Inspiration

Who has inspired you and where do you get your ideas?
I have been blessed to have been inspired by my incredible maternal grandfather, Leo Jones who we lovingly called Gramps.  Beginning as a young child I would dabble in his basement, greenhouse and gardens for hours on end. He was very creative and not afraid to try any home improvement project, craft or tackle any suggested or requested task. Gramps would drive far and wide to visit shops and craft supply outlets to gather new ideas and supplies for his next project. He would get "stock" for his basement-supplies for potential projects that he would like to create. Another source of inspiration for Gramps were catalogues and magazines. He was a notorious "clipper" and would glue his ideas on notebook pages with notes.
Today I am still inspired by Gramps and wish he could see how much he has influenced my creativity and how I have tried to pass on his passion and artistic talent to my children.
For years I have to admit I hoarded every monthly copy of my beloved Martha Stewart Magazine under my bed (arranged in piles by months). I was a purist-and used post it notes to mark potential future projects, recipes and inspiration. When we moved a few years ago I was encouraged to part with my hoard-and did save some ideas before recycling my collection. We are fortunate to have Pinterest today. Gramps would have loved this creative outlet and would have loved taking pictures and posting from his browsing trips, locating projects and finding like minded individuals. Another site he would love would be Etsy as he had always hoped to open a shop of his own, with the intended name "Peg of My Heart" in honor of my grandmother and can imagine countless hours of online browsing on the site as well.
Admittedly, I too have "stock" of craft supplies throughout my house and look forward to adding to my supplies and using some for potential projects. This year I plan on opening up an Etsy store and will hopefully satisfy my grandfather's goal of selling some of our wares, albeit online.
Thank you Gramps for your continued inspiration!