When Inspiration Strikes
Anyone who regularly tries to be creative in any way knows that inspiration comes and goes. There are slumps, and then there are times when you feel like you’ll never run out of ideas. I’m always curious about those people who can turn their darker moods into art. I’m the opposite. If I’m feeling down, nothing seems to work. I need to be in a good state of mind to make anything. So I’ve been in a bit of a slump for most of the summer, because I low-key hate summer vacation. I’m way better off, mentally, when I have less time to think, but that’s a topic for another post.
Anyway, now it’s August and all of a sudden I have one million things to do before school starts up again. And I have one million project ideas I want to work on. That’s how it always is. Since I’m still on summer vacation (as of this writing), I spent a day working on some projects with the new release from Kelly Purkey Shop. Usually I do two or three projects with the new releases. And then there are months like this one, when I’m feeling inspired and I want to make everything. I ended up with six projects this month. Remember when I said one of my goals for 2019 was to use every single stamp set I own. Well, so far, I’ve used all but one of the stamp sets from this release on a project. And I have plans for that one, too.
This month’s release is right up my alley. Thematically, it’s perfect for book lovers and word lovers and anyone who’s heading back to school soon. So me, basically. It’s full of rich primary colors. I really love this one!
I made this first project with the main project kit, Love Language. I’m obsessed with the stamp set that comes with this one.
Kelly’s great at creating customizable stamps. This set includes a full alpha, so you can create any phrase you want. I used it above to write “B is for beach”, etc.
This release includes the A+ mini kit, and the I’m Fine stamp set from Tina of Life Love Paper. I combined them with the main project kit to create a layout (with a 3x8 insert) documenting August 2019.
I loved using the label stickers and stamps from the A+ mini kit to add details to my photos.
This month, there are two book-themed stamp sets, which I’m super excited about! The first one is all about book stores, libraries, and newsstands. I used it to put together a quick traveler’s notebook layout about one of my favorite spots in Brattleboro, VT.
The other one is perfect for documenting all the books you’ve read or want to read. It includes customizable fill-in-the-boxes stamps, which I used to highlight some of my favorite books of 2019, so far.
This month, the shop will also be offering three new alphas. Walter and Dalton are a coordinating solid and outline pair, which I used to do a long title on this traveler’s notebook layout.
I wanted to do some journaling about the Newport Folk Festival, especially since this year was the 60th anniversary. The words written around Pete Seeger’s banjo made the perfect jumping off point for my journaling.
Finally, I used the Shoreditch lower case alpha in my July Studio Calico traveler’s notebook to document my favorite spot in Portland, ME.
Walter and Dalton both include two sizes of the same font, and Shoreditch is a bigger version of that font. Love all the options here!
It’s funny the difference a few days can make in my desire to create things. I really struggled to want to make anything for most of the summer, then all of the sudden I wanted to make stuff again, and did all of these in a couple days. I guess that’s just the way inspiration works.
Thanks for reading and looking. The links above are affiliate links to Kelly Purkey Shop.
