Dancing with Simplicity

Simple Living, Walking by Faith
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Art classes and more!

  • January 7, 2020 1:53 pm

I’ve been venturing into the art world as of late, and hope to be sharing resources here in the near future. This is a sample of my rabbit drawing skills from a Skillshare class by Illustrator Nina Rycroft. You can sign up for Skillshare, or look at their free courses even, through my links on the right side of the screen. These are affiliate links, thank you for using them should you choose to purchase. P.S. My rabbit is the one on the right. My little crooked town is another idea I gathered from various artists…Stay tuned for my resource/supply lists. And for the craftsy side of you, visit this link for some fun, 2020 planning!

Dancing with Creativity: Daily!

  • March 8, 2019 4:53 pm

Dancing with Creativity

Having been a recent recipient of two art classes, a member of two mentoring groups and a lifelong craft and writing lover…well, I have not been generous with my time and attention to these arts. Life gets in the way. I had a thought recently:  why not create something every day? This is probably not a new concept to anyone.  I quite often hear writers stating that they must write every day in order to keep moving forward. I suppose artists say the same thing.

If I begin a project, I can give myself permission to keep it going a day or two before moving on to another endeavor. Why not? If in fact, God has gifted me to create and I am not doing it, then perhaps I am not being a good steward of the gift. What do you think? Can anyone relate to putting off the use of these kinds of gifts because they are too time consuming? Isn’t life too short to wait?

When I started this blog, my thought was that we are often dancing around the very thing we are called to be doing. Dancing with, toying with but not doing. Walking by faith is more stable, or should be. But life it seems, is a dance and we are swirling around the very things we want to do but cannot seem to ‘get to.’ I’m going to attempt this. Create a time for colorful art, writing or creating something. Dancing with creativity…daily.

 

Links and Lists

  • November 11, 2014 11:56 pm

Pencil Crayons 1

Someone laughed at me when I said I was a blogger, interested in simple living.

Yes, I have a lot of technical stuff.  And yes, I want to simplify my daily living. More than that, I want to learn new hobbies, and use my creative giftings.

I’m sure you can think of ways to make your family or personal non-working hours more simple and fun.

Here’s a few suggestions:

  • Visit a library. When was the last time you ditched your Kindle for a real book? Do your children know what a library is?
  • Color. Yes, color. Grab a coloring book and some pencils or crayons and go for it. At your next holiday gathering put out a white paper tablecloth and let the guests have at it with crayons, pencils, markers. Not for kids only.
  • Sketch. My Dad had me hooked on sketch pads and pencils. Send your kids out, or yourself, to the yard or a park or somewhere interesting and try sketching what you see.
  • Bake Bread. Does anything smell better than baked bread? You have no excuse for not finding a recipe, and some instructional videos if you are reading this online.
  • Sew. Knit. Crochet. Weave. How much do you have hidden in that fabric or yarn stash that you meant to use one day? Go get it. Now!
  • Play with paper crafts.  Don’t get me started.  As the owner of a new Cricut, and vast amounts of supplies, I am in love with the art of card making.  See the blinkie on the side bar? The Stamps of Life has a wonderful stamp of the month/die of the month club.  Visit your neighborhood craft store for free idea sheets.  Warning:  Can will be addictive. Instructional videos, paid and free online classes are readily available if you have Web access.
  • Board Games. If you don’t know what these are, you are too technical. Monopoly, Clue, Pictionary. Card games.  Something you can do if the power goes out. Really…..
  • Fill in the blank….how have you escaped the technical world for some family friendly, fun time?