Aryn Henning Nichols

It’s Inspire(d) Magazine’s 16th birthday! Celebrate with us by making your very own Inspire(d) birthday hat + paper pom poms! You can use an old magazine, or any other card stock / paper you’ve got on hand. Thanks for being Inspire(d)…for 16 whole years!

Gather your supplies:

• Old magazines with thick covers OR cardstock
• String
• Scissors
• Stapler
• Paper puncher
• Tape
• One extra large rubber band, or two large rubber bands (not pictured)
• Birthday hat template (click the link to download & print)

Print the template and cut out the flat hat shape and the circles.

Make sure to cut the slit mark in the template (and you will do it again on the hat you cut out).

These circles will be the templates for the pom poms!

Position the template how you want the hat to be (I wanted my gnome to be upright, thus positioned the template so he would be that way in the final product). If you’re using a patterned paper, or just plain card stock, this won’t matter.

Cut out the hat shape, using the template.

Make sure to cut into these slits so there are tabs that hold one side of the hat into the other.

Slightly fold the hat with the template still over it, and cut the slit that will hold the section with the tabs.

The cut out hat will look like this at this point (with whatever cover or card stock you chose).

Fold it around so that tabbed section goes into the slit from the top. I found it easier to insert the top part first, then sort of fold the bottom tab in and stick it through the slit, and then make sure the tabs are holding once they’re opened back up.

Like so!

Once the tabs are secured, I stapled the bottom part just to make sure it holds well.

Take the circles and trace them over a colorful interior page of the magazine (or a collection of scrap paper).

Cut out eight pages around the circles, then cut the circles out (so there’s a stack of eight pages in that left photo).

Using a paper punch to punch a hole in the middle of the groups of circles.

Cut a fringe around each stack of circles.

They will look like this when you’re done.

Arrange the circles like this: four small, four medium, eight large, four medium, four small.

Cut a long piece of string – you want it long so it will stick out and be easy to pull through the hat. I put a little tape on the end of the string so it would be easier to thread through the paper punch holes.

Thread the string through the holes in order of their arrangement (so it will be a ball shape once it’s on the string).

It will look like this! (These would also be cute in a line down a piece of string if you wanted to make paper pom pom garlands.)

Tie a knot on one side of the circles and start fluffing them up.

You can turn the circles around individually as well, so they fluff in different directions.

Tie a knot on the opposite side of the pom pom, and fluff up some more!

Time to attach the pom pom to the hat! Thread the string into the top opening of the hat. I ended up putting a small piece of tape at the top so the string wouldn’t slide down the slit.

Pull the string through the hat so the pom pom is positioned at the top, how you like it, and then pull the string taut and tape it to the inside of the hat. You can trim excess string off.

Almost there! It’s looking like a hat now! Time to attach the rubber bands so you, in turn, can attach the hat to your head.

If you can find extra large rubber bands, you might get away with using just one. I could not, and had to use two. Cut each rubber band once, and tie them together.

Staple the rubber band ends so that the hat will be positioned how you like it when you put it on your head. One end across from the other.

Ta da! An Inspire(d) birthday hat + paper pom poms! If you make one, make sure to tag us on social media @iloveinspired. Thanks for being Inspire(d) for 16 years!!!!

(wait, this isn’t how you do selfies!!!) xoxo- Aryn

Finding inspiration is, obviously, one of the main missions of Inspire(d) Magazine. We want to tell inspiring, relatable stories of our neighbors doing good things out there, so readers might feel inspired to do the same. (Inspire > Be Inspired = Inspire(d)!)

But sometimes, finding inspiration to move forward feels impossible. 

For me, this Fall 2023 Inspire(d) was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever made. 

On August 1, I got the sad news that one of my favorite friends from college took his own life. Chris was a shining light to everyone who knew him – funny, smart, a good listener – but he struggled with mental health and finding a path forward. And ultimately, he didn’t see one.

It was hard to do anything for quite a while after that day. Just walking around the block felt heavy. But I knew I was at least taking some (literal) steps. I thought about being a shining light for others, just as Chris was with his friends, colleagues, and acquaintances.

That got me going. That idea of spreading light was the thing that inspired me to take the next step, and then the next. Because not only did I see the light in Chris, I see it in myself, I see it in the people I love… and I see it in all of you. You are inspired. We could not make this magazine without you, out there, living this life in a way that inspires others around you.

For the days when you’re not feeling quite so light-filled, there are some small (and bigger) things you can try in order to seek that spark of inspiration, and we dedicate the mental health section of this magazine to this goal. I put together 16 inspiration ideas in honor of Inspire(d)’s 16th birthday, and our mental health writer, Olivia Lynn Schnur, dives into some of the more psychological aspects of finding inspiration, and reminds us that sometimes we might need a little help as well, and that’s the time to seek out a mental health counselor. Or call 988. The 988 Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the United States. 

You are important. This life is worth living. You are inspired. I hope you take the first step to finding inspiration – today. When you do, you’ll bring light not only to yourself, but to those around you. That is the magic of inspiration.

