Creativity and Inspiration

Thanks to Jessica over at Confessions of a Homeschooler, I found a "blog hop" the other day where the Jessica Sprague Art of Digital Design Alumni were sharing the backgrounds and clipart-type images that they made as a showcase of what they have learned.  They each had a few elements you could download for free, but they all kept to the same color palette so it would be interchangeable.  Here are two images they used to show some of the elements:

The people from Jessica's classes came up with amazing images.  These backgrounds and images are used for "Digi-Scrapping" which is like scrapbooking, but you use digital images to put your layout together instead of physical papers, brads, etc.  I did this last few years for our Christmas Cards.  Here is last year's card:

When I visited the Jessica Sprague site, I was delighted!  They have so many classes that you can take on everything from digital photography and Digi-scrapping to Digital design.  They also sell their work, which you can then use to create with.  Even if you scrapbook with paper, you can print out some of the images or background papers and use them.  On the blog, they also have days where they share layouts and such for inspiration, which you can use for anything from Scrapbooking to Cardmaking to Blog design.

I am over-the-moon excited!  I can't wait to use some of the free stuff I got from the blog hop the other day to make our Christmas Cards for this year, and I am already adding classes to my "wishlist" that I am hoping to do after the Christmas season is over.  I have always liked the blog layout over at Confessions of a Homeschooler, and have been looking for some way of updating my layout in the future.  I even have a theme I have been thinking about.  I had already made the background and header that I currently use, but I used images that were available to me.  I have never made my own image before and I was not sure how I would get the logo to look like what I see in my head.  I was thinking I would have to hire someone at some point.  Maybe if I take some classes, I will have enough design experience to make my own little logo.  I can dream, right?

Let me introduce you to...Homemaker's By Choice

I was never a big podcast or radio person, but that has changed. Over the last few years, I have transitioned much of the time I spent watching TV to listening to radio programs, reading and, well, blogging! I started out listening to Focus on the Family and Crown Financial Ministries, which are both really good programs. But I found myself looking for something with practical advice and wisdom for me as I went through the day-to-day realities of being an at-home mom. I stumbled upon the Homemaker's By Choice Podcast by accident, but immediately knew I found a great resource! When I later found out that their founder, Donna Otto, was mentored for a time by Elisabeth Elliot, I gained even more respect for the ministry. After listening to them for 2 or 3 years now, I have only praise for their ministry.

If you have not heard of this wonderful ministry, I hope you will check them out. As their name suggests, they encourage women to stay at home with their children - however, their resources are helpful for any mother. They do not have a negative attitude toward women who work. They have even had programs that specifically deal with issues working mothers face. I have learned about Organization, Child Discipline, Marriage, and Building Traditions into your family, among other things - and have always felt encouraged at the end of listening. I have also implemented some of their resources which have helped me to improve in my organizational and mothering abilities. If you are interested, you can also check out their website which includes some other helpful resources.