Category Archives: living

30 Days of Creativity – Day 19: Inspiration Board

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Day 19: Do you keep a creative journal or have an inspiration board?  Share!

Vision boards, inspiration boards or journals – I dig them. I had a journal after college until I was married. Shortly afterwards, the journaling stopped… until Spring 2010.  (And it’s time to make a new one.)

Here are highlights from my old-school-cut-and-paste poster that came to life last year.

  • Started writing a semi-regular food column for an online newspaper (switch careers?).
  • Became an editor at Craft Critique (there’s a little cut-out word “editor”).
  • Rode 25 miles in my first organized cycling/bike ride (see the woman on the bike?).

Here’s a neat post explaining how to make a virtual inspiration board with Picasa. And I enjoyed this article explaining the “why” behind vision boards. I wonder how many people actually do these? Are there people who share them with the world, or is it too personal?

30 Days of Creativity – Day 18: What I Wear

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Day 18: Does the way you dress show your creativity?  How?  If not, why not?

I definitely have friends who have the most creative wardrobes I’ve ever seen… maybe I’m too mainstream to pull it off. I love Amy at Angry Chicken and her periodic pictures of bias-cut skirts. Let’s say sometimes… Sometimes my outward appearance reflects my creativity. It probably shows more in my accessories, because lately, I’ve been enjoying my bracelets. Some are thrifty finds or vintage, some are just sentimental… and I’ve been eyeing and admiring handcrafted jewelry.

Secretly (well, not anymore), I wish that I could be more pulled together since what I wear is pretty typical: jeans with a t-shirt, hoodie, tank top or sweater. I don’t look too disheveled, but, with kids’ schedules, it’s easy to get in a rut. It’s true for me, when I take time to dress in the morning, I feel so much better. Maybe it’s time to go through my closet and revamp the wardrobe… I just sold some clothes in our garage sale, and gave the rest that didn’t sell. So, how does one add a little creative twist on their wardrobe? I think I have a few DIY places to start. Enjoy!

Dip Dye White Denim Shorts at P.S. – I Made This

Whole Living shows the recycled T-Shirt Necklace

And a fun Ruffle Shirt tutorial at Tea Rose Home

Inspired by Maroon 5

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(A little backwards today –  Day 17: Sing.  Sing a song… make it simple to last your whole life long!  How did that feel?)

I’m so excited to see Maroon 5 this week. So. Excited. Missed them in October, so I made sure I bought tickets early when I found out they were making another stop here. My kids are looking forward to it, too – so much so that we’re jamming along to the albums and practicing on Band Hero.

So, yes, my husband and I are taking them to the concert. It’ll be fine, it’s outdoors… the weather is supposed to be fantastic. I’m just a little worried that they’ll be too tired and miss the songs they want to hear, or the little guy will miss seeing Adam Levine in person. You can’t imagine how angry Ollie gets. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed.

Day 16: Do you create best when your emotions are high?  Do you turn to creative endeavors when you are sad, angry, or just filled with joy?

I used to think I created best under pressure. It’s just that I finish projects under pressure, self-inflicted or not. Creating for me isn’t when emotions are high; inspiration seems pretty random for me. Whatever I’m feeling, when I create, I’m transported, distracted for a little while. I empty my head, and fill my heart. Does that make sense? Then I finish, and voila! – I return to my routine.

So I offer my Maroon 5 inspired art. Music moves me… what better way to get in a creative mood than to immerse myself in their albums? Try it sometime. Listen to your favorite artists and create. Maybe you already do.

Can you guess which songs inspired which pieces? (Click on the thumbnails to zoom.)

All Tangled Up, the “Monster” and last little inchie (number 7)… really like those.

30 Days of Creativity – Day 15: New Ideas List

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Day 15: Do you like to try new things?  What about trying to do something new you like or dislike?

I absolutely love learning about new things. Trying new things? That might depend, but I’d like to think that I would at least give it a chance. I’m not much of an outdoor, athletic person, so those types of activities would definitely be more challenging. Hmm. Then maybe I should try more of that? Something to ponder…

Here is a list of five (though there are more) things I’d like to try to do by the end of the year. Is it bad that three of the five things are food-related?

 

Cream Puff Pastry (picture from www.marthastewart.com)

 

 

What about some of you out there? Maybe we can support each other!

Our House Guest: Graham the Dog

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Hello there! Our guest blogger today is Graham, the dog, owned by my husband’s sister and her husband. Graham is a Bichon mix (I think). He was our houseguest for four days. By the time this posts, he will be on his merrily way to (or newly arrived at) a new home with my sister-and-brother-in-law. My kids and I will miss him a lot.

Our buddy, Graham

Hi. I’m Graham. I love car rides. It’s especially fun when I end up visiting people I like. But, I should’ve known better when my owners brought along my food, dishes, bed and toys. P.S. I moved my food bowl by myself.

Pelt. Graham loves it.

So, I waited and waited for my owners to come back. Figured I should get comfortable, except Julie kept taking my picture. After she went to sleep I ran under the dining table to find some good eats, then ran upstairs to sleep with the kids. (Forget my regular bed – I slept by the little guy. Right on his bed, even!) They’re so fun, but I think I make them nervous. They tried to show me how to use the computer in the morning so I could talk with my owners.

Who's spying on me?

 

Learning how to Skype

I had fun staying with everyone – even Uncle Pork* – but I didn’t get any table scraps from him this time. I got to walk around, meet some other dogs, take a few car rides… the best part was tagging along for a soccer game. All the girls wanted to pet and play with me. So. Much. Attention.

After Dinner

 

Those kids wore me out

Fun as it was, I was so tired from all the activity in this house. They’re always on the move. How’s a dog supposed to get any sleep? But I did, and I loved sleeping over. I hope the family liked having me too. Thanks, guys!

*Uncle Pork a.k.a. my husband. Some time ago, he gave Graham some table food – mostly bacon and bbq pork.