Inspiring mamas 'round the world

Bouncing around on the Web from blog to blog the past couple of years, I've found kinship and inspiration from so many bloggers.

The blogging community seemed so creative and nurturing that I decided to start my own blog. It was a venture I had been thinking about for months, fine tuning it in my head, waiting for just the right moment to launch it. Then, Holly Becker of decor8 announced her plans to teach an e-course on blogging. I was one of the lucky 200 or so to enroll out of the more than 800 bloggers who wanted in. I'm not surprised so many would want to learn from Holly, whose blog has 950,000 readers each month! She is an endless source of inspiration, with her numerous daily posts containing beautiful, dreamy images of her design finds along with special features like a series on creativity.

The only requirement for the month-long e-course was that I had to have a blog. So with Holly's gentle nudging, I launched Mama Without Borders at the same time that her e-workshop began last month. Let me tell you, Holly worked all of us hard. She had us listen to her "lectures" on podcasts, post our homework for all our classmates to see, form a critique group, and so forth. But Holly did more than provide us with the nuts and bolts of running an effective blog. With stories of her own path toward success, she encouraged each of us to look deep within ourselves to discover what will feed our soul on our journey as bloggers.

With that in mind, I would like to honor today five mamas, all fellow students in Holly's course, whose blogs are inspiring me with images of all kinds of creativity from around the world. Reading over their blogs tonight has made me feel like I've been on a wondrous trip, much like opening a cupboard full of goodies. I hope you enjoy their blogs as much as I do:


sam's notebook: Sam, mom to a two-year-old daughter, is an Australian living in Malmö, Sweden who posts lovely images of all that inspires her, including this Swedish Gustavian 18th century secretaire.



kireei: Cristina Grascamarena, a professor who has a son, writes this blog along with three other parents who live in Spain. Their blog is a "catalogue of beautiful things" from all over the world, including artwork from an Australian artist who uses pencils as his canvas.



hardakerandpope: Two mothers from the Cotswolds in England who combine their creativity to document everything from their love of rubber stamps to tea parties they host. Sarah, one of the mothers, is also a designer who makes wallcoverings, pillows and other items from fabrics she designs for her company Sarah Hardaker Ltd.



bondville: Stephanie Bond, who has a young daughter, blogs about Australian art, design and products, such as this flocked ampersand cushion.


littlehendesigns: This is written by a "self-proclaimed crafter and do-it-yourselfer" who writes about her ideas, projects and bargain finds. Below is the nursery that this talented mom designed for her son, featuring a tree she painted herself.


I would also like to mention fellow bloggers in the class who took the time to critique my blog:
doodlebuds, mamaloves, moorethanamom: blaubeermund, she & helix.

Image credits:
Top photo of world cupboard: Desire to Inspire;
secretaire by Appley Hoare Antiques via samsnotebook;
blue-and-red cushions by hardakerandpope;
ampersand cushion Aunty Cookie Etsy shop via bondville;
nursery by Little Hen Designs.