Just about every Saturday morning from May until September, my SO and I have a routine. Early risers during the week, weekends are usually not exceptions for us. We get the Friday night paper which lists the area yard sales, check the on-line version of the paper and Craigslist and head out on Saturday mornings in search of treasure. Quite frequently I find things I can reuse in my jewelry and floral designs so I can easily justify my penchant for collecting other people's castaways. After checking out yard sales, we head to the local farmers' market before finishing the morning at the grocery store.
It was at the farmers' market this morning that I found my unexcepted inspiration. We always stop to chat briefly with a friend who runs a stall and while there I glanced down and saw the most wonderful mix of colors. It was a box with four peppers - one dark green, one yellow green, one orangey red and one purple. It was a feast for the eyes! And being a beadweaver, my first thought was, "Ooh, I should make up a necklace in these colors!". My friend assured me that as well as being pretty, they also tasted good, because my second thought was that they would really be good in a stir fry. So they came home with me and I decided to capture their beauty in a more fitting vessel than their cardboard produce box before we slice and dice them into the skillet.
Now I also have something to refer back to when I go through my bead stash. And I think copper will be the right accent for this trio of secondary colors after seeing how lovely they look on my leaf tray (which, btw, was a yard sale find).
So I guess moral of the story is even when you're just doing your normal, routine activities, keep your eyes open. You never know when you will see that spark of inspiration that will lead to your next creation.
