3.31.2010

Be Inspired

New, every Wednesday you will find a variety of ways to be inspired and creative. There will be quotes, ideas to boost your creativity, and photo's to inspire new idea. Let me know what you think!

Words to Inspire

“When I'm inspired, I get excited because I can't wait to see what I'll come up with next."
Dolly Parton

Idea to Inspire

The sun is shining, the air is clean and crisp, the sky is a bright blue, and the trees are filled with buds, this is the time of the year to enjoy a walk outside.

This is not just a walk for exercise (but that is a nice side effect) but a walk to open up your creative eye.

A good walk can clear your head and help the ideas start flowing, well imagine the ideas you will have if you have photo's to remember what you saw on your walk.

Next time you take a walk, bring along your camera and take pictures of everything that inspires you. Do this often, and as you go along save your favorite photo's in a photo album or scrapbook, and use your inspiring photo's next time you need a creativity boost.


Photo's to Inspire - Pebbles
Today's Flicker collection is all about being outside. Plus, I love rocks and I love these pictures.



341/365 Pebble Focus [ embr ]







Pebbles by ZedBee



Smooth Pebbles by ann j p


You can be inspired by a project you are working on, words you read in a book or magazine, and photo's of everyday objects, I hope today's post will inspire you to find a new idea.


What from your everyday life inspires you?



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3.30.2010

Creative Business Link - Bixbe Biz

I do a lot of reading online checking out a variety of blogs and websites. This week I found Bixbe Biz.

Bixbe Biz is a resource for small online businesses, with information on running your business, accounting, customer service, marketing, social media, SEO, branding, and much more.

They also have a page full of other helpful resource links.

Bixbe Biz is a great resource.


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3.29.2010

Get a Fresh Start for Spring

It has been a long cold winter, with lots of snow. This year I am excited for Spring, I can't wait for the warm weather, blooming flowers, sunny skies, and green everywhere.

Today some easy ideas to enjoy the season.


Ideas to embrace Spring
Enjoy spring Colors


Make a new friend
Take a class, join a group, start a conversation,
a great way to meet new people.


Clear the clutter
Spring cleaning is a great way to start
the season fresh and new.

Find new recipes for spring vegetable's
from one of my favorite food network cooks.


Rediscover spring fruits and vegetable's
My favorite thing after a long winter.


Plant a seed
It doesn't matter where you live a house, apartment,
or a room, plants add life inside and out.



What do you do to enjoy the start of Spring?

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3.28.2010

Additionsstyle News

BLOG News

If you missed Tuesday's post 5 Strategies for Success, check it out. It has easy steps to help you reach the level of success your are striving for. Also, there are a couple of great ideas in the comments section.

Friday I had a post about staying positive and I am starting a list of ideas to stay positive even when thing get challenging. If you have any ideas to share, check out this post and leave a comment.

Thanks to everyone how participated in Check this out.... Stop by and join in on the conversation every Thursday.

Check out the right sidebar for The Creative book of the Week, This week is Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas.

SHOP News

Just in time for Spring, more Hardware in Bloom!





What color flowers would you like to see?

Have a great week!


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3.27.2010

Happy Birthday Brittany


Today is my daughter's 17th birthday!

I am the luckiest mom, my daughter loves school and is always striving for an A, in the drama club, has a great group of friends, and likes to hang out with her old mom.

Today I just want to let her know I love her very much and I hope she has a fun birthday.

Love You Muffin Cup
HAPPY BIRTHDAY




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3.26.2010

Staying Postive

I am going to admit it has been a rough week.

My laptop got a virus and I have been working on our family desktop. That is fine but, all my information and photo's are on my laptop, so I have not added any new items to my shop and I have not done any paperwork I needed to get done for the end of the month. I do have some of my work backed up, but of course not what I need. So, just a reminder back up your computer often!

I had a great order, which the customer never paid for and now I have to cancel the sale. This makes me very sad, I could have used that money.

I realized I am not going to come close to any of my goals for the month of March, and I am going to have to work twice as hard to make it up next month.

I have been trying to stay positive through all of this, and some days it's harder then other's.

