January, 2011
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Okay. I’m going to end off this January “Creative Inspirations” theme with a bit of a bang. Quite frankly, I could go on and on and on listing all the cool blogs / websites I’ve come across over the years, but chances are you’re ready to move on to something else as well, or are already overwhelmed with your own bookmarked lists. However. If you ever are looking for something new and different, I highly recommend you visit CRESCENDOh.
CRESCENDOh ‘s mission is to inspire creative passion, authentic community, and focused compassion. Every day they feature links to new and exciting artsy-craftsy projects and ideas, which can lead you to some really great new blogs. There are tips, classes, tutorials, book reviews, PLUS “Art Saves” and “Readers Share” stories where you can learn about the personal journeys that the contributing creators are on. SO much great stuff!
Well, that ought to keep you busy for a while. I hope you have enjoyed a month of links here at KateWares. I know I have (especially the making connections with people that I admire part)! Though I didn’t get the organizing done that I had planned for this month, due to a rather spontaneous and surprise visit from my sister, it was good to have these “light” blog posts so I could spend more time with her. Anyway. Thanks again for tuning in. =) K
Tags: CRESCENDOh, great stuff
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Friday, January 28th, 2011
Alright. I’m going out on a limb here and risking some teasing… but fact of the matter is, I can’t rightly put together a “Creative Inspirations” list without including Little Miss Martha.
Rest assured I will never have the time/energy/desire to go all out and apply Martha-rules to every aspect of my life, but more than a few projects (crafting, cooking, gardening, organizing, etc.) have been inspired by something I’ve read in one of her books/magazines or seen on her show or now, caught on her blog. So, yeah. Um. What more is there to say, really? Thanks, Martha!
Tags: enough said, Martha Stewart
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Thursday, January 27th, 2011
Speaking of dreamy wedding photos, I am reminded of a site I came across via Flickr a while back. Somebody had included a photo from One Love Photo in a favourites compilation, and after checking out their photostream, I was instantly hooked.
The work of husband and wife photo team Heather Gilson and Jon Almeda is simply awesome! After you’re done drooling over the wedding photos and portraits, be sure to check out their incredible mixed media offerings. As much as I loved my own wedding, it’s sites like this one that make a little part of me wish we had some fairy tale shots like these to look back on. 
Tags: dreamy, One Love Photo
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Wednesday, January 26th, 2011
My sister is in town, and whilst discussing who I might blog about today, she suggested a site that she really likes called Steep Street.
It doesn’t hurt that the current front page is dedicated to my sister’s friend Khali’s gorgeous wedding , but there are even more wonderful reasons to explore Kelty’s Steep Street site. Her projects are fun and quirky and beautiful, and when she says “Your latest hare-brained idea is my latest reason for living,” I’m apt to believe her. Hurrah for hare-brained ideas!!! I can’t wait to find a quiet afternoon and poke around her site some more. Thanks, sis!
Tags: Kelty, Steep Street
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Monday, January 24th, 2011
Today’s blog appreciation came to me via my Comic Mummy friend Jenny Wynter (who is also very inspirational, though more in a “getting it done” kinda way) . Jenny will often post links to other blogs in her own, and that is how I found out about Michelle Allen at Michelle My Belle.
Not only do I love Michelle’s vibrant artwork (check out both her Etsy shop, Allen Designs Studio, and her Close 2 My Art shop), but I love that she posts about her travels, her family, and her artistic process in the blog. Yes. And, yes. Incredible.
Tags: Michelle Allen, vibrant
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Friday, January 21st, 2011
While we’re on the subject of creative women who do a lot of different things, let’s talk about Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman.
Whether it’s cooking, photography, her home & garden, homeschooling, or even the misadventures of the family dog Charlie, she’s more than willing to share her insights on life as she chronicles her journey from “a spoiled city girl to a domestic country wife”. How does she inspire me? I think it has something to do with the way she elevates her everyday country life into something… well, more. Of course, it could also have something to do with some tiny inner desire to actually be a farm girl myself, but since that clearly isn’t going to happen, it’s fun to experience hers vicariously. Anyhow. I enjoy poking around her country living, and I hope you do to. Yee haw!
Tags: Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman
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Thursday, January 20th, 2011
Alright. Fact of the matter is, I am totally a photography geek. No big surprise there, I’m sure. Well as such, today you’re going to get to meet yet another one of the photographers I admire. When I first “met” Shelle, we were mutually commenting on each others photos for the August Break. I thoroughly enjoy her work, and now am even more in awe of her as I have just discovered that she’s a mom of SEVEN (!!!), originally from Australia and now living in New York, keeping up with a whole bunch of amazing things.
To be totally honest, I haven’t kept up with her Dancing Matilda blogs like I have with the other “creative inspirations” I have done posts about. In fact, I only just discovered her blogs today - apparently she has a lifestyle blog, a knitting blog, AND two photography blogs!!! That’s my kinda lady! 
But I always check in with her photostream when I’m on Flickr (and I highly recommend you do so too), plus now I am extremely excited to check out the other things this amazing woman has to offer. Go, Shelle!
Tags: amazing Shelle, Dancing Matilda
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Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
Okay… photography. So much to learn, so much to try in this glorious digital age. The next thing I would like to explore is digital layering using textures. Through various contacts in Flickr, I was introduced to Kim Klassen and her inspiring Cafe blog.
Not only does she offer some gorgeous photos to look at, but there are free tutorials, a store to purchase her textures in, and e-courses (both free and paid) to teach you how to use them! It’s like everything you ever wanted to know about digital layering in one place – how cool is that? =)
Tags: Kim Klassen, textures
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Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
While we’re on a roll with some of my favourite hobby-supporting blogs, let’s get into scrapbooking. As I’ve mentioned before, I tend to enjoy including a *lot* of photos in my scrapbooking pages – something that isn’t very typical of the genre. And so, when I’m look for pages to inspire me, it’s a bit challenging at times. At some point a while back, I Googled “scrapbooking with lots of photos” and came across Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking.
Katie Scott’s blog is filled with lots of great pages that aren’t too complicated or too frilly (which is right up my alley when it comes to scrapbooking). She has two school-aged children, so she’s posted some really fun page ideas / themes I would love to try out someday – and they’re not all photo-heavy, in case you were worried. *sigh* Now I want to spend the entire day scrapping. Ah, well. Soon enough, I suppose.
Tags: Katie Scott, Kiss and Tell Scrapbooking
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