A stylish challenge....

Feel like a challenge?  I've been struggling a bit lately...been feeling a little uninspired or sort of at a creative road block.  It's got me thinking a lot about style and defining my style.  Many of the designers I look up to most have very distinctive styles...you can pick their work from a line up....a sort of signature style.  I feel I'm lacking. lol.  I was asked to define my style for a recent assignment and it really made me think...do I really have a consistant style?  Not always...I love so many styles.  But, there are things I always come back to ....colors and elements that I use alot.  So I began snooping around the web...just collecting photos that I love and putting them together to see what stands out.  Here's what I came up with...

1.  I love color.  Color, color, COLOR!  Citrus colors, bright colors, crazy, mixed up colors...fresh colors.  Check out this beautiful kitchen.  I might love cooking if I could live in this kitchen...but then again, I'd have to get my husband to like color as much as I do.  :-)

 
photo from Better Homes and Gardens

2.  I love mixing patterns and textures.  I love things that don't match.  I love trying to make things that don't match into something that works....  look at this pretty dress from Mimi and Maggie.  Never would've thought to put all those prints together, but I LOVE the look...

 

3.  I love things that are just a bit vintage...oh these make me want to dry dishes by hand....

 

4.  I love texture...nothing flat for me...lots of dimension, texture, a bit of softness, layers. 

 

5.  I also love anything from Amy Butler or Heather Bailey....this Heather Bailey fabric makes me HAPPY... You look at the individual patterns and they don't seem to go together...BUT, then you see them all together and aaahhhhh... bliss. 

 

So...feel like playing along?  I challenge YOU to snoop around the web...find 3 or 4 or 5 or more photos that inspire you...get you itching to create and speak to you about what your style is.  Then make a project based on your findings....I'd love to see it!  Give me a link in the Mr. Linky box and I'll draw a name for a free copy of the newest July/August issue Paper Crafts Magazine...

 

AND I also have an extra Handwritten Notes stamp set from Papertrey Ink to give away. 

 

The Details:  I'm going to try to get a Mr. Linky box in here...so hang tight!  I'm hearing that Mr. Linky is more like Mr. Not Working, so if you get your project done before I manage to get it working, just leave a link in the comments. :-)  Deadline is Wednesday, June 10th at 11:59pm and I'll randomly pick a winner from the participants.  Please link your actual post, not your blog...thanks! 

ETA:  Ok, I think Mr. Linky should work....the boxes that appear right in the post are not working right now, but this version seems to be.  Just click on the Mister Linky logo right below and it should take you to a page where you can add your link.  should.  hopefully.  :-) Again, deadline is June 10th at 11:59pm. 

So, here are a few things I created after my inspirational trip around the web.  Lots of bright colors...nothing matchy matchy. Things I love, just for the joy of creating. :-)  I put these, along with a bunch of other brand new, never blogged before stuff up in my Etsy shop....I'll share them here on the blog over the next few days, but if you want a peek now, they're over in Etsy land.  :-)

 

 

And I call these my happimess...just a happy, messy mix of stuff put together into 5 fun mini cards and tags. Total funness.  :-)

 

I was feeling truly inspired after my trip around the web...I hope you'll play along!