, being the creative editor of a magazine like Paper Crafts is like eating chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without gaining any weight.
Of all my super-fun duties, however, right now I’m super-loving authoring the Moxie Fab World blog. I mean, the sheer idea that I get paid to find inspiration for readers all over the world, quite frankly, is mind-boggling to me. Take last Tuesday, for example… I was surfing the ‘net for some inspiration, happened upon a very cool modern furniture site, started digging around, and found some uber cool wallpapers.
Feathers Wallpaper from 2modern.com
Animal Farm Wallpaper from 2modern.com
Suzanne Wallpaper from 2modern.com
Now, in all probability, I would never plaster these patterns on the walls of my home, but they are inspiring in and of themselves. And then I started noticing that each one reminded me in a big way of paper crafting product that I was familiar with.
The fire was lit. The inspirer was inspired.
You can’t imagine my joy as I flitted from web site to web site, trying to find the matching product to each wallpaper sample. Call me crazy, but it was some serious brand of joy. Did I mention how much I love my job?
This wallpaper reminded me of this Peacock Feather Stamp from Inkadinkado.
Look at the similarities between the wallpaper and the Baby Zoo piece of paper from the Baby Cakes Collection from KI Memories.
Though they’re in a different color scheme, the resemblance between the wallpaper and the Simplicite paper from the Cosette Collection from GCD Studios is uncanny.
Here’s the cool thing. When I sat down to write the post, I didn’t have a plan, I had no idea in what direction I would go, nor where the inspiration would take me. One thing led to the next and before I knew it, I was having a quite literal blast putting the whole thing together, and I was extremely pleased with the results.
That’s the very nature of inspiration, isn’t it? A spark is ignited, the excitement is registered, there’s a flood of ideas, more excitement ensues, the work begins, and before you know it you’ve dived into an entire bowlful of magic.
What’s inspiring you lately? Who inspires you? What inspires you? Where and when do you get your best ideas? Now that you’ve heard what’s revving my engine, I’d love to hear what’s revving yours! Leave me a comment by midnight MST on Thursday, June 18 and I’ll choose a random winner to win some American Crafts fun!
Yours in sourcing inspiration,
~Cath
P.S. For the full post that compares wallpaper to paper crafting product, click here.
I went to Vegas this past weekend and there was this amazing art installation in one of the hotels filled with colored umbrellas and “rain” that fell down in the form of lights. It was absolutely gorgeous and completely inspiring!!
what reving my engine right now is all my new stamps i just got. paper make up just did there june relese party so i just got some new dino stamps from them. then i just got unity kit of the month for june. so i am digging thru my scraps and i am gong to try and whittle it down making projects with my new stamps.
I’m inspired by food! Especially desserts.
I am inspired by new paper collections. I love to make cards and paper crafts when I see a collection I really like, especially Cosmo Cricket!
fabric is inspiring me. maybe because i’m on a sewing kick, but i look at different sewing projects and it inspires my other projects.
Truthfully, day to day life is my inspiration ! That and nature plays a big part !
My daughter’s outfits have inspired me lately!! She’s almost 2 and has a moxie fab wardrobe I must say. Often times, she is playing next to me while I squeeze in some craft time and I’ve used “something” from her outfit that day more than once.
Although I quite literally gather inspiration from everywhere, a new source of mine has been cake decor! I stumbled across this by accident while watching the Food Network. I saw a cake, thought, hmm, that would be cute on a card, a few google searches later and now I have a file full of cakey inspiration!
I always find inspiration bloghopping or looking through magazines (scrapbooked related and not).
Cath, YOU and this site inspire me! I am so grateful for it.
BUT this week I am inspired by the kindness of others as I have witnessed a RAK challenge……I think I’ll scrap it!
~Shari
I get most of my inspiration from blogs. I have a bunch that I look at through google reader. One of my favorites is http://ohjoy.blogs.com/
Lately the internet has been my main souce of inspiration for my crafting! There are so many blogs and websites dedicated to sketches and challenges, and everyday I see new ideas to inspire me…and of course Moxie Fab World and Paper Crafts are right up there. Thanks for inspiring all of us!!
I get alot of my inspiration from others blogs! It seems like others have such great ideas!
When I’m feeling really blocked or stuck in a groove, I grab a creative boosting book or some design showcase books. Craft project books and magazines are great too. Scouring the internet for craft blogs and tutorial sites help a lot too. I love soaking in the work of others and letting it steep in my brain for a while.
Hmm.. lately I’m ALL about magazines. I’ve been clipping away at fun new colors, moldings and styles. I am trying really hard to step out of my box. So this is a great way to do it. I love putting new twists on somebody elses designs. Making it my own, and then stepping back and giving myself a pat on the back for creating something new and original. It’s the best!
Shelley
catalogs, magazines, blogs, shopping bags, store windows, you name it!
Blogs like yours, Nichole Heady, and Dawn McVey to name a few!
I get inspiration from mags, blogs, and sometimes just an item itself can inspire a spark of creativity. Often, I will look at an object and conjure up different ways to use it or decorate it.
My most creative thinking time is in the evening and at night……my mind is less cluttered by daily chores in the evening. I can sit and create w/o having my daily work load on my mind.
I browse through myriad website galleries and blogs for my inspiration.
As a hybrid card-maker (who combines traditional methods with digital papers, digital rubber stamps & various digital images), I’d like to see a little more attention given to this segment of the card-maker market. We may not be legion, but we are many and are starting to be recognized as such by the digital scrapbooking industry and a variety of digital artists. Digital rubber stamps are quickly becoming popular as an alternative to the conventional ones, with the added benefit of being re-sizable. Dingbats are a similar way to create embellishing elements for cards and scrapbooks.
