Congrats Khris!

2011 is shaping up to be an awesome year. Today I was doing a little after Christmas shopping and I spotted the DIY bride magazine on the news stands.  I jumped for joy when I saw it and immediatly texted Andrea of A Work of Heart Studio. We did a happy dance for Khris.

Khris Cocheran is the author DIY bride and a teacher at A Work of Heart.

Khris has attended a few of my workshops and she is such a joy. I am excited to see her success with this "bookzine".  I purchased a copy for myself,  its a great source for not only DIY wedding ideas but DIY event planning ideas.

To get a copy of your own visit http://www.tauntonstore.com/diy-bride-034014.html

Congrats Khris!

Celebrate the Holiday !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Creativity under the Christmas Tree.

I have been all about using all my creative supplies for holiday gift wrapping this year. I made all the tags from stamps and die-cut tools I have collected from Micheal's over the years. I'm using my glue gun, my glitter, paint brushes, markers... It's finally time to use all this stuff I have been "saving" and put it to good use. I have been having so much fun decorating each gift. These are for my parents.

Winter Sky!

Appreciating the arrival of the California winter sky!

Planning Fun Classes for 2011

Planning for 2011

Andrea of A Work of Heart and I spent the weekend at a beautiful hill top resort planning the 2011 creative expression class schedule. It was great! We spread out our supplies at the hotel restaurant, sipped coffee and shared a slice of creamy cheesecake. The theme for 2011 is "Art is Everywhere!". We are so Jazzed to offer classes that will inspire everyone to see and experience creativity throughout every day.  Our classes will not only provide art techniques, provide project instruction but also provide practical creative inspiration.

We've planned the first few months of the 2011 class schedule. I will be offering 2 Vision Board classes this time with more information and opportunities to keep the learnings alive after class and throughout the year. Andrea and I will be Co-leading our 2011 Juicy Soul Retreats. We will be bringing more of our creative juice to the class and you will get to not only learn about the techniques but experience each others creative juice!

I also have new idea that's been bubbling around in my head for years but this year I'm going to make it happen. With out giving too much away ... Its for those of you who are not in the area and would like to take a virtual class. Stay tuned.  I'm tentatively looking to make it available mid year 2011.

We will be updating our sites and sending updated information by the end of the month.

Inspiration and Micro Movements

This is the time of year where Andrea and I start dreaming up classes and formats for 2011. We are planning a great weekend soon to the mountains to plan. I have been writing out lists and coming up with ideas to spark our creative process and get the planning going. I like this part...the dreaming up part and the planning how to make the dream real.


When I do my yearly planning, I start by searching for inspiration. I find the most inspiration from my art magazines.  I love all the magazines from Somerset Studios. I particularly like Artful Blogging, Somerset Life, Where Women Create and Somerset Studio. I have a big stack of them that I collect through out the year.  When the time is right , I find a quiet place and a cup of coffee and read. I make notes in my journal. I mark pages I want to go back to with sticky notes.


When my ideas are ripe and ready for discussion, I call friends who inspire me. We talk about our dreams and ideas. We help each other flush out our thoughts. We make promises to each other to take a tiny step...a "micro movement" in the direction of our goal. Over time those "micro movements" add up and I'll have a new/revised class or a group of great photographs.


We created the Juicy Soul Retreat in that way and over the last 2 years it was grown and evolved with mirco movements.

What could you create it you allowed yourself to make "micro-movements" in the direction of your dreams? What is a "micro-movemement" you could take today?

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope you all are enjoying family and friends this holiday weekend. I have been making it a practice to bring my creativity to my holiday celebrations. I had a great time decorating my holiday table for our guests and making yummy desserts. I made an apple pie and a pumpkin pie...I haven't made an Apple Pie since grade school! It was fun to create in the kitchen.

How did you celebrate your holiday?

Weekly Challenge: Picture your Holiday

Intention:
Capture your holiday in images


This Week:
 A few months ago I started a 365 project. I took a photo everyday (give or take a day) and listed them on flickr. Over the past few months I have captured images with my cell phone camera and my regular camera. The result so far have been really eye opening. I can see patterns in my choices of images. I see threads of similarities in my color choices. I am enjoying the process. So this holiday I will have images from the holiday to tell that story too.

So I invite you to join me in the process of capturing images of your holiday in your own creative way. If you take on this challenge this week you will have a new creative experience that may bring new life to how you celebrate the season.

If you would like to follow my journey visit The Red Dragonfly 365 Project