Inspiration

Early yesterday morning, the puffy clouds picked up the pink from the rising sun and made a beautiful contrast with the azure blue skies.  It was inspirational.

What really inspires you?  What makes you want to try something you've never tried before with a sense that you "can do this?"  What gives you a sense of purpose, a renewed vigor for life?  What reassures you that although life constantly changes, there are some things that never do?

Honestly, we need these little touches of inspiration in whatever form they come.  This is what colors life so that the ho-hum is pushed away. 

Here are some ideas for how to find inspiration, things that have worked for me, even when I wasn't trying:

1. The Bible -- Read the psalms if you want to experience a range of emotions from despair to pure hope.  You'll know then that you are most assuredly not alone.
2. A meaty conversation with a friend who knows you well.  Speak openly.
3. A magazine with pictures of do-it-yourself projects.
4. Find something to repurpose in your house and make plans on how you will do this.
5. Look at travel materials about visiting sandy beaches and seeing the beautiful aqua blue water of the Caribbean.  Just the colors alone will be a feast for your eyes.
6. Watch someone doing a simple work-out routine.  Adapt it for your own use. (Start slow)

That's all I can think of at this moment.  I got an inspiration from a magazine a couple of days ago.  It's in the Martha Stewart Living this month.  A woman down south dies her own fabrics for draperies, pillows, etc.  She has a work area in her house for this purpose and this is what she does for a living now (left corporate America).  I'm sure she uses block printing with the kind of ink made for fabrics (like silk screen).  But the results are really nice and it made me think that I could do something like that using simple muslin cloth in an off-white shade. 

Rather than the silk screening inks, I'd use acrylic paint, possibly with some water mixed in.  For the blocks, I might try using an almost-dry sponge cut to shape and mounted on a wood block.  It would work a little like stenciling a wall.  I'd have to use some old scraps to give it a try first.  I'd use the custom-color design to make some valances for the kitchen and dining room.  Then maybe a couple of pieces for pillows.  The idea would be to put the color on the fabric so that the color would go on unevenly.  In other words, not like a big colored blob.  After the design starts showing up, it would look beautiful, I think.  Different.

At our church in Canal Fulton, we are still waiting for the custom doors that were ordered in November, I think.  They did come in, but they were the wrong size so we had to start all over again.  Once they are in, then on Fridays I'll start making a holy hour at 2:00 p.m.  During that time, I'll start out reading a paragraph or two from the Bible and then just meditate and think about it for the rest of the time.  If I find my mind wandering, I'll read another passage.  Hope it works.  My mind is notorious for wandering!!

Take care, and have a great day, friends.