May 21, 2011

  • Inspiration (Swipe File)

    When May rolled around, we were really busy with local tornado relief, the chief was working lots, the chief went out of town more than usual, all the kids had dental appointments, we were working hard to wrap up our current homeschool year, I got really sick life happened.  I found myself kind of uninspired.  I love blogging but frequent blogging requires inspiration.  Whether it is a snapshot of the kids, a recipe, thoughts I am mulling over... No matter how long or short the post. Well, May found me just plain out of inspiration.  Then I remembered my beloved swipe file. 

    I first posted about my swipe file in December 2009.  The term swipe file is derived from the advertising industry.  A swipe file is a collection of ads, headlines, promos, and sales letters that stand out from the rest. Keeping a swipe file is a common practice used by advertising copywriters and creative directors as a ready reference of ideas for projects.

    Well copywriters are not the only ones who benefit from having a swipe file.  This is a great starting point for anyone who needs a little extra creativity.  My swipe file is a constant source of inspiration.   

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    I use a manilla folder for ideas I find in real life (magazines, photos, etc..)  I have a file on my desktop for online ideas.  I fill both with my thoughts, recipes, advertisements, magazine pages, decorating ideas, paint colors, quotations, scriptures, photos...  Anything that catches my eye and inspires me.

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    So, in my swipe file I found the inspiration I needed to continue blogging.  I am committed to adding more ideas to the file for the next time we are really busy with local tornado relief, the chief is working lots, the chief is out of town more than usual, all the kids have dental appointments, we are working hard to wrap up our current homeschool year, I get really sick life happens.

    There is one very important thing to remember when using a swipe file.  We should never blatantly copy stuff and infringe copyright laws.  A swipe file is there to help generate ideas. To give inspiration for your own creative ideas.  Do you have a swipe file?  What sorts of things do you save in your file?

    P.S.  As mentioned above, I first shared about my swipe file in Dec '09.  This is an updated repost of the original.  Beth, I just had to leave your comment cause I save hairstyle's in my swipe file too.    :)

      

Comments (4)

  • I have a little notebook full of paint colors and pictures from magazines taped inside.  I even have several hairstyles in there that I'd try if my hair was shorter!

  • @betheelou - ooh!  I do hairstyles too!  How funny!  :)

  • sounds like me.  I do recipes, hair styles :) , craft ideas, neat blogs, and anything creative that catches my eye

  • Oh yeah!  Love to be inspired.  I have a creativity journal where I write down ideas I have, blogs I want to write, gardening ideas, floral arrangements I love, decorating, fashion combinations, recipes, fabric swatches, quotes, silly things the kids say... it's all in there. If I don't do that I just forget about it completely!

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