Inspiration for a joyful and creative life

I want to start sharing some fun projects with you once in a while that are simply reminders to use your creativity as a fun outlet.

Even if you have a business or career where you are using your creative skills, choose something that is different than what you do on a day to day basis.

And if you work in an office all day or in an environment that doesn’t promote creativity, it is all the more important to exercise your creativity” muscles.

I find something very therapeutic about making things whether it involves making jewelry, painting,  sewing, cooking, doodling, or cutting and gluing.

As a bonus, you can enjoy or give away the results of your play time.

This week’s Creativity Just For Fun project is Embellished Slippers.

I toyed with the idea of making slippers but what sounded the best was to embellish them.

I found some great cloth slippers by Vera Wang on sale at Kohl’s.  I bought a few pair to make one for myself and for gifts for my Mom and my sister.

Before

After

I had fun looking through “my stash” to find the right ribbon and cloth bias tape.  I had previously made some bias tape from some nice cotton print fabrics.

One the purple and black pair, I used a fun black and purple ribbon with button shapes on it that I bought when my husband and I were in Orcas Island, Washington in a cool little bookstore.

And I used some lace on the maroon pair.

I hand sewed everything  so it took a while but was very relaxing.

If you want some other easy ideas to exercise your creativity just for the fun of it, visit my website for a few more ideas

http://embracingcreativity.com/creativity-just-for-fun.html

I’ll be adding more in the weeks to come.

Anne Bagby’s Collage workshop video created by Creative Catalyst Productions is the next best thing to being at a workshop in person.

A few years ago my sister and I took a class from Anne Bagby at Artfest.

She is a talented artist that creates paintings and collages using a wonderful variety of visual textures.

Bagby shows you her cool techniques for carving rubber stamps to create your own unique collage paper.  She also shows how you can combine your own stamped papers (and commercial papers) to make “complicated paper” which is fun and easy with great results.

She also has a clever way of drawing parts of the collage on separate paper and trying things out to see if she likes the scale or the feel before committing to it.   This is a great way for anyone to play with their mixed media collages without feeling like you are going to ruin your work.

She shows you several great ways to work and rework pieces so you really can’t make a mistake – you can change or fix anything as you go.

As a matter of fact, that is what I love about her techniques.   You can be loose and free with most of the process and yet get some very sophisticated results that look like they would be very hard to achieve.

The advantage of this video is you can take Anne’s class whenever it’s convenient without leaving home.

Or if you are like me and you’ve already taken the class but can’t find your notes and need a refresher, it’s ready when you are!

I also enjoyed seeing the completed process step by step of a couple of her paintings, which there isn’t time for in a hands-on workshop.

Of special note, the filming quality is excellent with close ups when you need them.  It’s as if you are getting your own private class with a great view.

Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned artist, I think you will find the simple techniques that Anne Bagby teaches will be fun to try and yield sophisticated results.

Click here for Anne Bagby’s Collage: Paper Patterns and Glazing DVD

“Serious play is not an oxymoron; it is the essence of innovation.”
Michael Schrage

Play is essential to creativity and innovation but we often see it as a either a luxury or waste of time.

Experimentation and play allow creativity to flourish.

When you let yourself play, it is usually without expecting a certain outcome.

That alone allows freedom to try new things or ask what if kinds of questions.

Some of my best jewelry designs have come from that state of playing around and seeing what would happen.

You also tend to be in a more relaxed state when you play.

Play also implies fun. Who doesn’t want more of that? I know I do!

How can you add more play to your life?

P.S. This is one of my whimsical animal prints called Talking Llama