good things

I love magazines.

I love to look at the pictures.

I enjoy reading how things work, how things are created and, of course, stories about people that are creative.

Martha Stewart Living has been among my favorite magazines for many years because of all the creativity in its pages, and because I save them, the day finally arrived when I simply couldn't keep all the magazines anymore, soooooooo ...

I began tearing out the pictures and articles that I wanted to keep.

I'd go through the magazines while having my morning coffee, which turned out to be a lot of fun, and after I filled a box with these pages, (and, this took months!) I organized them and placed them in a 3-ring binder.

I still subscribe to MSL, but I no longer keep all the magazines in tact (except for the February issues, which I'll explain another day). Every month, when the new issue arrives, I go through the previous month's issue, tear out what I want to keep and put the pages in a 3-ring binder.

I'm currently working on my second "edition" of Best of Martha Stewart Living. For me, a 2-inch notebook holds three or four years of my magazine tear sheets. And, in doing this, I find I've created a Martha Stewart Swipe File of ideas.  Pretty neat, huh?

Martha's magazine has inspired the color of my bedroom walls (a pale celery green which complements the blues and pinks and peaches that I love) and the way my office is organized, including the boxes and magazine holders lined up on the shelves holding papers, pens and my favorite craft publications.

I enjoy art, too. I love old books and papers, ink pens and taking pictures, and sometimes, when I'm looking for an idea for one of these things, I browse the pages of my Best of book and find inspiration.

As I read the blogs of other creative spirits, including Martha herself, I see that living an artful life is just as creative as painting a picture or knitting a sweater. So, I continue on my quest to cultivate my creativity ...

and, as they say:

Life's a journey.

Enjoy the ride.