May I also suggest a quick-start icon (as the 5-step one currently used in your Paper Crafts publication) for cards made with a combination of both digital & conventional techniques and products? A similar icon might be used in your CK publication for those layouts that incorporate digital elements (currently they are not speficially identified and one must read through the product list to find out)
It’s a start!
Thank you and best wishes for continued creativity.
I get inspired by all the great creativity of all you wonderful people who are willing to share yours. It gets me fired up!
Recently I received inspiration from an ad we received in the mail (couldn’t even tell you what it was for) but I loved the four colors.
I mainly get ideas from scrapbooking/card magazines or websites. I take one idea off a layout and combine it with another and change up the colors, etc.
YOU inspire me Cath! I love checking out the latest trends in paper crafting specifically and in the design world as a whole when you point them out on your Moxie Fab blog. In fact, you inspired me to go searching on my own, and I have a card idea brewing right now based on a Pottery Barn pillow.
It’s the blogs that inspire me, and looking at fabric on Etsy. I love getting colour combos from fabric designs, it makes me feel like I was not really too lazy to sew….
I can’t afford to shop these days, but catalogues are very inspiring. I love Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn as well as Anthropologie for color and design inspiration.
I always find the Hero Arts blog inspirational, surfing around on etsy, and at the moment, Jennifer McGuire has just started a 9 wk stamping course on twopeasinabucket- the first video is up and there are going to be 26 more! I’m going to be exploding with possibilities!
Lately, I am getting my inspiration mostly from colors…that’s right, colors. When I look at a picture I notice the colors and then I seem to be able to pick from there the rest of what I need.
I also have been going to all my blogs and if I see a sketch or an idea that HITS me-I use it! 
I know when it feels right and what will work with my style. 
First of all, YOUR BLOG inspires me. Secondly, I love to browse scrapbooking and card making galleries. Thirdly, the funny things my kids say and do inspire me.
I’m new to checking blogs and boy have I been missing out….there is more inspiration out there than I can keep up with!
Just got back from CKC Pasadena and I am super excited to work on some mini books. Inspired by new paper lines and stamps again.
I get a TON of inspiration from Moxie Fab World (smile). I also subscribe or follow a TON of blogs that are all so inspiring to me. Studio Calico is great. Scrapjack. Hero Arts. Plus, I’ve always gotta peruse the Pottery Barn cattys even though I can’t actually afford anything in them. The kids ones are especially inspiring.
I would have to say that alot of inspiration comes from music…titles, quotes, etc are all good starting points for a layout
I have several blogs I visit regularly for inspiration. Right now, it’s acetate cards and kraft that draws my eye!
I get my inspiration from magazines and the internet–I have several blogs I enjoy reading each day and I always come away inspired! I also like it when different sites have challenges–those always make me think about my supplies and pictures and stories in a different way.
I get inspiration from blogs. I love surfin’ to check out styles and color combos.
Most of my inspiration comes from magazines and other peoples blogs. Right now http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog really inspires me, I really love her cards. I get my best ideas on the fly, its better if I don’t have anything planned out.
I have been inspired by new products lately – fun & summery colors out there
I am truly inspired by all the great beauty that surrounds us. I keep a pad of paper in my purse to jot down color combos I see on people clothing or different designs in logos on products, stores, boxes, clothing…you name it. When I am uninspired I turn to great magazines and away we go:) Thanks for your inspiration. It does sound like an amazing job….so jealous:)
What inspires me? All of you out there and your wonderful ideas, you are my daily inspiration!!!!!
I get a lot of inspiration from magazines. I especially love the page layouts. And the variety of fonts, colors, even what the articles use as headlines spark ideas.
I get inspiration from lots of places–scrapping/paper crafting mags, nature and flowers, home dec TV programs and even ads in other women’s magazines! Sometimes I get ideas just from things my kids do and say! Oh, I also particpate in a few crafting websites–I learn lots from those too1
magazine ads, and blogs have been a great source of inspriation lately!
Probably 80% of my inspiration comes from blogs–specific projects on papercrafting blogs, photos on photography blogs; so I’m a big fan of Moxie Fab World. The other 20% comes from the environment: signs, store fronts, displays; usually these are color combinations. I’ve been known to take a photo of an awning because I loved the colors.
Most of my inspiration comes from the Papertrey Design Team, their ideas are always fresh and exciting. I also have found many other amazingly talented women through the forum and designer’s blogs. That’s how I found your site, Moxie Fab World. Now it is one of my favorites.
I love to check out blogs. So much inspiration out there!
I get a lot of inspiration from my favorite blogs, personal and scrapbook/card companies. I always get inspired with Paper Crafts. Anxiously awaiting for the new Card Mag #7!
I get inspiration from all kinds of things that I see throughout the day – patterns in clothing, nature, a magazine, stationery, even a house or a building that i drive by….colors, lines, repetition….I love being inspired!
Inspiration is everywhere…blogs, magazines, tv commercials, nature, my family……
I am currently being inspired by the design team for PTI; I’m always inspired by BasicGrey stuffs and I’m totally NOT sucking up with I say this because I *mean it* – PaperCrafts publications. I’ve found many things that are inspiring me to step out of my comfort zone!
I get most of my inspiration from blogs of other scrappers, but also find it in home decor items.
I am usually inspired by blogs, by magazines, but also just by life. Sometimes when I’m sitting on the bus I come up with great ideas.