Where My Ideas Come From

Truly, I do not know. I just have the kind of personality - or maybe it's a personality disorder - that is constantly on the look-out for stuff. Just ask THGGM how he feels about this. If you do, he will point you to the closet he fitted with shelves just for me. Shelves to hold small appliances. Shelves which now hold dozens of Truvia boxes. On second thought, don't ask THGGM. He might also point out all of the colorful Easter eggs piled up on the floor where the vacuum is supposed to go.

Anyway...,

Many of my ideas come from things I've seen on crafty blogs. Crafty people like to share ideas. Other ideas come from just looking at something in a different way than that of it's intended use. Add to that years and years and years of coming up with crafts for small hands.

For the things shown here? That was easy.

I had two of the wooden frames. They sell at Michael's Craft Store for one dollar. When I went to pick up a third, they were on sale 3/2.00. They take paint, crayon, and colored pencil very well and come with a dowel stand. They can stand horizontally also. Now that I can see all three framed (see below) I do wish I had done them all in black and white. Cutting away the background clutter would have worked better for Jonge and Famke's pictures too.
The cards were also a Michael's sale find. Eight cards and envelopes for a dollar. Kids and moms both seem to like the use of pictures. Jonge is big on licking envelopes shut, so I didn't get a picture of his VERY creative card.

Whenever Michael's has a 50% off coupon I check my paper punch supply. These are my 'tools'.

I also invested decades ago in a huge set of Prisma colored pencils. I LOVE them. But, even though it is very hard for me to do, I let the grandkids use these. Only occasionally, as I see them sharpen down a pencil to a tiny nub do I catch myself saying, "I paid $1.29 for that pencil! STOP sharpening it!" I'm a tyrant that way.

Now let's see..,

I can be found perusing the clearance shelves at thrift stores, garden stores, hardware stores, craft stores.., you get the idea. Some of the things I find there would be the bright green Easter basket grass. It really punched up the color in my dining room.

Also, in the pot that Kado is blooming from? I had a blank flower card sitting by the computer as I was having tea. I got to wondering if green tea would stain paper as well as the darker colored tea does. Then, I remembered the cut-out picture of Kado - which I thought looked like a flower on it's own - and backed with that pale green tea-dyed flower? I just LOVE how it looks!

So, the things that I look for? Pipe-cleaners in black, green, tan, white. Clay pots, peat pots, or in this case, coconut fiber pots. Styrofoam balls - these are not cheap new, but can be found VERY cheaply at thrift stores. Moss, excelsier, Easter basket grass - nice filler and also VERY cheap at some thrift stores.
Although I think I've mentioned this before, I also look for scrapbook paper for 50% off. I don't scrapbook, but I do looooove some of the paper. In the daisies above, I used scrapbook paper and a flower punch to give the daisies dimention.

Really though, I'm more of a cheapskate, copycat, simple-minded crafter. And, I am ALWAYS asking myself, "Are the KIDS able to do this? Do they come away from this craft with a since of honest pride in their work?" Because I know myself. I have an idea of how I want something to look and I am always fighting that compulsion to say, "Here, would you just gimme that!"