spring cleaning...

never looked so messy...

 I'm sipping on my Mexican Coca-Cola and sorting...

I'm trying to really, really organize my stuff in my craft room.

  Before this cleaning jaunt, I could name you one of twelve places where you might find a pair of scissors...

 And now, look, they are all together in one drawer. (I have a lot of scissors!)

 And I'm busy sorting things like disembodied doll heads, mushrooms and

itty bitty people.

I wish you were here to help me. We could sit in a pile of junk and sort and talk and drink Mexican Coca-Colas all afternoon...

she's a winner!

Congratulations, Amy! You won the hard copy of the magazine! Yay!

Thank you to all who entered!

**************************

You can get your own hard copy of the magazine here.

 or save money (& trees!) & get the digital version here. 

gifts

 Look how sweet! Monica aka The Happy Zombie sent me this adorable needlebook (it's the project she did for my magazine!) (psssst...Monica just revealed her new line of fabrics to be launched later this Spring...you gotta see it!)

And look at the amazing necklace that Leslie sent me. It's also a project featured in the magazine and I think it's ingenius! It's made from a tiny vintage salt shaker...the best part? You can unscrew the bottom (top?) and keep a treasure inside! Love it!

Find detailed directions for both projects in the spring issue of inspired ideas. It's practically free...$3.30! That's not a latte!

And here's something I made for my friend Melissa. She asked 18 others to make 6" x 6" heart pages and she's going to stitch them together to make a fabulous "paper quilt" for her bedroom wall. Isn't that fun? Her birthday was on Valentine's day and this is a part of her celebration... I can't wait to see it all put together!

hard copy giveaway!

How would you like to WIN a hard copy of the Spring issue of Inspired Ideas?

Here's what you need to do to qualify:

1. Buy the digital version (if you haven't already...it's just $3.30!)
2. Blog about your favorite project in the magazine (you can use the page-spread images found here: http://inspiredideasmag.blogspot.com Simply find the project in the list of contents and click to see that project's page. Right click the image to save it and you can now add it to your own blog post.)
3. Provide this link for your readers to subscribe: http://www.amy-powers.com/spring2011/subscribe.html
4. Comment below (be sure to include your blog's address!)

Contest ends on Friday, February 25 at 10 AM EST. Open to all bloggers, including internationals! You must fulfill all 4 requirements to enter and win the drawing.

Good Luck!

can we talk?

I made a place online just for discussing projects in the Spring issue...you can comment on the project, ask the artist a question, or just spread some love...

Isn't that fun? 

Go here and click on any of the projects listed in the contents on the right:
http://www.inspiredideasmag.blogspot.com 

I hope you'll enjoy it.





Click here to subscribe to the Spring issue for just 330 pennies!

for your hot little hands...

Hot off the presses!

Good news for the lots of you who asked for a hard copy magazine....

You can now order a copy of the Spring 2011 Issue of Inspired Ideas as a good old fashioned paper magazine for $38.70. Click here to order.

It's a bit expensive for a magazine, I know. But it sure is pretty. It's perfect-bound, printed on a really nice-weight paper. And it's full of inspiration. (And just so that you know, my mark-up on the print version is also only $3.30)

There's always the low-cost online-only version, same inspiration just a different way to see it.

the line-up

Here's a look at the contributors for the spring issue...


Pretty amazing line-up, isn't it?

If you'd like to see the online magazine, subscribe here. It's only $3.30!

happy lovey dovey!

We're having the nicest Valentine's Day over here...hope you are too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

inspired ideas Q & A

Q  How do I buy the magazine?
A  Click this link: Subscribe and click the buy now button. (Thank you!)


Q  I purchased the magazine, now what?
A  When you buy the magazine, you should be directed to your private link, created just for you. Please be sure to bookmark this page for future access.

Also, a message with the link will be sent to the email associated with your PayPal account. You should save that email.

There are some circumstances when you won't be directed to your private link from your PayPal purchase (for instance, if you used a credit card to pay instead of PayPal). However you should still receive the email immediately. If you don't receive the email or the link, just send an email (amy (at) inspireco.com).

Q  Can I share my link to the magazine with my friends?
A  Your link was created especially and exclusively for you. Please don't share it. Instead, won't you please encourage your friends to buy their own copy? That would be lovely.


Q  Can you send my link again? I lost it. (or I never got it)
A  Please send me an email (amy (at) inspire.com) and I'll send you an email with your private link as soon as I can. 

Q  I can't find the patterns and templates.
A  There is a link for the appendix at the end of the magazine (it's a page with a nest and egg on it).



Q Why can't I view the magazine on my iPad?
A The software that creates the magazine uses Flash which is not supported on an iPad. 


Q How can I add a preview of the magazine to my sidebar?
A Go to: http://issuu.com/inspired-ideas/docs/previewspringissue#embed  and change the size settings to width: 200, height: 150. And thank you!