Below, find 16 big and little ideas for finding inspiration, and thank you so much for reading, friends. I am grateful.

XOXO – Aryn

16 Tips for Finding Inspiration

In case you can’t read it all in the graphic above, here it is in text form. In honor of Inspire(d) Magazine’s 16th birthday, here are 16 tips for finding inspiration:

1. Build Momentum

Momentum is easier than motivation. Start with a small step, like texting a friend, and then take another small step.

2. Make an inspiring date

Ask an inspiring acquaintance to get coffee or lunch! Spending time with friends who make you want to do and be more is one of the best ways to find inspiration.

3. Take a mindful walk through nature

Carry with you the expectation that you’ll be inspired. With this beautiful world, it shouldn’t take long.

4. Write a mantra that works for you 

Heck, write several! Put them where you can see them frequently.

5. Make a dream or vision board

Seeing your goals and dreams laid out like this can really light a fire!

6. Pump up the jams

Listen to a playlist that makes you feel excited to move.

7. Seek out inspiring resources 

Grab an inspiring book. Watch a movie, video, or TedTalk, or listen to a podcast that has inspired you in the past. Don’t know where to start? Ask friends for recommendations.

8. Change the scene

It can be small or big – rearranging furniture in your house, a day trip, a big trip, or even just a coffee shop work day.

9. Get some cardio

Nothing like endorphins to make you feel like you can tackle your biggest dreams.

10. Nourish yourself

Cook a new healthy recipe. Pump your favorite cooking jams while you do so!

11. Identify things to outsource

Leaf raking? Window washing? Dog walking? Sometimes removing something from your plate gives you space to find inspiration (and gives your neighbor’s kid a new job).

12. Do something just for the fun of it

Maybe have a “yes” day with your kids. Or get your college paint and easel back out (or your 

trumpet!). Jump in the leaves. See if you can get some laughs going.

13. Take care of yourself

However that may look for you. Find a way to show yourself some love.

14. Be grateful

Write gratitude notes to the people you love, reminding them and you how much inspiration lives around you already.

15. Journal

Look up prompts if you’re stuck. Ask yourself what your biggest dreams are. Then ask yourself why. Keep asking until you strike upon something that makes you want to take action.

16. Plan one action step

Sign up for a class. Send a text to a friend to set up a date. Reserve that book at the library. Set up a therapy session. One step at a time.

Happy 16th birthday, Inspire(d)! (Read the Fall 2023 Inspire(d) anniversary issue online here.)

This magazine is officially old enough to drive. Which is funny, because it’s been driving our lives since its inception.

I was first inspired to start Inspire(d) my senior year of college at the University of Iowa. It was 2003, I was 22, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, beyond writing. I was on track to graduate with a degree in English and journalism. But what next? That spring, I read a biography about a man named Dan Eldon (Dan Eldon: The Art of Life, by Jennifer New). 

Dan had Iowa ties (his mom is from Cedar Rapids), was interested in telling stories (he was a photojournalist), but he was killed on assignment when he was 22. In his short, bright life, he did some wonderful things for his various communities. He raised money for neighbors in need. He aided friends at the drop of a hat. He helped organize a rag-tag team of fundraisers, took them on a perspective-broadening safari in Africa, and donated the funds they raised – $20,000 – to a refugee camp in Malawi.

He documented his life through art-filled journals, focusing on photography and collage. The cover of this issue is inspired by his art, in fact, and is made up of a variety of past Inspire(d) Magazines (compiled by me)!

Dan’s story lit a fire inside of me. I was inspired. I wanted to tell more of these stories of people helping their communities. Stories that proved you could make a difference as a slightly responsible kid in their 20s or as an elderly grandma in her 80s. Relatable, “I could do that!” stories. Stories that inspired other people to want to make their world a better place as well.

After that spring, I spent one more semester finishing up college at a magazine program in Canada, one year teaching English in China, and finally, I came back to the US in 2005, thinking I had to get a “real job” before I could start the magazine that had been formulating in my head. I met Benji in 2006 and told him my idea, to which he said, “Let’s do it!” The first Inspire(d) Magazine rolled off the press October 2007.

I like to think we’ve made our world a little better with each issue, and this one is no exception. We have great Community Builders, inspiring people and businesses, and topics I think should always be at the forefront of our minds: conservation, mental health, and enjoying this one beautiful life we are given.

Every day is an opportunity to begin anew. Every day holds the potential of inspiration. Sometimes it’s hard to find it, though, and my hope is that this issue of Inspire(d), and every before and after, gives you a little spark of something you’re excited about.

Thank you for reading, friends. You ARE inspired.

Looking forward,

Aryn Henning Nichols

In this issue, you’ll find:

You are Inspired: Finding Inspiration in Life! Elena Rue • International Owl Center • Postville Therapy Dog Program • Community Builders: Laura Gentry • Julia Borgen • Caitlyn Konze • Wendy Lickteig • Sum of Your Biz: La Rana Bistro • Mental Health: Finding Inspiration • Conservation: Biophilia • Paper Project: DIY Birthday Hat + Paper Pom Poms • Probit: Vonnie Linnevold