We talk with one of the flyest ladies on the blogging scene! Creative Inspirationalist Andrea Pippins chats with us about the importance of living life creatively, beautifully, and inspirationally. She is the creative force behind one of the most popular design, style, and lifestyle blogs called Fly Girls. You can count on Andrea to post up some lovely inspirational collages to brighten your day, provide you with some cool and innovative links, as well as some great fashion and health tips from her contributing writers Rahil & Rakia; oh yes, and be sure to check out her webisodes while clicking around! So feast your eyes and mind on a little creative candy that is sure to make you smile and inspire you to create. Heres Andrea:

ymib: What does living creatively mean to you and why do you feel that it is so important?

Andrea: Being creative is who I am, it's how I express myself, it's how I interpret and absorb the world around me. Without it I think my voice would be insignificant. With my creative skills and talents I have tools that allow me to share my thoughts and opinions in my own way. It's important because it's how I eat and it's how I learn.

ymib: Favorite fashion & design/living magazines that you can always count on to gain creative inspiration from?

Andrea: I am a big fan of magazines period, I can find anything to inspire me in any magazine. Whether it's a color palette, a pattern, etc, I just tear it out and paste away. But if I really had to choose, I try to pick up Elle and Blueprint Magazine whenever I can. I subscribe to Domino. And although it's super expensive I always have to grab Selvedge Magazine. Every page is inspiring.

ymib:Favorite color combinations?

Andrea: Sea-foam blue with brown, ivory and mango is so beautiful to me. For a more feminine flair I enjoy a lush tropical pink with a light turquoise blue.

ymib: When decorating your home, what elements/favorite pieces do you tend to use/have & how would you describe your homes style?

Andrea: I have to be quite honest here, I am horrible at interior design. I have no clue where to begin and how to put stuff together in my home. I know what I like, but sometimes I feel with my budget, it's hard to make what I want work. It's so funny because when people come over they always expect a fabulously designed home, and it's definitely not the case. Now that I have a new apartment and a clean slate, I am excited about making this space really me.

ymib: Please share with us your favorites of the following:

Tea/coffee/beverages: Vanilla Almond by Republic of Tea, lemonade, and margaritas!

Desserts: Apple Pie a la mode is by far my favorite dessert ever. But carrot cake from the Little Pie Company ALWAYS makes me smile.

Places to travel to: I love going to the beach in Miami and seeing family in Brazil

Creative Book(s): I reference old design annuals from Communication Arts, How Magazine, and Print. I also love Back in the Days for the photography and 1000 Patterns for the beautiful patterns from all over the world.

Music/album(s): Love Jill Scott's first album, Erykah Badu's and Maxwell's second, Tweet's first album was magical, and any old school Bossa Nova albums, wow there's way too many to name.

Entree(s): Oooooh, my all time favorite is feijoada, Brazil's national dish. There's so many ways too serve it, but of course I love the way my mother puts it all together. Feijoada is black beans with meats like sausage, beef, and pork served with rice. Sometimes she'll add Brazilian fried chicken, Brazilian style pico de gallo (best way to describe it) finely chopped greens, farofa (a form of cassava), and when I cook this meal I always make plantain. Yum!

Way(s) to entertain friends: I rarely entertain friends, we usually meet up for dinner, brunch or drinks. But when I do have them over I cook. For some reason I always end up making quesidillas with fresh guacamole and pico de gallo.

ymib:What do you love most about being a Graphic Designer and how does it play into your everyday creative life?

Andrea: I love the ability to create something that makes people react visually. When I see something that's beautiful or inspiring I feel like I have to share it with others, which is now what I do everyday with Fly.

ymib: Who are some of your creative role models?

Andrea: When I worked at Hallmark Cards I was fascinated with the two people who ran the trends department. Their work entailed inspiring the creative engine that is Hallmark. I admired them for being so precise with the business side of creating product and their ability to truly appreciate the artists they inspire.

In college the toughest and one of the most respected design professors was and still is one of my creative role models. She was so hard on us and I loved it. I knew it came from a place of love and experience. She knew how hard it would be for us going out into the real world and therefore had to makes us tough. Her stories about working for Vogue, traveling and falling in love with design always made me feel like it was important to try everything you need and want to. She taught me that the application of your experience in life and design is what makes your creations special.

ymib: Do you often keep inspiration/sketch books and why do you feel that doing so is so important?

Andrea: Keeping inspiration/sketch books is mandatory for me. They are visual diaries of my random thoughts and ideas. I ALWAYS use them as references for my projects, but the best part is adding something new to the books. It becomes a hunt for the next big idea, fabulous color palette, or style trends. Then after collecting clippings, ephemera, and fabric swatches I spend a few hours arranging them on the pages. I have fun putting it all together.

ymib: If you could design your dream home right now:

Where would it be: Philadelphia in the Northern Liberties area because it's so quaint and artsy.

What style would it be: Romantic modern with an exotic twist.

What would be some of its most unique elements: Pieces I collect in my travels all over the world including artwork, hand-made furniture and collectibles. Also, I would love to design wallpaper that would be very unique to each room.

ymib:What has been one of the most creative project that you have done thus far, AND what are some of your creative goals both living and career wise?

Andrea: I have to say Fly is the most creative project I've worked on. I can experiment in multiple areas of design for the site: in media with the webisodes, illustrations to communicate a message, graphically for the design elements on the site, and developing ways to attract more readers through advertising and promotion. Also, it's allowed me to connect and collaborate with other creative people. Because it's always growing I feel Fly challenges me creatively, daily.

Some of my creative goals include teaching and inspiring other minorities, especially minority women, to pursue careers in design. There's so few of us in this industry where our perspective and talents are very much needed. I'm so curious about textile design and hope to experiment on developing a line. My most important goal is to make Fly as beautiful, bright and as big as it can be. I want it to be it's own interactive creative engine that becomes essential to creatives worldwide. With the latter, my goal would be to own a studio space that embodies Fly and allows me to do everything I want to do creatively: screenprint, paint, draw, design, etc. Also a great place to throw Fly parties!