Creativity.

In my previous life I was an art director.

I went to college where I got a degree in advertising and design. Yup, while my friends were busy spending hours in a lab mixing chemicals together in the hopes of blowing something up, I got to draw, watch movies, go to parties, take photos, play on the computer and basically have a grand time with some awesome people. And it was all in the name of creativity. See, being a "creative" in the advertising world can be stressful - you must always be ahead of the curve and ready to spot the next trend.

But I loved every second of it (okay maybe not the second that my entire portfolio got erased an hour before it was due...)

I loved going to work at odd hours of the day.
I loved that going to concerts, movies, art galleries, and watching television were all part of my job description.
I loved traveling to various places in the name of work.
I loved that the tools of my trade included Primsacolors, a MacBook, a Nikon Camera, sketchbooks and lots of books.

Basically I loved being creative.

When I started quilting, many of my close friends were not surprised and saw it as another outlet for me to "express myself." I love taking my inspirations from my travels, nature, architecture, and pop culture and translating them into quilts. I think this is why I design all my own patterns.

So I have a question for you - what inspires you? How do you plan on staying creative this year?

For some ideas check out this video:


29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Celebrate Color: Fall Leaves

Rachel, who blogs over at Stitched in Color, is hosting this awesome series called Celebrate Color. The basic idea is to make something inspired by fall colors and you can enter it in her contest to win some awesome prizes. The deadline for October has passed, but you can get your thinking cap on and start to plan something to enter in November. You should definitely check it out!

With this in mind, a few weeks ago I spent the weekend in the mountains with my dashing husband. It was gorgeous! We got up before sunrise every day to take some beautiful pictures and I was so inspired by the fall leaves. I think I took hundred of pictures of them. There was something about the reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and browns against the blue sky that spoke to me.

Nature really inspires me and I came home with a few new quilt ideas. Stay tuned for info about them in the next few weeks.

What inspires you?

**Don't forget to enter the Kate Spain fabric giveaway!**