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Posts Tagged ‘random acts of kindness’

Friday’s Fresh Five! (3/7/14)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Environment and Ecology, Gardening, Helping Others, inspiration, Recycling, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Goldfinch acrobatics “And for my next trick, I will perform a double rotation with a half-twist . . . ” That’s what I imagine a Goldfinch hanging on a nearby wire is saying. As other birds wait patiently for spots on the bird feeder, this particular bird preens and performs acrobatics. He (I believe it is a male, because of its brilliant color) sports a showmanship flair and a touch of attitude. My creative juices recharge and I feel inspired as I stroll through my yard. My garden hums with vibrant energy as baby squirrels scamper from branch to branch, as blossoms flutter in the breeze, and as birds fly about and fill the air with song. Where do you go to recharge and gain inspiration? (Click on the photo if you want to see this little bird up close).

#1 – Random Acts of Kindness
Random Acts of Kindness Kindness lives in all of us. For some of us it’s always on the surface of our hearts. For others, it may require a direct tug of a heart string. Acts of kindness rarely make the news, unless they are on a grand scale. But in my opinion, every act of kindness is significant, because small ripples of kindness create big waves of good. Check out Moments of Human Kindness and you’ll instantly feel better.

#2 – A World of Hope
A World of Hope March 8th is International Women’s Day. CNN asked women to complete this sentence: “Build a world where I can . . . ” Click here to read answers from men and women around the world and see what kind of world they want to build.

#3 – Repurpose! Repurpose! Repurpose!
28 Creative Ideas for Repurposing Old Items My husband will confirm that one of the most frequent phrases he hears me utter is, “You’re not going to throw that away are you?” Being big on repurposing and upcycling, I always like to share any repurposing inspiration that I come across. Here are 28 Creative Ideas for Repurposing Old Items that just might save a few things from being discarded.

#4 – Inspirational Quotes
Miles Davis Quote If a walk outdoors doesn’t inspire creativity in you, maybe reading 10 Quotes To Inspire Your Inner Creative will help.

#5 – What Do You See?
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity . . . and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.“
William Blake

Now go and spread joy!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/9/13)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Environment and Ecology, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Photography, Recycling, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

T-shirt Gift Bag The wanna-be artist in me was delighted when one of my nieces requested manga drawing materials for her birthday. Rather than spend money on a paper gift bag to hold her art supplies, I thought it would be more fun to put them in a cute and sturdy t-shirt bag. A while back I posted the instructions on how to make a T-Shirt Bag, but since this bag was a gift, I made the finished product nicer by adding a few steps: I “boxed” the bottom and sewed bias tape around the raw openings. After transforming a black and white “History of Art” t–shirt (leftover from my art docent days) into a bag, I tied it up with a large colorful ribbon. My talented niece now has a reusable gift bag/art tote and I’m pleased that I re-purposed another item!

#1 – Art in Clothes and Clothes in Art

Art by Kaarina Kaikkonen

Kaarina Kaikkonen: The Blue Route

Finnish environmental artist Kaarina Kaikkonen re-purposes t-shirts and other second-hand clothes with a different creative goal in mind. She creates dreamlike art installations. The power of her work lies in how she ties her message to each site of installation. Ms. Kaikkonen says of her work, “My work talks about people, how people from different backgrounds are connected together, about life as a journey.” You can see more of her work here.

#2 – Clever Kitchen Ideas
Reuse broken hangers as bag clipss A hanger can be used for more than hanging clothes as seen by this photo. Check out these 10 Clever Kitchen Lifehacks.

#3 -Made You Smile
We can all come up with clever and creative ways to make our lives easier and more enjoyable, but how about coming up with ways to make each others’ lives happier, at least for a moment? It can start with a smile. Mark and Angel Hack Life have compiled a list called 88 Ways to Make a Stranger Smile and the first entry is “Smile often.”

#4 – Exploring Caves
Fingals Cave in Scotland Exploring caves around the world is not at the very top of my bucket list, but I can say that I’ve been to at least one of the caves featured in 23 of the World’s Most Insane Caves That You Can Explore. After looking through this series of photos of nature’s amazing creations, I am now adding visits to a few of them to my bucket list!

