Inspiration: Paint media

Some time ago I asked in my blog's Facebook what you'd like me to post about. Of course I shall continue sharing the crafts and DT work I do, but I wondered if there's something more that you'd like to know. Like something about the mediums I use, my favorite supplies, about my process or similar. What was suggested was a post about inspiration. So I decided to start a series of post concentrating on something that inspires me. I shall do them on a monthly basis and let's see how it goes.

Here's links to previous posts on the series:

1) Inspiration: Music  2) Inspiration: Paintings  3) Inspiration: Magazines  4) Inspiration: You

Today I though to talk about the supplies, the paint media, the means we use to create. It can be the latest invention in paints or it can be humble pencil, but the supplies can be really inspiring! If you are not into mixed media touches, think about this post about supplies in general as the papers, embellishments and alphas can be oh so inspirational as well!

We all have our favorite supplies that hold time and usage but every now and then it's also fun to step outside the comfort zone and use something new. Even that can be inspiring, trying out something new! And it usually is, don't you think? A great way to try something new is attend to a crop or a workshop as there you might have a change to test a product before you need to buy it for home. Craft fairs might also be the thing as there might be demos and a chance to try out the product before buying a jar or a set in order to find out if it's for you or not.  

Every time I get something new it's fun to start exploring what it can do. What I can achieve using it in different ways and what I can mix it with. It's great to start with the basics, but oh so interesting trying to think new uses for the product. For example there's so many ways you can use a mist besides just spraying or there's plenty you can do with a pencil besides sketching and writing. And when you think this new one among the ones you already have, what you can conjure up? It's really inspiring to push the limits of a product and really see what you can do with it.

Even the color of the supply can inspire by itself. We all have your favorite ones in use, but the name or the shade of the supply can really spring the imagination. The supplies really have juicy names, don't they? Like "Guava" or "Cupid" or "Picked Raspberry"? You immediately start thinking about tropic, your loved one or a trip to the forest. The shades can spin a story as well as the names - like the pinks I listed there. Pink makes you think about something sweet, lovable, candy-like, happy and so forth.  

It's also good to go through your stash every once in a while. Your tastes in supplies might have changed and you are hoarding supplies you don't longer use. Or by going through what you have you might find an older product again and be inspired by it. But think hard and ponder before you choose to ditch a supply altogether. As tastes change can there become a time you would fall in love with it again? If you have all the colors of the rainbow in that, what about saving the primaries just in case? If you don't go back to those at all, then it's safe to give them a new life as well in the home of another person that puts them to use. Or what about doing a swap?

What you can also do in your search for inspiration is to find your your basic, go-to supplies. Those things that are always at your hand and finish your every project. There must be something special about those as they always find their place in your projects. Think about what makes them so inspiring and go from there!

Here's just a few ideas if you want to use supplies as an inspiration. Please feel free to add other ideas!

- choose your favorite product and try to study all the things you can do with it. Try to think outside of the box!

- challenge yourself with limited supplies. Like I created the painting seen on top there using only a pencil and mists as I didn't have anything else with me. 

- go through your stash and map out what you have - sometimes the supplies that you don't use so often can be buried under new ones or even forgotten. Find them again and try them out!

- study work of others, can you see an interesting supply? get it to yourself or mimic the effect it has using your own stash

- built a travel craft kit for yourself and find out what supplies are the dearest to you

- do a supply swap with a friend or order a kit and only use those supplies you have in there, get a new perspective

- do a homage or a tribute project to your favorite supplies

- check out the names of the products you are most likely to grab and use that as a jumping of point to your project 

I hope you found this post interesting or perhaps even inspiring! I'll post another source and a few ideas how to use it next month. Do you have a suggestion perhaps? I have a few in my mind, but maybe you have a source you'd like me to tackle?

Please also remember the "Inspired by" posts as I usually try to open up my process in them! Thank you for stopping by today!

PS. Have you checked the giveaways yet? There's a little something in every social media platform I have! Here's the links to my blog's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram! You'll have until 22nd to join in!