Today I would love to here some ideas on what you do to stay positive when things get tough. I think it is important to share ideas to keep each other motivated, so I will put all the ideas into a list and share them in a future post.

Thank you in advance for all your suggestions!

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3.25.2010

Check This Out...

This is a weekly post where you can share 3 things about yourself or your business. Giving us an opportunity to get to know each other and our business.

Suggested ideas:
-business goals or goals you have met
-books you are reading
-a new project you are starting or doing
-places you have visited
-blog posts you have enjoyed
-a post you have written that you would like to share
-new items you have added to your shop
-new materials you are working with
-family plans or an event you are excited about
-need help with an idea - ask for help

All I ask is that you are a follower of my blog to participate and that you check out a few links from the other people who leave comments.

Let me know if you have any ideas or questions, I would love to here your suggestions. You can contact me at additionsstyleblog@gmail.com.


Check This Out...

1. In two days my daughter will be 17 years old. One more year and she is off to college. My sister is coming to help us celebrate with her and to just hang out. She gets here today, I can't wait.

2. I found another great site with weekly entrepreneurial advice and social networking know-how. It called Meylah Blog and worth a look.

3. A few weeks ago in
Check This Out... I shared with you a little information about a project I am starting, well thing are starting to get into full swing. I got accepted to a website called Kickstarter.com so I can start taking donations and getting the word out about my project. As soon as I get my page launched I will let you know.
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3.24.2010

Photo's to Inspire China Patterns

When I was growing up we only had everyday dishes. They were the dishes we used everyday and for holidays.

As I got older and friends started getting married, I was introduced to the world of fine china. Recently I was with a friend looking at china and I was inspired by the color and designs on these fine dishes.

So today's Flickr collection are some amazing photo's of china. Be Inspired!


Wallace China "Landau" pattern by Banana Leaf


Mad Hatter's China Pattern by ShMariePhotography




China Patterns by majlee



Grandma's China by geri biewer



Ericean plates by Toni F.


What visual images inspire you? Let me know and I will pull together a Flickr collection, and share that you are the source of inspiration for the week they are posted.
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3.23.2010

5 Stratigies for Success

We all define our own success, and have set goals for ourselves to reach that level of success we desire. Today is a list of 5 things you should strive for to you reach your success.

Love what you do - It's easy to make things just to make money, but if you don't enjoy what you are making then your you won't be building your dream business, but just doing a job. Create what you love!

Offer the best product - Don't comprise on the quality of you work. Good quality work will keep you customers coming back.

Work with the people around you - Having people in your inner circle that you can talk to about your business or your art can be helpful to reaching your goals and achieving success.

Push yourself - You have to work hard to make your goals, so never give up. Always take that extra step to take your art and your business to the level.

Face your fears - We all have them, but you have to face them head on. Try stepping out of what is comfortable and try something new for your business and your art. Don't let your fear stop you from achieving your success!

These are easy steps you can incorporate into your daily life. Review your goals, see what you can change to get you to the next level.

Do you have any success tip to add to the list?
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3.22.2010

Artist to Know - Chris Ofili

Recently, while in the library I saw a new book about an artist named Chris Ofili. The cover is amazing. Upon first look at his paintings it looks like thousands of little beads on a canvas, but after further review I realized it was lots of tiny dot of paint. After looking through the book and reading his story, I realized he is definitely a Artist to Know.


Chris Ofili

Born in 1968 in Manchester, England, to Nigerian parents, Chris Ofili graduated from London's Royal College of Art in 1993.


His artwork is full of references to the diverse traditional African art, images from popular culture, and hip-hop music, Chris Ofili’s paintings explore the contemporary black urban experience.



Ofili’s intricately layered works combine bead-like dots of paint, inspired in part by cave paintings in Zimbabwe, with collaged images from popular magazines and such materials as glitter and map pins.



Ofili is one of the most visible of the generation of British artists known as the YBAs (Young British Artists).

Their are hundreds of sites that refer to his work. Put Chris Ofili into any search engine to find out more about this amazing artist.

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3.19.2010

Artist to Inspire - Flying Haystacks

Join me in welcoming Tod from Flying Haystacks , as he shares what inspires him to create his original mixed media hand embroidery. Thanks Tod for being a guest blogger!



