Welcome 2011!  Starting a new year is like slowly opening a present you weren’t expecting…you don’t know what is in store but you anticipate a wonderful gift!  I’m always careful about what I do on New Year’s Day.  I’ve always heard whatever you do on New Year’s you do all year long.  So believe me, I don’t do laundry, pay bills, run to the store for something I forgot or do paperwork.  I know I will do those things in the upcoming year, but no sense in writing it in stone!  Instead, I try to bring in the New Year doing things I enjoy and today I did just that!

Now,  those are things I would like to do all year long!  I haven’t made any resolutions but those are all things I would love to spend more time doing in 2011!  To help with the scrapping part of it, I bought a subscription to 52 Inspirations at O’Scraps to spark my scrapping and journaling!  I’m anxious to start this creative journey and hope the weekly goodies will keep me on track

I know lots of you complete Project 365 – a photo a day.  I know better than to try that.  I may go days trying to remember where I put my camera…but I do have a template to share with those of you organized and disciplined enough to complete this fun project.  You can download the template HERE!  Good luck with your creative journey and may God bless you in 2011!

I’ve had a wonderful week off – relaxing, organizing and visiting. I went to visit a friend, Laura, who lives a few hours away. We did what girls do…we shopped, we ate, we laughed, we cried, we painted. We reflected on the past and set goals for the future. One thing we both want to do is experiment with mixed media art so we played around with a few techniques while I was there. I mainly experimented with a few painting techniques and then decoupaged a canvas for a later creation. But Laura went straight to work and created a wonderful piece! Mixed media really does suit her I think…she is so incredibly creative.

When Laura finished her piece, she gave it to me! I asked if she was sure because it was her first mixed media piece. She said “Of course! I really needed our visit and besides, read the inscription on it”. I read it and knew it would always remind me of our visit and friendship. It says: A visit with friends can refresh the body, ease the mind, soothe the soul. Thanks Laura!

Inspiration – if you google inspiration you will find 90,000,000 results. That’s surprising to me….not that there are that many, but that there are that few! I seem to find inspiration everywhere. It seems I find 90,000,000 things that inspire me at least monthly…probably why my mind races 90 miles per hour constantly.

Inspiration refers to an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or other artistic endeavor according to Wikipedia. So what bursts your creativity? Is it a word? A picture? A song? Is it the image of sunlight piercing through the clouds at sunset? Is it the shared moment with a new love? Or the infectious laughter of a toddler discovering bubbles for the first time?

I have tons of bookmarks in Firefox (some of which I just transferred to Bloglines – if you don’t use it yet – you should check it out – I just did and it is awesome!). Most of my bookmarks are for sites that inspire me – spiritually, cognitively, artistically or otherwise. Inspiration is what makes me feel alive! One thing that always inspires me is a great picture. My dad was an awesome photographer! Wish I had learned all he had to teach about photography (and investments) before he died. His photographs inspire me to be a great photographer – nice to have lofty goals, huh?

The web is full of inspiring images for those seeking inspiration. One site I really enjoy visiting for photographic inspiration is Shutter Sisters. They have numerous sections to their site including their One Word Project which is a community project with a monthly unique word to inspire photographers. Last month’s word was Everyday….check out their posts for some awesome everyday pictures. Here’s my interpretation of their inspiring word…everyday….

My spoiled rotten Maltese Birdie chilling out, expending NO energy, all day, EVERYDAY!