creativenachos.com Blog

The little fairy that spread love worldwide. Her hearts even fall down upon the inside of the card.

The winner of our contest is Dorothy! Please send me your address so that I can send along your cards. And Anna is a runner-up because even before Dorothy said little hearts, Anna said that the little fairy with heart-shaped wings was spreading love but she just did not specifically say what she was sprinkling. Congratulations to you both and I’d like to extend a BIG thank you to all of you for playing – especially Kat’s grammar school class. Let’s all give them a BIG round of applause!

I believe it was Trish who left a comment about this fairy spreading hope. That was the exact feeling I felt when I was creating this card. It is also something I think we need more of given the current state of things in the world.

I think I feel most hopeful when I feel fully alive or is it the other way around? Either way, today I decided that I would pay close attention to the things that stirred me…you know those things that give you goosebumps or that little excited feeling right in the center of you. Some of the things I found that move me and spark a bright feeling of hope inside are:

-When I make big dishes of imaginary food with my daughter…hahaha…actually when I play, read or do pretty much anything with her.

-Books - like the adorable, old editions of Beatrix Potter books my brother gave to my daughter. I had them when I was young and loved them. However, I love and am inspored by pretty much any books – children, teen and adult – that are well-written.

-Dancing – closing my eyes and letting my body move to music…

-Color – I LOVE color and how it mixes together. I love bright, warm colors.

All of these things have a theme. They revolve around learning…new ways of playing, thinking, moving or seeing things. When I learn or am inspired, I am filled with hope and, much like this fairy, I want to share what is within me.

HOPE….I even like the word….what fills you with hope?

Whenever the holidays come to an end, I like that little bit of downtime. However, not very long after, I find myself asking the question, ”So, what now?” This January, I’m starting the year off in a playful mood. So, what do you say? Let’s PLAY! It’s time for the first CreativeNachos DoodleStars contest of 2009. Are you ready??

Tell me what you think this cute fairy is sprinkling.

The first person to guess the right answer will win this card (and I can promise you, you will love it when you see the whole card) and 2 of the following printed cards with hearts you can touch! The contest ends on Tuesday, January 6th at midnight!!

Let your imagination run wild!!

Welcome to 2009! I hope that it’s already started off well for you!

I’m not a resolution maker. The very word “resolution” makes my palms sweat and my stomach ache. The pressure of it is as great to me as the pressure of New Year’s Eve. With New Year’s Eve there is this idea that it has to be the best night ever just as with resolutions there’s this pressure to radically transform yourself into your ideal self overnight. To be honest, September always feels like the start of a new year to me. When I was a kid it was the fresh blank pages of notebooks, the new books waiting to be explored and newly sharpened pencils that seemed to signal a fresh start. To this day, I find myself feeling a sense of newness at that time of the year and when New Year’s rolls around I have usually started something new. So, I spend time prior to and on New Years Day thinking about my hopes and dreams and making suggestions for how I might be able to improve my life and the lives of those I love in the coming year.

For the second New Year’s Eve in a row, I wore pajamas. Whether I have gone out or stayed in, I have worn them to start the year. Last year, I donned them because I decided that I wanted to usher in a year of relaxation and for the most part it was, save the end of the year. This year, I dream of a year where I lessen my stress and worry and maximize my enjoyment of life. That does sound like a dream, does it not? See I tend to worry all the time about everything and the largest thing I worry about is being x, y and z to everyone and, in order to do that, I stretch myself way beyond my personal limits. This year, I am going to respect my limits, try to recognize the signs my body gives me when it needs some replenishment time and give to myself and to others from that place. When I am running on fumes, I am no good to myself or anyone else but when I am at 100% I am able to share my time, laughter, attention, and most importantly, love. That is a suggested goal. And the use of the word “goal” brings me to my next thought.

I have been so goal-oriented and while that is good I find I can sometimes miss out on the learning part and honestly while learning can sometimes frustrate me (that’s when I’m trying to be perfect and I’m REALLY over being perfect) it makes me feel alive. So, for 2009 I sincerely hope that I don’t discover everything there is to learn about everything because I want to spend time learning about the world, the people in it, especially those I love and everything in between. Most importantly, I want to learn from and with my daughter as she explores this world.

There are other suggestions I have about my creative ventures but I’ll share those as I begin to work on them. I don’t know about you but sometimes when I talk about things I’m going to do, I feel like I’ll jinx them or I won’t accomplish them. If I quietly work up to a point that I feel as though I can start the projects, then I share because at that point it’s no longer just talk, it’s happening.

What suggestions have you presented to yourself for 2009? I can tell you that I’m looking forward to sharing what I have within and learning all that I can from you!