3 ways to put some OOMPH in your life:)

Putting some "oomph" in your life may sound like some random sound? But I'm betting that just about all of us relate to fresh starts and looking forward to "somethings". Well, here at Quirkified we are all about jump starting creativity and just plain old enjoying life. So what CAN we do this year to add a little "oomph".

1. Prioritize. I find it interesting that the phrase "Mind, Body, Spirit" puts the "spirit" at the end of the train. Personally, I think that maybe our spirit, the part that God speaks through and to, should probably be running the show. Make room to listen to His voice and I'm pretty sure the rest will follow along, and it doesn't get more "oomph"-like than that. Really give Him a genuine opportunity to speak to you, you will be more than pleasantly surprised.

2. Give it a "GOal". Set small goals that you are drawn to accomplish. We ALL have them. Those things that tickle at the back of our brains? Those tickles are another way that God is talking to us, that tiny whisper is His voice.
Some personal goals? Organizing my crafty ways. Learning new ukulele songs. Creating new illustrations that resonate kind words. How will I do any or all of these this year? One small step at a time. Probably through sticky notes that I can rip up one at a time. I LOVE that:)

3. Challenge yourself every.single.day. This doesn't have to be something huge, but the smallest tweak to your routine can snap you out of the doldrums and put that spring in your step. Hence, the "oomph". For me? I want to try things that maybe I wouldn't normally do. True confession: As old as I am, I STILL have never eaten in a restaurant by myself, not even fast-food. So, it may not be a big deal to someone else? but to me it's a challenge.

So what do you think Quirksters? Is this your year to: Prioritize, Set GOals, and Challenge yourself?
Is this the year you will look back on and realize it's when you actually began?
OR even better, you found your finish line:)

Talk soon my friends, xoxo

Free Your Mind:)

So when you think of the phrase, "free your mind" maybe it evokes daydreams, magic mushrooms or endorphins. Something that comes easily and requires little effort or the effort required seems more like a pleasure than any type of work.  This week I tasked all of you quirksters with write.it.down, but maybe you have a different way of doing that. Maybe, just maybe, your way of writing things down and leaving a new space to be occupied in your head is by creating some type of art. So what IS your type of art?

In my creative endeavors I find for myself that time grows lovely wings and my brain starts freewheeling when I just simply. Begin. Gearing up to actually begin can take an awful lot of effort, but once it has begun? yikes! time certainly does fly and the world with all of its worries turns into possibilities.

So how have you "begun" recently? Did you write something down? draw it? doodle it? sing it or dance it? Did you read a book that inspired you? How have you begun to free your mind?

Let's encourage each other! We have a whole weekend ahead of us. Let's use it:)

Thinkertoys:)

What do YOU see???

I recently have started reading a creativity jump start book called, "Thinkertoys" by Michael Michalko. It has lovely assignments and is a great motivational read...if you're into that... which, personally I am:) But I know that not everyone is, and here at Quirkified, we're all about the small steps. So I will be more than happy to share some of the more "do-able" ideas in this truly incredible book.

First of all, how do YOU see things? what do you see when you look at the graphic on the left of this page? There is absolutely no "right" answer. You see what you see. But since we all experience the world around us in different ways, maybe if we tweak things a bit we can tap into our creativity and make being creative a part of our daily lives.

The other thing I love about reading books like this, is it usually inspires me to make lists of ideas. I use my Iphone "note" app to keep track of the ideas that pop into my brain during the day.  Some I'm working on, and some are so out there that I know I would need to get professional advice in order to see the concept into fruition. But that's okay... every day it is such fun to be able to take the unique gifts that God has given us and see what we can come up with:)...

Sooooooo... here's our assignment for the next week:  Explore your world; through the people you meet, places you go, shows that you watch, books that you read, music you listen to... the list is endless of all the input that you have in your life. Then, either at night or in the morning write 3 ideas that have popped into your head, use post-it's, a designated notebook, your own Iphone "note" app and jot away! You will probably find that there's a trend of ideas; mine usually go towards children's stories and illustrations, but there might be a sight, smell, taste that sparks your next note. Write.it.down. Try to let these special moments count and who knows, when you're looking for "something to do" or your thinking of doing something "different", you'll have the basis for some great creative stuff.

By the way? I'm going to talk up my creative mom over at "He Leadeth Me" on Face Book. The page is just now coming together, but she has some very creative ideas to spark your interest in her book and you'll have the opportunity to interact with this lovely author (I am completely unbiased here...)

Until the next time Quirksters, (I will try to be much more diligent about writing)... keep noticing and filing away those experiences, you never know what you'll create next!

just try!

I would love to know how many of us struggle with not even trying or attempting something because we're afraid it won't be what we've imagined in our heads. Well, I'm here to share with you that no matter WHAT we do, we have room for tweaking, adjusting, changing and improving. If we don't give things a shot, how will we know if we're getting it right or not?

A couple of suggestions? Look back on something that you've done that inside of your head and heart you have a bit of a satisfied smile. This is not bragging or being full of yourself, it's just allowing you to move forward with a little bit of success and use that as a stepping stone to your next attempt at something that has been nudging at the corners of your creative little mind.  Now, think about that thing that you've been wanting to do, but you keep stopping yourself because you can't seem to motivate past the concept that you might fail. But who's going to know if you fail? Why not take a class, or ask someone that you respect their ability, and just be brave and go for it a little bit. It's actually kind of an adrenaline rush when we take a peek outside of our comfortable shell and look around a little to see our creative world with a fresh vision.

Okay, I'll share...recently I took a caricature class. The teacher was motivating and comforting in the fact that he mentioned that it would take, "practice, practice, practice." As an individual who has been doing some sort of drawing ever since I can remember, this was a new type of discipline for me...draw something, critique it, learn from it, then rip it up. You don't have to get it "right", you just have to get used to seeing with a new set of eyes. The first couple of days after class I attempted some caricature's and I promptly critiqued them and tore them up. But I don't think I want to give up yet. I've decided that the "trying" is just part of the process and that I want to "try",  as much as I want to be successful at this new discipline, it's the trying part that I want to emphasize.

Soooooo, maybe it's something new? that you're really not very good at right now? or maybe it's something you've done for close to forever, but you've never put it out there. Bottom line? just try.