{Guest Post} lollipops

finding inspiration
as an entrepreneurial crafter and blogger i have to keep a good flow of good ideas coming.

sometimes this flow can dry up like a desert and i find myself completely lost for words, ideas, designs, and photo ops.

when this happens i have discovered there is usually an underlying issue: stress, life's tragedies (sadness), and/or exhaustion.
i mainly run into exhaustion and am finding that taking a day or two off a week helps me to find balance.
what to do if you are having a desert-like experience:
1. get out of the house, take a walk or visit thrift shops and antique shops and bring your camera. shoot anything you fancy. take a note book with you and just write anything that comes to mind. sometimes writing that one word breaks down a brainstorming barrier and becomes an entirely new creation!

2. sometimes you need to take a complete break - tell yourself you are going to go out or do something that has nothing to do with creating or work; "me" time. WALK AWAY from your studio and computer. take a hot bath, watch a movie, NO work thoughts for a few hours or days. suddenly something may pop into your head - this happens to me on long drives and unfortunately in the shower - both places where i can't write things down, but i picture them in my head play them out and as soon as i can WRITE THEM DOWN :)

3. take one item that you like - you find this item inspires you or you just happen to LOVE it. and use it as a spring board for your creations. for instance i found this old birdcage and from it several things were born. 1. i "fixed up" the birdcage to make it a pretty thing for my studio *LOVE*. 2. i created pretty birdcage cards from a spark of inspiration from the birdcage. 3. i now have something to hang my cards on for boutiques and shows 4. it gave me the idea of how to do my "booth" for the Queen Bee Market this may. 5. i used the birdcage redo as a tutorial on my blog 6. it made me realize i can spray paint other junk and make it pretty too. 7. it gave me a way to communicate inspiration to you!
maybe your spring board is a type of flower, or a font, or color, or a pair of tights. the possibilities are endless.

just remember not to copy with intent to sell or blog. copying for own home use and not taking the credit for it is fine. though copying will not allow you to grow, or learn to be creative. you have it in you to be inspired. taking someone else's ideas are not only damaging to you, they are damaging and hurtful to the very community you want to be a part of.

mostly i have too much inspiration and good ideas won't stop and i just don't have time for everything! this too can be frustrating. i don't want to sleep. crafting, creating and innovating are everything to me. folding laundry, cooking, cleaning - seem like huge time wasters to me. i become a person in a hurry everywhere i go just so i can get back to "lollipops". so finding the right balance here is key.

i hope i have given you a gift today, to be inspired and to know how to find inspiration...
it's waiting for you just around the corner :)
what's inspiring you this week?
xoxo,
krystina
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