Creative Every Day Check-In: January 16 – 22
January 16th, 2012, 28 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. To those who celebrate, I hope you have a beautiful Christmas!
Join in the Challenge: You can now sign-up for the 2012 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 1/16/12 - 1/22/12.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CED2012!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for January is New, which you can read more about and get ideas for here.
Happy Creating!
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, Begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it, Begin it now. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Brand New Artist in the Making
January 15th, 2012, 12 Comments
This is my silly, sweet, beautiful girl.
And this is her first drawing. A little artist in the making! 
Trying Something New
January 10th, 2012, 20 Comments
Last year at this time, I decided I wanted to learn how to sew. I started out with a book and an old sewing machine and I made a huge, frustrating mess. I didn't want to give up, so I signed up for a class. I drove my pregnant self out to a small, local fabric shop where the owner was offering beginner sewing lessons. Sitting around a re-purposed kitchen table, 2 other woman and I learned how to thread a machine, how to make a lot of mistakes, some stitches, and came out of it with a simple bag.
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Leaving the class, I was ready to do more, so I took a book (Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings) out from the library and used the patterns to create a pair of baby shoes and then a jacket, which was first modeled by a teddy bear, but made for Annabelle. I definitely gained a whole new respect for clothing makers! I also loved making little touches, (curtains and crib skirt) for the nursery, which make the space feel even more special for me.
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This year, I'd love to learn how to make flower headbands for Annabelle. I've been gathering up the supplies and will post pictures here when I give it a go.
Learning something new really stretches and inspires me. I think it's good to learn something new every so often, even if it's not something you'll continue. You never know how trying something new will inspire your main creative outlet(s).
Do you have plans to try something new this year? How will you learn the new skill? What kind of supplies and/or support do you need?
Creative Every Day Check-In: January 9 – 15
January 9th, 2012, 43 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. To those who celebrate, I hope you have a beautiful Christmas!
Join in the Challenge: You can now sign-up for the 2012 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 1/9/12 - 1/15/12.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CED2012!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for January is New, which you can read more about and get ideas for here.
Happy Creating!
I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. ~J. B. Priestly
A Chance Encounter
January 5th, 2012, 20 Comments
This is a bit random, but my friend Aki sent a link to this video my way and there was something so beautiful and magical about it that I had to share. I hope it inspires you, like it inspired me!
Word for the New Year
January 4th, 2012, 31 Comments
Have you chosen a word for the year? Something to focus on? I'm not much of a resolution person, but I do like choosing a word to focus on. It's been one of my practices for the last few years. One year, I chose the word Leap, another year was Commit, last year was Metamorphosis. Each year, I make some kind of art to go along with my word and hang it where I can see, where it can serve as a reminder as the months pass by.
This year, I pondered for a long time before choosing the word Love. I want to remember to love all the little and big moments throughout the year, to infuse all I do with love, to send love out to those I meet, and to put love into what I do. And I want to also remember to love myself because this being a new mommy thing is hard work!
Do you have a word for the year or some other ritual for beginning a new year?
If you're looking for another way to dive into a new year, I highly recommend Goddess Leonie's 2012 workbook!
Creative Every Day Check-In: January 2 – 8
January 2nd, 2012, 44 Comments
This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. To those who celebrate, I hope you have a beautiful Christmas!
Join in the Challenge: You can now sign-up for the 2012 Challenge here!
Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 1/2/12 - 1/8/12.
The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.
You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, you can use the hashtag #CED2012!
Theme: The (totally optional) theme for January is New, which you can read more about and get ideas for here.
Happy Creating!
"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." ~Maria Robinson
Happy New Year and Intuitive Ink!
January 1st, 2012, 8 Comments
Happy New Year fellow creators! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are ready to dive into a fresh, new year of creativity in 2012. I'm excited to share the journey with you!
If you're interested in joining in the 2012 Creative Every Day Challenge, you can read all about how to participate here and then sign up here. The totally optional theme for this month is New, which you can read all about here.
Intuitive Ink!
Are you doing anything new and exciting in 2012? I'm excited to be teaching a workshop at Mindy Tsonas's wonderful new Wish Studio space in Newburyport, MA on January 28th. If you're in the area, I would love to see you there! The workshop, Intuitive Ink, is for artists of all levels. We'll be loosening up, connecting with our intuition, and creating some of those super fun, very portable, wildly imaginative Inkblots that you may have seen me share here.
Here's an example of a before and after inkblot:
And here's one I did during Art Every Day Month this year:
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Want to join in? You can sign up right here. Come play!
If you live in the area and are interested in joining the Wish Studio as a co-op member (and then you can take my class for free!), you can get all the info here.
Winter Guest Post by Julie Jordan Scott
December 30th, 2011, 10 Comments
What would it be like if Winter never draped her leafless, cold, dreary days on your creative landscape?
Before you rejoice at the thought, hear me out. Let’s look at how Winter is a time of year that sets the tone for the rest of your artfulness simply by ebbing and flowing along with the shorter days and colder weather.
I know how it is to not have a snowy season AND I know how it is to live in a land of snow days, ice storms, gloves and layers of clothes.
Winter feels different in most of California then the way it feels in the colder states. This difference oftentimes impacts our creative process.
Here in Bakersfield, we are frequently wrapped in cold dampness and thick, unfriendly fog. This morning it was 33 degrees. At some point overnight, frost left its trademark on my windshield.
