Inspire-Me Tuesday~

I'm taking a bit of a different approach to Inspire-Me Tuesday today. I have been thinking a lot about the nurturing the creative process in my life. I also feel the need to foster creativity in my kiddos. I think that one of the best ways to do that is to allow them to see their parents being creative and to show them the value we place on our creative pursuits.

So today I wanted to share a couple of the ways that I nurture the creative process in my own life.

First, I have an inspiration binder. Well actually I have a few. The one I'm sharing with you today is my decorating binder. (I also have one for crafts, and one that just miscellaneous inspiring stuff...photos, images, whatever I find that tickles my fancy.) I have it divided by rooms. When I get ready to throw out my old magazines or catalogs, I go through them and tear out the pages that I love. Then I stick them in page protectors and put them in my binder. This binder has inspired many a project in my home. And when I look through it, I see all images that I love, so it has become a "happy place" or sorts also.

Second, I wanted to share my notebooks. As you can see I have three of them. The large plaid one sits on my night stand. It is for miscellaneous ideas that occur to me in the middle of the night. I don't know about you, but that's when some of my best ideas occur. But I have to write them down, or they stir in my head all night and I can't sleep. Once I know they are safely on paper, I can finally settle down. The other two are divided into sections so that I can "file" my ideas and sketches (or I would never find them again.) I transfer any and all ideas jotted in my night-time notebook or on bits of paper throughout the day into these notebooks for later. I can't emphasize to you all how important these books are to my creativity. Ideas grow, you know. From a partial thought or a sketch into a full-blown something-or-other. That's how I get inspired!

Now, on a completely unrelated note. I have had several people ask me for ideas on how to tame kid clutter. You might think I know how to do this because I have four little kiddos. Well, I'm no expert by any means, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that I'd like to share. Thing is, I bet there are plenty of people out there in blogland who have wonderful ideas on how to store toys, and books, and art supplies and all other manner of kid paraphenalia, sooooooo....I'm holding a linky party. My very first. I'm working with Pretty Organizer from Pretty Organized Palace, and hosting it here on Wednesday, February 4th! So, my dear readers, be getting your ideas ready to share, and let's all meet up here on Wednesday and use that fun Mr. Linky thingie to share all our CREATIVE ideas on taming kid clutter. Hope to see you all here!

Now, go forth, inspire, and be inspired~