Resources for a programmer to learn UI/UX design?

My manager has recently asked me to fill in for UI/UX design on my team.

Like most programmers, my design has a tendency to be very functional and not so pretty. I feel I have a decent eye when it comes to actually implementing designs and I am decent at suggesting changes that improve the design and flow of a given page or design.

What I feel I'm lacking is the creativity to actually start designs. I tend to focus too much on the technical side (which, in my defense, has been my job for the last 5+ years) and not so much on the user facing design. I'm guessing I just need practice and I'll be able to learn, but as I said, the starting point is my biggest hurdle at this point.

I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions for overcoming this? Resources, tips, stories, etc?