I make hand embroideries. I started about two years ago. I had been making photo collages for some time. The thread was at first just a way to join sections of different collages together, then it became the sole medium. I did some research on the internet, looked at some contemporary embroidery art, learned what embroidery hoops were, etc. and haven't looked back since. The funny thing is I never in a million years thought I'd ever be doing embroidery. But I quickly found that embroidery works well with me for many reasons - first, its the most inexpensive medium I have ever used, which makes a big difference for me. Secondly, I used to work a lot with wet media (ink, paint, glue, etc.), and I never wanted to wait for any of it to dry if I wanted to add more. Well, you never have to wait for anything when you embroider! You make a stitch and boom, it's there! and you can continue immediately. Also, I have just always liked the look of stitches. So I guess it makes sense that as I make a stitch I get inspired to do another one, and another one after that, and so on, and so on, and so on....


As far as subject matter, I like comic art, mythological and religious images, anatomy, folk art, illustrations from very old books, things like that, and I mix them up in a surreal, expressionistic fashion. I have about 2 bookshelves worth of magazines and books that I have collected over the years for reference material. I don't have to look far to get image ideas. But sometimes the books aren't enough. I need to get inspiration from other sources.




Fortunately lots of things inspire me. Music inspires me. For example, in my current embroidery work I had planned to use black threads for a specific section. When the time came to do the actual stitching I just happened to begin listening to a particular piece of music that I had just acquired. The music was adventurous and compelling. While I listened and stitched I put away the black thread and pulled out a colorful variety of threads instead. The work became as adventurous as what I was listening to. It was a direct influence. I'm very happy the way it came out, and I never would have done it that way without hearing that particular music.

Photographs inspire me a lot. I like the 'photos to inspire' posts that you do here on your blog. Flickr has an abundance of fantastic photos as well. I could stay on that site all day....until, that is, I become so influenced that I want to put down my needle and thread and pick up a camera. At that point I force myself to log out (that's usually within 10 minutes or so).


There are other little things here and there that happen to inspire my work. On a recent embroidery I was using metallic thread. The stitches were very small, almost like little dots. I wasn't quite sure where I was going with it though, but as I kept looking at the shiny dots my mind flashed back to when I was a child. I used to spend a lot of time in my grandmother's basement. She had a collection of rocks and gems that she had found and dug up herself. Some of the rocks had these fantastic crystal formations on them - thousands of little crystals, they glittered like stars. I used to stare at them and my imagination went wild. Suddenly I had a direction. I continued with the little metallic 'dot' stitches, adding different metallic colors, and made them resemble the glittering, crystal surfaces of those wonderful rocks. I had a definite direction after that. The memory helped me finish.

I recently did a major 'reinvention' of my living/working space. I organized, cleaned, consolidated and threw-out. I made sure everything was conducive to sewing and being creative. All the day-to-day mundane tasks are more efficient now. The result has been miraculous. I feel like I've started a new life. It's pumped up my energy level.



Life is so full of beauty and inspiration - anything from somebody's hat, the sunlight glittering on a puddle, a wall of beautiful old bricks. If it sets off endorphins its good! I try to filter out negative influences, which unfortunately can be anything and everything in life. Like the news. I hate the news. The news makes me feel hopeless. But I feel I must read about it so I can be up to date and informed. I can't totally isolate myself from the bad things, even though my day job is enough I should think!

See all of Tod's work in his Etsy shop, follow his work in progress on his blog, and become a fan of his on Facebook.

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3.18.2010

Check This Out...

This is a weekly post where you can share 3 things about yourself or your business. Giving us an opportunity to get to know each other and our business.

Suggested ideas:
-business goals or goals you have met
-books you are reading
-a new project you are starting or doing
-places you have visited
-blog posts you have enjoyed
-a post you have written that you would like to share
-new items you have added to your shop
-new materials you are working with
-family plans or an event you are excited about
-need help with an idea - ask for help

All I ask is that you are a follower of my blog to participate and that you check out a few links from the other people who leave comments.

