Thursday, February 4, 2010

HANDMADE THERAPY

PROJECT 3: INSPIRATION BOARD
I have wanted to put together an Inspiration Board for as long as I have been blogging. For those who don’t already know, these are a collection of images, fabrics, embellishments…whatever inspires you, put together on a board, piece of paper or anything that you can mount on a wall. The idea is that you can create a collage that can serve to inspire your actions and feelings. I have always believed that these can be helpful to energise your thoughts and plans, not to mention a cute and pretty way to decorate a wall. Until now I have only thought about creating one, and today that changed.

My challenge was to try and create a board that reflected my passions, character and aspirations. My main goal was to have this board visually represent my very own Apothecary Fox. Here’s the result…

I generally struggle with the need to have ordered images, and really tried to let this board flow and be less constrained. I also wanted it to be three dimensional, and tactile.

I used a paper folder as the framework and covered this in a piece of pink wallpaper with a bold black and silver rose pattern, which I think really anchors this board to my overriding passion for beautiful vintage patterns and designs. And of course the whole concept of Handmade in this project relates deeply to the main focus of Apothecary Fox and the things I love most.

Along with scraps of fabrics I love and images that spark interest, I included family pictures, nods to my British/American identity, and inspirational quotes and words. These are all things that deeply drive my own life and spark my thoughts, dreams and actions. I love to embellish with different ribbons, stickers and tape. It reminds me of when I used to collect stickers as a kid and carefully put them in albums. Actually, sometimes I would just keep the sheets of stickers in a folder, thinking they were too pretty to ruin by sticking them on something. Well, I got to indulge my inner child here!

Yeah!! I really do feel inspired by this. I can't wait to explore this world of inspiration some more...another fabulous excuse to get some new magazines!

I hope that you think I have captured the eclectic and visual aspect of Apothecary Fox. Personally I love it, but then it was kind of a labour of love. Either way, please take time to comment as I would love to know your thoughts.

16 comments:

  1. hej,
    i don´t know you...but now i have the feeling i know a little more of you...great...its so exciting to discover all the little things in your collage...i love this pinky, pinky style...i think this is you...so love it...yeah...feel me like in the movie "pretty in pink" with molly ringwald...thanks for sharing...cheers ines

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  2. lovely board! i love how dimensional it is, that bird wreath is so preeeety :)

    and yay for pink and green!!

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  3. super fun,free,and layered with originality.
    BYW,
    Shay

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  4. Pretty in Pink,this gives me a great idea of what you are creating here. Lovely~Theresa

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  5. Oh my goodness, I love the little bird/rose/button/ribbon/wire charm. Not sure what you would call that thing but I know that I like it. So fun to see all the clues.

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  6. The bird dreamcatcher ring is from tamar who is an artist from Vermont. http://tamar.etsy.com I think this was the first thing I ever bought on etsy and really began my love of all things handmade.

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  7. How rude of me. I meant to say thank you for your thoughts on my board. I love that I can give a glimpse of my inspirations in such an immediate way. Thanks for coming ladies x

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  8. I love the dimensionality of your board. Such vibrant colors!

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  9. Ahhh, pink lovely-ness ...what a great board. I have a thing for pigs at the moment so this one caught my eye. And what's not to love about vintage nouveau! That birds super sweet too,
    Allison xx

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  10. Pink is beautiful! Lovely board. And I love that little pic ... so cute. See you on BYW ;)

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  11. yes, you are so right, it really feels like home-made therapy :) all these littles things you have gathered and that you love, the little photo is cute and so is the piggy :)

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  12. Such a fun, eclectic, colorful board! :)

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  13. How lovely! I love the pops of green and the bird dreamcatcher is so pretty :)

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  14. I love the post title "Handmade Therapy", really perfect for these kinds of projects! Your board is really fun to look at and I love that you call it a labor of love because it shows. The tape (my addiction), the Cath Kidston pin cushion, and that little bird dream catcher all caught my eye. The "handmade" jumps out as well. Really wonderful work and your energy seems to jump off every inch. Great!!!

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  15. Leslie thanks so much for stopping by and giving your thoughts. I really appreciate it and even more glad you seem to be able to interpret my board in just the way I intended. And the tape... Starting to become an addiction!! :)

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  16. Hello, I am also a BYW student. I love pink and green, preppy colors. I love your statment The world is my oyster. Very inspiring.

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