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Monday May 14, 2012 I hope all of you mamas out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend! Even though our weekend was a little busy, we snuck in a few quiet moments at the beach just to relax. It was so beautiful out, we just had to!
 It’s so amazing to be living close enough to the ocean to just “pop by” for a visit. Hubby and I are truly living one of our dreams. Sometimes I sit back and wonder why it takes so long to get to points like this, when you are finally living one of your dreams. Because most times, its just yourself that is holding you back from living your true life. Why do we do this to ourselves? We could have written a book of reasons why we shouldn’t make such a big change and move so far away from our home town. But the reality was, there was nothing stopping us. I’m glad we were able to realize that and move past our fears to make the move. We’ve been living a dream of beauty, peace, and inspiration; living closer to nature and meeting new people with values more in tune to our own… and it all outweighs by a ton any negative thoughts or fears we had for moving.
Sometimes you just need to push past your fears and go for your dream. Because when paralyzed by fear, its hard to imagine the positive outcomes or possibilities that are awaiting you. “Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” ~Henry David Thoreau
Have you ever went for a dream and truly lived it? 
Wednesday May 09, 2012 If you’re looking for a more fulfilling, creative life… there’s nothing standing in your way. All of the tips, articles, tutorials, and information you’ve been drowning yourself in is not going to hand over the life you’ve been longing for on a silver platter. You need to pick up that paintbrush (or pencil, or pen, or fabric, or glue, or whatever your heart desires) and just create. Create NOW. Create DAILY.
It may seem a bit scary, it may even seem downright impossible, to go from not creating at all to creating every day. But we’re not talking about creating a masterpiece everyday here. You can spend as little as five minutes doodling on a napkin, writing in your journal, or snapping a few photos of things you discover on a walk. Any small creative activity, done daily, can create a world of possibility. All you need to do is make the commitment to yourself and do it.
It only takes 30 days to create a new habit. But those first 30 days can be tough. There’s no need to beat yourself up if you miss a day. Just remind yourself you’re doing this for YOU, and you want to create. Then try again today.
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” ~Rabindranath Tagore
Jump in, the water’s warm. Nothing is stopping you.
What will you create today?
Monday May 07, 2012  Left Hand Drawing Sometimes the fear of failure, or fear of creating something less than perfect holds us back from creating anything at all. That’s why I find it super important to just let loose every once in a while (or better yet, daily). Having an art journal is one great way to remind yourself to just let loose and play, since its a book only for you. But even still, sometimes that little monster in you starts to wish your pages looked a little more professional or “show worthy”, which puts you right back into that fear mode again.
One of my favorite exercises to beat this fear and let loose again is to do a few drawings with my wrong hand (in my case, my left). You know for a fact that its not going to be perfect. Your mind uses that as an excuse, and so its able to set free the worry of perfectionism so that you can focus on the fun you’re having just creating!
Give it a try today (or right now!), even if you’re just doodling on a napkin or scrap piece of paper. Anything to get your mind and hand moving, creating, + feeling free again.
Monday February 27, 2012 For today’s Monday’s Muse, I want to share with you a quote I came across recently:
“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast -
you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” ~Eddie Cantor  I love this, because not only does it apply to living a happier life, but it also applies to living a more creative life. You need to slow down, become present in life, and take in everything around you. When you do this, you feel more alive, and what’s more, you’ll feel more inspired. :)
Monday February 20, 2012  Do I really have to tell you to go out and play? It boggles my mind. Play is so crucial to creativity and generating new ideas, and yet so many creative professionals don’t give themselves any time for play. I hope you’re not one of them. Please don’t be one of them. But if you are, there’s always time to change. All you need to do is to take a time out, and go PLAY. Take a pen, and write it into your calendar. Right now. Yup, right now. I’ll wait… Done? Have a self play-date on your calendar? You better! So now you might be asking, “Play what? What am I scheduling here?”. Anything really. You can go out and play basketball for all I care. Just go out and be a kid again. Free yourself and your mind from all of the constraints you have put yourself into. Do something without rules, or worries. How about some finger painting? If you’re a painter, and you allow yourself to just play with your paint once in a while instead of worrying if your peers will like it or if your customers will want to buy it, it will set you free. It will explode your mind with inspiration. If you’re always focused on what your customers want from you, then you are stifling yourself to come up with original ideas. And that hurts business, doesn’t it? If you want to be the one always surprising your clients with amazing products or services, you need to keep that creativity flowing. The number one thing on my list to do that? Yup, you guessed it. PLAY! After you make a date with yourself on the calendar, click that comment button below and tell us, what do you plan to do on your play date?