Let me know if you have any ideas or questions, I would love to here your suggestions. You can contact me at additionsstyleblog@gmail.com.


Check This Out...

1. I found a great blog with lots of great information on social networking. The Social Media Examiner - Your guide to the social media jungle is worth a look!

2. I can't wait for you to read the inspiring story of tomorrow's Artist to Know. Make sure you stop back it's a great story.

3. This weekend I am hanging out with a friend of mine that I don't get to see very often. It will be a night of drinking martini's and talking about art. I can't wait!
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3.17.2010

Photo's to Inspire - Cultural Textures

The world is full of beautiful textures and each cultural shares its textures with us through their wonderful art. Today's Flickr collection is amazing art from all over the world. Be Inspired!

Congo Pende Mask by RasMarley



French Tapestry - Emile Bernard (1868 - 1941) by RasMarley




Eagle Totem - Stanley Park by kk+









Jaguar beaded Huichol art by Wonderlane



和紙 - Washi by bass nroll

What visual images inspire you? Let me know and I will pull together a Flickr collection, and share that you are the source of inspiration for the week they are posted.


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3.16.2010

Creative Business - Free Accounting Resource

Accounting is the least liked part of running a business, but a necessary part. As business owners we are always looking for ways to make this part of our businesses easier and quicker to do.

I found a resource that will help to make your accounting a little easier and it FREE.


The Accounting Spot is now offering, for a limited time, FREE accounting forms available for download. Available are Profit and Loss Reports, Inventory Tracking, and Quickbooks directions and tutorials, all ready to use for your Etsy shop.

There is a lot of great information on her blog and resources, so if accounting has you stumped check out The Accounting Spot to easily start getting your business in balance.

Do you know of any other accounting resources?

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3.15.2010

What's Your Favorite City?

When I was young, every year my family of 5 took a two week camping vacation in our VW Van . We traveled to 48 states in our wonderful country, and saw all the beauty that each state had to offer.

We always stopped at all the tourist spots, I have seen the big ball of string, visited Dodge City, went to a snake farm, walked in Salt Lake, and played in the snow in a halter top and shorts (it was the 60's) in Yellowstone Park.

I was lucky to have been able to travel all over, and I remember how much fun we used to have as a family.


One place I have not been and I hope to one day visit is Alaska. I am still working on my husband and hope it is something we can do in the near future.



There are so many city's I love, but my favorite is my hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's a beautiful city full of lakes, a wonderful art community, and it's hip and fun.

Do you have a favorite city that you have visited or want to visit? Why is it your favorite?

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3.14.2010

Additionsstyle News

BLOG News

Have you checked out my new series? Well, Check This Out... is a new way to get to know each other and our businesses. It's a weekly post so stop by this week and share with everyone.

I have a guest blogger coming this Friday in the Artist Inspirations series, and you won't want to miss his inspiring story. Just a hint it's a guy who does amazing handmade embroideries.

The creative book of the week is Twyla Tharp The Creative Habit - check the side bar for a direct link to the book at Amazon.com

Follower News - Ramblin Mama shared in last weeks Check This Out... that she has been accepted to participate in a prestigious swag event and she is frantically working to produce 200 sample items for the worthy event!
Congratulations Ramblin Mama!

SHOP News

I have more pieces to add to my Hardware in Bloom collection. I don't have pictures yet, but I will be adding a new piece every day this week to my Etsy shop.


I added a new banner to my shop for spring, what do you think?

Have a great week!

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3.13.2010

Journal Prompt - Words

You know how an image can get the ideas flowing for new designs and products, well, what about words?

Grab your journal, today I am going to give you a list of words. Read over the list and choose words that spark and idea or a thought.

Then write how the word makes you feel or how it inspires you, or draw pictures based on the word, or design a new product, try writing a poem, or just add more words to the list until you feel inspired.

window
extraordinary
sometimes
wave
notorious
happiness
dangerous
chair
circle
solo
playing
flower
color
fear
success
roller coaster
music
strips
emotion
spark
dialog
time
accepted
whisper
street light

Inspiration comes from many sources even the words we read everyday. Be open to seeing words for more then what they mean.

What words would you add?
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