Would you think it strange if I told you I envy the parts of the world that get sheltered by the cold?
Winter offers many gifts for Creative Souls.
Remember some of them with me: Winter offers the privilege of cocooning. Winter invites snuggles, it requests us to look inward. Winter says, “Gloom and less light are not only permitted, they are an important part of our creative process.”
One of my subjects of art last Winter and throughout the year has been a tulip magnolia tree standing in the corner of my neighbor’s yard. In January, I started nature journaling and she became one of my first practice sketches. By spending time sketching this tree, I got to know her quite well. In April, when I visited Western Massachusetts, I saw Tulip Magnolias just beginning to bloom. What a joy to see this highlight of early Spring twice!
It made me wonder what happens when a Bakersfield Tulip Magnolia experiences winter versus when a Massachusetts Magnolia loses her leaves.
Last week I visited the tree again, to get a closer look.
I was surprised and a bit saddened by what I saw.
The tree is almost bare of last year’s leaves yet while some leaves from last Winter/Spring valiantly hold on, a strange alternative phenomenon is happening as well: buds are beginning for the Winter/Spring bloom.
There is no time to pause between one season and the next.
This sweet Tulip Magnolia never gets adequate rest.
It doesn’t get to rest in the hollow hand of winter. She doesn’t get to rest her tree limbs on a frosty shoulder.
She doesn’t get to pause at all. She instantly drop one set of leaves and begins developing the next set without a break at all.
There was a poignancy I felt, unexpectedly, as I visited the tree the other day. What started as excitement and fascination turned into an inexplicable sadness.
How often do we make the mistake of rushing from one art project to another without waiting for our spirit to reflect, to pause, to wrap ourselves in the wonder of what is, what was and what is coming next. Not now, but soon.
In Winter, we have a tendency to become contemplative. We allow darkness to help us sleep longer and more deeply under heavy quilts while wearing heavy pajamas.
If you have been resisting this profound pleasure of the Winter season, why not try it now?
Why not trade your practical shoes for wooly socks and sit by the fireplace under a blanket.
Stare into it and allow yourself the time to sketch without worrying what project your sketch will become.
Breathe slowly as you jot new ideas, allowing them to take root before you push them to blossom too early.
Enjoy this quiet time of reflection. Allow it to work its way into your work.
You may find Spring comes too soon this year as you come to enjoy the power of rest, the power of quiet, the power of allowing yourself the space to contemplate your art fully.
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Julie Jordan Scott is a Creativity Coach, Poet Performer and
Mixed Media Artist who lives in Bakersfield, California.
She is the owner of Writing Camp with Julie Jordan Scott
where she inspires writers (and those who want
to write) to take their creative process to the next level.
http://www.WritingCampwithJJS.com
Winter Guest Post by Mindy Tsonas
December 28th, 2011, 7 Comments
Planner Makeover
one of my favorite things about looking ahead to the beginning of a new year is cracking open a brand new planner! over the years i have tried every digital and paper planner on the planet (i've even tried creating my own planner from scratch) searching for just the right layout and tool. it seemed that whenever i love the pretty cover or the size, the interior pages weren't laid out quite right. either the design was too structured with not enough to play and dream, or the design is just too simple and did not allow for room to compartmentalize all the different areas of my life.
a couple of years ago, i found and fell in love with Planner Pad, and this baby changed my organizational life! it's funnel-down format is perfect for creative projects from idea to implementation, with lots of room to personalize it to fit the structure of your life. go check it out! seriously.
the one thing this planner does not have is a pretty cover. so i wanted to devise a fun and easy way to make it look like Me, and this simple makeover is what i came up with. really you can use this for any planner or journal you want to redesign. it works like magic! you will need: your planner 1 sheet of plain white sticker paper decorative scissors your favorite collaging supplies a glue stick regualar scissors your favorite matte or gloss medium (optional: a corner round punch) the steps are so simple! first, trim the sticker paper to fit 1/4 of an inch within the size of your planner cover. to decorate the left margin i trimmed off another 1/2 inch with decorative scissors (or trim to whatever size you need to cover the ugly writing or whatever is on the cover of your planner). next i used a corner rounder to round the two right side corners just for a better fit and cleaner look.
once your background paper is ready, you can collage away on top of it! use magazine clippings, postcards, vintage paper, or whatever else you have handy to make the cover really reflect you! you could even decorate your cover to reflect the word you chose for your word of the year! have fun with it, and be sure to use plenty of glue! i used little bits from lots of goodies sent to me by wishstudio friends finally add a coat or two of finishing medium and let it dry. you may need to add a new coat once or twice throughout the year if things start to peel.
when your cover is all done, all you have to do is peel the backing off the sticker paper and adhere it to the front of your planner like one giant personalized sticker! voilla! so fun and easy. i love having the perfect planner and a beautiful cover. stay tuned to the wishstudio where i will post my new 2012 planner!
my planner from 2011
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mindy tsonas is the creative director and hostess of the Wishstudio Co-op, an online and local creativity studio in the Boston area. she is a lifestyle designer, a heart-centered artist and a mother of two boys. a dreamy visionary and contemporary bohemian, she loves to craft unique ideas that bring people together and inspire them to embrace the very best in themselves and in one another. with passion and creativity, she believes in your stories and the everyday magic of how life and love connect us all.
