Getting Ahead of the Game

I've been thinking about the holidays, now that they are behind us. Every year, as they get closer and closer, I think about desperately wanting to make stuff. I find the creative bug really kicks in at that time of year when I see other artsy folks posting pics of what they are creating. The sad thing is, for the most part, by the time it does, I don't have time to make stuff. When I do have time to make things, I usually totally forgotten about whatever the cool idea was!

Now awhile back, my friend Lisa Ryder clued me into Google Reader. It's this nifty little free program that I've set up with all my favorite blogs. I set the Reader as my browser home page, so every time I open the browser, it shows me instantly which blogs in my collection have updated. Then I just click the links to read the posts. It's like insta-eyecandy, perfect for those of us who are ravenous readers. Nifty right? But wait, I am just getting to the good part!

One of the features is that you can "star" any particular entry that you might want to keep on hand in case you want to refer back to it at a later date. It's like making the entry a "favourite". So in the lead up to Xmas, on any day where I found something cool I wanted to make, I starred the entry. My thinking is this: When I have a day when I want to make something and I have no clue what to make, I am going to go into those starred entries and prepare something to tuck away for Xmas. It's an idea so simple, it's genius!

The best part of this is that there are a zillion creative blogs out there, with a plethora of free project tutorials, free image downloads, free inspiration. There's nothing better that FREE!

Now I know there are alot of you who already know about RSS feed and all that good stuff, but are you really using them to their full potential? How many times have you seen something on someone else's blog and thought "That's really cool! I should make that!" and then never do? Why not start filing ideas away for future reference? In addition to starring blog posts on my reader, I also have a file folder on my computer where I stash pictures of ideas that inspire me. Oddly enough, it's titled "inspiration". *laughs* And, as if that's not enough, I have a binder where I store anything I've ripped out of a magazine that inspires me. I just slide the page into a sheet protector and then I can refer back to it any time I want-everything's neatly in one place, instead of lost in a pile of paper somewhere.

I wanted to share this with you, even though it's not rocket science. My point is that inspiration is all around us, there for the taking. We just have to be savvy enough to harness it and use it as a springboard for our own creative endeavours. So give yourself the gift of a reader program-whichever one works best for you and start filling up the well!

Here are a few "make it" blogs that are my personal favs to get you started:

Scissor Variations

Whip Up

Katie.Cupcake

Paper Crave

A Beautiful Mess

And if you have an inspiring blog you think I should check out-yours or one that is on your "must read" list, spread the love and share it with me. Don'tcha just love the internets?!?