Inspired by…

To influence, move, guide by divine inspiration

To exert an animating, enlivening, exalting influence

To draw forth or bring out

To spur on

To infuse (as life) by breathing

INSPIRE

MY WORD for 2010 is INPSPIRE. What’s yours?

I decided in November to host a series on my blog that I call the Inspired by… challenge. For three successive weeks I posted a new inspiration and asked my readers to challenge themselves to create a piece of jewelry that fit the theme. I give away prizes, including my own inspiration piece for the week. The idea behind this is that inspiration is all around us, sometimes right under our noses. But we often don’t notice and my hope is that these challenges will engage people in finding inspiration everywhere.

The first week was Inspired by…Hardware Stores. Every town has one of those mom and pop shops where you can find everything. My readers created jewelry mixing coils, cotter pins, springs, washers, hinges and more with beautiful beads and especially artisan beads (extra entries for that!). An example is my “Swirly Girl” earrings featuring compression springs, square nuts and rolled sushi felt beads from an Etsy artist name Tara Herberger.

The second week was Inspired by…Grandma’s Jewelry Box. I loved spending time in my grandmother’s bedroom peering into the depths of her blue silk lined jewelry box and touching all the sparkly treasures within. The prize for last week was a copy of the Bead Star magazine (where I was fortunate to win 2^nd place in the Heart category) and a bracelet I call “Revamp’d” that features a gold-tone scarf pin turned clasp and some Humblebeads from Heather Powers mixed with repurposed jewels from the past.

The third week was Inspired by…Sewing Kits. I have a collection of jars of vintage buttons and have used many in my designs over the years. I also love fibers like ribbons and lace and brocade fabrics, which is something I am going to be more on the lookout for in the future. This challenge was inspired by some vintage boot buttons that I discovered, a thimble with a hole in the top and a well-worn cloth measuring tape. I haven’t made the prize yet, but it will feature something special from artist Lynn Davis, ExpeditionD.

If you are looking for some inspiration to kick start your creativity in the New Year, be sure to stop by Treasures Found::Inspiration is Everywhere and check in with the lastest Inspired by… challenge. I am delighted by the response to these first challenges and plan to make this a regular feature on my blog. And if you have an idea for a challenge, let me know!

MY WORD for 2010 is INPSPIRE. What’s yours? Do tell!

Now go forth and …BE INSPIRED in 2010!

If you like what Erin Prais-Hintz has to say, and would like to read more, please stop by her blog http://treasures-found.blogspot.com and tell her what you think or check out a gallery of her work at her website www.tesoritrovati.com.