Living the Creative Life

I've been browsing YouTube for inspiration again. Searching for employment can be slow and tiring, so I've been thinking I need to also remember to keep working on my skills in the meanwhile! I can't remember if I've mentioned this, but I got a very cool Creative Lettering awhile back. It definitely seems like a fun skill to have, so I need to be in the habit of practicing it! Check out this short video of a guy hand-lettering a chalk advertisement. I hope someday to be this good!

I started working through The Artist's Way this week, part of which involves doing what is called "Morning Pages". Basically what you do is, first thing every morning, you hand-write three pages. No more, no less. It's supposed to like... unblock your creativity... or something. Although... as a card-carrying night owl, this totally terrifies me. How can I do anything first thing in the morning before my coffee, let alone write three pages long-hand? While I appreciate the novelty of such things, it's been awhile since I've actually hand-written anything. (Thank you, Internet). I thought maybe doing my Morning Pages on the computer instead of hand-writing might work better for me. I made the mistake of mentioning this idea to someone who's been doing Artist's Way off and on for decades. Apparently this is NOT the way "real" Artist's Way students are supposed to do their Morning Pages. It's like... a rule... or something. Which ...

Sorry to be so MIA this month. I've officially finished school and begun my freelance life. So far that consists of adding to  my portfolio website , sprucing up my Etsy graphics shop , and also hunting for "real" jobs. I love the idea of freelancing, but also know that it might take awhile to get traction in that area. Hopefully I can do both for awhile! We're also a bit in limbo about moving, which is why I haven't mentioned it much. You could pray about that, if you like, that all goes well in that department. Long story short, my dad is trying to sell his distributorship so he can start his new area selling down in Northern LA area, but the upper-ups in his company seem to be dragging their feet on approving our buyer. We think we finally have all the i's dotted and the t's crossed though, so hopefully things should fall into place this week so we can make definitely plans. This whole thing has been hanging in the works for about a year now, so we...

Image credit: The Maven Circle Day 8 has us sharing one piece of advice with our readers. My advice (which I actually stole from Eleanor Roosevelt) is to do one thing every day that scares you. I can't say I actually follow this advice religiously, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but it does make me think about how easy it can be to stay stuck in our comfort zones. While there's nothing inherently wrong comfort zones... after all, they are comfortable... they do tend to be places where years pass by without our noticing. Making a point to do something today that scares you means that you'll be actively stepping forward with your dreams rather than just sitting back and letting life pass you by!

I love this quote by Steve Jobs. Great innovators, designers, and inventors aren't usually the people content to live life the same way it's always been lived. They question, wonder, and daydream about the possibilities, and then they make things happen!

I was reading my blog subscriptions today and ran across a great post over on Alicia's blog about what podcasts she listens to. Which made me think... I listen to podcasts all the time! Why have I never shared about them? Here are five podcasts that I listen to that you just may like too! Do you listen to podcasts? Leave a comment below with your favorites! Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes . The Deeply Graphic Design Cast I love the generally laid-back nature of this podcast, along with the great advice from working designers. They talk about trends in the industry, tips on dealing with clients, and just general advice on running a graphic design business. Even if you're not a designer, you could probably glean from the great small business tips in here. They also have a great blog with more design and business tips, if that's something you're interested in. Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes . MacBreak Weekly I have listened to many podcasts in the Tw...

Yesterday when I was scouring my YouTube history for some of my favorite Photoshop tutorials , I ran across this great video of Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon doing the History of Rap. You probably have seen this before, but it was my first time seeing it and I found it pretty entertaining. This made me reminiscent for some of the other videos I've seen of celebrities doing their thing a little more informally, which I always find quite fascinating. When someone's in a movie or doing a concert, they're performing in a different way than when they're just hamming it for the camera, and those slightly more down-to-earth moments are very interesting to me. Here's one that I've found recently, but realized I hadn't shared yet. This trick can also be found in the movie Pitch Perfect. Yes, it really was her doing this in the film! (cut to about 1 minute on this one if you want) You've probably seen this one of JayZ also, as it was going viral a ...

found via: Running on Happiness Blog There's definitely some truth to this saying. I mean... if you knew you could accomplish your dreams, they wouldn't really be that scary. But if your dreams are big and huge and you have to move out of your comfort zone to accomplish them... that's scary. And let's face it, if your dreams scare you, that probably means they're worth pursuing! (Although if your gut's telling you you shouldn't pursue something... that's probably not fear... that's just wisdom. Listen to your gut.) But seriously... if your "dreams" are not scaring you... dream bigger. I dream of being a graphic designer living in New York City. That's scary! I have no idea if I can actually do that. But... it's something I want to shoot for, and I'll never know if I could do it if I don't even try, right? I could aim for something easier like... being a designer while living in Portland. I know I can do that. I...

(Saw this on Facebook and thought I'd share!)

Sorry to be such a slacker in the blogging department. I have not yet figured out how to blog consistently when busy with school! Anyway, about a month ago we took a field trip up to Portland to visit the Portland Art Museum. Even though I used to live there, I'd never gotten around to visiting the museum before, so it was so fun to get this opportunity! (Funny how you take for granted the things to do/see that you live around until you no longer live around them!) Here are a select few images that I took. (I probably have over a hundred photos from this day!)

How well do YOU see color? Take this test and find out. Here's a cool video tutorial on how to give text a cool pattern fill (using Adobe Illustrator). Love this article on non-paying design clients and when/how/if to give a refund. A beginner's guide to watercolor painting supplies . In case you wanted to start watercolor painting.

Source: coach.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: relax-ed.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: koningstuff.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: img2.etsystatic.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: hatefueled.deviantart.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: stilinspiration.blogspot.de via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: 500px.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: gypsymess.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: pinterest.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: whatsupmynerdizzles.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: plumprettysugar.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: greigedesign.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest Source: pawleysislandposh.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest