Sometimes I sit at my desk and stare blankly. I want to share with you some of the things I try when this happens. Your ideas are welcome! Please share them with me. The first thing I do is remember a key quote from one of my favorite authors from when I was younger, Ray Bradbury:
Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of Creativity.
I get up and move around in my studio. This gets the blood moving. My stamps are stored in a way that I can read the set name and see the images on the spine, so I slowly scan these to see if anything jumps out at me. This reminds me the current stamp sets available to me. This is important when designing for one of my events as Stampin' Up! products used in classes must be active. In case you were wondering, no, the photo does not include all of my active stamps. My choice is Love What You Do.
I also like to choose (and layout) Designer Series Paper (DSP) with both sides showing. The DSP shown is Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper (page188 of the 2018-19 Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalog). The catalog and the packaging for DSP lists the coordinating card stock colors, so including those in the layout is very easy. This is when I fall in love with a particular sheet or sheets of DSP. Seeing all of the colors together is a great tool for me. I hope it will work for you too.
Once I gather the stamp set, DSP, and cardstocks with matching ink pads, I can sit at my desk again. It is no longer an empty desk, but rather more like a palette at this point. Since“thinkingis the enemy of creativity” I start imagining pieces and designs, and before I know it, I've made something. I permit myself to make anything even if I think I will not like it. Out of the cards we do not like, come great ideas, for modifications to that card to turn it into a masterpiece.
To recap, select a stamp set and Designer Series Paper (not necessarily in that order) and make something. ANYTHING. So, go forth, create, and share!
Thank you for reading my ideas for getting your Mojo back! Happy crafting!
