Spring 2012 volume 3, no. 1

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inspired ideaspreview

dear friends,

What I love most about spring is the

celebration of life that appears all around.

Every new green bud emerging from a

sleeping winter branch, every sprout pushing

through thawed earth, every sweet bird

singing prettily whilst she builds her nest...

they all seem to be saying, “Spring is Here!”

This issue is full of happy spring projects

that will inspire your transition from the grey

winter blahs to a joyful declaration that spring

is indeed here! I hope you enjoy every single

page as much as we’ve enjoyed preparing

them for you.

with love,

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1 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S p r i n g y P e n c i l s

2 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a d o r a b l e b o w t i e s

3 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . c l a y c u p c a k e s

4 4 . . . c h a m p a g n e c a g e c h a i r s

5 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . c r e p e p a p e r b a s k e t s

5 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . s t r a w b e r r y b u t t o n s

6 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i n s p i r e d d o o d l e

6 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a l i t t l e b i r d y

7 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a l l s e a s o n w r e a t h

76 ....................................have craft will travel

8 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I n s p i r e d r e a d s

inspired finds 3 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . s w e e t c a r d s

4 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . k n i t c o l l a g e

5 0 . . . . . . . . . . c a n d y b u t t o n s

6 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p r e t t y p a r t y

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danielle muller tracey fisherDanielle Muller is a mixed media/paper artist who lives in Long Island, New York, with her husband, three children and two cats. She enjoys creating vintage styled whimsies using many of the antique bits and baubles she picks up during her tag and estate sale excursions. Her work has been seen in various Stampington publications and can also be seen in the January 2011 issue of Romantic Homes Magazine. Danielle shares her passion for photography and living an inspired life on her blog www.daniellemuller.typepad.com

After a career in corporate and broadcast television, Tracey Fisher returned to the world of crafting, as she raised her two young girls. Armed with an inspirational “Betz White cupcake,” a whole world of crafting and blogs opened up to her. She took sewing classes and knitting classes and made little projects for family and friends. She knitted cupcake hats and viking helmets for teachers’ babies, made sock monkeys for friends and sewed up zippered pouches and purses for gifts.

These days, instead of her daughters following in her footsteps, she has found that it is she following theirs. With their Etsy shops, blogs and Tumblr accounts, she now finds both her teenage daughters are her creative mentors.

With the help of her girls, Tracey has opened up an Etsy shop and started a blog, in their names, where she crafts to her heart’s content and writes up a storm about crafting, motherhood and her next chapter. You can read all about her adventures in crafting at www.helanaandali.blogspot.com

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maria grimes

kerrie more

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, one of Maria’s fi rst “creative” memories was when she was about 5 years old, making little adobe clay animals from the S.B. soil in her backyard.

She has always enjoyed creating things like mohair teddy bears, stained glass windows, handmade soaps and ceramics. As a lampwork bead artist, her passion now is taking glass rods and melting them with a 2000 degree torch to make little whimsical works of art you can wear.

She gets most of her inspiration from the things in her life, from her garden to her pets and everything in between.

Visit Maria at her website-www.gardenpathbeads.com

And her blog-www.mariagrimes.blogspot.com

If you were to ask Kerrie what she loves more, reading or crafting, she would have a hard time choosing. Living out in the country, with only three very-fuzzy television channels, her childhood was fueled by trips to the library as well as long afternoons immersed in an eclectic mix of creative projects. As a school librarian, she spends her days helping students navigate the world of information as well as fi nd good books to read. She’s adamant when she says, “I have the greatest job in the world!” Kerrie is very proud to be part of a book club that has been meeting for fourteen years and recognizes the way that reading inspires kinship. One of her favorite moments is hearing someone say, “Have you read….” and watching everyone scramble for a pen and paper to write down the title. Kerrie considers herself blessed to call northwest Montana her home and marvels each day at the beauty outside her window. She and her husband recently built a mountain cabin in the area where her great-grandparents homesteaded. It is here that she retreats to enjoy nature, get lost in a good book or crochet her heart out. Kerrie’s blog, More Life, is in its infancy, and she considers it a “show-and-tell” of her latest creative endeavor or whatever good book she’s just read. You can take a peek at www.kerriemore.com.

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becky kazana kim stout

Becky’s funny last name “Kazana” is a Swahili word which can be translated as “to busy oneself” and “make a home.” She and her husband fell in love with this philosophy during their travels in Africa and decided to adopt Kazana as their new last name. It reminds them that their home is not a physical place but a life together. Their travels have taken them through Africa, Europe, China, and all over the United States. Becky currently makes her home on The Big Island of Hawaii.

Becky Kazana charts the inspiration she finds around her every day on her blog: http://www.thefabmissb.blogspot.com She sells handmade goodies for weddings, parties and celebrations on Etsy: beckykazana.etsy.com

Kim Stout was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Ohio. She grew up playing in the woods and wanting to be Betsy Ross or Sacajawea. Kim received a BFA in Fine Arts from Ohio State and a MAE in Art Education from RISD. She taught art in Frederick County, Maryland for a number of years before going into her family’s business, Coastal Pet Products. Kim works primarily in textiles and ceramics, often combining the mediums. For her, the process of making creates harmony of disparate bits. She’s hopelessly sentimental, saving everything that could possibly have a future use. As a result, she has lots of little bits to craft with!

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peggy lucasPeggy Lucas has spent a career handling corporate insurance in Houston, Texas, either as a buyer or broker. She always had a love for ephemera but assumed she just wasn’t the crafty type until 2006 when she attended her fi rst, second and third scrapbook events: Scrap, Etc., Creative Escape and CKU-Houston. Since then, she’s traveled North America with a variety of friends attending crafty workshops or fl ea markets. When her day job takes her across the globe, she usually manages a visit with scrapbook friends or some vintage shopping between meetings. Whether it’s learning how an oil well is drilled, or the difference between a feather stitch and a French knot, she loves to learn and try new things. Eventually, she’s going to have to sell some of this stuff she’s collected from estate sales or fl ea markets on Portobello Road, Round Top or Canton. Her plans are to make it to Renningers and Brimfi eld soon! You can fi nd her latest adventure at www.pegomh.blogspot.com

Amy Powers ..............Magazine CreatorPam Keravuori .......... Idea Generator Illustrator Word SmithLorraine Rose ........... Proofreader Cheerleader ValidatorKerrie More .............. Proofreader Book reviewer

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & SUBMISSIONS: Email amy@inspireco.com or send correspondence to: Amy Powers Inspired Ideas 5213 Tulip Leaf CourtCentreville VA 20120

© Copyright 2012 by Inspire Co. LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission of copyright owner. All images contained within have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of all the artists concerned and no responsibility is accepted by the publisher, Inspire Co., for any infringement of copyright or otherwise arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that the projects within this magazine are original.

Please respect the generosity of the artists contributing to this magazine. Do not reproduce projects featured here for resale. They are for personal use only. Enjoy!

Spring 2012 volume 3, no. 1

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inspired ideas

spring!

you love to make things

In fact, you are always making something.

It’s what makes you happiest. You are most

inspired by ideas that are fresh, approaches

that are ingenious, & designs that are lovely.

Welcome! You are home.

inspired ideas is your magazine.

{crafthappy}

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