Some Crafty Inspiration

What is it about this time of year??! 

     So many crafters have commented about a lack of crafting inspiration, 

about losing their mojo, about making fewer blog postings.....

I know that feeling too!! Must be cabin fever!! 

     With that in mind, my husband and I decided it was time to take a little road trip south of the border - to northern Minnesota, that is!! So .... last Monday we drove 4 hours to Duluth to visit some of our favourite shops and restaurants. Thought it would give us a little 'boost' and help pass the time as we are waiting for the snow to disappear and spring to arrive!!

     Much to my dismay, the scrapbook store that I have always enjoyed visiting was no longer in business. Needless to say, I was so disappointed and my shopping list of inks, paper, accessories etc. had to be set aside.
  

So what's a gal to do? - 

Go shopping at fabric/quilt shops instead!! Here's some of the fun things that I found in my shopping adventure and I'm looking forward to using them for card making, scrap booking, quilting and sewing projects.

Michelle Wooderson has included fabric yo yos on some of her cards and talked about using these templates to make them. I found the small and extra small  templates - I've made yo yos for wall quilts, but thought it might be fun to try these templates for little flower embellishments on some cards.

I picked up several bags of buttons and accessories. Lots of fun options here!

I also got some extra colours of embroidery floss to use with the buttons.

FLORA BUTTON PACK

PINK BUTTON PACK

PASTEL BUTTON PACK

NATURAL BUTTON PACK

                   SPARKLING DRAGONFLIES (top)  LEAFY GEMS (bottom)

I found lots of fabric options along the way as well. Some prints will work on cards (I want to try some with PTI's Button Boutique & dies) as well as fabric yo yos.

Some fabrics for little baby outfits, bibs, and other "treats".

Some fun graphic prints.

     Here's some fabric I chose for book bag for my grand niece who turns 4
in May. She LOVES purple, so thought these colours were just right. I already have an idea for her card, so will share these with you when they are finished.

I couldn't resist this fabric - very colourful and bright. I want to make a 

few things for my niece's new daughter, who will be arriving in 2 weeks. 

I love sewing little wall hanging quilts, so I picked up a pattern book,

magazine and some quilt hangers at the Quilt Corner in Beaver Bay -

a small town along the west coast of Lake Superior. 

I'm excited to get started on a couple of spring and 

summer wall quilts that I can put on these hangers.

 

I found a few punches on sale at Michaels. With 40% off 

these were only $8 each, so I had to have them!!  (The regular 

price at our local Michaels is $24.99, so even with a coupon, they are $12 -$15.)

 DAISY CHAIN

DOTTED SCALLOP

A Final Note:  

Before we left on our little road trip, our whole yard and the field around us was covered in snow. This is what can happen with some warmer weather and a few rainy days.  It was pretty amazing to finally see grass!

And this is what it looks like today. . . .

We've had snow since Friday night - my husband is back outside
with the shovel!! Doesn't Mother Nature play amazing tricks on us??

    I'm going to spend time in my crafty space today - I just have to decide what to do first - sewing?  card making?  making yo yo flowers?  I'll share some of the finished projects with you next week.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you have a crafty week too!!