29 Ways to Stay Creative—Part Four

with 10 Comments

29 Ways to Stay Creative—Part Four
by Jen White

I LOVE to see things that take BIG thoughts and break them down for LITTLE people like me. In this new series of blogposts, I am wanting to share and discuss an infographic I found called 29 Ways to Stay Creative by Islam Abudaoud. Because there is SO much fantastic information packed into one little graphic, I’m planning to split my series into five parts. Here is part four.

29ways-img04

 

#14 Don’t Give Up

Ok, I’d like to see a show of hands. How many of you have started a scrapbooking class or project and didn’t finish it? I have both of my hands up.

• Sometimes I give up simply because the task is too big. In that case, I make a checklist to split the task into much smaller chunks.

• Other times I give up because I get stumped. I just don’t know how to proceed. Here’s a lightbulb moment—ask for help!

• And, then here’s the biggie. I give up due to boredom or feeling alone in my project. That’s what forums and galleries are for. It’s like a party for like-minded people. Ask someone to hold you accountable and do the same for them.


DMedina-IMG_0001#15 Practice, Practice, Practice

In the creative world, I sometimes feel like a fish out of water. And I’ll bet you sometimes do as well. But I could easily gather a bazillion testimonies from people who would say their skill and confidence was increased with just one simple thing—practice. Here are a few things to think on:

• Set a goal. Put aside 10–15 minutes a day to practice a skill or participate in a self-paced class.

• Spend your Sunday afternoon scraplifting a standout from the gallery. As I’ve said before, scraplifting is an excellent way to hone your skills.

• Practice isn’t always “doing.” Try spending a little time reviewing past video tutorials. You’ll find that you really knew more than you thought you did—you just forgot. Review these free video tutorials.


29ways-4-img3#16 Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes

Repeat to yourself, “I am not perfect.” Now, turn to the nearest person and say, “You are not perfect.” If you think you’re perfect, get over your bad self. You’re not. We all make mistakes.

One of my favorite things to do is call up a girlfriend and say, “Need a good laugh? Guess what stooopid thing I did today.” Come on! Laugh at yourself! Sitting and pouting over spilled milk will only harbor discouragement. Period.

 


29ways-4-img4

#17 Go Somewhere New

I spend a lot of time in my home office, which is also my creative space. Maybe you do, too. Sometimes all I need to stay fresh or relieve burnout is a new view. This is what helps me:

• I pull out my dusty laptop (I really only use it when I travel) and go mobile. I’ll take up temporary residence in a different room of the house or drive down to my favorite coffee shop—ohhh ya, I LOVE to people watch!

• Rearrange the furniture in your creative space. This gets me going every time!


29ways-4-img5#18 Count Your Blessings

A thankful heart is a happy heart.

• Send a quick note to someone telling them why they’ve blessed your day. It’s a win-win situation.

• Keep track. How many times a day do you say, “thank you?” Try to increase it over time.

• Give back. Any selfless act of kindness will return to you ten-fold.


29ways-4-img6#19 Get Lots of Rest

My girlfriends know not to call or expect me out of bed before eleven. Yes, you heard me right. That’s 11:00 AM—as in, almost noon. In order to function at a high level of creativity day in and day out, I have to have my sleep. Maybe you are like that, too? Here are a few tricks I’ve found that help me:

• Don’t take your smartphone or tablet to bed. Busy brains don’t go to sleep.

• Back away from the computer at least one hour before bedtime. Eeek. That’s hard!

• Set boundaries for yourself and those around you.


29ways-4-img7#20 Take Risks

When’s the last time you said to yourself, “Awe heck, why not!?” I’m not talking about jumping off a cliff. I mean taking a risk on things that take you slightly (or even a lot) out of your comfort zone . . . although I guess cliff jumping does quality for this!

• Start sharing your work in a creative gallery. I know it contains a high level of vulnerability but doing so will put wind in your sails.

• Join a creative team. We take applicants twice a year, so keep an eye on our newsletter for details.

• Join an online class and stretch yourself. Take our free class or see our current offerings of online classes.


29ways-4-img8#21 Break the Rules

Now, don’t go running red lights or anything, but some rules are just begging to be broken, aren’t they? And there’s at least one exception to every rule, right?

In the creative world, rules are more like guidelines. Start trotting down the little blue path until you spot a bunny trail. Now run for it before anyone calls you back sighting insubordination.

• Start with a rule (more like a guideline) for digital scrapbooking. See if you can find the exception to that rule. There’s always going to be one and being a rebel once in a while is kinda fun!! For example, remember when I told you not to add shadows to text layers? Can you find an example of when doing so would be considered okay?

 

 29 Ways to Stay Creative for Digital Scrapbookers
part one | part two | part three | part four | part five

_____________________________________________

jenwhite-48x48Author: Jen White | Contact Us
All comments are moderated.
Please allow time for your comment to appear.

10 Responses

  1. Glorie
    | Reply

    Just had to let you know, I loved your “Dennis” story…did you get an after photo?? 😉

    • Jen White
      | Reply

      Ha! Thanks, Glorie. No, I don’t think I got a photo of Dennis after his tragic life event. Poor guy was missing a good portion of his head and half his limbs. It was a sad, sad day.

      • Glorie
        | Reply

        Awww, that sounds terribly tragic and very sad indeed! I find often if I scrap a sad event, such as this, ones heart can find healing! 🙂 I also am quite surprised that a scrapper like you did not get that “after” photo but I imagine it’s due to being so distraught! {{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}

  2. Janiek
    | Reply

    Thanks Jen, these are some good things to keep in mind. For me it has been the feeling alone and wishing I had someone to share my passion with. When I fist started years ago, there were scrapbooking crops which were a blast, everyone getting together sharing ideals. Then there was Digi Crops which was also fun, we would learn from each other. Now there is none, no one has time to get together anymore 🙁 and I really miss that, So I am thankful for DigitalScrapper. I’ve been around DS a long time and just recently starting to become more involved again, doing more, learning more. I guess your my crop i can go to anytime, lol. Thanks for being here, you, Linda and all the rest do a great job.

    • Jen White
      | Reply

      I’m in agreement, Janiek. I miss those days of a bunch of gals getting together with our photo and papers. It was more for the social aspect than for the scrapping. You should start a get together once a month. Invite paper and digital scrappers. You never know!

  3. Kimberly
    | Reply

    Great timing for me. I will have a little more time for scrapbooking this summer!!

  4. Mary
    | Reply

    I just love to learn but I never go anywhere. I think I have bought every class at DS! I practice and play but never remember what I learned. I guess I must have learned the rules of scrapping someplace along the way, but like your wooden doll they take flight and suddenly I cannot get the memories back. Could you please tell me the rules. I like to put a shadow on a large title. Like its a bill board! So I think I must break all the rules. I would appreciate that. Thank you, so much. Then I won’t look STOOPID!

    • Jen White
      | Reply

      Ha! I would NEVER think you look ‘stoopid’, Mary! Try doing a search on the blog for “Design Disasters.” It’s there that I compiled a list of ‘rules’ our team put together—of course, they are just begging to be broken!

  5. DorrieH.
    | Reply

    I believe this might be the time I might add a drop shadow to text.

    If you need to add contrast between your text and the background, and it is sitting on a light color background, a drop shadow might help, but it should only be a small shadow in order to highlight the text only. This kind of text us usually a Title of some sort, never journaling in a paragraph.

    • Jen White
      | Reply

      GREAT example, Dorrie! I also do this occasionally, but it’s usually in the form of an ‘outer glow’. 😀

Leave a Reply to Jen White Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.