Friday, July 16, 2010

My Inspiration Book

I have an inspiration book that I put together some time ago and I wanted to share it with you today.  It's very basic but I love to flip to it when I need some inspiration along the way!

Here's the outside.  It's a fun binder that I found at Target, but I just loved all the colors!


I have the inside divided into four sections.  The first section is a picture of the stamp sets that I have.


I turn to this section OFTEN when I am looking for a certain sentiment or type of image.  I just print off a copy of each of the stamp sets I own from online and then I have a reference for what I have in my collection.  If I am looking for a "Happy Anniversary" stamp and can't remember what I have, I just start flipping through the pages until I find the one sentiment that is just perfect!  It's amazing how many times I forget what a certain stamp set contains!

The next section contains color combinations.


As I find color combos that I like or that I want to remember, I save them to a Publisher file and then when the page is full, I print it and add it to my binder.  I have tons of pages filled with color ideas.  It gets me outside my comfort zone sometimes which is always good!

The next section is for sketches.


Again, this is such a wonderful resource!  As I find sketches I save them to a file and then print and add them to my binder.  Some sketch websites have their sketches already on a PDF file that you can download.  It's is wonderful!  I use this section a lot and often I'll combine certain elements of sketches to create just what I want.

The last section is a resource section and it doesn't have a lot in it right now.  It lists PTI colors and copic colors, etc.  It's nice to have all this information in one file and easy to access at all times!


My book is kind of thick, but that is OK because I don't always start at page one and it is organized.  Sometimes I'll turn to the middle of a section and start from there when I'm looking for inspiration so I'm not always looking at the same thing.  

This is such a great resource for me.  I hope it gives you some ideas too!

Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great day!

16 comments:

Christina said...

I love this idea, Jen! I have notes in several different notebooks that need to be consolidated, and I love the way yours is organized!

Christine Pennington said...

I love this! I have been thinking about doing something similar--I think it would be easier to know which stamps I have. Wanna make mine? Ha Ha

Anika said...

This is awesome! I started a binder awhile ago, but haven't done much with it...but I think I might now! Thanks for the inspiration, Jen!

Diane Jaquay said...

This is such a great idea Jen! I have a binder for sketches, but I should really have all my stamps in one place so I could look at them easily. TFS

Unknown said...

What an awesome idea! I may need to create something like this. I have a file with sketches but to add all the stamps sets I have would be fabulous. Like you, I don't always remember what I have and I think that I would use some of my stamps sets more often if I had this! Thanks for posting!

kasia c. said...

What a fantastic book! I love how you have organized it. You have inspired me to go make one, although i have a feeling it will take a while!

Diane said...

Your organization is impressive! :-) I've had my stamp binder for years, but I never even thought to add color combos, etc...

Monica K. said...

What a great idea! That is so smart!

Susan said...

Love how organized you are! I have a binder too but I lost my umph. Your post is just the nudge I needed. Thanks! :)

Bonita Rose said...

wow that is impressive, can u make one of those for me? LOL J/K... wow.. that is so functional.. love it!

Lindsay said...

Love your system Jen! I have mine in a similar fashion and it works great! Thanks for sharing yours!

Jennifer K said...

Wow, Jen! This is quite an impressive binder. I have something similar but not nearly as nice as yours. It does work great though.

Unknown said...

Jen- You inspired me so much that I have created my own version of an Inspiration Book! Here is the link http://craftsinthebend.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-inspiration-book.html
Thanks!

Anna

Daniela F. said...

So cool, Jen!! My "system" is quite a mess right now - too many different books and binders. Your post is just what I needed get me going... though that should take a while to complete ;o)

Katie said...

This binder is fabulous! I need to inventory my stamp sets. I do have a color combination notebook, sketch notebooks, etc. but I keep putting off doing an inventory. Thanks for the reminder!

Sue Ann said...

Oh I am soooooo doing this ......... you are one crafty girl.

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