Q How can I buy previous issues?
A The two previous issues, Christmas and Autumn, are still free. You can access them here: http://www.amy-powers.com/archives.html


Q Why aren't you charging more for this issue?
A $3.30 isn't much, even in this tough economy. It's about the same as one tall latte, right? I would like for my magazine to reach many, many people and spread the inspiration out as far as possible. That's my definition for success for the magazine. 

Q Will you be offering a print version of the magazine?
A I'm working on it but it will be expensive. Please believe me, I'm not being greedy. I'm using MagCloud. They charge .20 per page and my mark up is just $3.30, the same as the cost for the digital issue. This option should be available in about 2 weeks. 

 
Q  How do I submit an idea for the magazine?
A The next issue is the birthday issue...all about great birthday ideas from gifts to decorations. This is not so much about kids' birthdays, as much as we love them. This is about celebrating our own personal holidays with style. Think birthday crowns and cupcake toppers and pennant banners! Let's put the "happy" back in birthday! Got an idea? Send the specific idea with photos to amy (at) inspireco.com before March 1 for consideration.

I just want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who have purchased the magazine. It makes me so happy to share it with you. I hope it is as full of inspiration for you as I envisioned.

If you bought it and you do love it, will you shout it from the rooftops? I would love for the inspiration to spread even further!

a painted valentine

we painted Valentines this morning...

aren't they colorful?

 For this one, Alfredo directed me on how to make a person
and then he said:

"You're a pretty good painter, Amy, 

but noses are not shaped like the letter L"

Alfredo:

"This is a lady with yellow curly hair 

and some of her hair is covering her eye."

 I especially love the big lips he painted on this one. 

And you can see a peek of his corn on the cob painting here too.

It was so much fun painting with him, 

just enjoying the colors and the mushing about of paint.

Here's a picture of him with his favorite painting that he did:

"It's a fire-breathing dragon fighting lots of persons!"

And I wanted to take a picture of him with my favorite of his paintings.
He was a bit wiggly...

It's a monkey...isn't it adorable? 

(and isn't he adorable?)

And then he wanted to take a picture of me with his favorite painting that I painted:

"I still love it even though the nose is all wrong. Do you know why, Amy?"

"Why?"

"Because you maded it"

Isn't it nice when someone loves something just because you maded it?

projects

I had so much fun making these heart cutouts the other day! (Jone Hallmark shares her pattern for making them in the magazine.)

I'm not very good at delicate paper cutting so it helped me to use very thin paper like these dictionary pages. And I found that exquisite pink flocked scrapbook paper (Anna Griffin) and was so tickled with how it looked. It's a thinner paper too so it was fairly easy to make the cuts. 

 

Look what a lovely garland connecting three or more makes:

And I tried making a 3-d ornament by gluing the folds of three together...it's a little flimsy so maybe using thicker paper would be better for this...and then you could sew the centers together. Anyway, I thought it might spark some inspiration:

While I was working on these fun things, Alfredo was quietly working on his "secret project"...

Do you see this craziness? 

He covered his remote control Mater with a pile of stickers. 

Dozens of stickers layered on top of each other. 

(Stickers we'd been saving for a sticker album)

winner...

And the winner is...

Bryanna Lenan!

You lucky little darling, you!

last call...

I just wanted to pop in to remind you to comment on the cuff giveaway post below to enter to win Julie Collings' beautiful cuff.

Drawing Friday 10 am

one more...

Look at this fabulous cuff made by Lesley Riley!

I don't know how it disappeared from the list but here it is! Isn't it lovely?

another giveaway

pop on over to Monica's blog, The Happy Zombie, and 

enter to win one of the needle books she created for the magazine. 

isn't it adorable? it's perfect for storing pins, needles, floss, 

and, as Monica suggests, emergency chocolate. 

have you gotten your

 

spring issue?

off the cuff giveaway!

The challenge:

Cut off the cuffs

of a button-down-type shirt

(search your goodwill pile)

+
decorate to your heart's content

=
instant cuff bracelet

See?

How much fun is that? 

I sent the challenge to my artist friends and just look at the fabulous results:

^
I really love Lesa Dailey's interpretation. Holy cow! It's beautiful.

^

Jone

created these beautiful cuffs. Look how fabulous!
 v

^ 

Look how pretty Karla's is.

^

Leslie Brier and her sweet daughter Sylvan created these sweet cuffs.

^

my friend Lorraine made this frilly one! so much fun.

^

Lynn was on a roll and created 3 cuffs. 

This one she calls "love you to pieces"

^

Claudine made this lovely one. 

Don't you love the crinkled tulle? 

Just hit it quickly with a heat gun and it's like magic.

^

Stephanie's twist on the challenge was to use a 

cuff from a jean jacket...how cool is that?

v

^

Pam, my friend, editting-machine, & photographer, made this pretty cuff.

^ 

And I just love this delicate beauty by Julie Collings. Don't you?

You do? 

Well then, I have great news...

it could be yours! 

Just leave a comment below and I'll draw a winner Friday morning, 10 am EST. 

This cuff challenge project was created for and featured in

 

the spring 2011 issue of inspired ideas

click here to subscribe

it's only $3.30...what are you waiting for?