Creativity Exercise: Find the Love

In yesterday's post, we talked about the love and care inherent in a drawing where all the white space is filled in. This is a drawing Mary did of me, for me, when she was 10; I display it in my office.

Your exercise? Find the love. What saying does Mary's drawing illustrate? It's what she said as she handed this to me. Sigh ... the good old days. Before she became a teenager and I became the Wicked Witch of the West.

Creativity Tips: Color It In!

My friend Vered recently posted a note on Facebook about her daughter Ellie, one hellacious trip to the dentist, and the resulting visit from the tooth fairy.

I'll let Vered take the story from there:

"Miss Ellie wrote a thank you note to the tooth fairy and drew a picture of a butterfly without any white space. If you have a young child, you know that a picture where all the white space is colored in is a true act of care and love."

Whoa. After almost 20 years of being a mother, after countless crayon-colored gifts, that had never occurred to me. It is an act of care and love to fill every square inch of the paper with color.

I don't know about you, but there are a lot of projects in my life where I haven't been filling in all the white space lately. This week, I'm going to do better. Thanks to Vered and Ellie for another lesson!

Food is Love: Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake

I'm going to a dinner party this weekend where we'll be celebrating a friend's birthday. And nothing says "Par-tay!" like the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake. This recipe is easier than a mix and the frosting is killer good. If you don't believe me, ask my daughter Kate -- this cake is her favorite.

Oh. Very important. When you look at the recipe online, for god's sake, don't click on the button that says "Nutritional Info." You really don't want to know. If you do look, I'll just say this -- it's worth every calorie.

Happy weekend!

Creativity Exercise: Follow the Instructions

Today's exercise is on the Rabbit Fumes blog. Check it out. Then, follow the instructions.

P.S. Admiring the Big Rabbit makes me happy. I intend to keep doing it.

Creativity Tips: Wrap it Right

Not long ago, I ran into a former colleague who mentioned that she tells someone the story about my mother and the silverware at least once a week. It's a good story ... worth sharing now and then. So, for your reading pleasure, here's a formative moment of my life:

My first job was at Putsch's Cafeteria at Ward Parkway Shopping Center. I was 15 and it was not my dream job. I wrapped silverware. Every Saturday, 9-5. That's a heckuva lot of utensils.

My mom would periodically come to Putsch's to eat lunch with me. She'd take a silverware bundle out of the bin at the start of the line, hold it up like a trophy, and proudly announce to everyone within hearing distance, "No one wraps it like you do, Janet!"

Silly? Sure. Important? You bet. While I might groan and roll my eyes, I went back to work ready to wrap. And I rolled those napkins tight. Because even if it didn't matter to everyone, it mattered to Mom.

Whether we're at work or at home, what we say to each other makes a difference. What we do for each other matters. Don't just do your job. Do it right.

Full disclosure: I worked at Putsch's 39 years ago. Mom still thinks I wrap silverware better than anyone else. But if you'd like to give me a run for the money, you can find tips at NapkinFoldingGuide.com, where I found the photo.

Creativity Tips: Take Care of Yourself

This almost never happens to me, but I don't have any special ideas about what to post right now. I've been sitting at the computer for 45 minutes, doodling with ideas, and I don't like any of them.

So, I'm going to follow my own advice. I'm going to recognize when I need a break, and I'm going to take one. I'll be back with something completely brilliant tomorrow. Or kinda brilliant. Or, sorta interesting.

Right now, I just need to inhale chocolate.

Creativity Tips: To Pee or Not to Pee

That's not really the question. I just thought it was a funny headline for this photo.* Here's the question:

Have you ever driven somewhere and realize when you get there that you don't remember the trip? Of course you have. We all have. When we do the same thing over and over again, drive the same route day after day, we go into automatic.

Automatic does not breed creativity.

This week, take it out of automatic and put it in manual. Do more than show up. Be present.

Then, when you're asked to do something that's been done a million times before, you can come up with something new -- like the designer of this sign did. I saw this great take on the standard image at an Old Chicago restaurant during our fun visit with Kate in Manhattan. LOVE IT. Love it enough to stand in front of the men's room and snap a few photos, praying no guy would come out and think I was a pervert.

No guy came out. Life is good. Here's to March!

*You know what Mom says: Little things amuse little minds.