instagram

New Year New…

The Creative Life

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOlRu1MFbR3/?taken-by=scrapsoflife

2016 hasn’t exactly been boffo for a lot of folks, especially certain beloved celebrities, but on a more personal note, the upheaval and my cattywumpus schedule have spelled absolute neglect and disaster for my side hustle. Thankfully, something like that can be resurrected, and the Instagram challenge pictured above is part of step one of that process.

I say part of, because it’s but one page (half-page, really) from a new project that I will be launching very soon. As in shortly after New Year, if things go well. I don’t want to say too much and shoot myself in the foot by shooting off my mouth, but if you enjoy the adult coloring book craze, then this will be something you’ll want to watch for.

So watch this space next week, and come play along with us on Instagram in the new year! It’s a great way to stretch your creative muscle and my hope is that the prompts will yield some interesting interpretations. Until then, I’ll be busy typing and drawing and designing my evenings and weekend away!

 

Share the Love: My Top 3s

The Creative Life

So there’s a saying that goes “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and it basically boils down to common elements in life. Now, this post isn’t about enemies, but friends. Namely blog, video, and insta-friends, because if you like and read me, then there’s a good chance that, by virtue of common elements, you might like to read/watch/follow them!

Must Read Blogs

I follow a lot of blogs and websites via Feedly. The last time I checked I had more than 200 feeds on my list, though not all of the update every day and some are quick clicks as opposed to in-depth reads. Picking three that I stop and read (or save as new to read later) is actually a bit of a challenge, but these are pretty high on the list right now.

  • IttyBiz by Naomi Dunford Great for other business-minded readers, Naomi stopped blogging for quite a while but has recently picked up the pace and is back to regular posts. This is not the dry, formal, repetitive business advice that the suit and tie sites offer, though. Naomi is wonderfully irreverent and gets real with her examples, has a wonderful sense of humor, and is just pretty damn awesome. Go. Read. Learn.
  • Brit & Co by Brit Morin and others This is a very high-volume feed and while I ignore some of the more obvious click bait headlines, I keep them in my reader for the recipe round-ups. So many of my menus get a jump start from those posts that its worth rolling my eyes at some of their other content (which, in all fairness, is geared at women 10 years younger than me, on average).
  • The Mary Sue It’s my one-stop “shop” for geeky pop culture updates, new media, and social issues that are relevant to me. Another high-volume feed, I read far more of their articles than I pass on. Plus they post cute videos on Mondays.

I read and enjoy plenty of individual, non-business blogs and enjoy them for different reasons, these three are my most useful at the moment.

Must Watch Channels

I posted my first YouTube video back in 2012 but it wasn’t until a few months ago that YouTube became a daily stop in my Internet routine. Since then the number of channels I subscribe to has grown (along with the number and frequency of videos that I post!). Here are my the ones I check out first right now.

  • My Froggy Stuff & Create Something Fabulous Two channels that are sides of the same coin. Froggy, along with her daughter Little Froggy, make and play with doll rooms, sets, and props and Froggy breaks them down into easy to follow tutorials. Froggy has fabulous energy, gets so excited about their projects and adventures–they’re just a pleasure to watch. And Little Froggy has been taking horseback riding lessons and competing, which shows up on the second channel from time to time.
  • Jared Polin of Fro Knows Photo I first encountered Jared Polin through a Creative Live course. He’s an awesome photographer, a great teacher, and very entertaining. He kind of reminds me of my aunt who also was a photographer for a while, so that’s probably a reason I like his delivery and mannerisms, but I think he’s pretty relatable in general. Even before I finally gave in and bough myself a DSLR, I got valuable tips from him on composition and understanding of how digital photography, in general, works.
  • Christina of Pretty Shiny Sparkly She’s one of my newer follows but I just adore her. I first found her when I was browsing planner videos, and just sort of got hooked. She does regular life vlogging, product reviews, and fashion and beauty stuff.

Of course, I hope you’re subscribing to my channel, too 😉 I’ll always try to link my latest video here on the blog, but I’m sure there will be some that are more just-YouTube instead of being an extension of these posts as time goes by.

Must Like Images

Instagram is a little harder to pinpoint favorites on since everything just comes across as one big stream of pretty. But I scrolled through my following list and picked out some highlights that I think you might find just as inspirational or aspirational as I do!

  • Melissa Dinwiddie @A_Creative_Life This is the epitome of creative inspiration. She posts lots of work in progress shots that remind me to get back to creative work.
  • Maggi @JustAddGlitter Fellow former Gauche team member, Maggi’s posts range from geek fun, crochet and art projects, to dolls and family shots. Her feed is bright and colorful.
  • Jennifer Lee @JennLee I’ve been following Jennifer Lee, author the Right Brain Business Plan and Building Your Business the Right Brain Way, for many years in many ways (video summits, classes, etc.) Earlier this year she leased a studio space and her Instagram feed frequently includes pictures of what she’s up to in there.

As I made this list I realized that my favorite feeds are colorful and full of inspirational artwork and life shots. That’s pretty much what Instagram means to me. Scrolling through my own posts I see that I tend to post that same sort of thing. Have you compared your favorites to your own posts to see how they match or differ?

I hope this post helps you find new people to watch, read, or follow! And if you think there’s someone I need to know about, by all means, share in the comments!