Using Inspiration

A while back, while I was still living in Texas, and still selling, I had a bride call me for an order.

She wanted Alice in Wonderland for her wedding.  And I was stoked.  She sent me an image she had found.  They were Alice in Wonderland cookies done by my dear friend Sweet Sugar Belle.

Now I'm not one for straight up copying.  It feels wrong, and in the end I'm creatively numb.  Not my style.  I need to make things my own.  So I asked my dear friend if I may use her cookies as inspiration.  And she said yes, because she's awesome like that. 

So we have her cookies as a jump off.  But I wasn't done with inspiration yet.  I was inspired by the Tim Burton movie and wanted to add elements of that in. But I was also loving the vintage Through The Looking glass feel.   So here's what I came up with for the wedding:

You can see more of the photos from this set here.

As most first drafts, not my favorite version.  So I remade them.

Let's break down the inspiration.  We already have the photo that the bride sent me.  That's a good starting point, honestly usually more of a starting point than I normally have.  But I didn't stop there.  Here is where the internet becomes your friend.  Movie posters and book illustrations are easily found with the help of my boyfriend Google.  Don't tell my husband, but I think I spend more time pressing Google's buttons than his.  Just sayin'. 

Using inspiration is great.  Especially if you are creating cookies based on an already existent idea or concept. Copying, eh not so much.  Not me. But if you are starting with a pre-existing idea or design, do what you can to make it your own.  There's ton of inspiration out there and in the end you are left with a satisfied sense of creative completion because you know your cookies came from deep down in you.  Even though you were locked into a design to start with,  it doesn't mean that you can't take is a step further and let your creativity come through.