Monday February 13, 2012 Love is in the air! I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Here are some interesting and fun hearts I found on flickr today. I hope they spark some inspiration for you this week!
 1. Light Painted Hearts, 2. Hard Heart, 3. trashy heart…, 4. heart on music, 5. Painted hearts, 6. Traded ATC- My heart belongs to you, 7. Heart Artwork, 8. Light Painting Heart, 9. heart rainbow
Monday January 30, 2012 My husband and I recently took the plunge and bought a house closer to the ocean. Our search went on for months, and by the time we found a home and moved in, winter was settling in. So, I’ve been dreaming of sticking my toes in the sand ever since. Here is a collection of my favorite beach images from flickr. I hope they spark some inspiration for you this week!
 1. Ocean, 2. Purple Jellyfish 2, 3. Seaglass finds, 4. Starfish, Red Sea, Hurghada (Egypt), 5. Ocean Bouquet, 6. Ocean Abstraction, 7. crab, 8. Shells #18, 9. Seaweed – Alderney
Wednesday January 25, 2012 Do you feel that what you are making is a disappointment to you sometimes? If you are just starting the journey to become a “creative”, or you are entering a new world of mediums, you may feel frustrated that you cannot produce the art that you are envisioning. But what you should know is that this is totally normal. ALL of the artists you admire went through this stage. You just need to keep at it, don’t quit, and push yourself to work on what you are pursuing everyday. And in time you will close that gap between what you are envisioning and what you are creating. Watch this two minute video to hear it explained beautifully by Ira Glass. (Although he is speaking of storytelling, it is the same theory for any craft.)
Monday January 23, 2012 To me, there is nothing more inspiring than picking up a new tool or medium and getting to just experiment and play with it. But, with the holidays just passing and the snow coming down, you may be like me snuggling up on the couch not wanting to go anywhere, and perhaps a bit hard up for cash to be going out shopping for new art supplies. So… time to go on a hunt!
Take a walk through your home, and with a fresh eye on things, take a look around you for some tools or random things you could use in your art journal or to use along with your favorite medium. The junk drawer always proves to be a treasure chest for imaginative ideas! If you’re a quilter, try sewing on some washers or bolts to create a design. If you’re a potter, try finding things in your home with interesting textures that you can press into the clay. If you want to experiment in your art journal, look for things like q-tips, old gift cards, toothpicks, or just about anything that inspires you to push around the paint or stamp with. 
Collect at least five things from your home, and bring them back to your “studio” (whether it be an actual studio or your kitchen table!) and get to work – I mean PLAY! It’s amazing the amount of inspiration you can get from a few simple household items. Give it a try!
I hope you enjoy this creative exercise. Give it a try, and let me know how it goes! What things did you find in your home? How did you use it in your art? Leave a comment below!
Friday January 13, 2012  One of the funnest ways to learn new techniques, or to get out of a creative rut is to take a workshop. And what’s better than a free one, or how about three!? :) Strathmore is hosting three free online workshops this year. January’s workshop, Doodles Unleashed by Traci Bautista is all about having fun with mixed media. The first in her series is “playful printmaking”, where she combines a number of different techniques to create a beautiful painting. I had so much fun following along with her videos, that I think you should give it a try too! The key is to just let loose and doodle to your heart’s desire. This workshop is currently running, so go sign up now and play!
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