theCreativeGoods.com

theCreativeGoods.com

Resources, tools and inspiration to live the creative life.

Life’s Journey

We don’t have all the answers.

We don’t even have all the questions.

That’s why we ask, and learn, and seek to find the truth.

This is our quest, our life’s journey.

Favorite Places in My Heart 1

Favorite Places in My Heart 1

Japanese Garden, Fort Worth Arboretum

 

Books/Media to Inspire:

 

Eat Pray Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

 

Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It: Life Journeys Inspired by the Bestselling Memoir

Various  and Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat Pray Love (The Movie)

 

 

 

Point of View-Part 3

“In the creative industries, there are few things more exciting than a zinger – a thought, idea, line, plot device – anything really, that just totally works in a fundamentally new and fresh way. It’s like a uniquely lovely melody or a new taste idea in cooking. Something special, something new, something wonderful. They’re also very rare.”

Jasper Fforde

 

Liberty

Liberty

 

creative acts for today:

writing, photography, creative break

 

Books to Inspire:

The Eyre Affair

Jasper Fforde

 

Art That Changed the World

 

Dalí Pop-Ups

Martin Howard and Courtney Watson McCarthy

 

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration 

Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace

 

Image originally published 5_22_2011.

Point of View-Part 2

Why restrict yourself to only one way of looking at the world?

Use your eyes, but also engage the rest of your senses.

Recognize the sounds, smells and sensations of what you’re experiencing.

The gentle rustle of the leaves, the clean crispness of the air, the feel of the sun on your skin.

We live in a three dimensional world, with multiple ways to explore it.

Do not limit yourself. Live free.

Piece2

creative acts for today:

writing, photography, creative break

 

Get Inspired:

Spirograph Deluxe Design Set

 

Masters of Deception: Escher, Dalí & the Artists of Optical Illusion

Al Seckel

 

Creative Whack Pack

Roger Von Oech

 

Originally published 5_21_2011.

Point of View-Part 1

Have you ever looked at something and done a double take?

Did you really see what your thought you saw?

What’s in control of what you see?

Is it your mind or your eyes?

Piece

 

creative acts for today:

photography, design, planning

Get Inspired:

AWESOME® Clip Connect 100 Piece Interlocking Plastic Building Set

 

Klutz Paper Flying Dragons Craft Kit

 

One Plus One Equals Three: A Masterclass in Creative Thinking

Dave Trott

 

Originally published 5_20_2011.

 

Morning Song

What brings you joy?

What makes your heart sing?

What gives you such a rush of happiness that you want to dance and twirl and act goofy because you are doing what you are supposed to be doing and you don’t care who knows?

And guess what – you can have more than one thing which can do this for you.

The key to a happy life is being you and exploring the gifts you were born with.

Go do it!

Morning Song

Morning Song

 

creative acts for today:

writing, photography, dreaming, planning

 

Roadmap: The Get-It-Together Guide for Figuring Out What to Do with Your Life

Roadtrip Nation, Brian McAllister, Mike Marriner, Nathan Gebhard

 

Instructions for Happiness and Success: A Step-by-Step Mind Manual for Creating the Life You Choose

Susie Pearl

 

 

Reach for the Stars

Never be afraid to dream.

Never be afraid to hope.

Never be afraid to try.

Never be afraid to soar

Never be afraid to reach for the stars.

StarBlooms

Star Blooms

creative acts for today:

writing, photography, creative break

 

Books to Inspire:

Organizing for the Creative Person: Right-Brain Styles for Conquering Clutter, Mastering Time, and Reaching Your Goals

Dorothy Lehmkuhl with contributor Dolores Cotter Lamping

 

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder

Arianna Huffington

 

Post originally published on 5_4_2011.

 

The Color Purple

Color is a creative tool.

It is used by so many creative disciplines it is often overlooked and taken for granted.

Each color has its attributes, associations and history–widespread and personal.

Purple is a rich blend of red and blue.

It can range from the palest lilac to the deepest purples of the night sky just after sunset.

Associated often with royalty, its shades range from shy to bold and fun.

Lilac, lavender, amethyst, plum, violet, iris, heliotrope, pansy.

Want to read more about it?

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/purple.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple

RoyalCouple

Royal Couple

 

creative acts for today:

photography, writing, creative planning

 

Books on Color:

Color, 2nd edition: A Workshop for Artists and Designers 2nd Edition

David Hornung

 

Color Theory: An essential guide to color-from basic principles to practical applications

Patti Mollica

 

Secret Language of Color: Science, Nature, History, Culture, Beauty of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, & Violet

Joann Eckstut and Arielle Eckstut

 

Post originally published on 5_17_2011.

 

Chain of Inspiration

Thought leads to thought.

Idea leads to idea.

Each forges a chain of inspiration, building up to something wonderful.

Every creative chain is unique–because no one is the same.

Some follow similar paths, but the result is one of a kind.

Materials, experiences, length.

Some chains are short and have a clear ending.

Others are just the start of an elaborate piece linking off in several directions, built over time.

These chains of inspiration all have one thing in common.

They are created one link at a time, connecting the previous to the next.

You must forge them with your creativity and will.

SilkenSky

Silken Sky

creative acts for today:

writing, photography, space cleaning

 

Books for Inspiration:

Creative Reboot: Unlock Your Creative Potential for a Deeper, More Meaningful Life in Less than 15 Minutes a Day

Osvaldo Quintanilla

 

Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration

Meera Lee Patel

 

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Brené Brown

 

Post originally published on 5_9_2011.

 

Questions

Questions, questions, questions.

If you’re not asking questions, you’re not using one of the easiest creative tools available.

Be curious about life, your subjects, the media you work in.

Seeking answers leads you along your path of creative discovery.

Who knows what wonders you will discover and create?

Only you can provide the answers.

 

Angelika Chandelier

Angelika Chandelier

 

creative acts for today:

writing, photography, creative break, design

 

Books to Inspire:

A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life

Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman

 

Brave Enough

Cheryl Strayed

 

Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It 

Ian Leslie

 

Post originally published on 5_9_2011.

Quotes

Simple truths.

Short bursts of inspiration.

Ideas in pure expression.

Amazing.

Whether you find it in the foil wrapper covering your favorite chocolate or run across it in your reading, quotes are like the beautiful song the birds make singing in the day. Cheerful, happy, waking up your inner soul.

Quotes are the refined Tweets of the past before there was Twitter.

These injections of wisdom can reorient you about your goals and your life.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

LightKissed

Light Kissed

 

creative acts for today:

design, photography, writing

 

Books to Inspire:

Words That Matter: A Little Book of Life Lessons

Oprah Magazine Editors

Seuss-isms! A Guide to Life for Those Just Starting Out…and Those Already on Their Way 

Dr. Seuss

Greatest Inspirational Quotes: 365 days to more Happiness, Success, and Motivation

Joe Tichio

 

Post originally published on 5_14_2011.