#5 – Creativity According to Rainn
“Everyone is creative in their own way and that, that creativity is a great thing. It’s a human thing and it needs to be nurtured and it can help us go down life’s path and help us to become deeper, richer, more satisfied human beings.”
Rainn Wilson

“If it’s a pure expression of yourself no matter what it is or what medium, it’s going to shine. It’s going to resonate. You could look inside of yourself and you could have a canvas and you could paint a dot in it, but if that is where your creative purpose is taking you then it needs to be that dot.”
Rainn Wilson

Let your creativity shine this weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (4/12/13)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Environment and Ecology, Gardening, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

Purple Violas

Purple Violas by Linnell Chang

Although small in stature, purple violas dominate a bed of flowers. Their deep rich colors and delicate yellow centers beg for attention and ask you to take notice. Do you stop to appreciate them or do you walk on by? Do you take their beauty for granted? Do you take the colors you see for granted?  Wake up your senses and adjust your attitude. Be grateful for the beauty around you.

#1 – Psychology of Color
There’s no doubt that color adds joy to our lives. Imagine how depressing it would be to live in a world devoid of color. This Psychology of Color infograph points out their different meanings and how they affect our lives.
Psychology of Color Infographic
#2 – Lemon Zest
Lemon zest adds bits of color and flavor to food. For recipes that call for any type of citrus zest, try using this method. Hold the microplane upside down while you lightly run it across the peel. This method catches the zest – which makes collecting it much easier than scraping it out of a bowl. Zesting a lemon

#3 – Random Acts of Kindness
If what goes around, truly comes around, then we all need to spread more kindness in the world. Be inspired to perform random acts of kindness today by reading 101 Ideas For Random Acts of Kindness.

#4 – Seeing in Color

phan Thu Trang

Painting by artist Phan Thu Trang

Artist Phan Thu Trang “always tries to use color and light to create different sensation for each piece of art.” Through her colorful and seemingly simplistic artwork, she tries to describe how she feels about everyday scenes in her native Vietnam, rather than just documenting what she sees. Check out this site to see more of her artwork.

#5 – Colors of the Day
“People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it’s quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.”
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

This weekend, admire and be grateful for all the color in your world!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/7/12)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Holidays, inspiration, Photography, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Close up of frog

Photo by Linnell Chang

He: It’s late. Are you coming to bed?
She: In a minute.
He: What are you doing?
She: Taking pictures of a frog.
He: A frog? Where? It’s one o’clock in the morning!
She: Yeah, well, when I was checking the door to see if it was locked, I noticed a frog stuck to the glass. It’s not everyday you can see the belly of a frog up close!
He: I should have known better than to ask you what you were up to!

Opportunities to learn something new present themselves everyday, all day long. It’s easy to ignore or dismiss these moments because we live busy lives and because we take the world around us for granted. So the next time you see something you take for granted – a frog on a window, an autumn leaf on the ground, a candle burning, etc., ask yourself these classic questions: why, when, what, where, and how? For example, how is a frog able to cling to a smooth surface? Why do some autumn leaves turn yellow, some orange, and some red? When a candle burns, where does the wax go? Whether we take the time to observe, study, or investigate depends on our willingness or receptiveness to learn. Don’t forget . . . the more you know, the more you grow.

#1 – Sharpie Art
Sharpie decorated mugs Isn’t it time you learned that Sharpie pens are not just for writing? Take a look at these 20 Sharpie Projects Perfect for the holidays! You’ll be surprised with what you can create with a Sharpie pen!

#2 – Santa Hat Pretzels
Santa Hat Pretzels Looking for an easy-to-make holiday treat? Make these cute Santa Hat Pretzels. Simple, clever, and no baking required!

#3 – Ink and Water

Alberto Seveso

Part of the A Due Colori Series by Alberto Seveso

In the hands of an average person, mixing ink and water together spells out one big mess, but in the hands of Italian artist Alberto Seveso, these two elements create something beautiful. Click here to see more of his intriguing work.

#4 – Random Acts of Kindness
random acts of kindness When we truly open our eyes to the world around us, we take down our blinders and open our hearts, too. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted about random acts of kindness, so when I saw these 16 Unbelievable Acts of Kindness, I knew I had to share them with you. They’ll restore your faith in mankind and propel you to do something kind for someone else.

#5 – Just For Today

Just for today, I will not be angry.

Just for today, I will not worry.

Just for today, I will be grateful.

Just for today, I will do my work honestly.

Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.

The Five Reiki Principles by Dr. Mikao Usui

Learn something new this weekend!

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