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Too Many Ideas – Allowed to do One Thing at a Time
When I decide I want to do something, I dig into it, trying to think about it from many different angles. I listen to podcasts, read blogs and articles, and flip through books looking for answers to unending questions. I brainstorm possibilities, trying to find the ones that work. As I do, golden, sparkly ideas spring up everywhere, inspiration flows like a massive waterfall. One idea leads to another and another and another, drenching me with options. But sometimes … many times the very things that inspire and spark ideas in me create Creativity Killer #4, Too Many Ideas, leading me to become frazzled and unfocused.
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Faux Calligraphy
Faux calligraphy is the art of drawing calligraphy letters in a way that shows thick and thin variations without using a dip pen, paint brush, brush pen or other lettering tool. In fact, faux calligraphy can be done with almost any tool, even a regular pencil. It might sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. And it’s not just for calligraphy or hand lettering beginners. I use faux calligraphy when I design letters. You can do calligraphy with a pencil ...
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Striving and Stressed Out – Allowed to Slow Down
The word hustle shows up a lot in the online world. Everyone seems to glorify this sense of striving for goals. But what is it really and do we really want it? Dictionary.com says striving is to exert oneself vigorously; try hard; to make strenuous efforts toward any goal; to contend in opposition, battle, or any conflict; compete; to struggle vigorously, as in opposition or resistance; to rival; vie. For me, striving is when I’m trying to be ahead of where I actually am. (read allowed to be a beginner) It feels like a race against time. A race I can never win.
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Tulip Drawing with a Loose Watercolor Blend Technique
Tulip drawing. Who can resist tulips? Or flowers in general? When the weather turns warm, I throw the windows open, cut whatever flowers bloom and let the outside in. When I stop to paint, the same thing happens, the outside comes inside in the form of flowers. I gravitate to painting them just like the weather gravitates to warmth. Today, I want to share with you another way to use one of those Watercolor Techniques we learned about several posts ago. I called it the multi-colored splot technique. It’s very wet, allows for blooming (some people avoid blooming, but I love it), and it can add a lovely looseness to…
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Fear of Failure – Allowed to Make Mistakes and Keep Trying
What is fear of failure? Dictionary.com defines failure as an act or instance of proving unsuccessful or a lack of success. So, a fear of failure occurs when the thought of being unsuccessful threatens to incapacitate our efforts and desire to make progress toward a goal. We simply no longer attempt to succeed. We don’t push through procrastination, and we stop trying things that we find challenging. (Here’s an interesting article from Psychology Today, 10 Signs You Might Have Fear of Failure.) Fear of failure can feel like perfectionism (Creativity Killer #1), and they can be linked (if you want to read about Perfectionism as a Creativity Killer, read Perfectionism…
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How to Paint Watercolor Flowers
This week, we have a lovely watercolor tutorial from FTD. It shows you how to paint roses flowers in a style a little different than you usually see here. I hope you enjoy trying this technique. As the days start getting warmer, we can emerge from our cozy winter homes and embrace the new blooms in our yards. The garden is an endless source of inspiration for artists with its unique colors, shapes and shadows. One way to embrace this nature is by watercoloring flowers. Once you’ve mastered the basic watercolor techniques, you can apply them to painting a garden setting. To help you get started, FTD has a tutorial…
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Perfectionism – Allowed to be Imperfect
As I walk through the daily pieces of my creative business, some days come easier than others. Sometimes, I’m focused and on task and cranking things out. Then other times, I feel as though I’m slogging through mud while walking uphill in a snowstorm. What makes the difference? Why are my ideas all exciting and energizing one day and too hard and unappealing the next day? What gets in the way of my motivation and kills my creativity? In this post, we'll talk about the first of seven creativity killers and give ourselves permission to move beyond them. What is perfectionism? On a quick Google search, the dictionary will tell…
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Review Your Goals & Write Them Down
It's time to think Goals again. At the start of the year (usually right after New Year’s Day here), goals show up everywhere. Literally plastered on ads, social media, blogs and whispered around any place people gather. But strangely, as January plods on, people talk about their goals less and less. It loses momentum fast. By February, it’s almost non-existent. Why does our enthusiasm disappear so quickly? Or maybe it’s not gone. Maybe we lost sight of our goals because we didn’t write them down. For the last couple of years and ever since hearing that written goals are achieved more frequently than goals that are just thought about ...
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Mother’s Day Message
Mother’s Day is nearing, and if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking of the special women that add depth to your life. They aren’t all your mother, but you think of them on Mother’s Day too. They make life more meaningful and you want to honor them because they honor you. When I enter “show them how special they are” mode, I often think of sending a card. However, I rarely find a card that says it the way I want it said or looks the way I want it to look. Many times, I end up making a card. And you could ...
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How to Use a Calligraphy Alphabet to Practice Lettering
So you found a calligraphy alphabet, and now you want to learn how to make those beautiful letters to add a personal touch to those cards you send out to clients, friends, and family. But where do you start? Here are three different ways to use a calligraphy alphabet to learn more about lettering.
